Dr. Cox investigates how the body responds to infection with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), the major cause of liver cancer in the United States.  HCV is different from many other viruses in that the human immune system does not effectively battle the infection, which leads to chronic liver conditions including hepatitis and cancer.  Her research is focused on understanding why the immune system fails to clear the HCV infection.  She is involved in several clinical trials to develop a HCV vaccine, which, if successful, has the potential to significantly impact society.

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Project Title: "Analysis and manipulation of cross reactive immune responses to partial escape mutations in chronic Hepatitis C virus infection"

Institution: The Johns Hopkins University

Sponsor(s) / Mentor(s): Drew M. Pardoll, MD, PhD

Cancer Type: Liver

Research Area: Vaccine Therapy