Vaccine Research Center
Division of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Vaccine Research Center (VRC), is an intramural division of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The mission of the VRC is to discover and develop both vaccines and antibody-based products that target infectious diseases.[1]
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1997 |
Agency executive | |
Parent department | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases |
Parent agency | National Institutes of Health |
| Website | www |
The broad research portfolio of the VRC includes basic, clinical, and translational[clarification needed] research into vaccines for HIV, Ebola, Marburg, and RSV, among other viruses,[2] and therapeutic antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for COVID-19) and other pathogens.[3]
History
The origins of the Vaccine Research Center date back to 1996 following discussions between President Bill Clinton and NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci regarding research addressing HIV/AIDS. Recognizing the potential impact a vaccine could make in decreasing the global public health burden of HIV, President Clinton in 1997 announced a plan to establish an HIV vaccine research center on the NIH campus.[4] The dedication ceremony for the VRC took place in 1999 with President Clinton delivering the opening remarks.[5]
Named in honor of immunization advocates former Governor of Arkansas Dale Bumpers and his wife Betty Flanagan Bumpers, the Vaccine Research Center opened its doors as Building 40 on the NIH campus in 2000.[6] The founding investigators leading the new center came from a range of scientific disciplines including virology, immunology, structural biology, bioengineering, manufacturing, clinical research and regulatory science. While HIV vaccine research and development remains a core focus, the scope of activities has expanded to include advancing scientific understanding and developing biologics for a broad array of infectious pathogens.
Leadership
Director
| No. | Portrait | Director | Took office | Left office | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary J. Nabel | April 11, 1999 | November 2012 | [7][8][9][10] | |
| acting | |
John R. Mascola | November 2012 | October 17, 2013 | |
| 2 | October 17, 2013 | March 31, 2022 | [11][12][13] | ||
| acting | Richard A. Koup | April 1, 2023 | April 2023 | ||
| 3 | Ted C. Pierson | April 2023 | Present | [14] | |
Deputy Director
| No. | Portrait | Deputy Director | Took office | Left office | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
John R. Mascola | September 2000 | 2013 | [15] |
| 2 | Richard Koup | January 2014 | Present | [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] | |
| 3 |  |
Barney S. Graham | January 2014 | October 2021 | [27][16][17][18][20] |
| 4 |  |
Julie E. Ledgerwood | November 2019 | April 2022 | [18][19][20][21][22] |
| acting | Karin Bok | September 2022 | September 2023 | [23][24][25][26] | |
Organization
The VRC is composed of an Office of the Director, basic research laboratories and major programs.
Office of the Director:
- Management and Operations
- Scientific Partnerships and Collaborations
- Strategic Planning
Laboratories:
- Immunology Laboratory[28]
- Cellular Immunology Section
- Flow Cytometry Core
- The Genome Analysis Core
- Human Immunology Section
- Immunology Section
- ImmunoTechnology Section
- Integrative Bioinformatics of Immune Systems Core
- Nonhuman Primate Immunogenicity Core
- Pandemic Response Repository through Microbial and Immune Surveillance and Epidemiology (PREMISE)
- Tissue Analysis Core
- Virus Persistence and Dynamics Section
- Virology Laboratory[29]
- Humoral Immunology Core
- Humoral Immunology Section
- Structural Bioinformatics Core
- Structural Biology Section
- Virology Core
- Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory[30]
- Biodefense Research Section
- Molecular ImmunoEngineering Section
- Translational Science Core
- Yeast Engineering Technology and Immunobiology Core
Programs:
Research Areas
To advance scientific understanding of infectious pathogens and develop investigational biologics, the VRC maintains programs in the following:
Key scientific areas[30][29][28]:
- Disease acquisition and viral pathogenesis
- Infection and vaccine-induced immune responses
- Structure-based vaccine design
- Structural basis for antibody-mediated virus neutralization
- Vaccine antigens, antibody platforms, and routes of delivery
Primary disease-specific programs:
- Alphaviruses (Chikungunya, Western/Eastern/Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis)
- Coronaviruses (SARS, MERS, SARS-CoV-2)
- Enterovirus D68
- Filoviruses (Ebola and Marburg)
- HIV/AIDS
- Influenza
- Malaria
- Nipah Virus
- Paramyxoviruses (Parainfluenza Virus and Human Metapneumovirus)
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus
- Tuberculosis
- Zika Virus
Projects
HIV
In July 2010, a collaboration between the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and officials at the Vaccine Research Center found that two human HIV antibodies, named VRC01 and VRC03, could potentially be used against a wide range of types and mutations of HIV in the design of a preventive HIV vaccine for human use, as well as in the formation of better antiretroviral therapy drug cocktails. The discovery, a potentially landmark one in the drive to find a vaccine for AIDS should it be validated and further improved.
Ebola
In 2016 research efforts led by Nancy Sullivan at Vaccine Research Center and J. J. Muyembe-Tamfum from the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale (INRB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo resulted in the discovery of a monoclonal antibody, mAb114, from a survivor from the 1995 Kikwit outbreak of Ebola virus disease.[34][35] mAb114 is a monoclonal antibody therapy that is being evaluated as a treatment for Ebola virus disease and has shown great success by lowering the mortality rate from 70% to about 34% in the 2018-2020 Kivu Ebola Virus Outbreak. In August 2019, Congolese health authorities, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health promoted the use of mAb114, alongside a similar Regeneron-produced treatment, over other treatments yielding higher mortality rates, after ending clinical trials during the outbreak.[36][37]
Image Gallery
President George W. Bush visits the Vaccine Research Center
President Barack Obama visits the Vaccine Research Center
President Donald Trump visits the Vaccine Research Center
President Joseph Biden visits the Vaccine Research Center
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