Dr. Ken Ng, professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at University of Calgary, is working with colleague Dr. Chang-Chun Ling to develop therapeutics for COVID-19.
With his structural biology background, Ng and his lab are studying the polymerase of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID19. This essential enzyme copies the genetic material of the virus and is crucial to the creation of new viruses. The goal is to design new drugs that will inhibit the polymerase which will prevent the virus from making new viruses and stop the infection in its tracks.
With the help of the #CMCF beamline at the CLS, Ng hopes to gather detailed data about the enzyme that will help design the best drugs to beat back COVID-19.