Pepsi could help a UF professor cure herpes.
David C. Bloom, a professor in the department of molecular genetics and microbiology, is competing in the Pepsi Refresh Project for a $50,000 grant to fund a treatment for herpes.
Bloom and his research team invented a new ribozyme therapy that could be used to treat herpes infections that are resistant to conventional drug treatments. The ribozyme, a molecule in genetic material, is intended to make the virus lose its ability to infect and be transmitted to others.
About 1 million new cases of herpes occur annually, according to Bloom's page on the Pepsi Refresh Project's website.
If Bloom gets the grant and his experiments succeed, he would be able to stop the recurrence of herpes and fund human clinical trials for the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1).
"Our project is at a critical phase right now," Bloom said. "We have exciting data that shows our therapy can block the HSV infection in vivo, but we need additional data on the ability of this treatment to block recurrent disease."
The grant could help Bloom complete his studies. If the experiments are successful, Bloom and his team will be able to apply for more funding from the National Institutes of Health to begin human clinical trials.
"We are trying to get as many people to vote for this project each day as possible," Bloom said.
Bloom's team is currently ranked as No. 25 on the project's website. He will win the $50,000 prize if he's voted into the project's top 10.
Voting will end June 30.
Voters can register and vote for Bloom's grant at refresheverything.com/herpestreatment.
