The objectives of this contract focus on the production, procurement, quality assessment, and distribution of research reagents in support of DAIDS-funded HIV vaccine development. 1 - Acquire by purchase or other arrangement and then characterize quantities of viral gene products (e.g., HIV-1, SIV) for distribution for use by DAIDS-supported investigators. 2- Acquire and characterize immunologic adjuvants, immunomodulators, and vaccine delivery systems for use in experimental HIV vaccine formulations. 3- Generate working quantities of specialized viral gene products or other reagents not readily available through purchase. 4- Clone retroviral genes into appropriate prokaryotic expression vectors and perform quality assurance testing of these vectors and genes as required by the Project Officer. 5- Prepare and characterize hybridomas and monoclonal antibodies as required by the Project Officer. 6- Maintain an electronic inventory of reagents and stock and a database of all reagent analysis results. 7- Maintain and distribute all stocks and reagents as required and keep a tracking system in which any given sample can be traced from receipt through processing, storage and distribution.
