The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded a 5-year $20.8 million grant to a multi-institutional team led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators for advanced preclinical development of a promising experimental HIV vaccine.

In August, a press release from HHS announced the cancellation of 22 vaccine research projects based on mRNA, the latest available technology aimed at developing therapies for viral infections, cancer, and genetic conditions. What happens to mRNA innovation when funding dries up? This series explores how reductions in funding could impact mRNA technology, affecting innovation, research and future therapies.

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and collaborating institutions have developed a novel HIV vaccine candidate, a new germline-targeting Env SOSIP trimer called 3nv.2, that is designed to elicit antibodies targeting three key epitopes on the HIV envelope protein.

Around 10 million people globally live with the life-threatening human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1), yet it remains a poorly understood disease that currently has no preventative treatments and no cure. That could soon change after Australian researchers discovered that existing HIV drugs can suppress transmission of the HTLV-1 virus in mice.

We all look different to HIV, a virus that destroys the immune system. The defensive cells record every interaction with foreign agents, infections from viruses and bacteria, but also with mechanisms occurring within the body, such as microbiome metabolism, the effects of aging, or the development of diseases. At a preconference session at the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025), scientists explained the interactions of different microorganisms with HIV.

There is still no effective vaccine or cure for HIV. Scientists are considering options ranging from longer-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) that space out injections by several years to long-lasting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that acts as a vaccine while immunization is achieved. What else can be done? The “Innovations in HIV virology: Translating discoveries into novel therapies” symposium in basic science at the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025), which took place from July 13 to 17, 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda, showcased some of the new ideas that the scientific community are developing.

While people living with HIV can lead virtually normal lives thanks to antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV persists in a latent state within cellular reservoirs that scientists do not know how to eliminate. “Transcription is a critical step in the viral life cycle. … But there are currently no drugs suppressing HIV transcription, and that may be one of the reasons why current antiretroviral therapy is not curative,” Melanie Ott told the audience at the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science this week in Kigali, Rwanda.