# HIV Eradication SWG

> **NIH NIH P30** · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $59,838

## Abstract

Project Summary
The HIV Eradication Scientific Working Group (SWG) was created to directly address one of
the high priority research areas of the OAR: “to develop novel approaches and strategies to
eliminate viral reservoirs that could lead toward a cure or lifelong remission of HIV infection”.
Despite the major success of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in suppressing viral
replication and preventing disease progression, HIV-1 infection persists in a latent reservoir,
composed primarily of a long-lived population of resting memory CD4+ T cells. These
latently infected cells harbor replication competent HIV-1 DNA, therefore the elimination of
the latent viral reservoir is essential to eradicating HIV-1 infection. Major challenges to the
elimination of the reservoir are the lack of: (i) robust, sensitive and reliable assays to
accurately measure and localize the reservoir of replication-competent proviruses; (ii) basic
understanding of the mechanisms that lead to latent reservoirs; and (iii) reliable methods to
reactivate latent cells and to target them for killing. The HIV Eradication SWG was formed to
bring together outstanding investigators who have not previously collaborated: (i) from within
the three ERC-CFAR institutions; (ii) from other New York City institutions, including
Columbia University Medical Center, New York University, and Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai; and (iii) non-AIDS experts from other fields, to develop a multi-pronged
approach to synergize basic, translational, and clinical efforts targeted towards HIV
eradication. This SWG will leverage the clinical samples, assays and technologies available
through the laboratory and clinical cores of the ERC-CFAR to drive research efforts to
eradicate HIV-1 infection and thereby prevent new infections. This SWG aims to: (i) foster
collaborations among SWG members and affiliates to focus on the molecular mechanisms of
latency and on the development and evaluation of novel and alternate modalities for HIV
Cure; (ii) use the ERC-CFAR cores to support and recruit experts from non-HIV/AIDS areas
and Early Stage Investigators to develop innovative technologies to quantify and eradicate
HIV infection; and (iii) To obtain funding for research projects that are developed through
new collaborations and ideas formed in the SWG to increase our understanding of the
underlying mechanisms that generate and maintain latent reservoirs and to develop reliable
methods to reactivate latent cells and to target them for killing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10147764
- **Project number:** 5P30AI124414-06
- **Recipient organization:** ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** GANJAM V KALPANA
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $59,838
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10147764

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10147764, HIV Eradication SWG (5P30AI124414-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10147764. Licensed CC0.

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