# Cell and Gene Therapy for HIV Cure

> **NIH NIH UM1** · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · 2020 · $4,564,019

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT/SUMMARY
A major obstacle to long-term control and cure of HIV has been the persistence of HIV in reservoirs that
contain latently infected, resting, and productively infected CD4+ T cells. The single example of cure of HIV
has provided evidence that the search for a cure is an achievable goal. Furthermore, the mechanism of cure in
this case (transplantation with CCR5-negative cells) emphasizes that cell and gene therapies represent
perhaps the most promising approach to cure. Here we propose a multi-investigator program to evaluate the
leading cell and gene therapy approaches to HIV cure, and to study the biology of the HIV reservoir in patients
and nonhuman primates undergoing these therapies. We have assembled a team consisting of leaders in the
fields of HIV, cell and gene therapies, NHP models, and clinical research. We propose 3 highly integrated
Initial Research Foci in pursuit of our overall goal, and 5 Scientific Research Supports that will facilitate these
projects. Initial Research Focus 1 (IRF1), HIV-Resistant Anti-HIV CAR T Cells, will be led by Dr. Lawrence
Corey, Member in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division at Fred Hutch, and co-founder and Senior
Science Advisor of our private sector partner, Juno Therapeutics; Dr. David Rawlings, Director of the Center
for Immunity and Immunotherapies at Seattle Children's Research Institute; and Dr. Thor Wagner, Associate
Professor at Seattle Children's Research Institute. IRF2, eCD4-Ig based therapy for HIV cure, will be led by
Dr. Michael Farzan, Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps
Research Institute Florida. IRF3, Genetic protection of T cells after therapeutic vaccination, will be
directed by Dr. James Mullins, Professor of Microbiology, and Dr. Deborah Fuller, Associate Professor of
Microbiology, at the University of Washington. We hypothesize that these cell and gene therapies offer the
ideal and perhaps most promising tools with which to meet the dual goals of 1) eliminating latently-infected
cells after viral reactivation, and 2) improving the host's ability to control unpredictable reactivation events from
a therapeutically-reduced reservoir.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9970159
- **Project number:** 5UM1AI126623-05
- **Recipient organization:** FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** KEITH R JEROME
- **Activity code:** UM1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $4,564,019
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-07-14 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9970159

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9970159, Cell and Gene Therapy for HIV Cure (5UM1AI126623-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9970159. Licensed CC0.

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