Editor’s note: LimeLight is a regular feature from WRAL TechWire offering another means of publishing noteworthy news. Be sure to check out more LimeLight worthy news at this link.

CHAPEL HILL – Nancie M. Archin, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the UNC School of Medicine, recently received the Diversity in Science and Excellence award from the International Society for Antiviral Research. The $5,000 award goes towards a scientist of any group historically underrepresented in the Society who has made outstanding contributions to the field of antiviral research.

Archin’s area of interest includes HIV Latency and Cure HIV infection and latency in women. Her research includes a major approach to target persistent HIV infection involving latency reversal, using small molecules capable of inducing expression of the HIV provirus, followed by immune mediated clearance of infected cells. In the lab she uses molecular biology and biochemical methods to define sex-specific and other factors that contribute to HIV persistence in people living with HIV with a particular focus on women, define modalities to disrupt latency and clear latently infected cells, and apply these observations in clinical applications.

Formally established in 1987, the International Society for Antiviral Research (ISAR) is an internationally recognized organization for scientists involved in basic, applied, and clinical aspects of antiviral research. The Society’s main event is the annual International Conference on Antiviral Research (ICAR), an interdisciplinary meeting which attracts the interest of chemists, biologists, and clinicians. Dr. Archin is among the five ISAR 2024 award recipients.

(C) UNC-CH