IAVI’s efforts in the scientific arena have historically focused on the clinical assessment of candidate AIDS vaccines that have been created by other research organizations. But, perceiving a shortage of new ideas in the field, we have ramped up our emphasis on HIV research directed toward the design of novel candidate vaccines. We have also increasingly taken up the challenge of translational research—the conversion of those lab-bench discoveries into prototype vaccines, and then into candidate vaccines that can be produced via industrial processes.

Today, IAVI is directly involved in every step of the AIDS vaccine development pathway. We have established three laboratories to support each aspect of this work and coordinate the activities of the globally dispersed clinics and research centers that collaborate in these efforts.

The laboratories include:

• The IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center at The Scripps Research Institute, which is located in La Jolla, California
  
• The AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, which is located in New York City
  
• The Human Immunology Laboratory, which is located in London, UK, and collaborates with several laboratories in sub-Saharan Africa and India