Center for Virology and Vaccine Research (CVVR)

The Center for Virology and Vaccine Research (CVVR) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center aims to promote research and education activities related to virology, vaccinology, and related disciplines, including basic, translational, and clinical vaccine research. The Center consists of primary and affiliate faculty and focuses on the development of vaccines against infectious, oncologic, degenerative, and other diseases.

Research Programs

CVVR Clinical Trials

The mission of the CVVR Clinical Trials Unit is the development of novel preventive and therapeutic approaches to viral illnesses such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Zika Virus and COVID-19.

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Core Facilities

Flow Cytometry Core

The Flow Cytometry Core facility provides equipment, and consultation and data analysis services by dedicated personnel to both in-house and outside researchers. Areas of expertise include non-human primate (NHP) and infectious disease research. The Flow Cytometry Core is committed to providing the latest software and equipment to better assist peer researchers. The Flow Cytometry Core facility is affiliated with Harvard University and is supported by the NIH Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).
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Harvard Catalyst-red on white

Harvard Catalyst Clinical Research Center

The Harvard Catalyst Clinical Research Center (CRC) is a core facility provided to all Beth Isreal Deaconess Medical Center investigators as well as affiliated Harvard faculty for the conduct of clinical trials. The CRC provides contiguous space for inpatient, outpatient, and administrative support activities and is located at BIDMC. CRC staff includes nurses, dieticians, a laboratory assistant, and a unit coordinator. The unit is open for patient activity 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibody Core

The HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibody Core provides in vitro HIV-1 neutralizing antibody assay services to BIDMC and the external research community. The core is GCLP-compliant; it serves as a resource for assessing the breadth and potency of HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies, and for characterizing the neutralization phenotype of HIV-1 isolates.
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CVVR Academic Program

In addition to material and technical support, the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research offers a rich intellectual environment for early stage investigators and students. CVVR hosts weekly meetings for its postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to discuss ongoing work, as well as bi-monthly journal club lunches and weekly CVVR seminars with invited speakers. All postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty are encouraged to submit abstracts and to attend conferences and other professional meetings.

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Young Investigators

The Young Investigator Committee identifies critical issues affecting young and early career investigators working within CVVR. The Committee connects junior faculty, senior postdoctoral fellows, and other researchers with the goal of building fruitful collaborations, finding solutions to the challenges in research, and developing careers.

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Calendar of Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.

News and Events

All/CVVR Events/News

Sciam

2022-01-14/by Morgana Souza

What’s Holding Up New Omicron Vaccines?

Vaccine makers worry yet another variant will start dominating in the months it takes to roll out shots against this one. Read Article

CNN

2021-12-30/by Morgana Souza

Studies indicate J&J Covid-19 vaccine booster protects people against severe illness from Omicron variant

Two reports released Thursday show that people who get booster doses of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine are well protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron…

2021-12-16/by Morgana Souza

2021 Bostonians of the Year

Meet the pioneering scientist, the trailblazing mayor, and other standouts whose drive, ingenuity, and compassion are getting vaccines in arms and giving us a shot at a just future for all. Dr.…

Boston Globe

2021-12-15/by Morgana Souza

414 days at work, zero days off: Dan Barouch and the race to develop the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

After the vaccine received emergency use authorization this year, he turned to the Provincetown outbreak and Omicron. Plus, recognizing the unsung heroes of vaccine production. Read Article

Boston Globe

2021-12-02/by Morgana Souza

‘I don’t think we’re back to square one.’ Beth Israel races to find out how much vaccines protect against Omicron

The hospital’s researchers are part of a global effort to understand the fast-spreading variant. Read Article

2021-11-17/by Morgana Souza

Covid Outbreak in Party Town Shows How the Pandemic Could End

“Our data really puts a different perspective on the Provincetown cohort,” said Dan Barouch. Read Article

wsj

2021-11-06/by Morgana Souza

Rising Covid-19 Breakthrough Cases Hinder Efforts to Control Virus

“Breakthrough infections are not rare, and they're not unexpected, and they're not very concerning,” said Dan Barouch. Read Article

MAlotteryceltics

2021-10-25/by Morgana Souza

The Boston Celtics Awards Dr. Barouch The Heroes Among Us Award

MHTC

2021-09-27/by Morgana Souza

Congrats to Dr. Barouch for receiving the 2021 Ray Stata Award

Dr. Barouch spoke about his vaccine work at the 2021 Mass High Tech Council (MHTC). As part of this annual event, he was awarded the Ray Stata Leadership and Innovation Award for 2021 . This…

wsj

2021-09-21/by Morgana Souza

J&J Says Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Two Months After First Shot Increases Protection

