TAG HIV Basic Science, Vaccines, and Cure Project Blog
By Richard Jefferys, Project Director at Treatment Action Group (TAG).
recent posts
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the February 2026 Update
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the December 2025 and January 2026 Updates
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the November 2025 Update
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the October 2025 Update
- TAG’s HIV Cure-Related Clinical Research Listing: Background on the September 2025 Update
Category: Transmission
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A paper published in Nature Medicine on October 28th describes two cases of extended post-treatment control of HIV. The research was led by Jana Blazkova from the laboratory of Tae-Wook Chun at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and an accompanying press release generated several media stories. The two people with HIV…
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On January 28th, a paper reporting evidence of rapid progression associated with a recently identified HIV-1 recombinant circulating in Cuba (CRF19_cpx) was published online by the journal EBioMedicine. CRF stands for circulating recombinant form, and CRF19_cpx represents a combination of HIV-1 subtypes A, D and G. Last week, the authors issued a press release about the study, and…
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One of the less-discussed factors that influences susceptibility to HIV infection is immune activation, which is interlinked with the availability of potential target cells for the virus. Several recent papers and a poster presentation at CROI 2014 shed additional light on this topic. In an open access review published in Retrovirology last November, Catherine Card and…
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Over the past few years there has been growing interest in the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a vehicle for generating anti-HIV neutralizing antibodies in humans. The approach is different from traditional vaccination, in that AAV is used essentially as a gene therapy: the AAV vector is designed to take up residence in cells…
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Vaccine vectors based on adenoviruses—which are common in nature and cause severe colds—were once viewed as promising for HIV and other intractable diseases due to their ability to induce antigen-specific CD8 T cell responses in the majority of recipients. The subsequent Icarus-like trajectory of the approach in HIV has been covered in some detail on…
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In the early 1990s, the research group of Frank Plummer at the University of Manitoba drew considerable attention—and some controversy—when they reported that, among a large cohort of female sex workers in Nairobi, a subset showed evidence of resistance to HIV infection. The evidence emerged over the course of a long-term study that found that…
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The geographic variation in the risk of HIV acquisition among heterosexuals has prompted extensive speculation and debate as to the underlying causes. The lack of a clear explanation has even fueled conspiracy theories, playing a prominent role in Thabo Mbeki’s disastrous embrace of AIDS denialism in South Africa and driving a campaign that insists—in the face…
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In September 2007, the HIV vaccine field received an unexpected setback when it was announced that the phase IIb efficacy trial of a candidate developed by Merck was being stopped early due to lack of efficacy. The trial was conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) and was referred to as the STEP study.…
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A bevy of recently published papers address the use of adenoviruses as vaccine vectors, illuminating both the promise of the approach and some previously unappreciated pitfalls. For the uninitiated, adenoviruses are a family of airborne viruses that are common in nature, causing severe colds. Family members are scientifically categorized into different serotypes based on the…
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Previously on the blog I’ve covered studies addressing the under-researched role of genital tract immune activation in increasing the risk of HIV acquisition, and the potential link between this phenomenon and global variation in HIV prevalence. A related issue is the impact of genital infections on the probability of acquiring HIV. Several recent papers (abstracts…