William Schief

New Capabilities

Lead designer of germline-targeting immunogens being tested in G004

In 1984, the U.S. Health Secretary predicted an HIV vaccine within two years. Four decades and dozens of failed trials later, IAVI has begun dosing participants in South Africa with a vaccine built on an entirely different principle—one that attempts to train the immune system from the ground up rather than simply presenting it with viral proteins. The IAVI G004 trial, which began vaccinations in December 2025, represents the fourth step in a sequential vaccination strategy that has already demonstrated proof-of-concept in humans.

Updated Jan 22