Emory Vaccine Center : Beneficiary Profile

Developing a vaccine to halt the AIDS epidemic is a key part of the mission of the Emory Vaccine Center, and much of the research at the EVC relates to this effort. Scientists specializing in basic immunology strive to elucidate the fundamental workings of the immune system and how it responds to infection. Other investigators examine the interaction between HIV and the immune cells it attacks in order to identify ways to prevent or interrupt the process by which the virus destroys the immune system.

Researchers translate these findings into new AIDS vaccine strategies, which are tested rigorously in preclinical studies for safety and efficacy before being considered for human clinical trials. The Hope Clinic of the Emory Vaccine Center, a freestanding clinic located in downtown Decatur, Georgia, conducts vaccine clinical trials and related research studies involving human volunteers. Thus, the EVC's AIDS vaccine program spans the entire research process, from basic science to translational research to preclinical and clinical trials.

The EVC is the only university-based vaccine research center in the U.S. to have an AIDS vaccine candidate in clinical trials. Created and developed by EVC scientist Harriet Robinson, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, this vaccine candidate successfully prevented AIDS in monkeys.

Source: http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/research/hiv.shtml

UCLA AIDS Institute : Beneficiary Profile

In 1981, UCLA physicians identified the first cases of "newly acquired immunodeficiency" -- later called AIDS -- in four previously healthy gay men. These doctors' discovery -- and the subsequent skyrocketing of AIDS cases in Los Angeles and worldwide -- led to the formation of the world-acclaimed UCLA AIDS Institute in 1992.

Under the direction of Dr. Irvin S. Y. Chen, an internationally respected virologist, the UCLA AIDS Institute offers a one-stop think tank for campus researchers who are tackling AIDS from basic, clinical, behavioral science, public health and epidemiology.

Institute members include junior and senior investigators, as well as faculty who work in the fields of cancer, genetics, virology, neurology, dentistry, opthamology and immunology. The studies are carried out on the Westwood campus in community settings and at affiliated hospitals which include King-Drew Medical Center, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, West Los Angeles Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Sepulveda Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Olive View Medical Center, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, and Santa Monica Hospital.

By uniting this medley of scientific minds -- each specializing in a different piece of the HIV puzzle -- the Institute breeds a cross-fertilization of new approaches to beating the virus. In turn, research breakthroughs in HIV have helped propel advances in other diseases, such as cancer, hepatitis B and C, and influenza.

This collaborative effort has been extremely fruitful. U.S. News & World Report's most recent survey ranked UCLA fourth in the nation for AIDS research, named UCLA Medical Center as the number-one hospital in the western United States for the tenth consecutive year and placed UCLA School of Medicine in the nation's top 10.

Vision : Through research and patient care, the UCLA AIDS Institute seeks to eliminate HIV and AIDS. The Institute is a one-stop think tank for collaborating scientists who translate research breakthroughs into improved treatment.

Efforts toward the development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine are among the UCLA AIDS Institute's highest priorities. The Institute's discoveries contribute not only to the well-being of its own patients, but to those affected throughout the world.

Source: http://www.uclaaidsinstitute.org/