Florida: Volunteers Needed to Test AIDS Vaccine

Researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) are seeking 10 healthy volunteers to test a new AIDS vaccine that has been proved to slow the disease in monkeys. TGH is one of 16 research centers nationally that is participating in the trial, which is funded by the vaccine's developer Merck & Co. The 10 or so people who enroll in the USF/TGH study will be among the first to get all three major components of the vaccine, which should be close to the finished product, said Dr. Jeffrey Nadler, director of clinical research in infectious diseases at USF and TGH. The vaccine is created from synthetic versions of select HIV genes. It cannot cause HIV, but those who take it can wrongly test positive for HIV in the short term. Anyone wishing to enroll can call the TGH Clinical Research Center at 813-844-7829.

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