| Disease Study Areas: As one of the world’s leading independent biomedical research institutions, Texas Biomedical Research Institute is dedicated to the advancement of human health through basic research into the nature, causes, prevention and eradication of disease. Texas Biomed integrates three main research programs: Host-Pathogen Interactions (HPI), Disease Intervention and Prevention (DIP), and Population Health (PH). The HPI Program concentrates on the basic biology of infection in humans and animals and the development of disease. Scientists focus on the basic biology of how an infectious agent such as a parasite, bacteria, virus or fungi can enter our bodies and/or cells and cause illness. Scientists at Texas Biomed are, for example, determining how Ebola or Mycobacterium tuberculosis can infect cells and cause illness, or how HIV can subvert our immune system to persist in our bodies. The DIP Program aids in the development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines to reduce the severity of infection, if not cure infection. Scientists at Texas Biomed are, for example, working to develop new vaccines for HIV and Ebola; new drugs for malaria and schistosomiasis, and new diagnostics for tuberculosis. The PH program aims to identify correlates of disease susceptibility or resistance to infectious diseases on a population level. Scientists at Texas Biomed are, for example, studying how genetic variation impacts neurological disorders, heart disease, and diabetes and infection. |
