NIAID launches HIV vaccine consortium

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will establish the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology, a consortium of universities and medical centers jointly working to advance experimental HIV vaccine candidates to human trials, The [Raleigh, N.C.] News and Observer reports. The consortium, which will be led by Duke University researcher Barton Haynes, will focus on basic science research into the earliest phases of HIV infection to identify potential viral weaknesses and steps in the infection process that can be shut down by vaccine candidates. The center will receive $15 million in funding during its first year of operation and a total of more than $300 million over the next seven years.