A researcher at New Orleans-based Tulane University received over $12M in grants from the National Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine to combat Lassa fever, a deadly disease epidemic in West Africa, according to News Medical.
The grant was awarded to researcher Robert Garry, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology, for two projects related to Lassa fever. Dr. Garry received $5.72 million to study an antibody drug and $6.32 million to develop a vaccine.
"These two projects complement each other. In West Africa, we need a drug to treat acutely infected patients as well as a preventative measure to stop it," Dr. Garry told News Medical. "Vaccine initiatives in rural Africa are difficult so you are never going to be able to vaccinate everyone. You need to be able to treat people when they get sick."