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FL Researchers Taking On Ebola

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Florida scientists are being tapped in the race to find a vaccine for Ebola.

The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida will be a subcontractor in a $10 million National Institutes of Health contract to enhance immune responses to viruses such as Ebola and HIV, the Port St. Lucie non-profit research institute announced in a press release.

The contract, designed to promote the production of vaccine adjuvants, will be administered through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. VGTI will work in conjunction with the Oregon Health & Science University, Kineta, Inc., and the University of Washington Center for Innate Immunity and Immune Disease.

Also on the Treasure Coast, Scripps Florida in Jupiter received $1 million from the NIH to research inhibitors that could block Ebola from entering the body, the South Florida Sun Sentinelreports. Scripps, with researchers from the University of California-San Francisco, are seeking approval for animal testing, the Sun Sentinel reports. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.