Trial participants in the U.S. who received a second dose eight weeks after the first had 94% protection against the illness. Read Article

ABCNEWS

2021-09-21/by Morgana Souza

2nd dose of J&J COVID-19 vaccine results in stronger protection, company says

The shots, given two months apart, can offer 94% protection against infections. Read Article

2021-08-31/by Morgana Souza

CVVR- Dog Therapy Session with Max

ABCNEWS

2021-08-18/by Morgana Souza

Biden administration to begin rolling out booster shots the week of Sept. 20

Health care workers and nursing home residents are first in line Read Article

2021-12-16/by Morgana Souza

2021 Bostonians of the Year

Meet the pioneering scientist, the trailblazing mayor, and other standouts whose drive, ingenuity, and compassion are getting vaccines in arms and giving us a shot at a just future for all. Dr.…

MAlotteryceltics

2021-10-25/by Morgana Souza

The Boston Celtics Awards Dr. Barouch The Heroes Among Us Award

MHTC

2021-09-27/by Morgana Souza

Congrats to Dr. Barouch for receiving the 2021 Ray Stata Award

Dr. Barouch spoke about his vaccine work at the 2021 Mass High Tech Council (MHTC). As part of this annual event, he was awarded the Ray Stata Leadership and Innovation Award for 2021 . This…

2021-08-31/by Morgana Souza

CVVR- Dog Therapy Session with Max

2021-08-10/by Morgana Souza

CVVR- Dog Therapy Session with Harry

2021-03-03/by Morgana Souza

Thank you from Lehigh University- Dr. Tartaglia & class

2020-06-18/by Morgana Souza

2020 ID Division Awards

2020-06-12/by Morgana Souza

Secretary Azar, Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov Polito, and Mass HHS Secretary Sudders visit to BIDMC

Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar joined Dr. Barouch for an important discussion about our COVID-19 vaccine response.…

2019-12-18/by Academic Web Pages

Medical All-Stars

The Boston Red Sox honored Dr.Stephenson on June 7th,2019 as a Medical All-Star for her work in the HIV research field.

2019-12-18/by Academic Web Pages

2019 CVVR Visiting Professor

We were honored to have Dr. Robert Siliciano, MD, PhD. join us for our annual visiting professor this year.

2019-06-25/by Academic Web Pages

2019 Boston Pride Parade

Members of CVVR joined Team BIDMC for the 2019 Boston Pride Parade.

2019-06-18/by Academic Web Pages

2019 Boston AIDS Walk

Members of the CVVR joined TEAM BIDMC for the 2019 Aids Walk, which is the largest HIV/AIDS awareness event in New England.

2019-03-07/by Academic Web Pages

Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections 2019

“The annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) brings together top basic, translational, and clinical researchers from around the world to share the latest studies,…

Sciam

2022-01-14/by Morgana Souza

What’s Holding Up New Omicron Vaccines?

Vaccine makers worry yet another variant will start dominating in the months it takes to roll out shots against this one. Read Article

CNN

2021-12-30/by Morgana Souza

Studies indicate J&J Covid-19 vaccine booster protects people against severe illness from Omicron variant

Two reports released Thursday show that people who get booster doses of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine are well protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron…

Boston Globe

2021-12-15/by Morgana Souza

414 days at work, zero days off: Dan Barouch and the race to develop the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

After the vaccine received emergency use authorization this year, he turned to the Provincetown outbreak and Omicron. Plus, recognizing the unsung heroes of vaccine production. Read Article

Boston Globe

2021-12-02/by Morgana Souza

‘I don’t think we’re back to square one.’ Beth Israel races to find out how much vaccines protect against Omicron

The hospital’s researchers are part of a global effort to understand the fast-spreading variant. Read Article

2021-11-17/by Morgana Souza

Covid Outbreak in Party Town Shows How the Pandemic Could End

“Our data really puts a different perspective on the Provincetown cohort,” said Dan Barouch. Read Article

wsj

2021-11-06/by Morgana Souza

Rising Covid-19 Breakthrough Cases Hinder Efforts to Control Virus

“Breakthrough infections are not rare, and they're not unexpected, and they're not very concerning,” said Dan Barouch. Read Article

wsj

2021-09-21/by Morgana Souza

J&J Says Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Two Months After First Shot Increases Protection

Trial participants in the U.S. who received a second dose eight weeks after the first had 94% protection against the illness. Read Article

