AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses
Online Ahead of Editing: June 27, 2016

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The Landscape of Targeted Immune Responses in the HIV-1 Vaccine Field
Dr. Jeffrey T. Safrit, Dr. Georgia D Tomaras, Dr. Tomas Hanke, Dr. Allan C. deCamp, and Dr. Yegor Voronin
ABSTRACT
We conducted a survey of researchers that are advancing HIV-1 preventive vaccine candidates through early stages of clinical testing. We asked the researchers to identify immune responses that they view as potentially protective against HIV-1 infection. Survey results were visualized to obtain a high-level visual representation of the landscape of current hypotheses in the field. We observed a vibrant field with candidates targeting diverse immunological responses, illustrating the multiple underlying competing and complementing hypotheses as well as divergent approaches to vaccine development. Our analysis provides a unique view at the HIV-1 preventive vaccine field and similar approaches could be used to facilitate strategic planning across multiple stakeholders working on an HIV-1 vaccine.