History
The Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI-FL) was created as an independent institute in 2008 through a $60 million grant from the State of Florida’s Innovation Center Fund to help the expansion of Biomedical Research initiatives into the state. Dr. Jay Nelson founded the original Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in 2001 in Portland Oregon and serves as Director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Oregon and Executive Director and Vice President of VGTI-Florida. His original vision of providing an infrastructure where collaborating groups of scientists could bring their own individual expertise to bear on common scientific problems has also served as the theme for the research institute in Florida. Assembling a highly interactive team that utilizes the latest in modern technology to tackle fundamental research areas in infectious disease has led to great success in Oregon and will serve as the template for VGTI-FL. While VGTI-Oregon has focused on infectious disease research and relied on a strong partnership with the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC), VGTI-FL is more focused on direct clinical research. The mission of VGTI-FL is to “Translate Research Into Health” by providing a better understanding of the human immune response to pathogens and cancers and the process of ageing.
That vision was solidified in 2009 with the recruitment of VGTI-FL’s co-director and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Rafick Sekaly. Dr. Sekaly’s renowned research as a pioneer in the use of Systems Biology Approaches to determine how the immune response to vaccines is generated serves as a model for how research at VGTI-FL will lead to novel therapies and treatments for improvements in human health on a global scale. Dr. Sekaly relocated to VGTI-FL from the University of Montreal and brought with him a group of over twenty researchers. He has since recruited four additional research teams to VGTI-FL and is continuing to implement his vision of using multi-disciplinary teams to address fundamental questions regarding the function and regulation of the human immune system.
VGTI-FL is continuing its expansion and currently has over 60 employees conducting state of the art research at its temporary home (30,000 sq ft of space in the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies). Construction is underway on the ~100,000 sq ft research facility to be completed by 2012 on eight acres at the Tradition Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie, adjacent to the Torrey Pines Institute and a research park that will also be home to Martin Memorial Health Systems new medical campus.
That vision was solidified in 2009 with the recruitment of VGTI-FL’s co-director and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Rafick Sekaly. Dr. Sekaly’s renowned research as a pioneer in the use of Systems Biology Approaches to determine how the immune response to vaccines is generated serves as a model for how research at VGTI-FL will lead to novel therapies and treatments for improvements in human health on a global scale. Dr. Sekaly relocated to VGTI-FL from the University of Montreal and brought with him a group of over twenty researchers. He has since recruited four additional research teams to VGTI-FL and is continuing to implement his vision of using multi-disciplinary teams to address fundamental questions regarding the function and regulation of the human immune system.
VGTI-FL is continuing its expansion and currently has over 60 employees conducting state of the art research at its temporary home (30,000 sq ft of space in the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies). Construction is underway on the ~100,000 sq ft research facility to be completed by 2012 on eight acres at the Tradition Center for Innovation in Port St. Lucie, adjacent to the Torrey Pines Institute and a research park that will also be home to Martin Memorial Health Systems new medical campus.
