"The body is capable of making antibodies to protect us from HIV," says Yunda Huang, PhD. HIV has been called the shape-shifting #virus because it disguises itself so that even when people are able to make antibodies to it, the virus changes to escape. But Huang and others are optimistic that an effective vaccine is still possible. "We cannot and will not lose hope that the world will have an effective #HIV vaccine that is accessible by all who need it, anywhere," International AIDS Society (IAS) Executive Director Birgit Poniatowski said in a statement in December, when the trial was stopped. HIV is a still persistent problem in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that reports it has affected an estimated 1.2 million people. With new people infected every day around the globe, Dr Huang says she feels a sense of urgency to help. "I think about all the people around the globe and the large number of young girls being hurt and I know our big pool of talent can intervene to change what we see happening." Huang says the clinical trial failures we've seen so far will help guide next steps in HIV research as much as successes typically do. Sourced : Medscape