Attacking the Flu by Hijacking Infected Cells
Thursday, February 16, 2017 - 00:31
in Health & Medicine
They're called TIPs and their task would be to infiltrate and outcompete influenza, HIV, Ebola and other viruses. Soon, Rutgers' Laura Fabris will play a key role in a project aimed at designing TIPs - therapeutic interfering particles to defuse the flu. For the first time in virology, Fabris and her team will use imaging tools with gold nanoparticles to monitor mutations in the influenza virus, with unprecedented sensitivity, when it enters cells. Fabris will soon receive a $820,000 grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It's part of a four-year, $5.2 million INTERfering and Co-Evolving Prevention and Therapy (INTERCEPT) program.