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*****Applications are not currently being accepted.*****
The W. M. Keck Center for Virus Imaging
The W. M. Keck Center for Virus Imaging was established through a generous gift from the W. M. Keck Foundation in 2004, as well as matching funds from the Kleburg Foundation and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB). The Center serves as a unique research and training facility to study the assembly, replication and structure of emerging viruses that present a threat to the United States and other regions of the world. This new facility, the first U.S. laboratory of its kind in a biosafety Level 3 containment environment, includes a state-of-the-art confocal microscope and houses a 200V cryo-electron microscope to study viruses and other pathogenic microorganisms. Remote capabilities will allow virologists worldwide to establish collaborations at UTMB.
The Virus Imaging facility provides unique research opportunities for scientists
- to study highly pathogenic, emerging viral diseases and
- to train young virologists for productive careers in the development of new vaccines and antimicrobial therapies to combat emerging and tropical diseases.
The training program is open to predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in virology and is aligned with the Center’s research program, which has as its goal the study of the assembly and replication of four groups of emerging RNA viruses. These are viruses that have recently been discovered, have increased their infection of people in recent years, or threaten to increase in the near future. Many of these viruses are among the most virulent pathogens known, and several have been, or may be, developed into potent biological weapons. They cause severe human diseases including
- encephalitis [e.g. the alphaviruses, Venezuelan (VEE), eastern (EEE) and western equine encephalitis (WEE) viruses and the flaviviruses West Nile and Japanese encephalitis viruses]
- hemorrhagic fevers (e.g. bunyaviruses such as Rift Valley fever, arenaviruses such as Lassa fever and Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever viruses, and the flavivirus dengue virus)
- acute respiratory diseases such as those caused by hantaviruses and the SARS coronavirus
- influenza (avian influenza)
- Hepatitis C
Many of these viruses are not “Category A” biological weapons (the focus of federal biodefense funding) yet are important public health threats, such as West Nile virus, which recent polls indicate is of more concern to the public than bioterror agents.
UTMB in Galveston is especially attractive as the site for the W. M. Keck Center for Virus Imaging. During the past decade, UTMB has emerged as an internationally recognized research center for infectious diseases. Through the recruitment and development of virologists, bacteriologists and structural biologists, a unique, collaborative, multidisciplinary team has been developed with emphasis on emerging and tropical diseases and biodefense. UTMB is also home to several other major research centers that synergize with infectious disease research through highly effective collaborations with its Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The Gulf Coast Consortia/Keck Center for Interdisciplinary Bioscience Training provides research, infrastructure and training support for the W. M. Keck Center for Virus Imaging. Trainees in the Virus Imaging Program will also be designated as Keck Fellows and will join more than 70 predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees participating in one of the eight GCC/Keck Center Training Programs.
For information about
the Gulf Coast Consortia (GCC),
other Keck Center Training Programs,
and
the GCC Research Consortia,
please go to GCC Home
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