Vaccine Research Center's Key Disease Areas and Research Activities

The Vaccine Research Center's (VRC) mission is to discover and develop novel vaccines and biologics targeting infectious diseases of global public health importance. The primary areas of research include:

Key Disease Areas

Aim: Apply an understanding of HIV virology, immunology, and latency to the development of vaccines and therapeutics against HIV/AIDS.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Design a vaccine that can provide long‐lasting protection against all seasonal strains and pandemic influenza.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Develop monoclonal antibodies to assess antibody‐mediated protection and apply to malaria prevention and elimination.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Develop vaccines and antibodies for the prevention of mosquito‐borne diseases such as Eastern, Western and Venezuelan equine encephalitis and chikungunya viruses.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Explore the structure of flaviviruses, such as Zika, dengue, and West Nile viruses, their interactions with cells, humoral immunity, and approaches towards flavivirus vaccine development.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Build upon VRC research into the RSV F protein, which was used to develop the first effective licensed RSV vaccines.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Explore alternative routes/doses of BCG vaccination to demonstrate protective efficacy & define mechanisms of protection.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Develop vaccines against Nipah virus and improved vaccines against measles and mumps to promote pandemic preparedness.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Develop vaccines and therapeutics against filoviruses, including Ebola, Sudan, and Marburg viruses.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Key Activities

Aim: Develop improved vaccines by exploring new vaccine platforms such as mRNA, nanoparticles, and virus‐like particles (VLPs).

Labs and groups working in these areas:

Aim: Isolate and investigate the structure and function of mAbs to facilitate vaccine research and therapeutic discovery.

Labs and groups working in these areas:

The VRC’s mission is to conduct basic and translational research to discover and develop novel vaccines and biologics targeting infectious diseases of global public health importance. The following programs contribute significantly to our research infrastructure in all areas:

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