Dr. Edwin Oh is an expert in neurogenetics, whose primary research examines the genetic and structural variants that contribute to human health and disease. He studies genetic mutations to improve the cellular and molecular diagnosis of genetic diseases and to enable the development of therapeutic paradigms.
His current research program involves screening wastewater for the presence of the SARS-COV-2 virus (COVID-19), and sequencing the RNA of the virus to contribute to future vaccine development. He's also an expert in schizophrenia, autism, and addiction.
With multiple COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon, it looks like months of spread and restrictions may finally have an end in sight. An effective vaccine won't necessarily end the spread of the disease, however. As a virus spreads, it mutates. With enough mutations, a strain of COVID-19 might come about that the new vaccines can't stop.
UNLV researcher Edwin Oh and collaborators implement wastewater surveillance programs to supplement coronavirus contact tracing efforts, help prevent outbreaks.
This neuroscientist joined UNLV to discover how DNA contributes to disease development or prevention.
I can envision a possibility where we create the vaccine, but the virus has mutated to a point in some communities where that vaccine is less effective for people who’ve contracted a different strain.