October 2002: Grants Target AIDS Treatments and Vaccines In
October 2002, amfAR announced basic research grant awards
totaling $760,000 for new research on HIV/AIDS. Over $360,000
was awarded for research on AIDS vaccines, new drugs to fight
HIV, ways to eliminate viral reservoirs, the immune system's
response to HIV, and the actions of viral proteins as they
promote infection and cell death. Nearly $400,000 was awarded
for two-year fellowships that enable investigators new to the
field of AIDS research to conduct original studies under the
guidance of experienced scientific sponsors. Designing An
Effective AIDS Vaccine Despite more than two decades of
intensive research on HIV and AIDS, there is still no cure. If
available, an AIDS vaccine could either prevent or delay the
onset of AIDS (a therapeutic vaccine), or perhaps even prevent
HIV disease altogether (a sterilizing vaccine). amfAR awarded
two grants and one fellowship to researchers who will
investigate novel methods of designing an AIDS vaccine, usin