Immunology Researcher Secures Nearly $4 Million NIH Grant to Advance Therapeutic Vaccine to Help End Genital Herpes

“Our goal is to develop a safe and durable therapeutic vaccine that can reduce recurrent disease, limit transmission, and ultimately improve the lives of millions of people worldwide,” Lbachir BenMohamed says. Steve Zylius / UC Irvine

Irvine, Calif., June 16, 2026 — University of California, Irvine immunologist Lbachir BenMohamed has been awarded a $3.93 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop and test a novel therapeutic vaccine designed to prevent recurrent genital herpes, a lifelong viral infection that affects more than 60 million Americans and over 530 million people worldwide.

The five-year R01 NIH award will support research on a next-generation vaccine strategy that could provide long-lasting protection against recurrent outbreaks of herpes simplex virus type 2, the leading cause of genital herpes. The project, titled “A Novel Prime/Pull/Keep Vaccine to Prevent Recurrent Genital Herpes,” builds on years of research conducted by BenMohamed and his collaborators.

“Despite decades of research, people living with recurrent genital herpes still have no therapeutic vaccine option,” said BenMohamed, professor of immunology and director of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology in the UC Irvine School of Medicine. “This award allows us to advance an innovative immune-based strategy that not only boosts protective T cells but directs them to the tissues where the virus hides and reactivates.”

“Our goal is to develop a safe and durable therapeutic vaccine that can reduce recurrent disease, limit transmission, and ultimately improve the lives of millions of people worldwide,” he added.

Unlike traditional vaccine approaches that primarily stimulate antibody responses, the new strategy is designed to strengthen and sustain specialized immune cells known as tissue-resident memory T cells at the sites where HSV-2 establishes lifelong infection. The vaccine’s “Prime/Pull/Keep” approach works by first priming protective immune cells, then directing them to infected tissues, and finally maintaining them there to provide long-term immune surveillance.

Read the full press release at UC Irvine News.