Rudolf Jaenisch

The focus of my laboratory has shifted from stem cells to the biology of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. We found a few years ago that genomic sequences from coronavirus can integrate into the human genome, meaning that in rare instances sections of the virus’ genomic code get copied and pasted into the human genome — into the DNA — of infected cells.

This genomic integration happens extremely rarely with coronavirus and we had to collect a lot of evidence to convince other researchers that it occurs. In spite of the rarity of coronavirus genomic integration, it is important that we understand when and how it happens, and what are the implications for human health.

In order to address these questions, my lab developed an assay that allows us to closely analyze and investigate coronavirus genomic integration in human cells. Now that we have the right tools, we can begin to understand the implications of integration, for example in cases of Long COVID, and to study the sensitive question of whether there is genomic integration from mRNA vaccines.