THE HIV-CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH GROUP

ACTIVITIES

The HIV Clinical and Translational Research (HIV-CTR) Group emerged from the Reference Laboratory of Retrovirology offering specialised technical support for the clinical follow-up of HIV and HCV-infected patients in Luxembourg since 1990. The group joined the Department of Infection and Immunity under the direction of  Dr Carole Seguin-Devaux, and lead HIV clinical research in the field of resistance to antiviral therapy, transmission, molecular epidemiology and HIV Cure since 2014. 

The HIV-CTR research team: 

• Provides new translational knowledge on HIV cure and in immunology. 
• Develop immunotherapeutic complexes boosting complement or NK cells activation against viruses, bacteria or cancer cells for further elimination by the immune system. 
• Since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, the group has developed SARS-CoV-2 cultures and HIV-pseudotypes/viral neutralisation assays for SARS-CoV-2 to assess the potency of antivirals and neutralising antibodies, respectively. 

The Group is a partner in several European HIV and HCV networks, collaborates with lifescience and biotech companies, and has built up a network in Sub-Saharian African countries to support knowledge and technology transfer for the clinical management of HIV and hepatitis-infected patients.  

Collaborations: 

• European Society for Translational Antiviral Research (ESAR) and the Hepvir working group for hepatitis B and C 
• EURESIST 
• Breach HIV Cure consortium 
• the Monod consortium for the clinical trial NCT01127204, evaluation of simplified antiretroviral treatment strategies in HIV infected children treated by antiretroviral before one year of age 
• the COST action CM1407, NatChemdrugs