Vaccine Research Center
Encyclopedia
The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center, more commonly known as the Vaccine Research Center (VRC), is a department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health
which was established to facilitate research in vaccine development. The VRC is dedicated to improving global human health through the rigorous pursuit of effective vaccines for human diseases.
, and his wife Betty Flanagan Bumpers, who are known for their campaigning for immunization of children. The Center was opened under the Presidency of Bill Clinton
, himself a former Arkansas Governor.
In 1999 Dr Gary Nabel was named first director of the Center by Health Secretary Donna E. Shalala
.
He remains in that post at the time of writing (2009).
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, will be featured in the journal Science.
The Vaccine Research Center has multiple Research Laboratories and Research Sections:
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
which was established to facilitate research in vaccine development. The VRC is dedicated to improving global human health through the rigorous pursuit of effective vaccines for human diseases.
History
The VRC is named after former Governor of Arkansas, Dale BumpersDale Bumpers
Dale Leon Bumpers is an American politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975; and then in the United States Senate from 1975 until his retirement in January 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Senator Bumpers is currently counsel at the Washington, D.C...
, and his wife Betty Flanagan Bumpers, who are known for their campaigning for immunization of children. The Center was opened under the Presidency of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, himself a former Arkansas Governor.
In 1999 Dr Gary Nabel was named first director of the Center by Health Secretary Donna E. Shalala
Donna Shalala
Donna Edna Shalala served for eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton and has been president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2001. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest...
.
He remains in that post at the time of writing (2009).
Projects
In July of 2010, a collaboration between the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health , an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services...
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, will be featured in the journal Science.
The Vaccine Research Center has multiple Research Laboratories and Research Sections:
- Virology Laboratory
- Vector Core Section
- BSL-3 Core Virology Section
- Structural Biology Section
- Structural Virology Section
- Immunology Laboratory
- Immunology Core Section
- Human Immunology Section
- ImmunoTechnology Section
- Non-Human Primate Immunogenicity Core Section
- Flow Cytometry Core Section
- Cellular Immunology Section
- Biodefense Research Section
- Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory
- Biodefense Vaccine Translational Research and Licensure Program/Laboratory Animal Medicine
- Vaccine Production Program Laboratory
- Clinical Trials Core Laboratory