After the Fact From Lab to Life: What AI Tells Us About 'Long Covid'
Jul 17, 2026
Kayla Sa, a Brazilian-born immunologist turned neuroscience researcher and Pew Latin American Fellow, studies persistent post-COVID symptoms and autoimmunity. She talks about using AI to map diverse symptom patterns, grouping patients into subtypes, and how antibody-driven mechanisms could point to targeted treatments. She also discusses returning to Brazil to build accessible, patient-focused science.
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From Amazon Childhood To Translational Virus Research
- Kayla Sa grew up in Cametá, Pará, Brazil and was motivated to study viruses by seeing dengue, Zika, and other infections harm her community.
- Her firsthand exposure to outbreaks and affected babies during undergrad pushed her into translational research to help patients directly.
Pandemic Pivot Changed Her Entire Research Path
- Kayla shifted mid-PhD from leishmania research to SARS-CoV when the COVID-19 pandemic began, altering her career trajectory.
- She transitioned fields again from immunology toward neuroscience to study long COVID's neurological symptoms.
Clinical Follow-Up Revealed Long COVID Pattern
- While following severely ill COVID patients, Kayla observed some worsened long after clearing infection, signaling a distinct post-acute condition.
- Those longitudinal clinical observations were an early, direct clue that long COVID existed before the term was widely used.