Center for Immunization Research (CIR)
Leaders in vaccine development, research and education since 1985.
Welcome to the Center for Immunization Research
CIR was founded to facilitate the development of new vaccines against infectious diseases of global importance. Here you can find the latest evidence-based updates about vaccines, learn about clinical studies, read journal articles by our infectious disease experts, and more.
Our Research
Join a clinical study
Project SAVE (Support a Vaccine Effort) is the adult recruitment program at the Center for Immunization Research. The program is used to screen adult potential study participants to help determine their eligibility for specific clinical vaccine studies at the CIR.
New and Noteworthy
Controlled human infection models in vaccine development: what’s new in 2025?
Join us Thursday, May 29th at 11 am for this webinar about controlled human infection models (CHIMs). CHIMs can speed up vaccine development by rapidly eliminating unsuccessful candidates and de-risking later clinical trials. CIR director, Dr. Anna Durbin, joins the panel of experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges of CHIMs in 2025 and beyond.
3rd Annual Health Research Day at Eager Park
Health Research Day allows researchers and the community to network, interact and inform each other about the important work being done at Johns Hopkins!
Next-gen leaders in diarrheal disease: Q&A with Brittany Feijoo
Brittany Feijoo, MSN, FNP-BC, a research associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is one of those next-generation leaders. We talked to Brittany about her path from nursing to global health, her research on Shigella in Kenya, and her role models both inside and outside the scientific community.
Respiratory syncytial virus vaccination and immunoprophylaxis: realising the potential for protection of young children
In high-income and middle-income countries, two new products have been authorized to prevent RSV in infants. These products are not yet available in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, where most RSV deaths occur. This paper briefly reviews the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of these products and explores potential pathways to broadening their availability.
CIR Outpatient Clinic at Rangos
Effective May 28, 2024 our East Baltimore clinic address is:
855 N. Wolfe Street Suite 601
Baltimore, MD 21205
Phase 3 Study Results for Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine Published in NEJM
Study results for a phase 3 trial titled: "Live, Attenuated, Tetravalent Butantan-Dengue Vaccine in Children and Adults" were published on February 1, 2024 in the New England Journal of Medicine. CIR's Team FIRE conducted more than 30 trials for the development of the Butantan Dengue Vaccine (Butantan-DV) used in this study. The study was conducted at 16 sites in Brazil and showed that Butantan-DV prevented symptomatic dengue virus 1 and dengue virus 2 through 2 years of follow up.
Meet our Faculty
Our dedicated faculty members work together to carry out CIR’s mission by applying public health expertise to their individual infectious diseases areas of interest. Learn more about their important work on the BSPH faculty pages.
Anna Durbin, MD, studies experimental vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, dengue, West Nile, Zika, malaria, and more in human clinical trials and in controlled human infection studies.
Support our Research
Your financial gift can both support our important immunization research and help us combat misinformation about vaccines