News & Events

The mercurial nature of influenza has made this virus a formidable foe throughout the centuries. With its talent for mutation, close monitoring of influenza is critical to contain outbreaks of new strains. Over the past year, avian influenza, or “bird flu,” has been in the news. Let’s take a closer look at the history of avian influenza, the current status of H5N1 virus and what this may mean for the future.

Vaccines, and the campaigns to deliver them, have done tremendous work to uplift global health and prevent the spread of disease. One example is the campaign against polio. 

The Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC), in collaboration with our partners, the Public Health Association of British Columbia, Kids Boost Immunity, Society for Intelligence Management (SIM) and the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), are pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Maurice R. Hilleman Essay Contest. Seven winners were celebrated during a virtual event hosted by Dr. Paul Offit, VEC Director and biographer of Dr. Hilleman.

Imagine: It’s late 2020. The world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic for months. In some places, schools are shuttered. In other places, whole communities are shuttered.

While more mRNA vaccines are likely to be developed, vaccines are not the only potential use for mRNA. In this article, we describe the biology of mRNA, discuss the history of understanding and working with mRNA, and share updates on three exciting potential uses for mRNA technology beyond vaccines.