Improving Global Health

There are many infectious diseases for which no vaccines exist and others for which current vaccines offer limited protection. Extending The Wistar Institute’s history of accomplishment in vaccine development, the Wistar Institute Vaccine Center focuses on creating new or more effective vaccines for some of the most dangerous and widespread diseases in the world, including:

• HIV/AIDS: Wistar researchers are developing a vaccine against HIV, a growing epidemic that has infected some 40 million people worldwide.
  
  
• Influenza: Institute scientists are working to create a universal influenza vaccine that is effective against all strains of the flu, including avian flu, reducing the need for annual vaccination programs and protecting against pandemics.
  
  
• Rabies: Building on the success of existing Wistar rabies vaccines for humans and wildlife, Institute scientists are pursuing an improved vaccine for developing countries, where the disease takes the lives of thousands of children each year.
  
  
• Hepatitis C and malaria: Collaborating with scientists at leading institutions worldwide, Wistar researchers are working to develop vaccines for hepatitis C, malaria, and other potentially deadly diseases.
  
  
• Cancer: Wistar’s wide-ranging vaccine development program also encompasses treatment vaccines against colorectal cancer, melanoma, and human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer.
  
  
• Autoimmune diseases: Institute scientists’ autoimmune expertise informs their development of novel new therapies for autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Top Wistar scientists lead the center’s efforts, working in collaboration with leading institutions in the Philadelphia area such as the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Temple University, as well as major research organizations around the country and the world.

An international leader in biomedical research, The Wistar Institute has a proven record of success in vaccine development, having created the standard-of-care protections against rubella, rabies, and rotavirus. The Vaccine Center focus the Institute’s strengths in immunology, virology, and other research disciplines to improve public health through the creation of new and improved vaccines, in the United States and around the globe.