Science and community.
A shared path toward an HIV cure.
Authentic reservoir clones: a new window into HIV persistence
HIV persists in rare infected immune cells that survive treatment. REACH scientists can now isolate and grow these cells as authentic reservoir clones (ARCs), bringing the biology of the reservoir directly into the laboratory.
ARCs let us test how HIV stays silent, when it becomes visible, and why infected cells survive immune attack. Work from the Jones and Nussenzweig laboratories is making this resource central to REACH’s search for an HIV cure.
Jones lab: immune vulnerability and resistance
Nature, 2026. Ferreira, Herrera and colleagues grew ARCs from people with HIV and showed that sustained, potent cytotoxic T-cell pressure can reduce some clones. Other clones resist killing, revealing survival mechanisms that can be targeted in laboratory experiments.
Nussenzweig lab: integration sites and latency
JEM, 2024. Teixeira and colleagues connected HIV transcription to the surrounding genomic environment, showing how integration context helps shape latency.
Nussenzweig lab: different states within a clone
JEM, 2026. Bittar and colleagues showed that even cells descended from the same infected cell can differ sharply in HIV transcription. These differences help explain why strong stimulation can leave much of a clone latent.
Expanding the ARC resource is a priority for REACH’s approved extension, connecting studies of latency, integration sites, and immune resistance with the next generation of cure strategies.
Microscopy of authentic reservoir clones. Image: Jones Lab.
ACTG A5386: learning from the reservoir and the immune response
Can an immune-based intervention change HIV persistence and help the body control the virus? ACTG A5386 brings that question into the clinic, studying N-803, an investigational immune modulator, with or without two broadly neutralizing antibodies. REACH connects the clinical outcomes with detailed studies of the HIV reservoir and antiviral immunity.
The phase 1 study is led by Timothy Wilkin, with Marina Caskey and R. Brad Jones as vice chairs. Completing and integrating its laboratory analyses is a priority for REACH’s approved extension.
A5386 at CROI 2026
Brad Jones and colleagues reported measurable changes in the reservoir and immune system, while sustained control without antiretroviral therapy (ART) remained uncommon. The intact reservoir declined temporarily during treatment and returned toward baseline afterward. These findings help separate a biological effect from the harder goal of lasting HIV control.
A5386 at AIDS 2026
Rachel Scheck’s oral presentation and Itzayana Miller’s poster in July 2026 brought the reservoir and immune findings to an international audience. Scheck described a temporary reduction in the intact reservoir and changes in HIV transcription. Miller examined shifts toward more stem-like CD8 T cells and immune features associated with post-intervention control. Together, this work asks why a small subset of participants did better and what could inform future approaches.
Marina Caskey at IAS 2025
Marina presented results from the separate Rockefeller-led trial of N-803 with the long-acting antibodies 3BNC117-LS and 10-1074-LS. Some participants remained off ART for extended periods, with varied patterns of viral rebound and control. Unlike A5386, this study began the monitored treatment interruption alongside the antibody intervention. Its single-arm design cannot establish how much N-803 added to the antibody effects.
Marina Caskey at Keystone 2026
On April 19 in Breckenridge, Marina presented “Combined Immunotherapy with IL-15 Agonists and Broadly-Neutralizing Antibodies.” She also co-organized the Keystone meeting on HIV persistence and cure. Her talk placed this clinical research within the wider effort to combine antibody therapy with immune modulation.
Presentations and media coverage
July 29, 2026 — Highlights the presentations by Rachel Scheck and Itzayana Miller.
aidsmap: A5386 and N-803-based control
March 2026 — Puts the CROI findings in context alongside other trials.
aidsmap: Marina’s Rockefeller trial
July 21, 2025 — Reports the early clinical findings and remaining questions.
These are early-phase research findings. Treatment interruptions took place with close clinical monitoring; the studies have not established an HIV cure.
REACH enters its next chapter
Type 4 extension approved • August 2026
REACH has received NIH approval for a Type 4 extension, beginning August 25, 2026. This next phase brings our scientists, clinicians, and community partners together to turn discoveries about HIV persistence into better-informed cure strategies.
Our priorities are to complete the laboratory analyses of ACTG A5386, advance research on the reservoir and immune resistance, sustain shared research resources, and make HIV cure science more accessible through community engagement.
REACH—the Research Enterprise to Advance a Cure for HIV—is part of the NIH Martin Delaney Collaboratories program. We connect basic discovery with clinical research to investigate lasting HIV remission and reservoir elimination.
REACH collaborators at the 2024 annual meeting.
Cure research shaped by community
Learning, dialogue, and partnership
People affected by HIV bring essential experience and questions to cure research. REACH works with AVAC and its community advisory board to build understanding, discuss research priorities, and improve communication between investigators and communities.
During the extension period, REACH and AVAC will support the CAB, develop video explanations of HIV cure concepts and technologies, and help investigators share their science clearly.
REACH is also part of the community engagement partnership behind the US HIV Cure Academy. AVAC’s 2026 update describes 20 advocates and 11 researchers and cure experts coming together for learning and dialogue.
For questions about community engagement, contact REACH@med.cornell.edu.
Discussion at the 2026 US HIV Cure Academy · Durham, North Carolina · April 2026. Photo source: AVAC.
OUR RESEARCHFour connected questions. One shared goal.
HIV can persist despite effective treatment. REACH studies both the virus and the immune responses that could help control or eliminate it.
01 · Understand the reservoir
Where does HIV persist, and how do infected cells interact with antiviral T cells? We develop better ways to measure the reservoir and connect its features to the viruses that return when treatment is interrupted in carefully monitored studies.
02 · Support lasting immune control
We study how T cells, natural killer cells, and broadly neutralizing antibodies could work together to delay or prevent viral rebound. Clinical partnerships help us connect laboratory measurements with what happens in people.
03 · Overcome resistance to immune clearance
Some infected cells survive even when the immune system recognizes them. We investigate why, and test approaches that could make these cells more vulnerable to elimination.
04 · Decode integration and latency
HIV inserts its genetic material into a cell’s DNA. We study how that location and the cell’s surrounding biology influence whether HIV stays silent, becomes active, or escapes immune attack.
These approaches remain research strategies. They are not established HIV cure treatments.
Discoveries from across REACH
A selection of recent publications supported by REACH.
HIV remission after stem cell transplantation
Gaebler and colleagues · Nature · 2026 (online December 2025)
A detailed study of sustained remission after transplantation provides clues about reservoir reduction and immune responses. This specialized cancer treatment is not a broadly applicable HIV cure.
Matching antibodies to a diverse virus
Pahus and colleagues · The Journal of Infectious Diseases · 2025
Researchers evaluate a screening assay used to assess HIV susceptibility to broadly neutralizing antibodies, including its practical limits.
Measuring HIV persistence across subtypes
Lee and colleagues · Nature Communications · 2024
Research in Uganda characterizes persistent HIV genomes and improves reservoir measurement for subtypes A1, D, and recombinant viruses.