Keith R. Jerome

Dr. Keith R. Jerome holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Georgetown College, and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Duke University, where his thesis focused on T cell antigens expressed by breast tumors. He did residency and fellowship training at the University of Washington. Dr. Jerome's research focuses on chronic and latent viruses, their immune evasion mechanisms, and potential curative therapeutic approaches to these infections. His most recent work involves the use of DNA editing enzymes such as homing endonucleases and zinc finger nucleases to specifically target latent viral DNA for cleavage and inactivation. This approach may allow precise elimination of functional viral DNA from infected cell reservoirs, offering the prospect of cure for HIV, hepatitis B, herpes simplex, and human papillomavirus infections.