Reuben Harris, PhD, of the University of Minnesota (U of M), has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate a promising lead in anti-HIV research, according to a U of M statement. Harris and his team will analyze the APOBEC3G protein, a mutated version of the APOBEC family of enzymes that inhibit viral replication in human cells. In this case, APOBEC3G interferes with HIV’s ability to attach to and enter human cells. Scientists hope that studying the protein will lead to ways of strengthening the immune system’s power to fight HIV.

To read the U of M statement, click here.