MCG doctor wins Gates grant

The sugar coating on the HIV cell might be a sweet way to combat it.

A researcher at the Medical College of Georgia won a $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to begin the study of a vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS.

Pandelakis Koni's project is one of 104 to receive funding from the foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations, a five-year $100 million initiative to help scientists around the world explore new solutions for health challenges in developing countries.

HIV is a virus that is constantly mutating itself to avoid being targeted by the body's immune system, which is why no vaccine has yet worked, Dr. Koni said.

But the virus and cells infected by it, like many cells in the body, have a sugar coating. That coating might be a good target for a new vaccine.

"That coating acts as a shield. My idea is that there are parts of the shield that don't move around. It is just a question of finding that needle in that haystack," Dr. Koni explained. "The haystack is so big that it is difficult to find the needle."

Dr. Koni, an immunologist at MCG, said there might be a way to make a vaccine to target those parts.

The grant will fund his research for a year. He might be able to apply for another round of funding, which could be up to $1 million.

Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.