In 2008, the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida VGTI Florida (VGTI-FL) was founded as an independent non-profit institute with the assistance of a $60 million grant from the State of Florida’s Innovation Incentive Fund intended to anchor and drive the State’s expansion strategy for biomedical research.

Dr. Jay Nelson founded the original Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in 2001 in Portland Oregon and serves as Director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Oregon and Executive Director and Vice President of VGTI-Florida.