Paving the way towards a cure for HIV

Dr Monsef Benkirane will discuss his recent discovery that is paving the way towards a cure for HIV at a Australia-France symposium co-hosted by the Australian Academy of Science and the French Embassy today.

“The most notable advance against HIV has been the use of a combination of anti-retroviral drugs, but after 15 years it has still been unable to eradicate the virus completely,” he said.

“The persistence of HIV results from the establishment of viral reservoirs insensitive to anti-retroviral therapy and poor visibility to the immune system.”

Dr Benkirane’s team at the Institut de Genetique Humaine in France have recently discovered an immune-modulator protein called Samhd1 that restricts HIV infection in myeloid cells, a subset of white blood cells that are important for the body's immune response against viruses.

Dr Benkirane is part of a packed line-up of experts in biomedical research who will present their work over two days at the Showcasing excellence in biomedical research Australia-France symposium at the Shine Dome in Canberra.

Other speakers on day one include:

• Professor Alan Cowman from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne: combating the global scourge of malaria in the genomic era at 9.15am
• Professor Fabienne Mackay from Monash University: a new treatment for lupus at 10.15am.
• Professor Colin Masters from Australia’s Mental Health Research Institute: strategies for diagnosis and therapy of Alzheimer’s disease at 3.35pm.

Media are welcome to attend and interview speakers. To arrange, please contact Mona Akbari.