11 Results
SARS-CoV-2 Rapidly Evolves in People with Advanced HIV
A NIAID study revealed how some variants of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—could evolve. The researchers used cutting-edge technology to examine genes from SARS-CoV-2 in people with and without HIV who also had COVID-19, looking at the different copies of the virus in individuals over time. They found that people with advanced HIV—as defined by reduced numbers of immune cells called CD4+ T cells—had dozens of SARS-CoV-2 variants in their bodies, compared to just one major variant in most people without HIV and people with HIV who had higher numbers of CD4+ T cells.
Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Evaluated in Many HIV Cure Strategies
Many promising HIV cure strategies use broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bNAbs, which can neutralize a wide range of HIV variants, homing in on and binding to specific viral components, and then acting to destroy the virus by triggering an immune response. Several HIV bNAbs have been developed and tested to determine whether they can prevent or treat HIV. NIAID and partners are evaluating bNAb-based strategies alone and in combination with other immunity-enhancing strategies for HIV clearance in clinical trials in in Africa, North and South America, and Southeast Asia.
Our Words Have Power—NIAID Embraces Respectful, Inclusive, and Person-First Language
by Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H., NIAID Director
Our institute is responsible not only for advancing scientific knowledge, but for doing so in a way that honors the dignity, individuality, and autonomy of the people affected by the health issues we address. For this reason, I am very proud to share the updated NIAID HIV Language Guide, a thoroughly vetted resource to inform our written and verbal communications.
NIAID Marks HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2024
On the 27th observance of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (Saturday, May 18), we express our gratitude to the dedicated global community of scientists, advocates, study participants, study staff, and funders working toward a safe, effective, durable, and accessible HIV vaccine.
Experimental Ebola Vaccines Found Safe and Capable of Producing Immune Responses in Healthy Adults
Ebola viruses cause devastating disease in people, resulting in severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever called Ebola virus disease. Of the four species of Ebola viruses that cause disease in people, Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) and Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) have caused more than 30 known outbreaks in the last century, killing more than half of those with the disease. Scientists at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC) developed novel vaccines to combat these viruses, which were advanced to clinical trials in response to the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In two phase 1/1b trials conducted in the United States and Uganda, the researchers evaluated combinations of the experimental vaccines against Ebola disease in healthy adults, finding them safe, tolerable, and capable of producing immune responses. Comparisons between the different vaccine regimens revealed important data on how the vaccines could be administered in routine and outbreak settings. The results of the trials were published last week in npj Vaccines.
NIAID’s Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo Previews CROI 2024 (VIDEO)
HIV.gov opened their coverage of the 2024 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) today with a conversation with NIAID Director Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H. She spoke with Miguel Gomez, director of HIV.gov about what she’s looking forward to hearing about at the conference, how the studies presented at research conferences ultimately get translated into clinical practice or HIV prevention or treatment services, and the important roles of early-career investigators. Watch their conversation with Dr. Marrazzo.
New Model for Norovirus Offers Promising Path Towards Countermeasure Development
Norovirus, a highly infectious virus that is the leading cause of diarrhea and vomiting in the U.S., has no approved therapeutics or vaccines to prevent its miserable effects. This is partly due to a lack of reliable animal models to study norovirus infection and predict how effective interventions would be in people.
NIAID’s VRC, S. Africa’s Afrigen Kick Off Vaccine-Sharing Efforts
A team of vaccine production experts from South Africa recently finished training with NIAID Vaccine Research Center scientists. Their objective: to globally produce vaccines against a list of troubling infectious diseases.
IAS 2023—HIV Vaccines, bNAbs, and an Update from NIH’s Office of AIDS Research
This blog is cross-posted from HIV.gov.
On Tuesday at the International AIDS Society’s 12th Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2023), HIV.gov continued our conversations about research highlights, including a focus on the latest about HIV vaccines. We also heard an update from the NIH Office of AIDS Research.
NIH’s Carl Dieffenbach, Ph.D., Director of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute...
Promising Advances for Antibody Treatment of Viruses that Cause Neurologic and Arthritic Diseases
NIAID scientists and colleagues are one step closer to developing a safe and effective therapy against alphaviruses, which are spread by mosquitoes and can cause two types of disease in people: causing severe neurological impairment such as encephalitis (brain swelling) or crippling muscle pain similar to arthritis.
Universal Influenza Candidate Vaccine Performs Well in Phase 1 Trial
Developing a universal influenza vaccine is a significant priority for NIAID scientists. Two new studies describe a unique candidate developed by NIAID's Vaccine Research Center that performed well in a Phase 1 clinical trial.
