IU & IU Health Join Forces in COVID-19 Fight

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Research efforts are underway at Indiana University and IU Health to find ways to detect, treat, manage and eradicate the virus that causes COVID-19. The IU School of Medicine is working in conjunction with IU Health and Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis to conduct clinical trials of possible anti-viral medications and treatments to help those who contract the coronavirus. Meanwhile, both institutions continue work to keep students, employees, and patients as safe as the economy reopens.

IU Health Chief Executive Officer Dennis Murphy says he believes the collaboration can lead to future positive outcomes on other challenges, such as infant mortality.

“I think we’ve seen the benefit of what working together collaboratively and bringing lots of talent sets to the table to work on a very focal, important program can do for us in a very short period of time,” said Murphy. “If you think about what we’ve been able to accomplish in 60 days on this topic, bringing that same effort to those really vexing public health issues in the state, I think that’s our opportunity as we go forward and get this under control.”

IU President Michael McRobbie says the whole process has shown that it is “vital” to invest in public health.

Meanwhile, McRobbie says he expects to see some students back on campus this fall, but the number of students and the conditions under which they are allowed remains in question. 

“I think it’s too early to know the answers to those questions at the moment. There’s an enormous amount happening out there. We have to be concerned about a recurrence of COVID-19 in the fall as the CDC director just talked about a few days ago and I think what we’ll be working on over the next few months is exactly what that model will be.”

McRobbie says they will take a phased approach to restart the university. He adds at the moment, the university is looking at how it can get its research enterprise fully functioning again.