Spring 2026 Grantee Highlight:
Larry Corey

Larry Corey, MD

Professor, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutch Cancer Center

The Corey and  Eichholz Labs, together with collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania, the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation, and Oregon Health & Science University, are pursuing linked goals of eliminating persistent HIV reservoirs and expanding the feasibility of CAR-T cell therapies for HIV. The team is combining advances in mRNA therapeutics and immune-cell engineering to develop a targeted delivery platform capable of generating HIV-fighting CAR-T cells directly within the body.

CAR-T cell therapy has demonstrated the ability to redirect immune cells against specific targets and has emerged as a promising strategy for treating HIV infection. However, conventional CAR-T approaches rely on complex manufacturing processes in which immune cells are collected, engineered outside the body, and then returned to patients. These procedures require specialized facilities, are associated with substantial costs, and can be difficult to deploy at scale.

This project aims to overcome those limitations by developing targeted mRNA lipid nanoparticles that deliver CAR instructions directly to cytotoxic T cells. By generating CAR-T cells in vivo and controlling the duration of their activity, the researchers hope to establish a safe and effective approach for targeting HIV-infected cells. Ultimately, this work seeks to create a more practical framework for CAR-T–based HIV therapies and advance efforts to eliminate persistent viral reservoirs.

Learn more about the Corey Lab:https://research.fredhutch.org/corey/en.html