Combined Expertise

Baylor Research Institute and Mount Sinai School of Medicine collaborate to expand their research capabilities.

Baylor Research Institute (BRI) has already developed many important medical advances, particularly in the area of the immune system with an emphasis on autoimmunity and the development of therapeutic vaccines for cancers, such as malignant melanoma, lymphoma and breast cancer. Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR) scientists also are working actively on vaccines for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

To take this work to another level, Baylor is joining forces with Mount Sinai School of Medicine, one of the country’s top medical schools. By combining Baylor’s advanced laboratory and clinical research capabilities with Mount Sinai’s experience and expertise, the institutions hope to accelerate and broaden their programs, says Michael Ramsay, M.D., president of BRI.

“Baylor brings enormous expertise in immunology and vaccine development that Mount Sinai does not have,” says Dennis S. Charney, M.D., dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “On the other hand, Mount Sinai brings a very large group of researchers who are outstanding in transitional research related to cancer and a range of autoimmune diseases. This is going to be a win-win collaboration.” The institutions will begin their collaboration by developing therapeutic cancer vaccines for patients with lymphoma and myeloma. This builds on the cancer vaccine programs already in place at BIIR under the direction of Jacques Banchereau, Ph.D.

So far, researchers at BIIR have made significant advances in the development of personalized cancer vaccines using cells from the patient’s own immune system. To develop the vaccines, Baylor researchers cultivate dendritic cells—which initiate and control the body’s overall immune response—and manipulate them to attack the cancer.

“We are very excited about the potential of this collaboration with Mount Sinai,” Dr. Banchereau says. “We believe that establishing and working on projects together will increase our opportunities for success.”

Baylor and Mount Sinai are making an inventory of all the research areas their collaboration could encompass, including bone marrow transplantation and the analysis of gene activity that corresponds to specific disease processes, programs initiated at Baylor.

The collaboration also may integrate programs related to inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, which was discovered by Burrill Crohn, M.D., at Mount Sinai, and multiple sclerosis, two areas of expertise for Mount Sinai.

“Our hope is that by working with Baylor, we can move Mount Sinai’s research innovations into clinical practice more quickly,” says John H. Morrison, Ph.D., dean of Basic Sciences and the Graduate School of Biological Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

The collaboration is ultimately expected to benefit patients by speeding the development of vaccines and diagnostic techniques for cancer and autoimmune disorders such as arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis.

“If you have one of these diseases, time is of the essence in finding an effective treatment,” Dr. Ramsay says. “Together, we can get there faster.”

By Amy Lynn Smith