HIV Vaccine Development

说明（由申请人提供）：开发艾滋病毒疫苗的努力得益于对保护性免疫机制的认识增强、新出现的疫苗载体和概念以及动物模型研究和人体临床试验取得的令人鼓舞的结果。人们对这些领域的进展持谨慎乐观态度，因为人们正在对某些动物模型的相关性、产生效力所需免疫的效力和广度以及最有可能取得成功的疫苗方法提出重要问题。部分由于积极的国家和国际疫苗行动，新的信息正在迅速积累。现在比以往任何时候都更有必要经常把科学家聚集在一起，对最近的发现进行公开和客观的讨论。我们的研讨会在春季举行，两年一度的NIH艾滋病疫苗会议在秋季举行，这是2003年仅有的两个专门讨论艾滋病疫苗的主要会议。我们计划召开一次为期5天的会议，将涵盖广泛的主题，从人体临床试验、非人类灵长类动物模型和新型疫苗方法，到确定和克服成功疫苗的病毒学和免疫学障碍的方法。研究生和博士后将有机会在一个高度互动的论坛上展示他们的数据，接触关键的科学问题，并在一个轻松和非正式的环境中与知识渊博的研究人员进行讨论。我们的目标是为各级科学家提供一个有吸引力的场所，以分享他们最近的发现、交流思想和促进新的合作，这些合作将以最近的进展为基础，并继续在安全有效的艾滋病毒疫苗方面取得重大进展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Efforts to develop an HIV vaccine are benefiting from an enhanced awareness of protective immune mechanisms, newly emerging vaccine vectors and concepts and encouraging results from animal model studies and human clinical trials. Progress in these areas is viewed with cautious optimism as important questions are being asked about the relevance of certain animal models, the potency and breadth of immunity needed for efficacy and the most likely vaccine approaches to succeed. New information is accumulating at a rapid pace, owing in part to aggressive national and international vaccine initiatives. Now more than ever it is essential to bring scientists together frequently for open and objective discussions of recent findings. Our symposium, held in the spring, and the biennial NIH AIDS Vaccine Conference, held in the fall, are the only two major meetings devoted entirely to HIV vaccines in 2003. We have planned a 5-day conference that will cover a broad range of topics ranging from human clinical trials, nonhuman primate models and novel vaccine approaches, to ways to identify and overcome the virologic and immunologic barriers to a successful vaccine. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will benefit from an opportunity to present their data in a highly interactive forum, exposure to key scientific issues and stimulating discussion with knowledgeable investigators in a relaxed and informal setting. Our goal is to provide an attractive venue for scientists at all levels to share their recent findings, exchange ideas and foster new collaborations that will build on recent advancements and continue to make significant progress toward a safe and effective HIV vaccine.