HIV

Wei Zhang of QX-System in the U.S. will design a simple applicator to make it easier and more comfortable to use female condoms. Although they may be more enjoyable to use, female condoms are much less popular than male condoms. This is partly due to the difficulty of inserting them correctly, which can be awkward and involve actions deemed inappropriate in some cultures. Their sliding tampon applicator is a flexible tube surrounded by a soft balloon, which is positioned inside the female condom and can be inserted like a regular tampon.

Shengxi Chen of Arizona State University Foundation in the U.S. will produce a male condom using a material to mimic the surface of the skin for a more natural feel, coupled with a chemical to activate erection. The surface of skin cells is both hydrophilic and hydrophobic, however conventional condoms, such as those made from polyisoprene, are hydrophobic and therefore feel unnatural.

Sandra McCoy from University of California, Berkeley in the U.S. will analyze whether behavioral priming methods such as associational cues and social influence can promote adherence to HIV treatment in Tanzania. HIV prevalence in Tanzania is high, at 5.1%, and poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy is a major problem due in part to long patient waiting times and stigmatizing attitudes. Behavioral priming involves using a stimulus to indirectly or subconsciously influence behavior.

Daniel Resnic and colleagues of Origami Healthcare Products, Inc. in the U.S. will refine their internal condom, which is made of soft, pliant silicone and designed to improve pleasure and safety for both vaginal and anal intercourse, and test it in a small, randomized crossover controlled trial. Classical condoms made of latex or polyurethane are designed primarily for functionality and have not been approved for anal intercourse, which is a major mode of HIV transmission.

Mache Seibel and team from HealthRock, LLC in the U.S. have invented a female condom that is inflated and positioned using air pressure and provides additional stimulation, which they will test in the laboratory and in clinical trials. The only available female condom has not been widely accepted partly because it is difficult to position, conspicuous, reduces sensation, and can make sounds during use. The new condom is made from polyurethane to minimize sound emission, and the inflation mechanism ensures quicker insertion.

Charles Chung and team from UbIQ World in the U.S. will engineer the surface of male condoms using nanofabrication technology to mimic human skin, thereby enhancing sensation and encouraging use. Current condom materials such as latex are smooth, in contrast to human skin, which is highly textured. They will measure surface properties of the skin, including roughness and hydrophobicity, and use them to engineer a nanotexturized prototype condom that will be evaluated in a double blind study.

Hua Wang of Tsinghua University in China will use reverse vaccinology, working backwards from host broadly neutralizing antibodies, to design and discover vaccines against HIV infection.

Qi Zhang of Tsinghua University in China will identify and characterize antibody germline precursors of broadly neutralizing monocolocal antibodies (bnmAbs) with the ultimate goal to design an HIV-1 vaccine candidate able to stimulate the precursors to develop into protective antibodies in healthy individuals.

Xu Tan of Tsinghua University in China will harness the genome-editing power of the CRISPR-Cas9 system to eliminate latent HIV infection and provide a proof-of-concept for a potential cure for HIV infection.

Ye Xiang of Tsinghua University in China will study enveloped virus glycoprotein structures as a means to better understand the mechanisms by which enveloped viruses infect their hosts. The results obtained will contribute to the general knowledge of enveloped virus infection and maturation in addition to providing important information for vaccine and viral drug design for enveloped viruses such as HIV.