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Penn State Hazelton alumnus Dr. Gary
R. Matyas has won the 2012 Avant-Garde Award for Medications Development, a $5
million award, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The award will fund
his research to develop a vaccine against HIV that also prevents heroin
addiction.
Matyas works with the U.S. Military
HIV Research Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver
Spring, Md., where research has already produced the anti-heroin component of
the vaccine called haptens. The anti-heroin haptens is now ready for a more
advanced, pre-clinical testing phase.
Through the award, Matyas will
receive $1 million per year for the next five years in support of this next
phase of research and development. According to Matyas, “there is a strong
correlation between heroin abuse and HIV infection, especially in developing
countries.” He goes on to note that work to create a combination heroin/HIV
vaccine provides a unique opportunity to treat heroin abuse as well as to
develop an effective preventive HIV vaccine.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
