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Penn Immunologist to Co-Direct $12 Million Grant to Study Hepatitis

John Wherry, PhD, an associate professor of microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) are co-directing a $12 million grant to study immune responses in people who have been effectively cured of hepatitis C viral infection with new, high-potency antiviral drugs. This grant is part of the Cooperative Centers for Human Immunology program, administered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Hepatitis C Infection Supports Organ Acceptance, Scientists Discover

Chronic hepatitis C virus infections are among the most common reasons for liver transplants. Because existing viruses also infect the new liver, the immune system is highly active there. Despite this, the new organ is not rejected, as scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München (TUM) have now discovered. The long-term stimulation of the innate immune system by the virus actually increases the probability of tolerance.

Success Story: No 'Bed' Bugs

Clostridium difficile infection (C. difficile) is the most significant cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea. Data from the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) reports, 14,000 Americans die every year from diarrhea causing C. difficile (2012). The organism is responsible for greater than 337,000 hospitalizations yearly and at least $1 billion in extra cost for healthcare.  According to Burnett, et al. (2013), there have been significant epidemiology changes over the past decade related to C. difficile contamination.