Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - September 30, 2004
Sabin Russell, srussell@sfchronicle.com.
A clinician who has been caring for AIDS patients at San Francisco General Hospital since 1982, McCune is also director of a lab within the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, located on the hospital campus.
McCune said he would use the money -- $500,000 a year for five years -- to carry out basic research in immunology. His studies will explore how the human body is able to suppress the AIDS virus for years and why that successful defense eventually breaks down.
The goal is to gain some insight that could lead to the design of an AIDS vaccine, either one that protects against infection by HIV or allows the body to live with it. Many species of monkeys are infected with SIV -- a viral cousin of HIV -- but are somehow able to suppress it and thus remain healthy.
He noted that results of AIDS vaccine research thus far had been dismal. "We need to go back to basics," said McCune. "We need to understand how to aim a vaccine before we shoot."
McCune is particularly intrigued about the role played by inflammation -- one of the body's natural defense mechanisms -- in promoting the progression of HIV infection.
Eight other researchers across the country will receive similar cash grants, which were announced by National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni. The winners are the first recipients of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award, a new program meant to encourage bold, innovative ideas that -- because they carry a high risk of failure -- would otherwise go unfunded.
McCune said the five-year duration of the grant provided enough time to allow researchers to thoroughly explore new ideas. Smaller grants might encourage innovation but are not sufficient to allow scientists to follow through on their hunches.
Although most of the Gladstone Institute researchers will be relocating shortly to a new building nearing completion that is adjacent to the UCSF campus at Mission Bay, McCune's lab will remain at San Francisco General.
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