Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) awarded a $811,568 Project Grant to The Johns Hopkins University, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031. This five-year research initiative investigates HIV-1 reservoir dynamics and host cell behavior in individuals on long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART). The project delivers longitudinal scientific research characterizing HIV reservoir trajectories over two decades of ART treatment, employing the intact proviral DNA assay across multiple patient cohorts to identify biological factors distinguishing continued viral decay from reservoir expansion in the second decade post-treatment initiation. Research outputs include quantitative data on latently infected CD4+ T cell kinetics, analysis of antigen-specific clonal proliferation contributions to memory CD4+ T cell persistence, immune selection mechanisms, and mathematical models estimating the relative contributions of biological factors sustaining the viral reservoir at different treatment time points.

The deliverables support NIAID's strategic objective of advancing biomedical research on infectious diseases through investigator-initiated science. By generating empirical evidence on long-term reservoir persistence mechanisms and host immune dynamics, the research directly contributes to the foundational knowledge required for developing more effective HIV cure therapeutics. The project will produce peer-reviewed publications, research data, and analytical models that inform both basic immunological understanding and translational HIV cure research efforts across the federal research enterprise.