Watch Wistar Research Stories

The Wistar Institute is known worldwide for its accomplishments in vaccine development and cancer research – and behind every medical advance is a compelling story. Here are a few of those stories.

A New Vaccine Against Rotavirus

In 2006, a new vaccine became available to protect children against rotavirus, a virus responsible for tens of thousands of hospitalizations in the United States and hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world each year. Between 1980 and 1991, three scientists at The Wistar Institute and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – Paul A. Offit, M.D., H. Fred Clark, D.V.M., Ph.D., and Stanley A. Plotkin, M.D. – conducted the research that led to the new vaccine.

>> Click here for video. (4.13 MB, 2:45 Minutes)

Early Warning for Lung Cancer

Two researchers at The Wistar Institute are working to develop an early detection blood test for lung cancer. The need for such a test is great – lung cancer kills more Americans by far than any other form of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. David W. Speicher, Ph.D., and Louise C. Showe, Ph.D. are using advanced new technologies to find proteins and genes in the blood than indicate the presence of early
lung cancer.

>> Click here for video. (4.68 MB, 2:29 Minutes)

Searching for a Melanoma Cure

After meeting melanoma patient Noreen O’Neill, longtime melanoma researcher Meenhard Herlyn, D.V.M., rededicated himself to finding a cure for this deadliest of skin cancers. Today, he’s optimistic that a cure can be found soon, perhaps within the next five years. Before her death, Noreen O’Neill created the Foundation for Melanoma Research. Now headed by her sister Kate, the foundation is an important supporter of Herlyn’s research.

>> Click here for video. (5.64 MB, 3:30 Minutes)

The Wistar Institute: Today’s Discoveries – Tomorrow’s Cures

The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research, with special expertise in cancer research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the country, Wistar has long held the prestigious Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute. Discoveries at Wistar have led to the creation of the rubella vaccine that eradicated the disease in the U.S., rabies vaccines used worldwide, and a new rotavirus vaccine approved in 2006. This overview of Wistar research accomplishments, narrated by former coach Dick Vermeil, includes stories about the creation of the new rotavirus vaccine, development of an early detection blood test for lung cancer, the search for a cure for melanoma, and a project to produce a new influenza vaccine that would protect against most strains of the flu, including avian flu, and would work better in the elderly than current vaccines.

>> Click here for video. (16.8 MB, 10.25 Minutes)