New Jersey Health Foundation Awards $50,000 Innovation Grant To Princeton University Researcher Advancing Hepatitis Treatments

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New Jersey Health Foundation (NJHF) has awarded a $50,000 Innovation Grant to Alexander Ploss, Ph.D, assistant professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, announced James M. Golubieski, president of NJHF.

Dr. Ploss is addressing the urgent need of finding better treatments to combat hepatitis B and E viruses.  He will use the funding to investigate novel compounds that inhibit hepatitis B and E virus infections.

"If successful, this research could further our understanding of the biology of hepatitis B and E viruses and lead to more advanced treatments for those suffering from these devastating diseases," explained George F. Heinrich, M.D., vice chair and CEO of New Jersey Health Foundation.

Dr. Ploss's research focuses on deciphering the molecular mechanisms of acute and chronic hepatitis virus infections which affect hundreds of millions of people world-wide.

"Infections with hepatitis B virus can be suppressed but remain largely incurable. Hepatitis E virus can result in severe, frequently fatal complications in pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals," he noted.

Through this New Jersey Health Foundation program, Innovation Grants of up to $50,000 each are available to full-time faculty and personnel at major research universities in New Jersey — Kessler Institute, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Rowan University and Stevens Institute of Technology.

For more information contact Mike Wiley, vice president of Foundation Venture Capital Group, an affiliate of NJHF, at (908) 731-6612 or [email protected]. 

About New Jersey Health Foundation
New Jersey Health Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports health-related research and education programs in New Jersey through its Grants Program and its affiliate, Foundation Venture Capital Group which makes private equity investments in health-related start- up companies in New Jersey headed toward commercialization.

SOURCE New Jersey Health Foundation

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http://www.njhf.org/