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The CVVT brings together scholars from HKU, Columbia University in New York and Imperial College in London, who will build on their recent discoveries. One programme is focused on vaccines for different respiratory viruses, including influenza and coronavirus. The researchers have already developed a genetically engineered live-attenuated virus that will not cause infection even among immune-compromised patients and they will further investigate the applicability of this approach. They will also explore ways of boosting the immunogenicity of existing vaccines, including using clinically approved drugs such as topical adjuvants and measles defective genes. Vaccines for COVID-19 are also being explored. HIV vaccines are another focus. Members of the CVVT have developed a universal antibody immunotherapy as prevention and first-step treatment for HIV-1, and steps will be taken to strengthen its potential. The researchers will also investigate antibodies that can target several sites on HIV to improve on the single-target approach that characterises most current treatments. Two programmes will focus on antivirals for respiratory viruses, one aimed at the host, the other at viral targets. For the host programme, broad-spectrum antivirals have been developed that can interfere with cell metabolism or cell death pathways and these will undergo further pre-clinical evaluation. Work will also continue to identify other broad-spectrum antivirals. For viral targets, a key challenge is the resistance that viruses tend to develop against synthetic compounds. The researchers therefore are applying chemical genetics to discover compounds that can bind to the targets. They have already developed a peptide that effectively delivers defective interfering genes to the influenza virus and they will expand on this success. The CVVT’s final programme is focused on improving diagnoses. An organoid system has been developed that closely mimics the structure and physiology of human organs. This will enable researchers to better detect and understand respiratory virus infections. Ultimately, they hope to develop an automated diagnostic system that can be used at the point of clinical care. 14 Feature