March 19,
2007
$20 million boosts AIDS research
Federal officials announced this month that more than
$20 million will be directed to Rochester doctors and researchers who are
working on new treatments for AIDS and on finding a vaccine to prevent it
altogether.
The funding comes from the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which has selected the University as one
of 60 U.S. and international institutions to be funded for the next seven
years as HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Units.
Treatment options for people infected with the HIV
virus have increased dramatically since AIDS was first recognized as a
disease 26 years ago. Nearly every one of the more than 20 drugs now
available to treat AIDS has been tested in Rochester.
“The development of a number of effective
treatment options for patients with HIV really has been quite spectacular,
and there are several new medications on the horizon,” says Richard
Reichman, professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology. Reichman
also is chief of the Infectious Diseases Division and heads the
University’s AIDS research and treatment efforts.
While progress has been made with treatment options,
Reichman says it is critical to develop a vaccine to control spread of the
disease and stem a global epidemic. “The number of people who are
becoming infected continues to increase dramatically. Many people are under
the mistaken impression that the problem has been solved. That’s just
not true.”
Rochester’s HIV vaccine efforts are led by
Michael Keefer, professor of medicine and director of the
University’s HIV Vaccine Trials Unit. Keefer also serves as associate
director of scientific administration for the international HIV Vaccine
Trial Network.
“The vaccine program is unique in the fight
against AIDS, as the vast majority of our participants are normal healthy
people from everyday walks of life, who do not have HIV, and in fact are
not even at risk for acquiring the infection. It is truly a community
collaboration and is something the entire community can be proud of,”
says Keefer.
So far more than 900 people in the Rochester area have
taken part in HIV vaccine studies, making Rochester one of the top cities
in the world for participation in the search for a vaccine against HIV.
Rochester is one of only two sites worldwide that have been working on a
vaccine since the first units were created in 1988. Currently the unit is
involved in 14 studies.
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