President Jane H. Buckner, MD Location Seattle, WA | Address 1201 Ninth Avenue Established 1956 | |
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Field of research Immune System and Autoimmune Disease Research Affiliations Virginia Mason Health System Similar Virginia Mason Medical, Sage Bionetworks, La Jolla Institute for Allergy a, Fred Hutchinson Cancer R, JDRF | ||
Jdrf northwest typeonenation summit kelly geubtner benaroya research institute
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.
Contents
- Jdrf northwest typeonenation summit kelly geubtner benaroya research institute
- History
- Research
- Funding and Growth
- References
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.
History
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.
Research
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.
BRI’s Carla Greenbaum, MD is chair of Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet. TrialNet is an international research network that is pursuing new ways to identify, slow the progression of and ultimately prevent type 1 diabetes.
In 2016, BRI received a five-year, $8 million NIH grant to lead a collaboration that studies how the immune system responds to allergens in the lungs, and how those allergens trigger asthma attacks. The collaboration includes researchers from BRI, UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Their work could lead to new therapies for allergies and asthma.
Funding and Growth
BRI has received United States federal grants for research for a wide variety of research projects, including research on autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma.
In 2015, BRI’s annual budget was $65 million, marking a 73 percent increase in sponsored research funding over the previous five years. Approximately 72 percent of BRI’s 2015 research was supported by government research grants and contracts. The remaining revenues came from philanthropic donations, pharmaceutical studies, foundation grants and other sources.
In 2015, BRI ranked third in National Institutes of Health funding among Washington State research institutions.