# The Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research (JHU CFAR) AFRICURE

> **NIH NIH P30** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $1,499,156

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This is a competing revision for the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) CFAR to permit continued support for
our AFRICURE program, originally funded as a CFAR supplement in 2023. The AFRICURE program draws
upon three major strengths of the CFAR: mentorship of new investigators, HIV cure research, and HIV studies
based in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite years of antiretroviral therapy, viral reservoirs persist in individuals living
with HIV-1, resulting in viral rebound if treatment is interrupted. Difficulties of sustained life‐long treatment in
the millions of people living with HIV worldwide, with a significant burden in sub-Saharan Africa, necessitates
research that moves us closer to a sterilizing or functional cure for HIV. Sub-Saharan Africa shoulders a
disproportionate burden of the HIV epidemic globally, making it an important region in which to conduct HIV
cure research. Yet most potential therapeutic strategies are not being designed or tested with most people
living with HIV in mind. There is an urgent need to bring novel insights and approaches rooted in Africa into
HIV cure research to address African HIV subtypes, the unique biologic characteristics of African female and
male populations, and other pressing, but neglected, research areas. The goal of this proposal is to expand the
capacity of the AFRICURE program to recruit, mentor, and support early- and mid-career African investigators
to address Africa-specific biologic, therapeutic, and implementation issues in HIV cure research. The
AFRICURE program will be integrated into the JHU CFAR Development Core and coordinated through the
Inter-CFAR Sub-Saharan Africa Working Group. The program will award one-year, mentored developmental
awards to promising early- and mid-career African investigators to conduct HIV cure research projects. The
specific aims are to: 1) identify and recruit early- and mid-career African investigators to conduct innovative
HIV cure research in Africa; 2) provide mentorship and career development for African HIV cure investigators;
and 3) evaluate the impact of the AFRICURE program. We will identify and recruit exceptional early- and mid-
career African investigators, with a focus on individuals representing diverse backgrounds, experiences, and
geographical locations within the region. The program will foster mentorship collaborations between the
selected African investigators and established HIV cure researchers across CFARs in the United States and
research institutions in Africa, facilitating knowledge exchange and skill development. We will evaluate the
impact of the program on the careers of early- and mid-career African investigators, institutional capacities and
infrastructure to conduct HIV cure research, and contributions to scientific advancement and the integration of
African perspectives in HIV cure research strategies. The AFRICURE program addresses the critical need for
inclusivity and diversity in HIV cure research by fostering a new ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11047178
- **Project number:** 3P30AI094189-13S2
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard E. Chaisson
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,499,156
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2012-05-02 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11047178

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11047178, The Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research (JHU CFAR) AFRICURE (3P30AI094189-13S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11047178. Licensed CC0.

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