# Virus Transmission

> **NIH NIH P50** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2020 · $464,672

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The HIV/AIDS pandemic remains a global burden on human health.1 Although antiretroviral therapy (ART)
reduces deaths from HIV infection, prophylactic vaccine(s) and a functional cure for the millions infected are
lacking.2 Success in these areas will require improved understanding of HIV transmission and dissemination
and the mechanism of CD4 T cell depletion, which is the hallmark of immune deficiency.3 In addition,
developing antiviral therapies and vaccines against HIV envelope (Env), the only viral protein on the surface of
the HIV virion4,5, requires understanding its conformational dynamics and how it is activated for virus–host cell
fusion. We propose to fill these knowledge gaps through imaging experiments that will: 1) Visualize the
dissemination of HIV-1 following transmission in humanized mouse models and non-human primates6-9, 2)
Determine the cause of CD4 depletion and visualize cellular events underlying viral restriction, 3) Delineate
how the HIV Env trimer is activated for fusion10,11, and 4) Define how Env is inhibited by host cell restriction
proteins of the SERINC family.12-14 This approach will reveal bottlenecks in virus dissemination, mechanisms of
restriction, and vulnerabilities in activating HIV Env that can be exploited therapeutically.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9993256
- **Project number:** 5P50AI150464-14
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Pamela J Bjorkman
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $464,672
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-08-27 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9993256

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9993256, Virus Transmission (5P50AI150464-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9993256. Licensed CC0.

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