This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Gilead awards $7.5 million to support HIV cure initiatives
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
In a second round of funding, Gilead Sciences’ HIV cure grants program will provide $7.5 million to five additional research initiatives focused on curing HIV, according to a recent press release.
“Together with our newest grant recipients, all of whom have a record of excellence in their research, we can take collective steps to help end this devastating epidemic,” William Lee, PhD, executive vice president of research at Gilead, said in the release. “We are proud to support these leaders in HIV research and are confident in their ability to make meaningful and measurable contributions in this area of unmet medical need.”
In January, Gilead awarded the first round of HIV cure grants — totaling over $22 million — to 12 projects, according to the release.
Recipients of the second round of grants include:
- Alexander Marson, MD, PhD, assistant professor from the department of microbiology and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and investigator at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub;
- Monsef Benkirane, PhD, from the Institute of Human Genetics at the French National Center for Scientific Research and the University of Montpellier in France;
- Abraham L. Brass, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School;
- Jeffrey D. Lifson, MD, from the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program at Fredrick National Laboratory for Cancer Research; and
- Joseph G. Sodroski, MD, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The funding will allow these principle investigators to focus on multiple areas in HIV research. Marson plans to use an integrated CRISPR platform to detect HIV latency regulators in primary human T cells. Similarly, Brass will use a CRISPR/Cas9 screen to find HIV-1 latency factors. Benkirane will examine HIV persistent CD4 T cells in vivo. Lifson and Sodroski will both be targeting HIV viral reservoirs, according to the release.
“There is currently a great deal of interest in using antibodies against the viral envelope glycoproteins for the treatment of HIV-1 infection,” Sodroski told Infectious Disease News. “Our project will evaluate whether antibodies that are naturally elicited during HIV-1 infection can be used to target infected cells. Activating the natural immune response against the virus may allow HIV-1 infection to be more tightly controlled.” – by Savannah Demko
Disclosure: Lee is employed by Gilead.