Sabin Vaccine Institute

Sabin Vaccine Institute
Founded	1993
Founder	H.R. Shepherd, Heloisa Sabin, Robert M. Chanock, and Philip K. Russell
Type	NGO
Focus	Infectious disease, Neglected Tropical Diseases
Location	Washington, D.C.
Method	Advocacy, Vaccine Research and Development
Key people	Peter Hotez, Ciro de Quadros
Website	http://sabin.org/

The Sabin Vaccine Institute ("Sabin") is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing needless human suffering from vaccine-preventable and neglected tropical diseases through prevention and treatment. Sabin advocates for the control of vaccine-preventable diseases such as HPV, pneumococcal disease, pertussis, rotavirus, rubella and typhoid and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) including human hookworm infection, ascariasis, trichuriasis, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) and trachoma.

Sabin also leads an internationally recognized Product Development Partnership (PDP) focused on creating safe, effective, low-cost vaccines for tropical infections in developing countries.

History

The Sabin Vaccine Institute was founded in 1993 by Dr. H.R. Shepherd (dsc), Mrs. Heloisa Sabin, Dr. Robert M. Chanock and Dr. Philip K. Russell^[1] and named in honor of one of medicine’s most pre-eminent scientific figures, Dr. Albert B. Sabin, best known for developing the oral live virus polio vaccine. The Institute continues Dr. Sabin’s vision by providing greater access to vaccines and essential treatments for hundreds of millions of people stuck in a cycle of pain, poverty and despair through its three main programs – vaccine advocacy and education,^[2] the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases and the Sabin Vaccine Institute PDP.^[3]

Sabin has received five consecutive “4-star” ratings from Charity Navigator, their highest rating.

Programs

Through three distinct yet complementary programs, the Institute continues Dr. Sabin’s lifelong efforts to develop preventive measures for diseases that place heavy burdens on the world’s poorest countries:

Vaccine Advocacy and Education

Vaccine Advocacy and Education works with leading health experts and organizations to promote global awareness of infectious diseases and the immunizations needed to combat their debilitating effects. The program focuses on providing decision-makers with the information and resources needed to introduce and sustainably fund safe and effective immunization programs against pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, HPV, rubella, meningococcal disease, pertussis, dengue fever and typhoid. Initiatives of the program include the Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE), the Sustainable Immunization Financing(SIF) program, the Coalition against Typhoid (CaT) and the Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI), among others:

Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE) was founded in 2006 to raise awareness of pneumococcal disease and advocate for its prevention through the use of vaccines.

The Sustainable Immunization Financing (SIF) program aims to assist governments in building internal capacity to increase their share of funding for vaccines. Active in 15 developing countries throughout Africa and Asia, SIF experts and staff work to ensure that key decision-makers have the information and resources they need to introduce and sustainably fund safe and effective immunization programs.

Coalition Against Typhoid (CaT) is a global forum of health and immunization experts working to expedite and sustain evidence-informed decisions at the global, regional and country levels regarding the use of typhoid vaccination to prevent childhood enteric fever.

Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) is a consortium of organizations working to lay the groundwork for dengue vaccine introduction in endemic areas so that, once licensed, vaccines to prevent dengue will be swiftly adopted by countries most in need.

The International Association of Immunization Managers (IAIM) is a membership based organization of immunization managers and professionals that serves as a forum from which immunization managers can discuss and exchange best practices; build and support international and regional networks of immunization managers; and provide immunization managers with opportunities to improve their technical and leadership capacity.

Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases

The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases is an advocacy and resource mobilization program dedicated to eliminating the seven most common disabling, disfiguring and deadly neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).Through a network of partnering international agencies, scientists and advocates, the Global Network aims to raise the awareness, political will, and funding necessary to control and eliminate these seven most common NTDs that blind, disable, disfigure and stigmatize 1.4 billion of the world’s poorest people. It was launched in 2006 at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Vaccine Development

The Sabin Vaccine Institute PDP aims to develop sustainable and cost-effective vaccines to prevent several parasitic and neglected tropical diseases, including hookworm, schistosomiasis and Chagas disease. Through a collaborative product development partnership with Texas Children’s Hospital, the Baylor College of Medicine and other international academic institutions and organizations, and with more than 10 years of research and development experience, the program has produced a low-cost model that serves as a blueprint for vaccine research and development and ongoing efforts to fight public health threats that adversely impact more than one billion people worldwide.

Experts

The Sabin Vaccine Institute is led by well known experts and champions in global health, including Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Ciro de Quadros and Dr. Neeraj Mistry.

Dr. Peter Hotez, President of Sabin, leads the Sabin PDP and is Director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. He also is the founding dean of a new School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Hotez served as President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2011 and is the Editor-in-Chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Dr. Ciro de Quadros, Executive Vice President of Sabin, is a leader in the development of successful surveillance and containment strategies for the eradication of smallpox worldwide, and has directed successful polio and measles eradication efforts in the Americas. Before joining Sabin, Dr. de Quadros was Director of the Division of Vaccines and Immunization at the Pan American Health Organization.

Dr. Neeraj Mistry, Managing Director of the Global Network, was a founding member and former vice president of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC), and brings extensive experience in global health policy and programming, having worked in developing and developed countries, in the public and private sectors in clinical practice, health policy and social development.

The Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal

The Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Sabin Vaccine Institute in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of vaccinology. The award commemorates the pioneering work in this field by the late Dr. Albert B. Sabin, discoverer of the oral polio vaccine.

References

External links