‘Young guns’ hit target with HIV vaccine research
Biochemist who nearly shunned science involved in exciting breakthrough, writes Matthew Savides
JINAL Bhiman almost did not take science as a high school subject, yet the 27year-old has been instrumental in making a crucial scientific discovery that could lead to a vaccine against HIV.
While analysing the blood of an HIV-positive KwaZulu-Natal woman, the Johannesburgbased PhD student found a rare antibody that can beat the defences of an HIV cell and kill it. If cloned, this antibody could provide a blueprint for a vaccine against HIV, the virus that can lead to Aids.
Bhiman is the youngest of three “young gun” researchers from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases who are part of a joint South AfricanUS study that discovered the antibodies. The other two are Kurt Wibmer, 28, and Molati Nonyane, 31.
The discovery was announced by the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (Caprisa) and published in the medical journal Nature earlier this month.
The KwaZulu-Natal woman — identified only as Caprisa 256, or CAP256 — has antibodies in her blood that are able to penetrate the shield of sugars that surrounds the cells of the human immunodeficiency virus. Most antibodies have “arms” that are too short to fully penetrate the shield, rendering them ineffective.
Finding the rare antibody has been described as a major breakthrough, because it can now for the first time be cloned in a laboratory. It will be used to develop a vaccine that will be tested on the equivalent of HIV in monkeys before human trials are considered.
Bhiman said she nearly followed a different career path.
“I initially didn’t even choose science in Grade 10 as a subject to carry through to matric. It was only halfway through the
It’s fulfilling to know that your research might help prevent people from being infected with HIV
year that I realised I was foolish not to take science.”
It was because of “patient help” from her father and an uncle that she was able to get up to speed.
The following year, Bhiman became hooked on biochemistry thanks to a cousin who was doing a master’s degree in the subject. She went on to study for a BSc in genetics and biochemistry, then did honours in protein biochemistry at the University of the Witwatersrand.
“Even in school and after honours I would never have dreamed of doing this kind of research. I feel extremely privileged to work on this project. It’s really fulfilling to know that your research might actually help prevent people from being infected with HIV,” she said.
Bhiman said the process of identifying the antibody was a long, complex one.
The researchers first labelled the types of cells in the KwaZulu-Natal woman’s blood sample and isolated those that made antibodies.
“It’s quite a lot of work,” said Bhiman. “For example, from one [blood] sample you would get 10 million cells. And from that you would have to isolate the cells that produce these antibodies.”
The leader of the Caprisa team, Durban-born Professor Salim Abdool Karim, said identifying the cell was “like finding a needle in a very, very big haystack”.
And just how significant is the find?
“In the easiest terms, you can say we now have a blueprint for a potential route to develop a vaccine,” said Bhiman.
Her colleague Wibmer— who acknowledges being “quite full of myself” — said he had always felt he would be part of something as big as this discovery.
“I’m ecstatic about being included in this work, given where it has gone. But, at the same time, my contribution to this work was relatively minor compared to Jinal’s,” he said.