St George's wins $19.7 Million Grant

St George's, University of London is very pleased to announce that as part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative, we have has been selected to receive one of 43 international grants for groundbreaking research projects to improve health in developing countries. The research group lead by Dr Robin Shattock of the Centre for Infection, have received a grant for $ 19.7 million jointly from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, which will provide significant opportunity for the development of new interventions in the fight against HIV and AIDS through the development of novel vaginal vaccines.

To contain the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, it is essential to develop an HIV vaccine that stimulates an effective immune system response. This project will work to develop an HIV vaccine that stimulates immune responses in the lining of the vagina, which serves as the entry point for HIV for most women. To date, most HIV vaccine candidates have not specifically targeted entry points in the body. The research team will work with collaborators in the U.K. and South Africa to design an HIV vaccine that would be time-released into the vaginal lining through low-cost gels or silicone rings that would be inserted into the vagina.

The Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative is a major international effort to achieve scientific breakthroughs against diseases that kill millions of people each year in the world’s poorest countries. It is funded with a $450 million commitment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $27.1 from the Wellcome Trust, and $4.5 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH). For more information, please either contact Dr Robin Shattock or go to the Gates Foundation website