Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have identified a gene that could hinder HIV vaccine effectiveness in humans, paving the way for improved vaccine development against HIV and other diseases like cancer and malaria. Klaus Früh's research involves investigating the genetic requirements of rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) to trigger unique T cell responses, leading to the design of a human CMV-based HIV vaccine that omits inhibitory genes like UL18 to improve immune response efficacy. From left, professors Klaus Früh, Ph.D., VGTI associate director Louis Picker, M.D., and professor Scott Hansen, Ph.D. (OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks)
