The Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF) is an American

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to finding a cure for

hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the ''Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. Fo ...

and improving the lives of those already affected by the disease. Established in 1991, the foundation's headquarters is in

Doylestown, PA Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 cen ...

. It is the only non-profit in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

focused solely on hepatitis B. The foundation conducts biomedical research, promotes disease awareness, and acts as an information source for patients, the medical community, and the general public. The Hepatitis B Foundation's research arm, the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, has the largest number of non-profit scientists dedicated to hepatitis B research in the world. The organization also leads national public policy initiatives and international public health programs.

History and organization

Founding

The Hepatitis B Foundation was established in 1991 by a young couple, Joan and Tim Block. After Joan was diagnosed with hepatitis B at the age of 29, she and Tim encountered a lack of support and few resources to cope with the new diagnosis. To meet the unmet needs of those living with chronic hepatitis B, they created the Hepatitis B Foundation with the help of the other co-founders, Janine and Paul Witte. The first meetings of the foundation were held in their living room. Tim Block, a professor of

virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

at the time, switched his research focus from

herpesviridae ''Herpesviridae'' is a large family of DNA viruses that cause infections and certain diseases in animals, including humans. The members of this family are also known as herpesviruses. The family name is derived from the Greek word ''ἕρπειν ...

to hepatitis B. He reached out to

Baruch S. Blumberg Baruch Samuel Blumberg (July 28, 1925 April 5, 2011), known as Barry Blumberg, was an American physician, geneticist, and co-recipient of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek), for his work on the hepat ...

, the Nobel prize winning discoverer of the hepatitis B virus, who invited Block to join him as a research fellow at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Blumberg ultimately became a founding member of the Hepatitis B Foundation's research arm. Joan and Tim served in leadership roles throughout the growth of the organization. Joan Block served as

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

until retiring in 2017, while Tim Block remains as president of the foundation and its affiliated research arm, Baruch S. Blumberg Institute.

Organization and operations

The Hepatitis B Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides resources and information about hepatitis B, engages in public health outreach campaigns, and leads public policy initiatives. Their website acts as a resource for patients, the medical community, and general public to learn about the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B. Patient-centered support groups and trained counselors, who answer email and telephone questions, can be found on their website. Their website is available in 12 different languages, including

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, and

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

. For the medical community, the Hepatitis B Foundation organizes the International HBV Scientific Meeting annually for scientists discuss to new discoveries in hepatitis B research. The organization is also actively involved in policy-making, helping ensure hepatitis B is a health priority at the local and federal level. The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute was established in 2003 by the Hepatitis B Foundation to conduct focused biomedical research on hepatitis B. Originally known as the Institute of Hepatitis and Virus Research, it was renamed in 2013 to honor its late co-founder and discoverer of the hepatitis B virus, Baruch S. Blumberg. The research institute contains the largest group of non-profit scientists in the United States working on hepatitis B research. In 2006, the Hepatitis B Foundation opened its first research facility on Delaware Valley College's campus to house the Baruch S Blumberg Institute. This research facility was recognized by the state as a Pennsylvania Keystone Innovation Zone. In 2006, the foundation built a research center to accommodate its expanding activities. This new center, called the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, presently acts as the headquarters for the Hepatitis B Foundation and Baruch S. Blumberg Institute. The Hepatitis B Foundation's biotechnology center has created over 700 jobs and brought in more than $1.8 billion to the

Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

economic region between 2013 and 2015. In 2017, the foundation secured a $13 million grant to expand its Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center by 47,000 square feet, which will add 100 new jobs to its research facility.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Medical and health foundations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in the United States Hepatitis B