UConn Today – Sandra Weller has devoted most of her career to learning how the ubiquitous herpes simplex virus replicates and infects people. She focused on this common pathogen because of its widespread impact – it infects two-thirds of the world’s population – and because of its painful symptoms, which can range in severity from bothersome to life-threatening.
But in the past year, she has shifted her focus to another member of the herpes virus family, cytomegalovirus, which has a much greater immediate patient need and stronger commercial potential. With support from a drug discovery consortium comprising UConn, UConn Health, and Yale University, Weller is now thinking like an entrepreneur to more quickly advance her scientific discoveries.
