The Pediatric Division of Tropical Medicine conducts a comprehensive research and development program for producing a new generation of drugs, diagnostics and vaccines for the Neglected Tropical Diseases and Neglected Infections of Poverty, as well as fundamental and applied research against these diseases. To carry out this research, the division operates the following laboratories:
- Zoonotic and Viral Diseases: aimed at research of emerging pathogens, including West Nile virus and Chagas disease and coronoviruses.
- Human Parasitology: dedicated to using modern molecular methods to detect parasitic infections in patients.
- Vector Biology and Bacterial Pathogens: focuses on bacterial diseases such as relapsing fever spirochetes and the vectors that transmit them including Ornithodoros ticks.
- Infection Induced Immunopathology: aims to dissect the complex relationship between parasites and the host immune response.
- Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) Facility: focused on the research of pathogens that require specialized handling including pathogens of human importance such as SARS-CoV-2, West Nile virus and Chikungunya virus.
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology: a basic science and translational lab working in the intersection of public health and infection diseases, with a focus on vector studies and awareness.
- Translational Virology: dedicated to improving understanding of pathogenesis and treatment of high-risk viral pathogens.
- Advanced Immunotechnologies and Vaccine Formulations aims to explore and advance vaccine technologies to develop novel and improved vaccine solutions.