Konstance K. Knox (born October 14, 1955) is an American virologist and entrepreneur who founded Viracor, the Wisconsin Viral Research Group (WVRG) and Viracor's Institute for Viral Pathogenesis (IVP). In 2000, Viracor became the first biotechnology company in the United States to correlate multiple sclerosis with human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6). Biography Born and raised in Wisconsin, Knox received her bachelor's degree in medical laboratory sciences from Marquette University and was board certified by the American Society for Clinical Pathology in 1977. After receiving a master's degree in business management in 1990, Knox entered the Medical College of Wisconsin's graduate pathology program as a doctoral student in 1992, where she investigated the pathogenetic interactions between HIV and HHV-6 as her doctoral dissertation research project under Donald Carrigan with whom she collaborated on various publications during the period. She received her PhD in 1994. Founding Viracor In 1996 Knox and Carrigan founded the Wisconsin Viral Research Group (WVRG), located in the Milwaukee County Research Park. In 2000 they incorporated Viracor as a spinoff of WVRG and hired Phillip Short as the founding CEO to manage business aspect of Viracor in exchange of a minority stake, according to Milwaukee County records. Viracor grew revenues to more than $25 million per year by 2008 with more than 100 employees. In summer of 2009 Viracor was acquired by IBT Labs for US$44 Million in cash and a further unspecified amount of stock. By 2014, Viracor-IBT Laboratories was valued at US$255 Million, when it was acquired by Eurofins Scientific Group. As Viracor expanded Knox focused on WVRG and expanded research outside United States. Through WVRG, Knox collaborates with various research and philanthropic organizations to offer free research grants and develop research institutes. Knox also runs the not-for-profit Institute for Viral Pathogenesis (IVP), which has successfully obtained research grants from major funding organizations for virological studies in patients with multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome. Recognition Knox was named fifth of the 50 most innovative AIDS researchers in the United States in 1996 by POZ magazine in its "Survey of the American Scientific Landscape". In their recognition, survey authors Bob Lederer and Patrick Pacheco said Knox calls HHV-6 variant A "a big, dumb brute destroyer of tissue," which she and Carrigan had in their crosshairs. The National CFIDS Foundation (NCF) awarded its largest research grant to Knox, for “The Potential Role of New Infectious Agents in Chronic