Training a new generation of vaccinologists – Emory’s Vaccinology Training Program T32 receives a five-year renewal from the National Institutes of Health

We are excited to share that the Emory University Vaccinology Training Program (VTP) T32 grant has been renewed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for another five years, with a new end date on August 31, 2024. Along with the grant, the NIH also approved an additional fellow position. Initially funded in 2009, this NIH-sponsored program is positioned to train a cadre of scientists with expertise in multi-disciplinary approaches to vaccines. The renewed program will be led by program director Walter A. Orenstein, MD, program co-directors Nadine Rouphael, MD and Evan Anderson, MD, and executive committee members Rafi Ahmed, PhD, William Shafer, PhD, and Michael McNeil, MD (CDC).

“Vaccines are some of the greatest prevention measures we have,” says Orenstein. “Through the renewal of our T32 vaccinology grant for another five years, we can help train future generations of vaccinologists to develop new and better vaccines, to assure vaccines can be both safe and effective, and to maximize the impact of vaccines in reducing health burdens.”

The VTP’s faculty preceptors have the breadth of expertise that are critical for training a new generation of vaccinologists. They have extensive training experience across several vaccinology disciplines, including microbiology and immunology, infectious diseases, public health, pathology, pediatrics, epidemiology, behavior, global health, and health policy.

The preceptors are affiliated with several departments and programs at Emory, including the Emory Schools of Medicine, Rollins School of Public Health, the Emory Vaccine Center, and the joint Emory-Georgia Institute of Technology Biomedical Engineering Department at Emory.

This grant renewal now supports five postdoctoral fellows – an increase of one fellow – to engage in full-time vaccinology training. Each trainee selects an in-depth mentored research project with a preceptor from one of four research training sections: 1) Pathogenesis & Vaccine Discovery; 2) Innate & Adaptive Immune Responses to Bacterial, Protozoal, & Viral Antigens; 3) Vaccine Epidemiology & Health Policy; and 4) Translation, Delivery & Clinical Trials. Every trainee participates in two required comprehensive graduate level courses emphasizing different aspects of the field of vaccinology, and a third required course in research ethics.

As of today, the Emory VTP has a total of 26 current and past fellows. The quality and career growth of the VTP fellows post-training has been outstanding. Six graduates have obtained a total of 23 grants, including five from the NIH and seven from federal granting agencies.

For more information about Emory’s Vaccinology Training Program, please visit http://medicine.emory.edu/divisions/infectious_diseases/VTP-T32/.