Improving Global Health

VTC Researcher, mother and babyFaculty researchers at the Vaccine Testing Center (VTC) of the University of Vermont's Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, study human vaccines with the goal of understanding and preventing infectious diseases around the globe. Our team is particularly interested in new vaccines with the potential to prevent or control infectious diseases in developing countries. We are a diverse team of clinicians, study coordinators, scientists, and laboratory personnel. Volunteers are critical to our work and our human research studies are designed and performed with rigorous oversight and safety.

UVM Vaccine Testing Center Hosts first Symposium on Rotavirus Human Immunology

Rotavirus Symposium Attendee Group PhotoOn May 15-16, 2017, the University of Vermont’s Vaccine Testing Center hosted fifteen of the world’s leading Rotavirus researchers at their Symposium on Rotavirus Human Immunology: Advancing Science, Decreasing Disease. These scientists joined investigators from the Vaccine Testing Center to tackle major outstanding scientific issues needed for the control of disease burden from Rotavirus diarrhea, the leading cause of child death due to severe diarrhea. Scientists representing The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the non-governmental organization PATH, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were in attendance. In addition, eleven U.S. and international academic institutions were represented, including those from Columbia (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Dr. Manuel Franco Cortes), India (Christian Medical College, Dr. Gagandeep Kang), and Bangladesh (icddr,b; Dr. Rashidul Haque). More information.

Volunteer

Now Recruiting!

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Ongoing Recruitment!

Mosquito-borne Illnesses

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Want to volunteer? 

Join the fight against infectious diseases around the world! Contact us to find out more about current and future studies and to talk about pre-study screenings.

Call (802) 656-0013 or request volunteer information.

Research 

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The Vaccine Testing Center's team of scientists and researchers are committed to solving the world’s most pressing infectious disease challenges. Our research spans the translational spectrum from lab-based human immunology to domestic clinical trials to large-scale international field research. Together with national and international collaborators and local volunteers, we help develop vaccines to address global infectious diseases, including rotavirus, cholera, dengue and other flaviviruses. Learn more.

VTC in the News

Dr. Carrie Lyon in WCAX Studio

Dr. Caroline Lyon of the Vaccine Testing Center was recently interviewed on local news WCAX's show "The :30", where she shared information about the VTC's new adenovirus trial. Adenovirus causes respiratory illness which can be severe and is a particular problem for military recruits who are in close quarters and under the stress of intense training. Vaccine manufacturer PaxVax is modernizing the vaccine and the VTC is testing it for tolerability and safety. See the interview, learn more about the trial or volunteer.

Other news, publications and awards... 

VTC Showcase

Dr. Kristen Pierce Headshot

Dr. Kristen Pierce Receives UVM Early Achievement Award

Kristen Pierce, MD ’02, has been awarded the prestigious Early Achievement Award by the Larner College of Medicine’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations. This award is presented to an alumnus of UVM who has graduated within the past 15 years in recognition of their outstanding community or College service, scientific, or academic achievement. Dr. Pierce, an Associate Professor who specializes in Infectious Diseases, is a Principal Investigator at the Vaccine Testing Center where she has led trials and research on dengue, zika and other globally infectious diseases. We’d like to congratulate Dr. Pierce on this achievement!

VTC Faculty Awarded Inaugural Joint Research Grant

Sean Diehl and Sam Scarpino Headshots

Assistant Professor and VTC Researcher Sean Diehl, PhD, and Sam Scarpino, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, have been awarded the inaugural UVM Biomedical Engineering Program Pilot Research Program grant funded jointly by the Larner College of Medicine and the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Their project “Integrating omics and clinical data to study dengue infection” centers around developing a web-based predictive modeling approach to utilize genome wide transcriptome data to model the clinical response to dengue virus infection. Dengue is an urgent global threat across 40% of the world’s population with 390 million annual infections and annual losses of billions of dollars and enormous strains on the medical systems of affected nations due to illness. The goal of this joint research is to develop a meaningful model by which new biomarkers can be used to ascertain clinical responses to dengue infections.