Duke University Human Vaccine Institute
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The Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) is within Duke University and conducts vaccine research and manufacturing. [1]
Diseases and Research The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases classifies emerging diseases as, “Infectious diseases that have newly appeared in a population or have existed but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range, or that are caused by one of the category A, B or C priority pathogens.”
Category A pathogens are those organisms/biological agents that pose the highest risk to national security and public health. Category B pathogens are the second highest priority organisms/biological agents. Finally, Category C pathogens are the third highest priority and include emerging pathogens that could be engineered for mass dissemination in the future because of availability, ease of production and dissemination or because of the potential for high morbidity and mortality rates and major health impact. The NIAID priority pathogen list is periodically reviewed and is subject to revision in conjunction with federal partners.[2]
The Duke Human Vaccine Institute is working on scientific breakthroughs for major infectious diseases that threaten human health. Since its inception, the DHVI’s primary goal has been to develop the enabling technology for vaccines that can induce broadly protective immune responses.
Many global health problems of today’s world are not being solved because they primarily affect developing countries that have few resources. Because of this problem, the DHVI has assembled a team of experts across diverse disciplines, including immunologists, clinicians, engineers, and molecular, computational and structural biologists, who are all working together to eradicate these diseases that kill millions of people every year.
Our internationally known investigators have harnessed the power and opportunity of the team approach, a new paradigm for successful research in an academic setting.
By focusing on the roadblocks for the development of difficult-to-make vaccines desperately needed by society, but not yet available, our investigators are filling a critical niche in the global vaccine research community.[3]