About VIDI
VIDI, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, was formed in 2007 as a separate institute within the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. VIDI researchers’ goal is to eliminate or reduce the mortality and morbidity of the major infectious diseases of humankind.
In addition to the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), a global network of researchers headquartered at VIDI searching for a safe and effective HIV vaccine, VIDI research focuses on a wide range of infectious pathogens, including Herpes Simplex viruses, cytomegalovirus, infectious fungi, and cancer-associated infections such as human herpesvirus-8, among others. Research areas concentrate on treatment and prevention of infectious diseases by studying immune responses to these pathogens, the course of infection, and pursuing various vaccine development strategies. Many of these infections are especially devastating in immunocompromised people, such as HIV positive persons or transplant patients.
VIDI faculty also hold appointments in other Center divisions, mainly in the Clinical Research and Public Health Sciences divisions. Due to its collaborative and interdisciplinary nature, VIDI is headed by an Executive Committee of three co-directors, each of whom leads one of VIDI’s three research programs. VIDI’s co-directors are Dr. Larry Corey, who heads the Infectious Disease Sciences Program and is also the Senior Vice President of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Dr. Julie McElrath, who heads the Immunology and Vaccine Development Program, and Dr. Steve Self, who heads the Population Sciences Program. All three programs within VIDI additionally contribute to and support the HVTN. For more information about VIDI programs and the research conducted in VIDI, see Programs.
The growing recognition of the importance and challenges of global health research have recently spurred VIDI scientists to initiate new research directions and collaborations focusing on infectious disease research around the world, including:
- The Uganda Program on Cancer and Infectious Disease, which is a collaboration between VIDI and the Uganda Cancer Institute to research the 22 percent of cancers worldwide that are caused by infections, to help treat and prevent those cancers, and to train Ugandan doctors in these areas. In part due to high levels of HIV and other infectious viruses that increase risks for various cancers, Uganda, an East African country of more than 27 million people, has among the highest rates of cancer in the world, but only two practicing oncologists.
- The Discordant Couples project, which encompasses studies of approximately 1,200 couples in Kampala, Uganda and Soweto, South Africa, in which one partner is HIV positive and one is HIV negative. In Africa, the majority of HIV transmissions occur in stable, heterosexual couples via unprotected sex. Thus, studying discordant couples offers the best opportunity to directly measure biological factors influencing the sexual transmission of HIV, as the risk of the uninfected partner contracting HIV is high (between 3 and 10% per year).
- The China Initiative, which is a collaboration between VIDI, the University of Washington, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, and several research institutes in China, including China Center for Disease Control (CCDC) in Beijing and The Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM) at the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. The goal of the collaboration is to focus on infectious diseases that threaten global health and combine the best resources of each country to enable early identification of infectious disease outbreaks, as well as to accelerate the development of therapeutics to control these diseases. Examples of resources to be shared are scientific datasets, statistical analysis methods, clinical research protocol development and operation, and cross training of our scientific staff.
In the future, the dream of VIDI researchers is to find a working HIV vaccine and to make significant contributions in ameliorating the suffering and mortality caused by infectious diseases worldwide. In the short term, the faculty and staff of the Institute strive to increase knowledge about poorly understood infectious pathogens to inform better treatment, prevention, and vaccine development strategies.
Map of VIDI Global Collaboration Sites
1100 Fairview Ave. N. PO Box 19024 Seattle, WA 98109
©2009 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, a nonprofit organization.
Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
