Why do some people recover quickly from COVID-19, while others continue to experience fatigue, brain fog, and other health issues for months—or even years? That’s the puzzle Dr. Yue Lu is trying to solve.
Dr. Lu, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics at the University of Utah, and a member of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, is leading a new research project funded by a RECOVER Pathobiology Award from the National Institutes of Health. Her focus: whether a reawakened virus in the body, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), might be a hidden driver behind Long COVID.
A Microscopic Messenger with a Big Story to Tell
To study this, Dr. Lu’s team is using an innovative tool: extracellular vesicles (EVs), tiny particles found in our blood that carry signals from cells in our body. By analyzing these particles, her lab hopes to detect which parts of the body are being affected and uncover the biological processes behind lingering symptoms.
“Long COVID is challenging to define due to its highly varied, multi-organ symptoms and subjective diagnosis,” said Dr. Lu. “By deeply characterizing circulating EVs, we aim to identify affected tissues and clarify the underlying molecular events driving the disease.”
Dr. Lu and her team’s long-term goal is to enhance the understanding of Long COVID and related post-infectious syndromes, as well as enable the development of advanced diagnostic tools and precise therapeutic approaches—ultimately improving patient outcomes.
A Multidisciplinary Team, A National Effort
This research brings together scientists and doctors from the University of Utah, Stanford University, and the Institute for Systems Biology. The team includes experts in virus biology, blood-based diagnostics, chronic illness, and patient advocacy, all working together to uncover new clues.
With this support from the NIH’s RECOVER award, the research team will use simple blood tests to search for signs of EBV reactivation in Long COVID patients. If they succeed, this could lead to new ways of detecting and treating the condition early—and possibly help people avoid long-term health issues in the future.
The team is also focused on understanding the exact biological chain of events—how EBV reawakens in the body and what it triggers—so that future treatments can be more targeted and precise.
Dr. Lu’s research could not only improve care for Long COVID patients but also change how we monitor other hard-to-diagnose illnesses.
Toward Earlier Detection and Better Care
“If successful, this research could establish circulating EVs as a powerful new window into disease pathology, transforming healthcare by enabling non-invasive, real-time monitoring of complex diseases,” said Dr. Lu. “This could facilitate earlier and more precise medical interventions, significantly improving patient management and outcomes, and broadly impacting the fields of diagnostics and therapeutic innovation.”
To learn more about this study, please contact Dr. Lu. For more information on the NIH’s RECOVER initiative, click here.
