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An important UVA Health discovery about COVID-19 has made it to the Sweet 16 of STAT Madness, a fun online tournament to crown 2024’s biggest scientific advance.

In a hard-fought contest in the Round of 32, UVA’s discovery — revealing how malfunctioning immune cells can fuel harmful lung inflammation long after a COVID-19 infection — ousted an admittedly very cool effort from MIT, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Novo Nordisk to develop a new drug-delivery method inspired by how squids shoot ink.

In another face-off, a surprising finding from UVA Health Children’s that many children with recurrent wheezing have undetected lung infections — radically changing how they should be treated — narrowly fell to Boston Medical Center’s work to prevent parents of newborns from being referred to child protective services for properly prescribed opioid use.

UVA Health Children’s held a comfortable lead in the online vote at points during that matchup, but Boston surged near the end. That speaks to the importance of voting daily — when squeakers come down to the wire, individual votes really can make all the difference. Keep voting for UVA.

The prominent health news site STAT sponsors STAT Madness annually to highlight each year’s most exciting and influential medical research. It’s the scientific equivalent of the NCAA basketball tournament, but it’s up to the public to determine the winner.

Voting is already under way in the Sweet 16 of STAT Madness. The championship round concludes April 6.