NEWS

Vaccine Research Center at NIH Gets a Cornerstone

Calling it a "hopeful moment for vaccine development," President Clinton last month dedicated the cornerstone of a building at the National Institutes of Health that will be devoted solely to vaccine research. The building will house NIH's Vaccine Research Center, established in 1997 in response to Clinton's goal of developing an AIDS vaccine within 10 years.

While the initial focus of the VRC is on AIDS vaccines, it will be involved in fundamental immunology and virology research that is expected to shed light on cancer and other diseases as well. The VRC is jointly funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The newly named director of the VRC, Gary Nabel, Ph.D., M.D., is moving to NIH from the University of Michigan where he has worked on vaccines against cancer and the Ebola virus as well as on gene therapy for AIDS. Nabel will oversee about 100 scientists and support staff when the VRC is fully operational. Construction of the five-story building is scheduled for completion in the middle of next year.



             
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