Medical College receives AIDS research award

By Jonathan Weil

Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb has awarded a five-year, $500,000 research grant to Weill Cornell Medical College for HIV/AIDS research focusing on the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins and their functions during virus entry.

John P. Moore, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell, is principal investigator for the research project.

Richard Colonno, vice president of infectious diseases drug discovery at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Wallingford, Conn., presented a commemorative plaque and a symbolic check for $500,000 to Moore at a reception Jan. 30 at Weill Cornell.

Moore and his research group are focusing on three major areas of research, all related to how the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins function during virus entry. In one project, the team is trying to develop and evaluate modified forms of the envelope glycoproteins as potential vaccine antigens. A second study is to learn how HIV-1 escapes from the selection pressure of entry inhibitors, principally small molecule, CCR5-specific compounds. These are designed to block the binding of the envelope glycoproteins to the CCR5 receptor that the virus uses (along with the CD4 receptor) to fuse with the membranes of immune system cells.

In a related project, the researchers are evaluating the mechanism of action, and variation in host response to CCR5 inhibitors, both in vitro and using rhesus monkeys. A final area of their research is to determine whether various entry inhibitors can block the vaginal transmission of test viruses to the monkeys, to see whether any might be suitable for development as topical microbicides to counter the sexual transmission of HIV-1 to women.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb grants are the largest source of support from any corporation for unrestricted biomedical research. Grants are awarded in six research fields: cancer, neuroscience, cardiovascular, metabolic disease, nutrition and infectious diseases. The unrestricted nature of the grants allows institutions to put the support where it is most needed and gives scientists the freedom to pursue uncharted paths.