Anthony Fauci, director of NIH's National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is apparently making good on the promise to "turn the knob towards discovery" in HIV vaccine research, which he made at a meeting this March.

The NIAID today (May 20) announced a five-year, $15.6 million project to fund research that aims to elicit the production of broad neutralizing antibodies from B cells instead of targeting T cells - the approach taken by previous vaccine efforts.

"This program reflects our commitment to probe the fundamental science underlying HIV vaccine development," Fauci said in an NIAID release. "The study of B cells and broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV will answer pressing, basic scientific questions and bring greater balance to our portfolio of HIV vaccine discovery research."

The 10 research groups funded through the program include investigators at the Scripps Research Institute, the University of California, Irvine, and Weill Cornell Medical College. According to the NIAID, the teams will share data and resources in their quest for a B cell-focused vaccine.