IDCRC Site Profile: University of Rochester Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
Ann Falsey, MD is a professor of infectious diseases in the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Angela Branche, MD is an assistant professor of infectious diseases in the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Together they serve as the co-principal investigators for the University of Rochester Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (UR VTEU). They both have been with the UR VTEU since its inception in December 2019.
The focus of Falsey’s research has been clinical and translational research in the field of respiratory viral infections in adults. More recently, she has broadened her research to include numerous viral respiratory pathogens including influenza, coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and human metapneumovirus. She serves on the Emerging Infectious Diseases and Coronavirus IDCRC Expert Working Groups. “The IDCRC network provides an essential network for multicenter trials.”
Branche’s current research activities explore clinical disease, pathogenesis, development of therapeutics, and vaccine biology related to infection with viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens. She serves on the Emerging Infectious Diseases IDCRC Expert Working Group. Branche led UR VTEU efforts pertaining to the ACTT 1-4 clinical trials enrolling over 70 participants in the last year. “We were one of the leading sites for enrollment in ACTT 2,” remarked Branche.
“One of the most impactful studies for the UR VTEU this last year has been participation in the ACTT trials. We started enrolling in ACTT 1 at the start of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. At a time when we were still learning about SARS-CoV-2, the intricacies of the COVID-19 syndrome and the impact this would have on our local communities and nation, we were the only institution in our region, and one of the few in the state, to be able to offer potentially beneficial treatment to our patients. Finding a few months later that Remdesivir was in fact beneficial, which led to it being the first approved treatment for COVID-19, made the recoveries we were able to witness in those first study subjects all the more meaningful,” said Branche.
Falsey was the protocol co-chair for the AstraZeneca Phase 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial and was involved in the ACTT studies as well. “I think the AstraZeneca trial has been most impactful. Despite the issues that the vaccine has encountered, it remains one the hopes for the world,” says Falsey.
UR VTEU will also be participating in the SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Pregnancy and Postpartum, the MOMI-VAX Maternal Immunity to COVID-19 Vaccine Study and the Prime Boost Mix and Max Heterologous COVID-19 Vaccine Studies. Learn more about IDCRC studies
The IDCRC is composed of a collection of scientists and clinician-scientists whose shared knowledge and experience allows the network to be extremely impactful in the field of emerging infections. Branche has “learned a lot just being in meetings where ideas are shared, and new policies evolve.” Investigators in the IDCRC were poised to rapidly adapt what they already did well to the pandemic. “As a network of investigators many of whom are also practicing physicians, we are deeply embedded in our local communities and committed to improving health care. This allows us to identify the most important health care issues that need to be addressed locally, nationally, and in the world,” says Branche.
The focus of Falsey’s research has been clinical and translational research in the field of respiratory viral infections in adults. More recently, she has broadened her research to include numerous viral respiratory pathogens including influenza, coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and human metapneumovirus. She serves on the Emerging Infectious Diseases and Coronavirus IDCRC Expert Working Groups. “The IDCRC network provides an essential network for multicenter trials.”
Branche’s current research activities explore clinical disease, pathogenesis, development of therapeutics, and vaccine biology related to infection with viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens. She serves on the Emerging Infectious Diseases IDCRC Expert Working Group. Branche led UR VTEU efforts pertaining to the ACTT 1-4 clinical trials enrolling over 70 participants in the last year. “We were one of the leading sites for enrollment in ACTT 2,” remarked Branche.
“One of the most impactful studies for the UR VTEU this last year has been participation in the ACTT trials. We started enrolling in ACTT 1 at the start of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. At a time when we were still learning about SARS-CoV-2, the intricacies of the COVID-19 syndrome and the impact this would have on our local communities and nation, we were the only institution in our region, and one of the few in the state, to be able to offer potentially beneficial treatment to our patients. Finding a few months later that Remdesivir was in fact beneficial, which led to it being the first approved treatment for COVID-19, made the recoveries we were able to witness in those first study subjects all the more meaningful,” said Branche.
Falsey was the protocol co-chair for the AstraZeneca Phase 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial and was involved in the ACTT studies as well. “I think the AstraZeneca trial has been most impactful. Despite the issues that the vaccine has encountered, it remains one the hopes for the world,” says Falsey.
UR VTEU will also be participating in the SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Pregnancy and Postpartum, the MOMI-VAX Maternal Immunity to COVID-19 Vaccine Study and the Prime Boost Mix and Max Heterologous COVID-19 Vaccine Studies. Learn more about IDCRC studies
The IDCRC is composed of a collection of scientists and clinician-scientists whose shared knowledge and experience allows the network to be extremely impactful in the field of emerging infections. Branche has “learned a lot just being in meetings where ideas are shared, and new policies evolve.” Investigators in the IDCRC were poised to rapidly adapt what they already did well to the pandemic. “As a network of investigators many of whom are also practicing physicians, we are deeply embedded in our local communities and committed to improving health care. This allows us to identify the most important health care issues that need to be addressed locally, nationally, and in the world,” says Branche.