HIV | Current projects
Would you like to take part in a study to see where HIV hides in the body?
About the research study
Finding a cure for HIV will provide a way for people with HIV to safely stop HIV medication and still keep the virus under control. The main reason why HIV cannot be cured at the moment is because HIV is able to hide in resting long-lived cells of the immune system. To achieve a cure for HIV, we need to develop therapies that are able to target and eliminate this pool of long-lived infected cells. Some studies have indicated that cells containing HIV tend to express certain proteins (receptors) on their surface. The aim of this research project is to determine whether latent HIV is enriched in cells expressing certain proteins on their surface and, furthermore, whether it is then possible to eliminate HIV infected cells through the use of drugs that specifically target these proteins. These proteins are called immune checkpoint markers. Because lymph nodes contain very high numbers of HIV infected cells, participation in this project includes a procedure where a lymph node is surgically removed through a biopsy procedure.
Approved by Alfred Hospital HREC (48-16) for study entitled “HIV Persistence in lymph node tissue and peripheral blood: The role of immune checkpoints (HIV-PRADA)”
Principal investigator
Prof Sharon Lewin
+61 3 8344 3159
sharon.lewin@unimelb.edu.au