The optimal way to make a lasting impact on the spread of HIV is through development of a preventative vaccine that will protect all individuals — including infants — from the virus.

Infants, especially those that are exposed to HIV through breast-feeding, are uniquely positioned to benefit from vaccine research. Researchers are able to pinpoint the source and timing of HIV infection in infants. Testing an effective vaccine among infants in areas with a high rate of mother-to-child transmission through breast-feeding would demonstrate results quickly. In addition, the existing health care infrastructure in the developing world is focused specifically on delivering vaccines to children during the first year of life. Vaccines have reduced many common childhood infections by up to 99 percent in the developed world, and are probably the single most effective public health measure available.

A vaccine that protects infants against HIV transmission through breast-feeding could set the stage for lifetime immunity. If the vaccine were successful, millions of children could be provided life-long protection, creating the first HIV-free generation. Research and testing of possible vaccines will help guide and accelerate overall HIV vaccine development.

The Foundation’s Pediatric HIV Vaccine Research Program seeks to address basic and pre-clinical research relevant to pediatric HIV vaccine design and development, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

• The study of breast-milk transmission of HIV;
• Pediatric immune responses to HIV;
• Identification of potential vaccines for pediatric populations; and
• Identification of obstacles to the conduct of clinical trials in infants.

2008 Pediatric HIV Vaccine Research Grants
Marylyn Addo, M.D., Ph.D.
Instructor in Medicine
Partners AIDS Research Center
Massachusetts General, Charlestown, Massachusetts
Dr. Addo will attempt to determine if regulatory T cells in infants are responsible for the lack of control of HIV infection. The impact of these regulatory T cells on HIV-1 disease progression in infected infants is unknown. This information could be used to enhance the potency of immunotherapeutic interventions or HIV vaccines.

Grace Aldrovandi, M.D.
Associate Professor
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC
Dr. Aldrovandi’s project involves the study of breast milk antibodies. From previous work in Zambia, she has samples of breast milk, plasma, and blood from HIV-positive mothers and their babies available to study. Dr. Aldrovandi will study the virus and breast milk antibodies from 700 women who did not transmit the virus to their babies, and compare them to those of 70 women who did transmit HIV to their babies during breast-feeding.

Dan Barouch, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
Dr. Barouch’s study will investigate the safety and efficacy of novel vaccine candidates in infant rhesus monkeys. This project will allow Dr. Barouch to direct his work in developing these new vaccine candidates from science solely focused on adult populations toward the potential to protect infants from breast-milk transmission of HIV.

Ed Janoff, M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Microbiology
University of Colorado Health Science Center, Denver, Colorado
Dr. Janoff’s study will investigate the impact of feeding from both the breast and the bottle versus breast-feeding alone on the susceptibility of infants to HIV infection. He will investigate the underlying mechanisms of how mixed feeding might predispose infants to greater risk of HIV infection.

Shan Lu, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts
Dr. Lu will study transmitted viruses with particular focus on the cell surface proteins that allow viral entry. He will study the virus proteins in mothers in comparison to those in their babies. The study will attempt to select those proteins, or parts of them, that elicit antibodies that can block infection.