Company receives grant for HIV genetic software development

The National Science Foundation has awarded $100,000 to a Louisiana-based company that has developed software that provides real-time access to changes in complex genetic data for the research and treatment of HIV. With quick access to genetic data on both the patient and virus affecting the patient, clinicians can better evaluate how each responds to various treatments, said Susanna LeFleur, founder of Gene Johnson Inc., maker of the software. "What we're doing is creating, for clinical researchers, clinical data genetic data in a relational system," she said. Analysis of genetic data in HIV research that used to take two weeks can be done in 10 minutes with the software HIVbase, said Luke Dunlap, chief management officer for the company. The software can compute hundreds of thousands of bits of information that make up genetic codes and can operate on standard personal computers, Dunlap said. Company officials plan to begin selling HIVbase to government, university, and pharmaceutical research facilities in May. The company is also planning to develop a similar software program for hepatitis C.