Vanderbilt UniversityMedicalCenter in Nashville, Tenn., has been made the first scientific hub of the Human Vaccines Project.
The Human Vaccines Project is a new public-private partnership that brings together leading academic research centers, industry, the government and nonprofits to accelerate the development of vaccines and immunotherapies against infectious diseases and cancers by decoding the human immune system. The project is incubated by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, a global nonprofit.
As the scientific hub of the project, VUMC has made a multiyear pledge to dedicate large-scale global efforts to decipher the basic components of the human immune system, to enhance design of next-generation vaccines and immunotherapies.
Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, Vanderbilt University's vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the school of medicine, said the institution is pleased to be the project's flagship scientific partner.
"Vanderbilt's longstanding commitment to vaccine research and development will allow us to make valuable contributions toward accelerating the creation of new vaccines and therapies necessary to fight significant diseases," said Dr. Balser.