Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Research Initiative (IVRI)
The Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Research Initiative (IVRI) is a center for basic and early applied research in immunology, microbial pathogenesis, and vaccinology with the potential to profoundly impact the treatment of human disease. The initiative is founded on the principle that mechanistic research investigating the role of the immune system in infectious disease yields new approaches for treating cancer, and conversely, that studies of cancer immunology yield approaches for vaccines and therapies targeting infectious disease.
The University of California, Berkeley has an impressive record in this endeavor including advances that have led to cancer immunotherapeutics and novel vaccines. The IVRI will expand on and accelerate these advances by concentrating and coordinating the efforts of UC Berkeley researchers, their collaborators, and sponsors towards ground-breaking discoveries, and the development of new applications in disease prophylaxis and treatment. The initiative will facilitate communication and collaboration among researchers, streamline access to scientific and financial resources, and promote not only the vision, ideas, accomplishments of its scientists, but also the application and translation of these ideas and findings for the development of new therapies for human diseases. By targeting synergies in the expertise and capabilities of its scientists, and unifying their ingenuity with the objectives of its sponsors, the IVRI seeks to maximize the potential of its UCB researchers and accelerate the pace of discovery and translation.