I want to find a cure for herpes. What should I major in?

[Linds64]

I want to find a cure for the herpes virus. How would I go about getting the education and qualifications needed?

 

[Evo]

I want to find a cure for the herpes virus. How would I go about getting the education and qualifications needed?

Good news in the world of virology.

For the first time, there is a vaccine to treat Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2), commonly known as genital herpes. HSV-2 is an infection that infects 500 million people worldwide, and http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/sti-estimates-fact-sheet-feb-2013.pdf in the United States, second in prevalence only to HPV among sexually transmitted viruses in the U.S. (The far more common herpes, which causes cold sores, is HSV-1.)

The vaccine, which is called GEN-003 is currently in Phase II trials, where it is doing rather well.

http://acsh.org/news/2016/03/10/a-vaccine-for-herpes-erupts-in-the-news/

First you should be up to date on what is happening in the field.

 

[BillTre]

You could get a medical education, become a doctor (MD or an MD/PhD) and do research to find a cure.
Or you could take a more research oriented path and figure out how to cure it without the hassle of becoming an MD. This however would probably rule out direct involvement in clinical processes.

In either case, you would want to get a good understanding of molecular biology and cell biology, but you can get that from via a variety of majors.
Lots of chemistry and physics to get there of course.

Besides vaccines, there are other potential ways to attack viruses, such as HIV drugs or Crispr/Cas9 (although its not worked out yet):
http://www.nature.com/news/hiv-overcomes-https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/dont-fear-crispr-new-gene-editing-technologies-wont-lead-designer-babies/-gene-editing-attack-1.19712

 

[Linds64]

http://acsh.org/news/2016/03/10/a-vaccine-for-herpes-erupts-in-the-news/

First you should be up to date on what is happening in the field.

Thanks, that was interesting. I am curious as to why they are only making the vaccine for one type though. Why not just make it for both?