The NIAID funded Consortia for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVD) was awarded to the Duke Human Vaccine Institute to undertake the immunologic research that will tackle the major scientific obstacles in the development of an effective HIV-1 vaccine. The Duke CHAVD, led by Barton Haynes, M.D . , will build on the progress that was made by the previous CHAVI and CHAVI-ID consortium. The Duke CHAVD will coordinate a multidisciplinary team of researchers focused on iterative approaches to accelerate HIV vaccine development by addressing key immunogen design roadblocks to the discovery and development of a safe and effective antibody-mediated preventive HIV vaccine candidate. Read press release here .

The Duke Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs) is an NIH sponsored multi-contract awarded to the Duke Human Vaccine Institute in an effort to develop a longer-lasting, more broadly protective vaccine to replace seasonal flu shots. CIVICs is made up of three components: Vaccine Center (Component A), led by Tony Moody, M.D. , will focus on basic immunology and virology research to identify potential influenza vaccine candidates; Manufacturing and Toxicology Core (Component B), led by Matthew Johnson, Ph.D . , will develop and manufacture cGMP candidate influenza vaccines for Phase I clinical trials with vaccine candidates coming from the Duke Vaccine Center, as well as other vaccine centers; and the Clinical Trials Core (Component C), led by Chip Walter, M.D., M.P.H , will test the vaccine candidates designed by Component A and produced by Component B in clinical trials. Read press release here .

The NIAID/NIH funded contract, Virology Quality Assurance Program (VQA) , was awarded to Thomas Denny, MSc, M.Phil , to provide quality assurance and proficiency testing for virologic-based assays primarily for HIV, and other viral pathogens. The VQA program will promote effective assay procedures and increase data integrity within clinical studies. Additionally, the program will work to ensure the validity and comparability of data obtained across sites by providing laboratories with proficiency testing and assay run controls. Read press release here .

The Duke Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) , led by Greg Sempowski, Ph.D, joined a multi-disciplinary team on a 10 year contract, entitled “Development and Utilization of a Monoclonal Antibody Platform Prototype for Development of Monoclonal Antibodies as Medical Countermeasures Against Threats of Interest.” This contract was awarded to Ology Bioservices, Inc, by the Platforms for Rapid Integrated Solutions for Medical Countermeasures (PRISM) office within the US Department of Defense. The program will target Plague and will focus on producing high quality monoclonal antibodies that will protect individuals who may be exposed to this deadly agent. DHVI faculty member Dr. Mattia Bonsignori will also be involved in this effort.  Read press release here .

Sallie Permar, M.D., Ph.D. , received an NIAID P01 on congenital CMV, entitled,"Immunologic and Virologic Determinants of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Transmission and Disease in Rhesus Monkeys". This five year program will bring together the three national primate centers (University of California, Davis, Tulane, and Oregon Health Sciences University), with Duke as the central hub. The program will work to establish what vaccine targets are most critical for protection against congenital CMV transmission and disease and end the stalemate in congenital CMV vaccine research by defining the key immune responses and viral-host interactions that dictate primary fetal CMV transmission and disease. Read announcement here .

Munir Alam, Ph.D. received a HIVRAD P01, titled, "Immunogen Design for Induction of HIV distal gp41 broadly neutralizing antibodies" to design immunogens that can initiate and induce neutralizing antibodies targeting the HIV-1 Envelope membrane proximal external region (MPER). Dr. Munir and team will work in collaboration with Scripps Institute and Harvard University to combine structure and lineage based vaccine development strategies to design immunogens that will initiate and select potent distal MPER broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAb) B cell lineages that are not polyreactive and therefore easier to induce. Together their expertise will be a powerful approach to the problem of vaccine induction of disfavored antibody lineages in general and distal MPER bnAbs in particular. Read announcement here .

Having a Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) facility as part of the DHVI makes us one of the most globally advanced vaccine Institutes in the country. It positions the DHVI teams to speed translational efforts moving research discoveries to impactful clinical trials, while having an infrastructure to respond to emerging public health threats.