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Indian-American awarded $5 million grant to potentially end HIV
This multi-year grant recognizes Rao’s research at the University’s Bacteriophage Medical Research Center, which he founded three years ago.
Rao's research focuses on utilizing gene therapy to repair stem cells, which he believes could lead to a cure for HIV and other genetic diseases / Image - Bacteriophage Medical Research Centre
The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) Avant-Garde Award Program for HIV and Substance Use Disorder Research has awarded a $5 million grant to Indian-American professor Venigalla Rao to aid his efforts in developing a cure for HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of the disease. With no cure developed so far, HIV remains a major global public health issue, having claimed approximately 40.4 million lives so far with ongoing transmission in all countries globally, WHO stated.
The NIDA Avant-Garde Award supports groundbreaking research with the potential to revolutionize HIV prevention and treatment, particularly among individuals who use drugs. Rao’s pioneering work in gene therapy technology, which was highlighted in the international journal Nature Communications last year, aims to address some of humanity’s most pressing medical challenges, including cancer, HIV, and COVID-19.
His research focuses on utilizing gene therapy to repair stem cells, which he believes could lead to a cure for HIV and other genetic diseases. "If we can repair the stem cells, then those repaired stem cells will repopulate the body," Rao explains. "The current HIV genetic disease will eventually be eliminated. People won't have to take any drugs, and they will be HIV resistant for future infections."
Currently the professor of biology at The Catholic University of America, Rao founded the University’s Bacteriophage Medical Research Center in 2021 and currently serves as its founding director. His work has been recognized with numerous research awards from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Additionally,he holds 24 U.S. and international patents and is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the National Academy of Inventors.
Despite the ambitious nature of his work, Rao remains grounded. "I have no illusion that it will be an easy path to success," he says. "I might fail. Nevertheless, if you don’t try, you will definitely fail. I think we have a plausible path. We have to work really hard, be very creative, build the right teams, work with the right people, and bring our resources. So I’m willing to do that."
Rao obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Indian Institute of Science in 1980 and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Maryland Medical School. Promoted to full professor in 2000, he served as chair of Biology and its graduate programs, and as director of the Center for Advanced Training in Cell and Molecular Biology for over two decades.
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