Over the past few years the Zika virus has become an epidemic that effects areas in the Caribbean, Latin, Central and South America and parts of Africa. The virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito that thrives in urban habitats and anywhere people live. When pregnant women are infected with Zika their babies are more likely to be born with microencephaly, extremely small and underdeveloped brains. At least 4,000 infants have been affected to date. Recently an article in the New Yorker magazine described the search for a vaccine to protect people from infection with Zika. And the news is good! There are at least three vaccines in development that protect mice and monkeys from the virus and human trails are being planned. I was excited to see that a DNA vaccine is working for Zika. I did my first post-doctoral fellowship with Harriet Robinson, one of the early adopters and developers of DNA vaccines, working on vaccines for HIV. Dr. Robinson now has an HIV vaccine in clinical trials.
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About meI'm a professor of science working in the beautiful heart of rural Vermont. Archives
December 2017
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