Project Grant R01AI203543

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Weill Medical College of Cornell University $3.375 million on September 1, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to investigate viral genetic determinants of HIV transcription control in the context of HIV cure.

The project, titled "Viral Genetic Determinants of HIV Transcription Control in the Context of HIV Cure" (R01AI203543), examines how naturally occurring viral polymorphisms in HIV regulatory elements—including the long terminal repeat promoter, the tat protein, and the tar RNA element—contribute to HIV transcriptional output and latency reversal responsiveness under antiretroviral therapy. The research uses ex vivo CD4 T cells from individuals on suppressive antiretroviral therapy to quantify viral regulatory genotypes, measure HIV transcriptional levels and transcript class distributions, and evaluate responses to mechanistically distinct latency-reversing agents. HIV persists during suppressive antiretroviral therapy despite lack of curative intervention; immune-based HIV cure strategies under investigation depend on viral gene expression to render infected cells detectable and eliminable, yet HIV transcription during therapy remains variable and incompletely understood at the genetic level.

The period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 30, 2030. Work is performed at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York, New York. The assistance type is a Project Grant.