THE CONTINUING CHALLENGE OF HIV-AIDS RESEARCH

AIDS treatment was transformed in the mid-1990s by the introduction of powerful antiviral drug combinations. These breakthrough therapies, which were first tested on The Rockefeller University campus, have dramatically reduced HIV-associated deaths in the United States and Western Europe.

While this progress has been remarkable, the existing drug regimens are not likely to end AIDS in any affected region, rich or poor. Although prevention and improved treatment remain top priorities, the development of vaccines that can confer lifelong protection against HIV has emerged as a primary goal of medical science.

In their race against time to develop and test new HIV vaccines, the laboratories and research clinics of Rockefeller University are confronting one of the greatest challenges in the history of biomedical research. Meeting this challenge will require innovative research focused on vaccine design and techniques of immunological analysis. A parallel goal, strongly supported by DirectEffect, is the training of young scientists who can help to seed the expansion of these initiatives in laboratories and research clinics around the world.