Throughout January we will be highlighting Emory’s and OTT’s work in infectious disease and vaccines. In our final piece we highlight the work of the Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance.
We are in the midst of flu season. While that pesky influenza virus is attempting to infect you and your friends, the team at the Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) is partnering with researchers around the world to keep it in line.
Influenza, or “the flu,” is an infectious disease caused by the influenza virus, affecting 3 to 5 million people and leading to 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide. The seasonal flu appears each year during the colder months and can typically be predicted and tracked geographically. It can spread rapidly without proper precautions. If you are curious as to how the flu virus infects someone check out this cool video blog from NPR. You can find lots of good health habits for preventing seasonal flu at CDC.gov.
Originally launched and funded in 2007, the Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) is part of a national network of centers which aim to determine the molecular, ecologic and/or environmental factors that influence the evolution, emergence, transmission, and pathogenicity of influenza viruses.
The center is led by principal investigator Walter Orenstein, MD, Emory professor of medicine and associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center, and co-principal investigator Richard Compans, PhD, Emory professor of microbiology and immunology. Earlier this year, the center became one of five sites in the United States to receive funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to collaborate with investigators from around the world in understanding of influenza viruses and how they cause disease.
“We are extremely pleased to be a part of this important national and international research and surveillance network,” says Orenstein. “It is critically important to have a coordinated and focused response to the emerging public health threat of globally circulating influenza viruses. Our center is well-positioned to continue our research into understanding how influenza viruses can become pandemic threats and the factors that can lead to optimal immune responses to emerging flu viruses.”
Here at Emory OTT, we have several promising influenza and infectious disease technologies. Rafi Ahmed, PhD, Emory professor of microbiology and immunology; Patrick Wilson, PhD, University of Chicago associate professor of medicine; and Jens Wrammert, PhD, assistant professor Emory Vaccine Center have developed cross-reactive antibodies against influenza virus. These antibodies are broadly protective against multiple influenza strains, enabling use for diagnostic tests and universal flu vaccines. The delivery of these vaccines is made pain-free thanks to Richard Compans, PhD, Emory professor microbiology, and Thuv-vy Le who have developed needle-free skin immunization. Using peptide-based nanoparticles, this formulation delivers peptide vaccines through the skin, reducing the number of bio hazardous sharps (needles) and the painful pricks that come with them.
Find out more about the Emory-UGA CEIRS on their website.
The ground breaking work begins in the Division of Infectious Disease and the Emory Vaccine Center.
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The Division of Infectious Disease has 59 faculty and 13 fellows, 5 administrators, and 89 research staff. There are 14 Professors, 7 Associate Professors, 34 Assistant Professors, and 4 Senior Associates or Instructors. The Division is proud of its outstanding accomplishments in a broad spectrum of research, including basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiologic sciences. The Division had more than $30 million in research funding in fiscal year 2013. (For more information: http://medicine.emory.edu/divisions/infectious_diseases/.)
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The Emory Vaccine Center is an epicenter of academic research and development of vaccines for both chronic and infectious diseases. With more than 250 faculty members and staff, it is the largest and most comprehensive academic vaccine research center in the world. The Center is making fundamental advances in immunology, virology, and vaccine research to search for life saving cures against the world’s most threatening diseases plaguing millions of individuals around the globe. (For more information: http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/.)