ORNL HPC is Proving Invaluable for Covid-19 Research

Genomic modeling using high performance computing is beginning to prove its worth in the fight against the 2019 SARS-COV-2 (covid-19) pandemic. Using supercomputing resources at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), researchers have found a specific gene expression profile that makes patients particularly susceptible to some of the worst effects of the virus. This genomic pattern appears to be tied to biological pathways that explain many of the symptoms encountered by patients struggling to overcome the infection. As a result of this work, clinicians may be able to exploit a set of existing drugs to treat high-risk covid-19 patients.