All approaches to vaccine development focus on the immune system and the body s natural defenses against foreign invaders. The immune system is a complex of organs and highly specialized cells and even a circulatory system separate from blood vessels all of which work together to clear infection from the body. The purpose of a vaccine is to bring about immunity by provoking a response from a person s immune system and creating a memory within the immune system so that exposure to the active disease agent will stimulate an already primed immune system to fight the disease. From this understanding has come development of vaccines and other tools needed to prevent many infectious diseases and immune system disorders. The goal of these efforts is not only to protect individuals from serious infections, but eventually to eradicate diseases, as we have done with smallpox.
Basic research focuses on the biological mechanisms disease-causing microbes use to cause damage.
Such research also takes into account physical characteristics of an organism, which might be used as a vaccine component, or as a drug to prevent or interrupt the disease process. If initial results are promising, the candidates are further tested in laboratory animals such as mice, guinea pigs or even monkeys. In some cases, computers can help researchers visualize the vaccine candidates in three dimensions to predict how vaccines will interact with the immune system. If the vaccine candidate performs well throughout these preclinical evaluations, it can become an investigational vaccine for use in human volunteers in clinical trials. Clinical Studies Clinical studies rely upon the participation of thousands of people, from all walks of life, who volunteer their time and energy to advance science and improve health care for all.