ITM-UChicago researcher Maryellen Giger, PhD, the A.N. Pritzker Professor of Radiology, will lead a $20 million UChicago-based center dedicated to tackling COVID-19. The Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center (MIDRC) is funded by the ITM’s parent organization the National Institutes of Health. The MIDRC will host images of thousands of COVID-19 patients’ lungs and more. This massive database is open to researchers across the country, and could help speed insights about how the disease works and how to treat it.

“Through the MIDRC Data Commons Portal, investigators will be able to access images and data to expedite research that will provide solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Giger said. “This will speed up the sharing of new research on COVID-19, answering questions about COVID-19 presentation in the lungs, the efficacy of therapies, associations between COVID-19 and other co-morbidities, and monitoring for potential resurgence of the virus.”