Welcome!
The NIAID/DMID-sponsored Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit at Emory is one of eight national VTEUs charged with vaccine development and testing. It was formed in XXX to conduct clinical and translational research in vaccines, vaccine preventable diseases, and pediatric infectious diseases. Led since 2014 by Dr. Mark J. Mulligan, Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center (EVC), and Executive Director of the Hope Clinic of the EVC, the mission of the VTEU is to reduce the burden of infectious diseases worldwide through the discovery, evaluation, and delivery of effective and safe vaccines and therapeutics.
Our vision is that tomorrow will be better than today.
Current projects include:
- Prevention of seasonal and avian influenza infections
- Dissecting the immune response to influenza vaccination through systems vaccinology
- Defining the immune response to Staphylococcus aureus colonization and disease in children and adults
- Determining biomarkers of pneumonia severity in children
- Evaluating new and existing vaccines for pathogens such as influenza, S. aureus, pertussis, CMV, rotavirus, HPV, pneumococcus, and Group B streptococcus.
- Evaluating new therapies for S. aureus and C. difficile.
- Pharmacokinetic studies of beta-lactam antibiotics in special populations, such as critically ill adults and patients with cystic fibrosis
- Investigating issues around vaccine safety, including vaccination of at-risk populations.
The VTEU also serves as a resource to providers in the area for issues related to vaccine safety through the CDC-funded Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network. If you have questions regarding potential adverse events following immunization or other vaccine-related questions, please contact us.
1. Evaluation of New Vaccines and Therapeutics
Emory investigators have expertise in a number of infectious diseases and specific, special populations.
- Infectious Diseases of Interest
- Ebola
- Influenza
- Pertussis
- S. aureus infections
- Group B Streptococcus Infections
- Clostridium difficile infections
- Respiratory Syncitial Virus
- Varicella Zoster Virus
- Zika
2. Post-licensure Evaluation of Existing Agents
Once vaccines are licensed, the burden of disease often shifts considerably. Often, this leads to near-elimination of certain pathogens (like measles and polio), but sometimes can lead to unforeseen changes in the strains that cause disease (such as strain replacement that has been seen following pneumococcal vaccination). VTEU faculty are heavily engaged in disease surveillance in order to inform next generation vaccines and new vaccine strategies.
3. Investigations of Potential Adverse Events Following Immunization
Vaccines that are currently in use have excellent side effect profiles; however, no drug or vaccine can ever be completely harmless. Ongoing work in the VTEU includes evaluation of individual reports of adverse events following immunizations and evaluation of vaccines in patient populations that may be at higher risk of adverse events, such as immunocompromised hosts and those with asthma.
4. Deciphering the Host Immune Response to Infection and Immunization
Through campus-wide collaborations, VTEU investigators use cutting-edge technologies to assess immune responses in both healthy vaccinees and in those experiencing acute disease. Employing high-throughput sequencing, proteomics, and metabolomics, VTEU investigators are using systems biology tools to unlock basic mechanisms of human immune responses.
