Page 143 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Navigating the Impact of US With the US government executive order issued in
Executive Orders on Funding January 2025, the project was stopped and funding
from USAID terminated. Temporary support from
Our unit was involved in work with the USAID- the Elma Foundation is being provided to enable
supported BRILLIANT consortium, which aimed to continuation of our work for a further 6 months (until
develop vaccines against HIV. Generation of anti-HIV August 2025). During this time, alternative sources
mRNA vaccines progressed rapidly during 2024/25. of funding are being actively sought. The Executive
This work has been conducted with the support of Orders have had a significant negative disruptive
USAID and entailed generation of several candidate effect, but enthusiastic efforts are being made to
mRNA vaccines that encoded env and gag proteins source alternative funds to sustain the project.
from HIV. Preclinical injection of immunogens
into rabbits (conducted at UCT) and subsequent Research Translation
assessment of immunogenicity demonstrated some
efficacy. These results were used to inform design Through Arts and Science
of the next generation of vaccines, which encoded Publicity. Numerous interviews were given to local
variants derived from the CAP-256 and CAP- and international news agencies. These pertained
255 patients from the CAPRISA cohort studied in mainly to advancing mRNA vaccination in South
KwaZulu-Natal. Africa. The news agencies included the following:
BBC, Reuters and TimesLive.

Dr Tiffany Smith, a postdoctoral fellow in the Wits/SAMRC Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit, is
working under the guidance of Prof Betty Maepa (pictured behind Tiffany) to develop new mRNA
and adenovirus vaccines that prevent mpox.

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