Purdue Seeking Zika Research Funding Help

Purdue researchers Richard Kuhn (pictured left) and Michael Rossmann (pictured right) led the team of researchers to determine the Zika virus' structure.

Purdue University has established a crowdfunding campaign to continue its research into the Zika virus. The university announced last week that a team of researchers became the first to determine the structure of the virus, which can lead to development of treatments and vaccines.

The university says the goal of the campaign is to raise $50,000 and call attention to the work being done on the virus. The campaign ends April 28. Those who wish to make a donation can do so online.

"Our research team plans to continue its work to try to pinpoint different regions of the virus as targets for treatment and to develop potential therapeutic responses," said Richard Kuhn, director of the Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

Purdue says Kuhn’s team of researchers plans to conduct further testing to evaluate different parts of the virus as targets for treatment. The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been reported in 33 countries.