Research Institutes and Centers
Sealy Center for Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
The Center’s strategic research mission is to enable the best available intellectual and physical resources to be integrated and focused on understanding, mitigating and developing countermeasures against emerging and tropical infectious agents
of major global importance. By leveraging the our extensive network of international partnerships, the Center enhances UTMB’s international footprint and reputation and solidify its global leadership in Vector-borne and Zoonotic diseases and
OneHealth
. Targeted research areas of research include: biology of disease-transmitting vectors (mosquitos, ticks, or mites); vector-pathogen-host interactions with emphasis on field ecology, pathogenesis, skin immunology, pathogen evolution,
vector microbiome, and development of novel diagnostics. The Center’s commitment to training and capacity building is reflected in its exchange training programs for physicians and basic researchers in vector borne and zoonotic infectious diseases.
The Coordinating Research on Emerging Arboviral Threats Encompassing the Neotropics (CREATE-NEO)
CREATE-NEO supports the strategic mission of the Sealy Center for Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases by integrating arbovirus surveillance across Central and South America with summarizing and predictive modeling efforts in order to better anticipate
and counter arbovirus emergence. CREATE-NEO thus forewarns local, regional and global public health agencies of arboviruses within Central and South America that pose particularly high risk of spillover, emergence into transmission among humans, and/or
international spread. CREATE-NEO also builds local capacity to detect, predict and respond to emerging arboviruses at their point of origin, thereby maximizing the potential to avert full-blown emergence. Importantly, CREATE-NEO quickly redirects
its efforts to address any emerging zoonotic or vector-borne disease.
The Institute for Human Infections and Immunity (IHII) was established in
October 2004 to facilitate and enhance program development and coordinate research activities in existing centers and programs at UTMB Health that focus on human infection and immunity. These include the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases,
the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, the Center for Tropical Diseases, and the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses. This institute also is the university’s locus for administration of
the Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), a $172-million, state-of-the-art, high-containment biomedical research facility. IHII is led by director, Scott Weaver, PhD. The IHII currently manages campus BSL3 and BSL4 biocontainment laboratory resources,
oversees programs such as the select agent program, and oversees the McLaughlin Endowment, which supports research training in the fields of infection and immunity.
The Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CBEID), like
the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity of which it is a part,
is a multi-disciplinary organization that builds on the strengths and
work of more than 60 researchers in UTMB’s Department of Pathology,
Center for Tropical Diseases, and various other departments on campus.
Administered by an executive director (David H. Walker, MD), three
directors and an administrative officer, the center aims to reduce
vulnerability of the U.S. and other nations to the use of biological
weapons for warfare and terrorism and to alleviate suffering from
emerging and tropical infectious diseases through application of basic,
applied, and field research, and through education. Fields of research
include basic molecular and structural biology, animal models of
infectious disease pathogenesis, and aspects of vaccine and anti-viral
drug development and evaluation.
BSL4 Laboratory (John Sealy Pavilion) The Robert E. Shope, MD,
Laboratory in the John Sealy Pavilion for Infectious Disease Research
was until recently the only full-sized biosafety level 4 facility on a
university campus in the United States. The 2,000 sq ft laboratory
accommodates research on highly infectious, potentially lethal agents,
such as the highly pathogenic hemorrhagic fever viruses. The suited
laboratory requires entrance and egress of personnel through a chemical
shower. Equipment and samples move through double-door autoclaves, an
air lock, and an immersion tank. A high intensity Cobalt-60 irradiator
inactivates infectious samples for study at lower containment levels on
certain types of assays, such as antibody testing and proteomics. All
operating and safety protocols are in place and approved by the
Institutional Biological Safety Committee, as is a training program.
The laboratory, housed in a limited-access support building, is divided
into two approximately equal parts. One half is equipped as a
classical and molecular virology laboratory. This area has all the
equipment needed for virological studies, including incubators,
biosafety cabinets, centrifuges, balances, microscopes, and freezers. A
small section houses centrifuges and a reference collection of BSL4
virus strains. The other half is an area for animal holding, mostly
rodents. Laminar flow isolators for each cage separate the animals,
allowing for study of multiple agents. The animal space can be
re-configured for use as a separate BSL4 module or an augmented BSL3
laboratory.
The National Biocontainment Laboratory at Galveston (The Galveston National Laboratory; GNL) provides
laboratory space for research on new therapies, vaccines and
diagnostic tests for naturally occurring emerging diseases such as
influenza and West Nile encephalitis, as well as protective measures
against viral and bacterial agents that could potentially be spread as a
result of bioterrorism. The new $172 million structure has
approximately 174,000 gross sq ft, 63,000 of which is dedicated to
laboratory space for BSL2, BSL3, and BSL4 laboratories. The
seven-story research building has 12,362 sq ft of BSL4 laboratory
space, 18,223 sq ft of BSL3 laboratory space, 13,368 sq ft of BSL-2
laboratory space, and 8,733 sq ft of animal support space.
Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, inaugurated in
December 2001, has 69 faculty members and incorporates the expertise of
more than 100 cutting edge research programs currently underway at
UTMB. The center fosters the highest quality collaborative and
programmatic research and facilitates the translation of laboratory
findings to prevention of infectious diseases in the community. Members
of the center also examine influences on vaccine acceptance and uptake,
and address issues relevant to the development of public policies
governing health care. In addition, the center facilitates education
and training in vaccinology for graduate students and physicians. The
facility has dedicated sections for performing state-of-the-art
techniques including: cell culture, cell sorting, and molecular
biology. Shared equipment rooms, cold rooms, and a darkroom are
adjacent to laboratories. Specific examples of diseases and pathogens
for which vaccine development research and/or clinical trials are being
conducted include malaria, respiratory viruses (including influenza
and respiratory syncytial virus), flaviviruses (including Hepatitis C),
sexually transmitted diseases (including genital herpes, papillomavirus,
and gonorrhea), rickettsial organisms (including Rickettsia and
Ehrlichia spp.), Rift Valley Fever, and enteric bacteria such as H.
pylori. Its community outreach program develops and implements model
programs which foster increased rates of vaccination in the local
community and can be exported to other communities.