Sabin Vaccine Institute

Sabin Vaccine Institute, located in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit organization promoting global vaccine development, availability, and use. Through its work, Sabin hopes to reduce human suffering by preventing the spread of vaccine-preventable, communicable disease in humans through herd immunity and mitigating the poverty caused by these diseases.

Background
Founded in 1993 in honor of Albert B. Sabin, creator of the oral polio vaccine, Sabin works to reduce "human suffering from vaccine-preventable and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)." The organization endeavors to reach its goal via its three main programs: Sabin Vaccine Development, the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Vaccine Advocacy and Education. Through its Product Development Partnership (PDP), Sabin has worked with organizations such as King Saud University, Texas Children's Hospital Center, International Vaccine Institute, and George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences toward its goals, with funding and support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Brazilian Ministry of Health and other benefactors.

Vaccine development and research
In 2012, Sabin partnered with International Vaccine Institute to combine their research, development, and promotion efforts in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Sabin is currently working on multiple vaccines for humans including vaccines for Hookworm infection (Na-GST-1, Na-APR-1),  Schistosomiasis (Sm-TSP-2),   Chagas disease (Tc24, TSA-1),  Leishmaniasis (Ld-NH36, PdSP15),   severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)/Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) (Pan-β-CoVax),   Soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH),  and Onchocerciasis (Ov-103, Ov-RAL-2).

Neglected tropical diseases
In 2006, Sabin co-founded the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases in order "to raise the awareness, political will and funding necessary to control and eliminate the most common NTDs." Through its work on NTDs, Sabin hopes to reduce poverty caused by these diseases as many of them have been shown to adversely affect "childhood cognitive development among the poor, thereby reinforcing poverty."

Advocacy and education
Sabin works with experts and organizations from around the world to advance knowledge of both infectious diseases and the vaccines that can prevent them. Through the International Association of Immunization Managers (IAIM) Network, Sabin arranges international forums to improve the success rates of immunization programs. Sabin serves as the secretariat for the Coalition against Typhoid, and its mission is to raise awareness of typhoid and salmonellosis.

Board of directors

 * Axel Hoos (chairman)
 * Amy Finan (ex officio trustee)
 * Peter L. Thoren (vice chairman)
 * Wendy Commins Holman
 * Kenneth Kelley
 * Paul Maddon
 * Michael W. Marine
 * Regina Rabinovich
 * Philip K. Russell (past chairman)

Gold medal award
First awarded in 1994, the Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal is presented by Sabin each year to one or more persons who have made a major contribution to the field of vaccinology or related fields. The award is given in honor of the work of Albert B. Sabin. Past recipients of the award include Samuel L. Katz (2003), Joseph L. Melnick (1996), and Ruth S. Nussenzweig (2008).