Han-Mo Koo Seminar Series

Speaker: Patricia E. Fast, M.D., Ph.D.
VAI Host:  Duesbery , Nick, Ph.D.
Speaker Affiliation: International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
Speaker Title: Director of Medical Affairs
Date: April 3, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Location: Van Andel Institute - Tomatis Auditorium

In the last six years IAVI and its network of partners have translated innovative technologies into six vaccine candidates that have entered human trials in 11 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. IAVI follows the management principles of PMI (Project Management Institute), using project teams with expertise in manufacturing, preclinical, clinical, and regulatory affairs to lead vaccine development. This process ensures rapid development of promising vaccine candidates according to international standards.

IAVI's feasibility studies and HIV vaccine clinical trials are conducted in collaboration with local scientists and clinicians. These sites are located primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and India - regions of the world most severely impacted by the AIDS pandemic.

Applied Vaccine Research

The Neutralizing Antibody Consortium (NAC) was established by IAVI to address one of the field's most critical scientific challenges: designing vaccines to induce broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV, which would be capable of blocking infection by a wide range of HIV isolates circulating worldwide. The NAC comprises several internationally recognized scientific laboratories, complemented by core resources to enable screening of leading vaccine designs. Member institutions include: Cornell University; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Global Vaccines Inc.; Harvard University; Institute of Research in Biomedicine; The Scripps Research Institute; University of Pennsylvania; University of Wisconsin; and the University of Washington.

IAVI's Live Attenuated Consortium (LAC) seeks to understand the mechanism for the strong protection of live attenuated SIV vaccination in non-human primates and to translate this knowledge into designing better HIV vaccine candidates. The LAC is currently composed of five leading HIV scientific laboratories: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Harvard University; Oregon Health & Science University; University of Minnesota; and University of Wisconsin.

In 2005, IAVI established the AIDS Vaccine Development Laboratory (the Lab), aligned with the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center, to support and complement its research activities. The Lab takes IAVI a step further in fully integrating its R&D efforts, as well as developing common preclinical standards for the HIV vaccine field. The Lab examines novel HIV vaccine platforms and immunogens, standardizes preclinical testing of HIV vaccine candidates, and develops candidates for use in clinical products.

Clinical Research Infrastructure

IAVI has established a number of collaborations with clinical trial sites in the developing world in order to accelerate the testing of candidate vaccines. The clinical research infrastructure includes trial sites to conduct clinical research and field laboratories to assess the safety and immunogenicity of vaccines. In these settings, IAVI builds or upgrades clinics, laboratories, and information technology systems and trains staff in Good Clinical Practice (GCP). IAVI's clinical research feasibility studies obtain critical data for conducting vaccine trials and for informing next-generation vaccine design, while Phase I and Phase II trials examine vaccine candidate safety and immunogenicity. IAVI’s goal in developing clinical research infrastructure is to conduct the large-scale efficacy trials of HIV vaccines in developing countries where HIV is most prevalent and where a vaccine is most urgently needed, so that researchers can determine whether HIV vaccine candidates will work in the communities most affected by the epidemic.

IAVI's Human Core Immunology Laboratory (Core Lab), housed at Imperial College London, is the hub that links IAVI’s network of HIV vaccine immunology laboratories worldwide. This network of field laboratories enables on-site evaluation of immune responses to candidate HIV vaccines and allows the Core Lab to serve as a central resource to compare and prioritize candidate HIV vaccines based on validated immunological assays. The Core Lab also provides comprehensive training and support to field laboratory and clinical staff involved in IAVI-sponsored trials and was the first laboratory in the world accredited to the Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP).

In person attendance.

Van Andel Research Institute
Tomatis Auditorium
333 Bostwick Ave., N.E.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
49503

Online viewing.

Via webcast* at http://media.vai.org/vaichannel2
Windows Media Player version 9 or above and at least 300Kbps of Internet bandwidth will be required.

*Participants viewing this webcast are not currently eligible for CME Accreditation; however, the Michigan State Medical Society is currently reviewing this process

“This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Michigan State Medical Society Committee on CME Accreditation through the joint sponsorship of the Grand Rapids Medical Education & Research Center for Health Professions and the Van Andel Research Institute. The Grand Rapids Medical Education & Research Center for Health Professions is accredited by the Michigan State Medical Society Committee on CME Accreditation to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Grand Rapids Medical Education & Research Center for Health Professions designates this educational activity for a maximum of one Category 1 credit toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.”

For more information please contact Laura Holman at (616) 234-5749