COVID-19 Scientific Taskforce

The University of Southern California and Children's Hospital Los Angeles are committed to finding solutions for and accelerating research efforts to combat the novel coronavirus. Top researchers and experts in fields such as medicine, public health, epidemiology, engineering, and public policy convene regularly to plan and implement COVID-19 related research projects to benefit our Los Angeles community and the world. SC Clinical and Translational Science Institute leads the charge on these initiatives by providing essential biostatistics and study design resources, regulatory support, budget development assistance, referrals to grant funding, participant recruitment assistance, and study personnel.

To read more about the current research relating to COVID-19 happening at USC, click here.

COVID-19 Research at USC

To view current research projects, share your project, view resources, and/or identify collaborators, visit the COVID-19 Research Database here.

Approval of research involving COVID-19 biospecimens or access to patients with or at risk for COVID-19
To respond to the volume of research need for COVID-19, SC CTSI is working with the USC Biomedical IRB to assist USC investigators proposing human subjects research related to COVID-19.

Effective immediately, investigators requesting COVID-19 biospecimens or access to patients with or at risk for COVID-19 must submit their requests through this portal before submission to the IRB. The proposals will be evaluated by the COVID research prioritization committee. The research prioritization committee will evaluate the proposals based on scientific merit, benefit to patients, operational feasibility, competing studies, and availability of funding. Those proposals receiving a sufficiently high priority score will then be permitted to submit an IRB application.

Only official requests submitted through this portal and receiving a sufficiently high priority score will be considered by the USC Biomedical IRB. 


  • USC Announcements: Official messages and status updates from the University of Southern California.
  • KSOM Intranet: Staff, faculty, students and other personnel may access the KSOM Intranet using their med credentials. The KSOM intranet will serve as a central location for all up-to-date KSOM COVID-19 information. Click on the COVID-19 Updates tile on the main landing page of the intranet for a repository of the latest KSOM and University communications.
  • KSOM Research-Related Memos: Dean Laura Mosqueda sends out instructions for all USC faculty, staff and students involved in clinical and laboratory research in light of COVID-19.
  • USC Office of Research: Pertinent research-related updates posted by the USC Office of Research, as well as information about COVID-19 research at USC.
  • Keck Medicine of USC: The hospital system at USC offers a robust COVID-19 preparedness plan which caters to community needs in collaboration with our local health agencies.
  • Employee Gateway: An essential website for USC staff. The Gateway provides answers to questions regarding health and wellness, travel, working from home, child care, and much more.
  • Get your Household Ready: The CDC offers several recommendations for creating a household plan that can help protect your health and the health of those you care about in the event of an outbreak of COVID-19 in your community.
  • What to do if you are Sick: If you feel you have been exposed to the virus, the CDC provides guidance for how to seek medical care related to COVID-19. 
  • FAQs from the FDA: The FDA provides helpful information to prepare you for COVID-19.
  • Talking to Children about COVID-19: The CDC provides advice on how to talk to the children in your household about COVID-19.
  • This comic from NPR provides information about COVID-19 targeted to children.

Have a question, resources to share or updates to this website?

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NIH Funding Acknowledgment: Important - All publications resulting from the utilization of SC CTSI resources are required to credit the SC CTSI grant by including the NIH funding acknowledgment and must comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.