Samuel Edward Weinberg, MD, PhD

Research Project:
Defining Immunologic Targets of Metformin Protection in Viral Pneumonia

Grant Awarded:

Emerging Respiratory Pathogen Award

Research Topics:

basic biologic mechanisms
combination therapies experimental therapeutics
immunology immunotherapy

Research Diseases:

ARDS
influenza
pneumonia
pulmonary fibrosis
respiratory viruses

Viral pneumonia causes hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. Currently available antiviral therapies have numerous flaws that limit their clinical usefulness. We thus far have largely failed to develop new types of therapies that reduce the harmful immune responses that damage lung tissue. Importantly, metformin, a widely prescribed diabetes medication, reduces the severity of COVID-19 and influenza infections, but how it works remains unclear. Using a genetic trick in mice, we have demonstrated that metformin specifically works by inhibiting mitochondrial activity in immune cells. Our research will now identify which immune cell type drives this protection and determine how metformin limits lung inflammation and damage. Understanding these mechanisms will enable doctors to improve metformin-based treatments and guide the development of more effective therapies to reduce viral pneumonia severity.\

Supported by the Mary Fuller Russell Research Fund

Page last updated: September 28, 2026

Samuel Edward Weinberg, MD, PhD

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