ABCNEWS

2021-09-21/by Morgana Souza

2nd dose of J&J COVID-19 vaccine results in stronger protection, company says

The shots, given two months apart, can offer 94% protection against infections. Read Article

ABCNEWS

2021-08-18/by Morgana Souza

Biden administration to begin rolling out booster shots the week of Sept. 20

Health care workers and nursing home residents are first in line Read Article

NYT

2021-08-18/by Morgana Souza

What to Know About Boosters if You Got the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

Health experts say that boosters are likely to be needed eventually and that more data should be available in the next several weeks. Read Article

NYT

2021-08-14/by Morgana Souza

F.D.A. to Authorize Third Vaccine Dose for People With Weak Immune Systems

The decision to expand the emergency use of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines is meant to help transplant recipients and others whose immune systems are similarly compromised.…

HMS

2021-08-09/by Morgana Souza

Dan Barouch and the birth of the J&J COVID vaccine

Dan Barouch, Harvard Medical School professor and head of Beth Israel Deaconess’ Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, was awarded Harvard’s George Ledlie Prize for his work on one of…

NYT

2021-08-06/by Morgana Souza

New data suggest J. & J. vaccine works against Delta and recipients don’t need a booster shot.

“This study was conducted as a real-world efficacy study in one of the most challenging epidemiologic settings,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, a virologist at Beth Israel Deaconess…

All News & Events >

Selected Publications

Differential Kinetics of Immune Responses Elicited by Covid-19 Vaccines

NEJM, 2021. Read Article

Immunogenicity of Ad26.COV2.S vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants in humans

Nature, 2021. Read Article

Durable Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses 8 Months after Ad26.COV2.S Vaccination

NEJM, 2021. Read Article

Immunogenicity of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines in Pregnant and Lactating Women

JAMA, 2021. Read Article

Immunogenicity of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines in Pregnant and Lactating Women

JAMA, 2021. Read Article

Immunogenicity of the Ad26.COV2.S Vaccine for COVID-19

JAMA, 2021. Read Article

A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 1 Study of Ad26.ZIKV.001, an Ad26-Vectored Anti-Zika Virus Vaccine

Ann Intern Med, 2021. Read Article

Interim Results of a Phase 1–2a Trial of Ad26.COV2.S Covid-19 Vaccine

The New England Journal of Medicine, 2021. Read Article

Correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques

Nature, 2020. Read Article

Vascular Disease and Thrombosis in SARS-CoV-2-Infected Rhesus Macaques

Cell, 2020. Read Article

Ad26 vaccine protects against SARS-CoV-2 severe clinical disease in hamsters

Nature Medicine, 2020. Read Article

Approaches and Challenges in SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Development

Cell Host Microbe, 2020. Read Article

Single-shot Ad26 vaccine protects against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques

Nature, 2020. Read Article

SARS-CoV-2 infection protects against rechallenge in rhesus macaques

Science, 2020. Read Article

DNA vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques

Science, 2020. Read Article

Lack of therapeutic efficacy of an antibody to α4β7 in SIVmac251-infected rhesus macaques.

Science, 2019. Read Article

Evaluation of a mosaic HIV-1 vaccine in a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1/2a clinical trial (APPROACH) and in rhesus monkeys (NHP 13-19).

Lancet, 2018. Read Article

Evidence that CD32a does not mark the HIV-1 latent reservoir.

Nature, 2018. Read Article

Fetal neuropathology in Zika virus-infected pregnant female rhesus monkeys.

Cell, 2018. Read Article

Antibody and TLR7 agonist delay viral rebound in SHIV-infected monkeys

Nature, 2018. Read Article

Zika virus persistence in the central nervous system and lymph nodes of rhesus monkeys.

Cell, 2017. Read Article

Ad26/MVA therapeutic vaccination with TLR7 stimulation in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys.

Nature, 2016. Read Article

Antibody-mediated protection against SHIV challenge includes systemic clearance of distal virus.

Science, 2016. Read Article

Cryo-EM reveals a novel octameric integrase structure for betaretroviral intasome function.

Nature, 2016. Read Article

Protective efficacy of multiple vaccine platforms against Zika virus challenge in rhesus monkeys.

Science, 2016. Read Article

All Publications >

Research Programs

Neuro-Virology/Immunology

Translational Immunology

Viral Pathogenesis

CVVR Clinical Trials

Core Facilities

Flow Cytometry Core

Harvard Catalyst Clinical Research Center

HIV-1 Neutralizing Antibody Core

CVVR Academic Program

Young Investigators

Calendar of Events

Center for Virology and Vaccine Research

CVVR Clinical Trials Unit

Affiliates