UPR Medical Sciences Campus to partake in infectious disease study focused on treatments, vaccine development

By The Star Staff

The Medical Sciences Campus (RCM by its initials in Spanish) of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) announced on Thursday its participation in a research program with 17 academic institutions in the mainland United States to develop therapeutic interventions against dengue, chikungunya and other infectious diseases.

“The inclusion of the Campus in this program revalidates our position as the leading institution in health research in Puerto Rico,” RCM Chancellor Dr. Myrna Quiñones Feliciano said in a written statement.

The program is the largest funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to develop treatments and vaccines for future epidemic or pandemic events.

Dr. Carlos Sariol, director of the RCM’s Comparative Medicine Unit, leads the UPR’s participation in the project, which includes collaboration with government agencies and pharmaceutical company Moderna in the clinical phase of the treatments.