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On March 11, the Ragon Institute,
funded by “software magnate” Phillip Terrence Ragon, opened a new $30 million
research facility that is designed to facilitate collaboration among
physicians, physicists, and engineers in developing HIV vaccines and studying
TB. The 75,000-square-foot Cambridge, Mass., building, which now houses 175
staff members, is large enough to allow the staff to double in size and to
accommodate visiting scientists as well. Philanthropists Mark and Lisa Schwartz
will provide $50,000 grants to outside scientists, which will enable them to
participate in the Ragon Institute’s research.
The institute’s director, Dr. Bruce
Walker, explained that interaction among disciplines has already resulted in
innovative approaches to developing HIV vaccines. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology engineers used a math model typically used in finance to pinpoint
“stable regions” of the HIV virus that can be targeted by vaccines. The
Institute plans to test the HIV vaccines using microscopes that display 3-D
images, showing how immune cells attack the virus. New technology at the
institute also includes cell-sorting machines that can be used to isolate white
blood cells from people who have demonstrated naturally occurring HIV
resistance.
Although the institute’s research is
“high risk,” Walker emphasized that the Ragon Institute’s research will be
broadly applicable. Researchers at Ragon Institute are more and more dependent
on private donors as federal funding becomes less available from the National Institutes
of Health (NIH). Whereas NIH funded 33 to 36 percent of grant applications 10
years ago, it now funds only 18 percent of applications. NIH uses a peer-review
process to select grant applications for funding. NIH funding for projects at
Ragon Institute was cut by five percent in anticipation of sequestration, and
funding cuts may be increased by up to 10 percent in the coming fiscal year if
sequestration becomes permanent.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
