This story has been updated.
Under Larry Schlesinger’s leadership, the San Antonio-based Texas Biomedical Research Institute has been on the front lines of vaccine and infectious disease research for years, especially during and after the COVID pandemic.
On the latest episode of the “bigcitysmalltown” podcast, host Robert Rivard speaks with Schlesinger, who joined Texas Biomed eight years ago as president and CEO, about the role of science at local, national and international levels.
“Biomed is unparalleled in what it can do,” Schlesinger said. “I want everyone to know just how special it is that it’s in San Antonio.”
Texas Biomed boasts a national primate center, one of seven in the country. The institute also had a role in developing the cure for Hepatitis C, the Hepatitis B vaccine, the first COVID-19 vaccine and first Ebola virus treatment.
Despite federal cuts to the National Institute of Health under the Trump administration, Schlesinger said Texas Biomed will survive and continue its research because he sought different funding sources and has support from local government officials.
“Long before the Trump administration, part of my vision for [Texas Biomed] was to diversify funding,” Schlesinger said.
When Schlesinger first stepped into the role, he said Texas Biomed was dependent on the NIH for 80%-90% of its funding. Now, 46% of its funding comes from the federal government.
As for the politicization of science, Schlesinger says there’s a “fundamental misunderstanding” about how science works but maintains that there is still strong bipartisan support for science.
“Science is a process and it’s global. … We would be in much worse shape if we didn’t work internationally in trying to solve some of the big problems.”
Schlesinger also stressed the importance of vaccines, especially after the COVID pandemic and the current measles outbreak across Texas.
At the start of the pandemic, Texas Biomed raised $5 million and validated a project to study the effects of the coronavirus on primates, allowing vaccine developers to then test the vaccine on animals before testing on humans.
Currently, the institute is looking for ways to incorporate artificial intelligence in animal testing, possibly decreasing or eliminating the need to use animals for scientific research, Schlesinger said.
As for the measles outbreak, a disease which was previously largely eradicated, Schlesinger set to demystify vaccines by stressing the negative effects of contracting infectious diseases and the positive impact of a vaccine that caused childhood deaths to plummet during the 1960s.
“I just can’t speak with more passion about how a vaccine has changed humanity in terms of human health … particularly the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella vaccine),” he said.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story reported that Texas Biomed is currently involved in the preclinical research for a Hepatitis B vaccine. The story now reflects the role that the institute has had in development of vaccines and treatments.
