Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development’s (CVD) mission is to develop and advance safe and effective vaccines (and associated technologies) for tropical and emerging infectious diseases, including poverty-related neglected tropical diseases that disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable individuals around the world.
Over the last 25 years, the CVD has acquired an international reputation for applying a product development partnership (PDP) model, in which nonprofit organizations use industry practices and a collaborative approach to develop, test, advance and ultimately license new global health technologies.
Key Achievements Include:
- Developed a COVID-19 vaccine administered over 100 million times in India and Indonesia.
- Advanced vaccine candidates for emerging coronaviruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
- Created the first vaccine for human hookworm infection, currently in clinical trials.
- Developed the first vaccine for intestinal schistosomiasis, now in clinical trials.
- Pioneered the first vaccine for Chagas disease, also in clinical trials.
- Established a portfolio of early-stage vaccines targeting other major parasitic diseases, including soil-transmitted helminths, onchocerciasis, and leishmaniasis.
Center Co-Directors
Peter Jay Hotez
M.D., Ph.D.
Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine
Maria Elena Bottazzi
Ph.D.
Sr. Associate Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine