Rodolfo M. Alarcón
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Vaccines Vaccin
The overall mission of the Enteric and Hepatic Diseases Branch (EHDB) is to manage and grow vigorous research and development portfolios focused on bacterial and viral pathogens such as Shigella, rotavirus, and noroviruses. To carry out this mission EHDB uses extramural grants and contracts to aid in the development of new and improved interventions for the benefit of public health. Independent investigator initiated grants such as R01s are the predominate funding mechanism for infectious disease focused research, however, to assist academic and industrial developers of vaccines and therapeutics, a series of contracts have been established at the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID). These contracts encompass a multitude of vaccine preclinical and clinical services. In working with grantees and industry collaborators, our preclinical services contracts are utilized for a vast array of vaccine development services such as manufacture of master and working cell banks and immunogenicity testing. Our Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units contract is our primary clinical services mechanism for funding vaccine trials and epidemiological studies. This presentation will highlight our current preclinical and clinical vaccine efforts and development resources for investigators interested in vaccine product development.
Rodolfo M. Alarcón worked in the areas of infectious disease and translational research for over 10 years and has held positions of increasing responsibility in the Federal Government. He pursued his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University and postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School. He was a scientist with the Air Force Research Laboratory and is now a Program Officer and a Contracting Officer Representative in the Enteric and Hepatic Diseases Branch within NIH. He currently manages a basic, preclinical, and clinical grant and contract portfolio focused on enteric virus therapeutic and vaccine development.