Dr. Alan Bernstein was named the first executive director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise at an AIDS conference in South Africa on Thursday.
Bernstein takes on the task at a difficult time. Late last month, pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. announced it had halted a large clinical trial testing a vaccine candidate because the vaccine failed to prevent infection.
Experts had viewed the Merck vaccine as among the most promising to date in a field pocked with disappointments. But the setback didn't diminish Bernstein's interest in taking on this new role.
"I wasn't dismayed by it. In fact, if anything, it kind of reaffirmed for me the importance of the enterprise," Bernstein said from Cape Town.
"This is a long journey."
A veteran scientist who made his reputation as a cancer researcher, Bernstein officially ends his seven-year tenure as the first scientific director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on Nov. 17. But in reality, he has completed his work with the medical research funding agency.
After announcing he was setting down in June, Bernstein was approached by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is providing a major chunk of the funding for the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.
The Gates Foundation has served as a home for the nascent operation since it was envisaged by leading scientific thinkers in 2003, and has devoted US$20 million over the next four years to support the work of the enterprise's secretariat.
The U.S. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases has committed another US$7 million.
When he announced he was stepping down from the CIHR top post, Bernstein said he felt he had another job in him before he retires. (He celebrated his 60th birthday just days before stepping down.)
But this role won't be just another job. Bernstein said as head of the HIV vaccine enterprise he will be trying to bring together the various groups, research teams, funding agencies and industry to come up with a more co-ordinated approach to HIV vaccine research.
"I think my job is to be a convener and to encourage the funders, the scientific community, the regulators who approve trials and products, private industry, governments, people living with HIV-AIDS, volunteers for these trials to come together and to work together," he said.
Rather than being a limitation, he counts as a plus the fact he hasn't been closely involved in this field of research in the past.
"I think the advantage that the enterprise has and that I have is I'm not one of the protagonists in the field. I'm not a funder, I'm not a (active) scientist, I'm not a government. I represent everybody in the field."
The head of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory was delighted Bernstein was named to head the enterprise.
"I'm excited about about it," said Dr. Frank Plummer, scientific director of the lab and a leading HIV/AIDS researcher.
"I think it's great. It's great for Alan. It's great for Canada. And I think it will be good for the global enterprise."
Plummer said a co-ordinated strategic approach is needed if the world is ever to have an HIV vaccine. "I don't think any one group can do it. There's too much to be done."
Bernstein said he thought Canada could take pride in the fact that a Canadian had been asked to serve as the enterprise's first head, saying it was a reflection of the honest broker role the country plays internationally.
The former UN envoy for HIV-AIDS also rejoiced in Bernstein's appointment.
"I'm proud to see one of Canada's top scientists leading the enterprise," Stephen Lewis said in a release.
"Alan Bernstein is an ideal choice to serve as a leader among leaders, co-ordinating the HIV vaccine field and working to build productive partnerships between researchers, donors, and advocates."
