Texas Biomed receives NIH grant to develop tuberculosis vaccines
Summary
The Texas Biomedical Research Institute will use a $3.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to help create the next generation of tuberculosis vaccines, the San Antonio-based institute announced Monday.Texas Biomed has been researching the serious and sometimes fatal bacterial disease since 2017, helping make significant headway with how tuberculosis is diagnosed and treated.Today, the only approved tuberculosis vaccine, used commonly in other countries but not the U.S., primarily protects children. Texas Biomed hopes this grant will help change that.Tuberculosis is an infectious disease thats caused immense human mortality and suffering for thousands of years we need to do better, said the grants principal investigator Gillian Beamer, a Texas Biomed staff scientist and adjunct associate professor. Before COVID-19, it was the leading cause of death by a single infectious agent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In March, the NIH selected Texas Biomed as one of four inaugural Interdisciplinary NexGen Tuberculosis Research Advancement Centers. In that program, Texas Biomed will receive $5.8 million over five years to help train the next generation of tuberculosis researchers.The environment for tuberculosis research in San Antonio is remarkable thanks to the combination of expertise, resources and partners here in South Texas, Texas Biomed President, CEO and principal investigator Larry Schlesinger said.This new training center will build on this rich network, attract top talent to the region, and help transform the future of the field.