A Path Out of the Crisis Thanks to the Pandemic Fund

Approximately 600 individuals, companies, and foundations donated a total of over 2 million Swiss francs to the Pandemic Fund. Thanks to the resulting research findings, children, for example, were able to return to school as usual after the lockdown.

The researchers’ findings led to the following concrete improvements:

  • Based on Milo Puhan’s studies, schools were able to reopen after the lockdown, and children were able to return to regular classes.
     
  • Alexandra Trkola’s team worked intensively to find a simple method to make COVID testing more accessible. By using saliva, they developed a very simple testing procedure that can also be used on children.
     
  • Onur Boyman’s studies, which focused on immune responses, were conducted using nasal secretions and saliva—a novel approach—instead of the blood tests that had been standard practice. This enabled more reliable results.
     
  • In early 2022, Onur Boyman’s team discovered markers in the blood of COVID-19 patients that could predict Long COVID at an early stage. This allows for the implementation of targeted measures to mitigate severe cases.

Watch video of Onur Boyman

“Our analyses are intended, on the one hand, to identify severe cases of COVID-19 and, on the other hand, to identify which immune responses protect against SARS-CoV-2.”

Prof. Dr. Onur Boyman
Director of the Department of Immunology, University Hospital of Zurich
(Video: August 2021)

Watch video of Milo Puhan

“Thanks to our nationwide collection of antibody data, we are able to obtain reliable, up-to-the-minute insights into the spread of the virus. This provides decision-makers with a solid foundation for implementing appropriate measures to address the pandemic.”

Prof. Dr. Milo Puhan
Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Prevention at UZH
(Video: August 2021)

Watch video of Alexandra Trkola

“The antibody response in infected individuals is expected to provide insights that can support the development of vaccines, therapeutic antibodies, and plasma therapies.”

Prof. Dr. Alexandra Trkola
Director of the Institute of Medical Virology at UZH
(Video: August 2021)

Over 2 million Swiss francs for UZH's pandemic fund

In April 2020, the UZH Foundation launched the University of Zurich (UZH) Pandemic Fund and a fundraising campaign. The University of Zurich Pandemic Fund was established to support important and urgent research projects aimed at overcoming the COVID-19 crisis.

Over 600 individuals, companies, and foundations donated to the Pandemic Fund during the crisis. In total, we received over 2 million Swiss francs in donations. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported the Pandemic Fund and made this important research possible!