Clinical outcome upon infection with SARS-CoV-2 ranges from silent infection to lethal COVID-19. We identified autosomal-recessive or autosomal-dominant deficiencies of genes in the type I IFN circuit in 23 patients (3.5%) 17 to 77 years of age. We showed that inborn errors of TLR3- and IRF7- dependent type I IFN immunity can underlie life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with no prior severe infection.

PRESENTER

Qian Zhang was trained as a pediatrician. After she graduated from the Medical School of Fudan University in Shanghai, she joined Dr Helen ’u’s lab at the NIH as a postdoc to be trained in scientific research, in the field of inborn errors of immunity. In 2017, she first joined as a visiting scholar but soon as a group leader at the lab of Prof Jean-Laurent Casanova and Laurent ’bel’s lab, and focus her research in human genetics of respiratory viral infections.

MODERATOR

Jonny Peter