Prominent Radio Amateur Helping to Lead US Convalescent Plasma Expanded Access Study

On June 30, 2020, ARRL—the National Association for Amateur Radio—announced:

Well-known contester, DXer, and National Contest Journal (NCJ) Editor Scott Wright, K0MD, has been “substantially” stepping back from ham radio while offering his expertise to the US convalescent plasma COVID-19 Expanded Access Program. The study began in early April under the leadership of Dr. Michael Joyner, MD, of the Mayo Clinic; Dr. Peter Marks, MD, PhD and Dr. Nicole Verdun, MD, of the US Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Arturo Casavedall, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University, and Wright, who is with the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Marks is AB3XC. ¹

“The US Convalescent Plasma Expanded Access Program is a collaborative project between the US government and the Mayo Clinic to provide access to convalescent plasma for patients in the US who are hospitalized with COVID 19,” Wright told ARRL. The work has been referenced during White House press briefings and in congressional testimony. The US government-supported study collects and provides blood plasma recovered from COVID-19 patients, which contains antibodies that may help fight the disease. The Mayo Clinic is the lead institution for the program.

“My role was to organize the infrastructure and the research approach, and to help lead the set-up of the data collection and of the website teams, while overseeing the study conduct and regulatory compliance,” Wright explained. [^1 ]

Read the rest of the ARRL article to learn more about the study, K0MD’s contributions, and his upcoming appearance as keynote speaker at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo August 8–9, 2020.