The Barouch Laboratory: Research
My laboratory focuses on the immunopathogenesis of HIV-1 and the development of HIV-1 vaccine strategies. We have developed and assessed novel vaccine strategies based on plasmid DNA vaccines, recombinant poxvirus vectors, and recombinant adenovirus vectors in both mice and nonhuman primates. In particular, we have demonstrated that adjuvanted DNA vaccines and viral vector-based vaccines elicit potent cellular immune responses that can control pathogenic AIDS virus challenges in rhesus monkeys (1). These results suggest that HIV-1 vaccines that generate potent cellular immune responses may provide significant clinical benefits even if they fail to provide sterilizing immunity. We have also shown that viral mutations can develop that result in viral escape from immune control and eventual AIDS vaccine failure (2). We are currently studying the safety and immunogenicity of adjuvanted DNA vaccines in phase 1 prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine studies in collaboration with the NIH Vaccine Research Center (VRC), HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), and AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). My laboratory also focuses on the generation and evaluation of novel serotype and novel chimeric adenovirus vector-based vaccines for HIV-1 (3-5). As part of an NIH Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development (IPCAVD) program and a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD) program, we are advancing a series of novel adenovirus vectors for HIV-1 into nonhuman primate challenge studies and phase 1 clinical trials.
