Project Grant R01AI197995

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded the University of California, Los Angeles $793,623 on August 27, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to develop engineered natural killer cells for HIV reservoir targeting.

The project, titled "Engineering NK Cells for Effective HIV Reservoir Targeting (ENHANCE)," aims to create chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing natural killer cells designed to target and eliminate latent HIV reservoirs that persist despite antiretroviral therapy. The engineered CAR-NK cells will incorporate chimeric antigen receptors targeting HIV envelope proteins, activating NK cell receptors, and intracellular cytokine signaling domains to optimize NK cell function without exogenous cytokine dependence. The work encompasses 2D in vitro cultures, ex vivo assays using latently infected cells from people living with HIV, 3D human lymphoid organoids, and humanized mice infected with barcoded HIV. The project integrates these optimized NK cells with latency-reversing agents to pursue an "induce and reduce" strategy for reservoir clearance, with the objective of developing a scalable, off-the-shelf CAR-NK cell therapy.

Work will be performed at UCLA's Los Angeles, California location. The period of performance extends through July 31, 2031.