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Jerome
Keith Jerome, MD, PhD
- Professor, Infectious Disease Sciences Program, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutch
- Member, Pathogen-Associated Malignancies Integrated Research Center (PAM IRC)
- Head, Virology Division, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington
- Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington
- Director, Molecular Virology Laboratory, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington
- Larry Corey Endowed Professor in Virology, University of Washington
Background
Dr. Keith Jerome is a renowned virologist whose research focuses on viruses such as herpes simplex, HIV and hepatitis B that persist in their hosts. He studies the ways in which these viruses evade the immune system and potential therapies for these infections. Dr. Jerome and his colleagues are studying the uses of precision gene-editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9 to remove damaging viral genes that have tucked themselves into a person’s genetic code or to insert genes that can protect cells from invading viruses. He and his colleagues are exploring this approach in combination with blood stem cell transplants as a means of curing HIV. Dr. Jerome also studies the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. He and his University of Washington colleagues developed a diagnostic test for infection with the coronavirus that expanded local testing capacity, and his Fred Hutch laboratory worked to validate and deliver COVID-19 tests that could diagnose infection within minutes.
Education
MD, Duke University, 1993
PhD, Immunology, Duke University, 1992
BS, Chemistry, Georgetown College, 1985
Current Projects
Novel proteins (CRISPR/Cas9 and meganucleases) as potential treatments for HIV, hepatitis B, and herpes simplex infections
Diagnostics for viruses posing the greatest threat to human health
In vivo delivery of gene therapy for HIV and other persistent viral infections
Hepatitis B Research Network Central Lab