Identifying Lesion-Causing Viral Pathogens

The World Health Organization estimates 3.7 billion people under age 50 (67%) globally have herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection, the main cause of oral herpes, and 491 million people aged 15–49 (13%) worldwide have a herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, the main cause of genital herpes. Although treatable, most HSV infections are often asymptomatic or unrecognized. Moreover, management of HSV infections is complicated by overlapping clinical presentation of unrelated herpesvirus infections, such as varicella-zoster virus (VZV), requiring differential diagnosis. Innovations in molecular diagnostics continue to play a critical role in the diagnosis and management of these diseases. About Our Speaker: Lori Henderson earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bucknell University. She began her career in the laboratory working on drug discovery and then transitioned into commercial roles within the biopharma and diagnostics sectors of the life science industry. Lori has direct experience in multiple disease and therapeutic areas and currently focuses on sexually transmitted diseases and women’s health. Within the molecular business unit at QuidelOrtho, Lori is responsible for identifying and helping drive the development of products to meet clinical and patient needs.