About DAIDS
Resources
Publications &
Meeting
Summaries
NIAID-Funded
Research
Networks
HIV Vaccines
HIV/AIDS
Treatment
HIV Prevention
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Mission Scientific
Areas of Focus Major Programs
Organizational Charts
Mission
The Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
(DAIDS) was formed in 1986 to address the national research
needs created by the advent and spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Specifically, the Divisions mission is to increase basic
knowledge of the pathogenesis, natural history, and transmission
of HIV disease and to support research that promotes progress
in its detection, treatment, and prevention. DAIDS accomplishes
this through planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating
programs in (1) fundamental basic research, (2) discovery
and development of therapies for HIV infection and its complications,
and (3) discovery and development of vaccines and other prevention
strategies.
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Scientific Areas of Focus
Basic Research
HIV pathogenesis research increases our understanding of
the biology of HIV by studying the virus' life cycle, virus-host
interactions, and mechanisms of disease progression and
transmission. HIV pathogenesis research also supports studies
of how the immune system responds to the virus. Knowledge
gained from these studies enhances the ability of researchers
to create new agents and vaccines to combat HIV infection.
The Division supports a large portfolio of investigator-initiated
grants that are pursuing research focused on, but not limited
to, the following areas: mechanisms of viral entry and infection,
including the role of co-receptors and other cellular accessory
molecules; the structure, function, and mechanism of action
of viral genes and proteins; development of in vitro and
ex vivo assays to monitor virus growth and immune responses
against HIV, and animal models for research on the regulation
and function of viral proteins and genetic regulatory sequences;
the immunological and virological events controlling primary
infection; factors effecting latent reservoirs of HIV; and
host factors that modulate viral infection and/or disease
progression.
The Division's basic research efforts have yielded significant
scientific information about HIV. For example, in recent
years, DAIDS-funded investigators have identified new structures
for viral components of HIV, additional chemokine co-receptors,
and the existence of multiple, persistent HIV reservoirs
even with the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy
(HAART). Despite these advances, questions still remain
about the molecular interactions involved in the regulation
of HIV expression and replication. More information is also
needed about how the virus evades the immune system in order
to identify additional targets against which therapeutic
interventions and vaccines can be directed.
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Therapeutics
Therapeutics for treating HIV-1 and its associated opportunistic
infections (OIs) are discovered through a number of approaches
beginning with basic research on the structure and function
of viral and cellular proteins critical to the virus life
cycle.
In order to foster drug development of new HIV therapies,
DAIDS supports research on potential new cellular and viral
therapeutic targets and new approaches to validate targets;
molecules that could effectively block HIV replication;
improved formulation of existing agents; approaches to restore
the immune system of HIV-infected individuals; molecular
and genetic approaches to protect susceptible, uninfected
cells; combination regimens that impede the emergence of
viral resistance; and assays to measure restored immunity
of HIV-infected individuals.
The evaluation of new drugs and therapeutic agents in people
is another critical aspect of therapeutic research. These
clinical studies define which new agents are effective against
HIV and its associated OIs and also clarify how best to
use these drugs.
DAIDS-sponsored therapeutics research has already had a
dramatic impact on our understanding of the pathogenesis
and clinical management of HIV infection over the last decade.
Studies conducted by DAIDS-funded clinical trials research
networks have: 1) helped to define international guidelines
for the treatment of primary HIV infection and associated
opportunistic infections and prophylactic regimens for these
secondary infections, (2) identified biological markers,
such as CD4+ counts and viral load for predicting a drug's
effectiveness and disease progression, and (3) demonstrated
the use of antiretroviral drugs for preventing mother-to-infant
transmission. More recent studies have shown that highly
active antiretroviral therapy-regimens including reverse
transcriptase and potent protease inhibitors-are capable
of suppressing HIV viral load to undetectable levels in
many infected individuals and partially restoring immune
function. Such regimens have had a dramatic impact on HIV
mortality in this country.
Nonetheless, treatment failures occur as a result of the
development of resistance and/or noncompliance with complicated
and often toxic regimens. Moreover, damage to the immune
system is incompletely reversed. Thus, there is an ongoing,
urgent need for new therapeutic agents and new ways to boost
the immunity and rebuild and replace immunity lost to HIV
infection. In addition, strategies to address critical questions
regarding the long-term effects of antiretroviral therapy
and the most optimal approaches to medical management are
being developed.
