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本帖最后由 StephenW 于 2016-9-16 16:21 编辑
MU professor granted $3 million for Hepatitis B drug research
COLUMBIA — An MU professor and researcher received $3 million Thursday to study Hepatitis B and to ultimately develop more effective treatments for the virus.
The money was awarded by the National Institutes of Health to fund the research over a five-year period.
Stefan Sarafianos, who teaches molecular microbiology and immunology, will lead the research. Sarafianos studies antivirals and viral replication and entry.
The goal of the Hepatitis B research will be to be create drugs that target the virus throughout its different life cycles, Sarafianos said. This would occur by destabilizing the protein shell around the virus' DNA. The treatment might help eradicate the virus, according to an MU news release.
Hepatitis B is a viral liver infection that, in the United States, is responsible for 1,800 deaths per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis B can be contracted through body fluids, including sharing needles and childbirth. It can also be transmitted sexually.
Throughout the project, Sarafianos will work with the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, which will receive a portion of the funding. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh will also help as consultants.
"We are very excited at the prospect of developing a drug that could lead to help the efforts towards eradication," Sarafianos said.
Supervising editor is Allison Colburn.
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