Finding an AIDS Vaccine

Transcript

One prominent researcher says the AIDS vaccine will be devloped eventually through worldwide collaboration. From the University of Kansas, this is Research Matters. I’m Brendan Lynch.

Heather Desaire, associate professor of chemistry at KU, is a leading scientist in pursuit of a drug to halt the spread of H-I-V-aids. She says that, by and large, research into a succesful vaccine isn’t driven by the profit motive.

Heather Desaire: "Most of the need for a vaccine is in the Third World, where paying for such a vaccine isn’t really that straightforward. The other side of it is, people have been working for a long time in developing a vaccine, and it hasn’t been forthcoming. But I think most politicians and scientists see that this is a worldwide problem and it’s not something that we can turn away from."

More than 22 million people are living with HIV/AIDS globally. Another 25 million have died from the virus since 1981. Because much of the work towards vaccine development takes place in university labs, Desaire says there is a collective spirit to this research.

Desaire: "One thing that I really like about the HIV vaccine field is that it’s a very collaborate environment. I think the people who are interested in this work realize that it’s a really hard problem, and we’re only going to solve it if we work together. Currently, there are many different teams throughout the U.S. and worldwide that are working on a vaccine — and they typically come together a couple of times a year, where they have very productive meetings where data is shared and ideas are exchanged."

Using mass spectrometry, the KU team focuses on analyzing glycoproteins — or proteins with a carbohydrate attached.

Desaire: "The reason why these are interesting for AIDS vaccine development is because the HIV virus is covered in a glycoprotein. This is the first molecule that cells see when the virus infects cells. The idea is if you can develop a way for the body to recognize this outer coat of the virus — which is this glycoprotein — that would be a good way to develop a vaccine."

For more on the search for an AIDS vaccine, log onto Research Matters dot K-U dot E-D-U. For the University of Kansas, I’m Brendan Lynch.

Tell Me More

Desaire rewarded for work with HIV

Heather Desaire, assistant professor of chemistry, has won the American Society for Mass Spectrometry's research award for new faculty for her work on how HIV hides from the human immune system. She will be presented with the $25,000 unrestricted research award in May.

Read the full press release