Computational science. ORNL’s Summit, the world’s most powerful supercomputer, is accelerating COVID-19-related research through the new COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium. Several computing allocations are already running on Summit aimed at improving scientists’ understanding of the virus’ structure and biology towards developing targeted therapies and vaccines.



Researchers at ORNL and the University of Tennessee have used Summit to identify small-molecule drug compounds that might warrant further study. Dr. Colleen Jonsson of the UT Health Science Center in Memphis directs one of the few labs permitted to perform live virus tests and is testing the efficacy of drugs from the ORNL list on the novel coronavirus.



ORNL researchers are also employing artificial intelligence techniques to study the systems biology and molecular mechanisms of the coronavirus; deliver “self-driving” ventilators; model hospital infrastructure; and mine past publications to advance understanding of COVID-19 diagnosis, treatment, epidemiological and management challenges, among other efforts.



“America’s national labs are designed specifically to tackle the world’s most complex scientific challenges, and our continued investments in high-performance computing and cutting-edge data analysis have proven critical in tackling this global pandemic,” said ORNL’s Gina Tourassi, director of the National Center for Computational Sciences.



Neutron scattering. ORNL is providing remote, rapid access to its advanced neutron source facilities, the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux Isotope Reactor, to support research related to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the search for effective diagnostics and therapies, rapid access will be awarded for experiments to address necessary science and technical questions identified by the COVID-19 research community.



“Our Rapid Access program for neutron research at ORNL is designed to expedite outside user experiments related to COVID-19-related research and get them onto our beamlines in a matter of just days,” said Hugh O’Neill, team lead for the bio-labs within the Neutron Sciences Directorate.



Neutron research has the potential to yield vital insights into the structure, dynamics and function of viral proteins and their complexes with RNA and membranes — the components that enable viruses to function and replicate — as well as how they interact with potential antiviral inhibitors, substances that slow down or prevent certain chemical reactions.



O’Neill leads an ORNL team that plans to study SARS-CoV-2 proteins constructed from synthetic DNA. The genes will be inserted into bacteria to produce proteins of the virus, which will be studied using a suite of neutron scattering instruments to gain a better understanding of the structure and function of the disease. Results will inform development of improved methods for mitigating the virus.