The Campbell Foundation
Helping Make HIV/AIDS History Since 1995
Combating HIV/AIDS Across South Florida
Campbell Foundation Awards Grants to UM, FIU and FAU
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, July 23, 2024 – HIV testing, treatment and prevention: All three types of research in the fight against AIDS are taking place in our own backyard. To support that work, The Campbell Foundation has awarded three $25,000 grants to scientists at the University of Miami, Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University, who are focused on these critical research areas.
“We offer what we call ‘fast-track grants’ to South Florida-based researchers who we believe are conducting important work and have shown an ongoing commitment to addressing HIV/AIDS right here in our own backyard,” said Campbell Foundation Executive Director Ken Rapkin. “South Florida continues to be an epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, so it only makes sense that we support our own scientific community.”
Creating a Shot to Prevent and Treat HIV
At the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Sebastian P. Fuchs, Ph.D., an assistant scientist, focuses his research on translational immunotherapy and gene therapy for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and immunological disorders. His work is directed at using adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors for the prevention and treatment of AIDS. AAV is a small DNA virus that is widely used in numerous gene therapy applications.
“My approach is based on using AAV vectors to deliver (well-known) anti-HIV antibodies (immunoglobulins) to a recipient, with the goal of preventing and treating HIV infection. A one-shot immunization with AAV holds promise for creating a decades-long protective barrier against HIV in people at risk, and it could also exert a persistent immunological pressure on HIV replication in a therapeutic setting without the need of daily ART medication,” said Dr. Fuchs.
The Role of Bioengineered Nanogels for HIV treatment
Researcher Arti Vashist, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University in Miami, focuses on the use of nanotechnology in drug delivery systems. She is researching the use of nanogels, or tiny particles made up of long crosslinked polymer molecules that are like sponges, in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“Our research group has developed and patented a very simple and stable bio-polymeric micro/nanogel system, which can be used for in vitro and in vivo theranostics (two-pronged) applications for various diseases,” said Dr. Vashist. Because the nanogels have auto-fluorescent characteristics, they also can be used to detect and trace the virus which will provide new avenues for enhanced detection and HIV treatment.
Developing a Hand-Held Device for Home Testing of HIV
An estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV and 15 percent of those infected have not received a diagnosis. Lack of awareness of HIV status contributes to HIV risk. Thus, there is an urgent need for a reliable self-test for early detection of HIV, which can help reduce the disease spread, says Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
Dr. Ashgar proposes to develop a low-cost and disposable microchip technology that can be used for HIV-1 self-testing during the first two weeks after being infected and to monitor of viral rebound in people whose HIV is suppressed through the use of antiviral medications.
“The assay we are developing will be the first of its kind; a fully automated, sample-in-answer-out system for automated testing of HIV-1. The proposed device requires minimal user manipulation; after the blood sample is loaded into the well, all remaining virus isolation and detection steps will be fully automated using the proposed handheld device for automation,” Dr. Ashgar said. “The test result can be visualized within 30 minutes; this is an extremely short timeframe when compared to conventional molecular assays, which require several hours and access to a clinical lab infrastructure.”
About The Campbell Foundation
The Campbell Foundation was established in 1995 by the late Richard Campbell Zahn as a private, independent, nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting clinical, laboratory-based research into the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. It focuses its funding on supporting alternative, nontraditional avenues of research. As The Campbell Foundation celebrates its 29th year, it has given away more than $12 million dollars, with more than $1.5 million going to direct services.