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Vaccine and Prevention Research
The discovery and development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine for
the prevention of HIV infection and AIDS is a high priority
of the NIAID.
Through a balanced HIV program that integrates both basic
research and empiric testing of candidate vaccines, NIAID
supports a broad spectrum of research and development on
HIV/AIDS vaccines. Preclinical vaccine research and development
examines new vaccine concepts or approaches and new ways
to deliver HIV antigens to people and to safely induce a
potent anti-HIV immune response. Studies in animal models
are aimed at defining how a vaccine could protect the host.
For now, clinical evaluations in humans provide the only
way of determining whether a vaccine candidate could trigger
a safe and effective anti-HIV response in people.
NIAID also supports comprehensive research on other biomedical/behavioral
prevention approaches, including drugs and/or vaccines that
prevent mother to infant HIV transmission, including during
breastfeeding, microbicides for preventing sexual transmission
of HIV, interventions that reduce behaviors that expose
people to HIV, programs to reduce intravenous drug abuse,
measures to control other sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), and antiretroviral therapies that may reduce the
spread of HIV from infected people to their partners. This
comprehensive vaccine and prevention program has led to
a number of significant scientific advances in vaccine and
prevention research. In the past, NIAID supported researchers
have improved antigenicity through modifications to the
envelope protein, elucidated the envelope structure of HIV,
advanced our understanding of the role of cellular responses
in controlling HIV, developed improved assays for measuring
cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), developed new and better
animal models for testing candidate vaccines, and evaluated
promising candidates in animal and clinical studies.
In order to accelerate identification of effective vaccine
candidates, future studies will need to address the significance
of latently infected resting T cells, immune responses induced
by current vaccine candidates, and the impact of HIV and
HLA diversity. In addition, the relevance of SIV/SHIV models
and the utility of novel vaccine designs must be explored.
With regard to prevention research, new microbicides need
to be developed and tested and new regimens for preventing
maternal-infant transmission during breastfeeding, which
are effective and practical for developing countries, need
to be explored. Lastly, because the majority of new infections
are occurring in the developing world, NIAID's vaccine and
prevention research activities are conducted on a global
scale. These research programs are designed to define global
research priorities, ensure the clinical relevance of future
vaccine and prevention strategies to human populations most
in need, strengthen collaborations with local investigators
worldwide, and support training and infrastructure development
in developing countries.
The coordination of this complex program of AIDS research
is an important function of DAIDS. By surveying developments
in key scientific areas, DAIDS assesses ongoing needs in
biomedical research as well as requirements for outreach
activities and for training scientific investigators. As
part of this process, DAIDS works with advisory groups and
community and health professional organizations, evaluating
and redirecting program emphases to respond to changing
research needs.
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Major Programs:
- Acute Infection and Early Disease Research Program
- Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group
- AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program
- Centers for AIDS Research
- HIV Prevention Trials Network
- HIV Therapeutics: Targeting Research Gaps
- HIV Vaccine Design and Development Teams
- HIV Vaccine Research and Design Program
- HIV Vaccine Developmental Resources Contracts
- HIV Vaccine Trials Network
- Innovation Grant Program
- Novel HIV Therapies: Integrated Preclinical/Clinical
Program
- Integrated Preclinical/Clinical Vaccine Development
Program
- Laboratory Methods to Assess Responses to HIV Vaccine
Candidates
- Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study
- Mucosal Immunity in Pathogenesis/Prevention of Human
Disease Program
- Mechanisms of AIDS Pathogenesis Collaborative Teams
- National Cooperative Drug Discovery Groups OI
- Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group
- Simian Vaccine Evaluation Units
- Terry Beirn Community Programs for Clinical Research
on AIDS
- Women and Infants Transmission Study
- Womens Interagency HIV Study
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Organization Charts
Division of AIDS
Office of the Director
Basic Sciences Program
Vaccine & Prevention Research
Program
Therapeutics Research Program
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Last updated June 17, 2001 (rjt) |
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