September 23, 2014

Seattle Times Article Quotes UW Researchers Seeking an Ebola Cure

Seattle Times Article on the search for the cure for Ebola: “Seattle scientists working on an Ebola cure say the growing outbreak in West Africa lends urgency to their mission.

“To see how fast it’s spreading is incredible,” said University of Washington immunologist Michael Gale Jr. “It shows how dire the need is for antiviral therapy.”

Gale and colleagues at Kineta, a Seattle biotech company, have identified compounds that stop the spread of Ebola and other viruses in laboratory experiments on human cells.

Another local lab, headed by UW microbiologist Michael Katze, is using genetic analysis to understand how some individuals survive the deadly infection and to screen existing drugs for Ebola-fighting ability.

Katze and his team have also helped analyze the body’s response to an experimental Ebola vaccine that proved highly effective in monkeys.”

Read the full article in the Seattle Times.