By Anne De Groot | Founder and Scientific Director
GAIA HIV Vaccine research is ongoing. Peptides that would be included in the future vaccine were synthesized for testing in Mali this year, and Lauren Levitz and Kotou Sangare carried out ELISpot (T cell) assays in the laboratory of Ousmane Koita, Ph.D., the main GAIA Vaccine Collaborator in Mali. Although this is not yet a clinical trial, the research is required before the GAIA vaccine is developed, to confirm that the peptide epitopes will be recognized by people who are affected by HIV in Mali.
The results of this study were excellent - all of the peptides were confirmed, meaning that they are now validated for inclusion in the GAIA Vaccine. A paper on the research is forthcoming, and these data will be used to find additional funding for the vaccine development program. In the meantime, the staff of GAIA in Mali is being trained for future vaccine trials: preparation for an HPV (cervical cancer) vaccine study is underway. For more information, visit the home website at http://www.GAIAvaccine.org.
In the next year, we plan to validate additional epitopes that would be included in the final vaccine product. Support for the ongoing research is critically important, as this is the only not-for-profit HIV vaccine under development. As the mission of the GAIA Vaccine Foundation is to develop a globally relevant, universally available vaccine, the GAIA Vaccine will be licensed to developing world countries for their use without any 'intellectual property" restrictions.
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