This work was undertaken by the BRILLIANT Consortium, made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) until its suspension on January 27, 2025, and subsequent termination on the 26th of February, 2025.
BRILLIANT Study
This work was undertaken by the BRILLIANT Consortium, made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) until its suspension on January 27, 2025, and subsequent termination on the 26th of February, 2025. The contents are the sole responsibility of the BRILLIANT Consortium and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
The International Research Center of Excellence (IRCE) at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) is a part of the BRILLIANT HIV Vaccine Consortium which is spearheading HIV vaccine development and conducting preclinical studies to determine promising vaccines.
The Bringing Innovation to Clinical and Laboratory Research to End HIV in Africa through New Vaccine Technology” (BRILLIANT) project in Nigeria is to test HIV vaccine concepts and advance the most promising candidates contributing to HIV prevention global efforts. It will strengthen systems of collaborating institutions and countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa while increasing career opportunities for promising regional scientists.
Project methods and research approaches include preclinical and clinical phases comprising immunogen development, animal testing, and clinical trial testing in humans. The project has a multi-phasic approach from Phase 1 to Phase 4 starting with low-risk populations as initial participants to test safety and immunogenicity, and progressively extending to high-risk populations in subsequent phases to assess how well the vaccine protects against infection.
The project is led by the Chief Executive Officer and President of the South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa, Prof. Glenda Gray, while the project’s Principal Investigator in Nigeria is Prof. Alash’le Abimiku. The project duration is from 2023-2029 and Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and South Africa are the participating countries in the project which is funded by USAID.