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Emory awarded $35.6 million grant for HIV/AIDS research into cure

A research consortium led by Emory University has been awarded a 5-year, $35.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new strategies for preventing and curing HIV/AIDS.

Rama Amara and Eric Hunter are co-principal investigators of the Emory Consortium for Innovative AIDS Research in Non-Human Primates.

A research consortium led by Emory University has been awarded a 5-year, $35.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new strategies for preventing and curing HIV/AIDS.

The group is focused on a wide range of HIV vaccine and cure research, with the aim of developing a potent HIV vaccine that produces a “broad and sustained immune response.”

Investigators in the Emory Consortium for Innovative AIDS Research in Nonhuman Primates aim to develop advanced vaccines that provide sustained protection from retroviral infection.

In addition, they aim to refine existing "shock and kill" approaches that seek to eliminate the virus from latent reservoirs in people who are infected with HIV, enhancing the possibility of a cure.

Research programs with nonhuman primates provide an opportunity to understand what makes a vaccine effective in protecting monkeys against infection with the virus. Leading HIV investigators from around the country also will contribute to the consortium.

"Emory's HIV/AIDS investigators have been leaders in contributing essential knowledge and tools in the effort to develop preventive and therapeutic options for this challenging disease," said Jonathan S. Lewin, MD.

Lewin is Emory’s executive vice president for health affairs, executive director of Emory's Woodruff Health Sciences Center and president and CEO of Emory Healthcare.

"As the international research community draws closer to an effective vaccine and cure, Emory's research team will use this significant new grant to close the gaps in scientific understanding and develop meaningful outcomes for prevention and potential cure," he said.

Scientists already know that by using a particular immune-stimulating agent they can enhance vaccine protection and by using another agent decrease viral levels for an extended time after discontinuing antiretroviral therapy.

The Emory-led team has a plan for combining these different pieces of the puzzle, in order to fill the gaps in our knowledge.

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