Benaroya Research Institute
 |
|
 |
|
| Established | 1956 |
|---|---|
| Research type | Basic (non-clinical), Clinical and Translational Research |
|
Field of research
|
Immune System and Autoimmune Disease Research |
| President | Jane H. Buckner, MD |
| Address | 1201 Ninth Avenue |
| Location | Seattle, WA |
| Affiliations | Virginia Mason Health System |
| Website | www.benaroyaresearch.org |
Benaroya Research Institute (BRI, formally called Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason) is a Seattle, Washington non-profit organization that conducts autoimmune disease medical research. It is affiliated with Virginia Mason Health System and located on the campus of Virginia Mason Medical Center.
Much of BRI’s research aims to uncover how immune cells function and why they malfunction to cause disease. BRI researchers have illuminated how immune cells contribute to rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
BRI uses translational research and clinical trials to carry its discoveries from the lab to the clinic, improving how physicians diagnose and treat disease.
BRI was founded in 1956 as the Virginia Mason Research Center." In 1985, Gerald Nepom, MD, PhD, became BRI’s director and established its immunology research program.
In 1999, BRI moved into a new, 100,000 square-foot building at the corner of Seneca and 9th Avenue, in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. The building was named the Benaroya Research Institute in honor of donations from the Benaroya family.
In the late 1990s, BRI’s William Kwok, PhD and Gerald Nepom, MD, PhD, developed MHC class II tetramer technology that helps researchers find and study antigen-specific T cells. These tetramers are customized (using different HLA/peptide combinations) for use by researchers to study how the immune system responds to many different diseases and pathogens, including influenza, human papillomavirus, allergies, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
In 2016, Jane Buckner, MD, took over from Gerald Nepom, MD, PhD and became BRI’s president." Nepom remained at BRI as a researcher and faculty member.
BRI actively studies immune cells and immunotherapies that reprogram those cells; these therapies could prevent or stop type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.
BRI’s research is fueled by its biorepositories of blood and specimens from individuals with autoimmune diseases and other disorders, and from healthy individuals. BRI is home to eight biorepositories that contain samples dating back to the year 2000.
In 2014, BRI was awarded a seven year, $27 million per-year grant to become headquarters of the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN), a clinical research consortium with more than 200 research sites around the world. The ITN investigates how to retrain the immune system to tolerate organ transplants and reduce the effects of allergies, autoimmune diseases and other health issues. The ITN is directed by BRI’s Gerald Nepom, MD, PhD.
...
Wikipedia