Oregon Health & Science University has announced a $25 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the development of a vaccine for HIV that could prevent transmission of the virus and/or lead to a cure for those already infected.

The grant to a research team led by Louis Picker, associate director of the OHSU Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, aims to build on the groundbreaking success Picker and his colleagues have achieved in eradicating Simian Immunodeficiency Virus — the non-human primate version of HIV — in infected primates. Picker's technique modifies a common, typically harmless virus called cytomegalovirus to retrain primate T-cells to target SIV. "We fully expect," Picker told the Oregonian, that "this [technique] should do the same thing in humans. I think we have a very good shot at it."

Picker will seek federal government approval to conduct clinical trials of the vaccine in humans, with multiple rounds of testing focused on the safety and effectiveness of a prototype vaccine as well as an improved version. While the Gates grant will be primarily focused on a preventative vaccine for HIV/AIDS, the same technology will be applicable to a therapeutic vaccine designed to treat HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy. Even if the trials are successful, however, it won't be possible to make the vaccine commercially available much before 2024, said Picker.

In 2012, the Gates Foundation awarded an $8 million grant in support of Picker's work on the SIV vaccine. "We're still probably eight to ten years away from proving this vaccine works to prevent or cure HIV infection in humans," said Picker. "But this grant will allow us to transition from non-human primate models to clinical testing, a critical step in vaccine development. This important work could not happen without this remarkable investment from the Gates Foundation. I believe their grant will help us kill this disease for good."