Recently, several prestigious prizes and grants have been awarded to our AI&I members. Learn more about these accomplished individuals and their projects in the article below!
American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) Grants awarded to Dr. Herrera-Carrillo and Dr. Pasternak
New American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) grants advance practical, accessible and affordable HIV Cure Pathways. Building on a 40-year legacy of advancing innovative, untested HIV research, amfAR recently announced three new grants totaling $1.3 million. Notably, the American Foundation amfAR awarded two of the three grants to researchers from the Experimental Virology section within the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention at Amsterdam UMC, part of the Amsterdam Institute for Immunology and Infectious diseases. Congratulations to Dr. Elena Herrera-Carrillo and Dr. Alexander Pasternak.
Dr. Elena Herrera-Carrillo
Achieving an HIV cure without stem cell transplantation is the “holy grail” of current research, focusing on using a single injection of a gene-editing enzyme, like CRISPR-Cas, to inactivate the CCR5 gene in people with HIV. Dr. Elena Herrera-Carrillo, awarded $479,249, will utilize lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)—similar to those in COVID-19 mRNA vaccines—to deliver gene-editing enzymes that inactivate the CCR5 gene, rendering cells immune to HIV and removing the virus from already infected cells. In a previous study, she has identified gRNA combinations that excises the HIV provirus in over 95% of infected T cells ex vivo Dr. Herrera-Carrillo will now expand her research to humanized mice. Dr. Herrera-Carrillo will also train Ugandan scientists in her lab to enable future research and manufacturing of this technique in Africa.
Dr. Alexander Pasternak
Current antiretroviral therapy (ART) prevents AIDS and largely restores immunity but is not curative. The main reason for this is that the therapy cannot reach dormant HIV in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues. Persistence of these latent HIV reservoirs presents a major barrier to a cure. Awarded $383,742, Dr. Pasternak will work with T cells from people with HIV on ART to dissect the transcriptionally active HIV reservoir on the single-cell level and accordingly, to identify novel combinations of compounds that can fully reverse HIV latency and render the reservoir cells vulnerable to the immune-mediated killing. In such a way, this project will both expand our knowledge of HIV persistence and contribute to the development of an effective intervention aiming at an HIV cure.
AMR Care Network North Holland-Flevoland – Iris van der Horst, Sacha Kuil, and Mireille Dekker
The Infection Prevention Implementation Research Group has received a €237,000 grant from the AMR Care Network North Holland-Flevoland to enhance infection prevention in nursing homes. This funding builds on research by PhD candidate Iris van der Horst, who last year studied infection prevention practices across nursing homes (CIP-V: Contactpersoon InfectiePreventie Verpleeghuizen - 2024). Her findings revealed considerable variation in practices and identified barriers such as the absence of local protocols, the need for clearer direction and better support, including well-defined roles and sufficient time and expertise for those involved. These insights underscore the need for a well-structured, supported infection prevention program in long-term care.
The CIP-V project involves a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Amsterdam UMC department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, the department of Geriatric Medicine, and the department of Public and Occupational Health, collaborating to provide a comprehensive approach to infection prevention in nursing homes.
Between 2025 and 2026, Iris van der Horst will collaborate with key stakeholders in the field to cocreate and implement a program for infection control link nurses in nursing homes. Clinical microbiologist Sacha Kuil (GGD Amsterdam), and researcher Mireille Dekker will oversee the project and provide daily supervision for Iris throughout its development, implementation and evaluation.
