Researchers at Emory University Awarded Grant to Pursue a Cure for HIV

An Emory University-led research collaboration has been awarded a five-year $23.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fast-track research to cure HIV infection or put it in permanent remission. The Enterprise for Research and Advocacy to Stop and Eradicate HIV (ERASE HIV) is one of the 10 newly NIH-funded Martin Delaney Collaboratories for HIV Cure and the only one researchers at a National Primate Research Center (NPRC) are leading.

The Emory/Yerkes NPRC study leaders include Deanna Kulpa, PhD, Mirko Paiardini, PhD, and Guido Silvestri, MD, who along with their team members are renowned for their HIV cure research. As part of ERASE HIV, they will characterize the key immune system functions that control persistent HIV infection and design innovative, immune-based therapies to eliminate or control the virus in the absence of antiretroviral therapy (ART).

“It’s been 40 years since the first case of what we now know as HIV/AIDS was reported in the United States,” said Dr. Paiardini. “Since then, more than 700,000 people in America have died from HIV-related illness, and a similar number died worldwide just in the last year. Our work and the work of the other Martin Delaney Collaboratories will bring us closer to a cure, a goal now regarded as possible based on recent research advancements and the continuing dedication of HIV/ AIDS researchers and advocates.”

While ART has been successful in reducing HIV to undetectable levels and halting the progression to AIDS, the treatment does not eliminate HIV. The virus hides in the body and rebounds when people with HIV stop taking ART. “Antiretroviral therapy has literally been a lifesaver for millions of people living with HIV around the world, but our work is not finished,” said Dr. Kulpa. “This NIH funding gives us the opportunity to build on Emory’s eminence as a worldwide leader in HIV/AIDS research and to assemble an incredible team of researchers and community advocates for the ERASE HIV Collaboratory.