Emmanual(Chip) Walter, MD - Director

The mission of the Duke Translational Research Institute (DTRI) Clinical Vaccine Unit (DCVU) is to conduct clinical investigations with new and existing vaccine technologies aimed at preventing infectious diseases in humans.

The DCVU was initially founded in the 1980s and early work helped lead to the licensure of a Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine to prevent childhood meningitis and the chicken pox vaccine. Since that time, the DCVU has conducted evaluations of numerous vaccines against an array of infectious agents including:

· Hepatitis A

· Seasonal and pandemic influenza

· Rotavirus

· Human papilloma virus

· Smallpox

· Pertussis

· Pneumococcus

· Meningococcus

Studies have ranged from Phase 1 to Phase 4 investigations and have included infants, children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly as participants. Recent studies have lead to approval of adult and adolescent pertussis vaccines, a new rotavirus vaccine, a universal recommendation for receipt of hepatitis A vaccine, and a change in recommendations for vaccinating young children against influenza.

The DCVU has established relationships with numerous industry sponsors and participates as a study site in government sponsored vaccine trials through the Vaccine Trials Evaluation Units (VTEU).

The DTRI is part of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute (DTMI), established in October 2006 with a grant from NIH to speed new scientific discoveries into clinical practice. As part of the DTMI initiative, the DCVU has been provided additional resources for further development. Immediate plans are to expand our portfolio of vaccine trials by increasing our number of Phase 1 investigations by partnering with the Duke Clinical Research Unit.