VOA标准英语2010年-New AIDS Vaccine Strategic Plan Unveil

A new strategic plan for AIDS vaccine¹ research was unveiled Tuesday.  It’s the culmination² of an 18-month effort that included the input³ of 400 scientists worldwide.

The new Scientific Strategic Plan – developed by the Council of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise - appears in the journal Nature Medicine. It offers what’s called a “forward looking framework to speed development, execution and analysis of HIV vaccine trials.”

“The plan is really a high-level document that specifies⁴ for all the major stakeholders in the field – all the major funders – the direction in which the field should go,” says Alan Bernstein executive director of the vaccine enterprise.

Looking ahead

He adds it’s time for researchers to have a new vision.

“The plan says we need to think differently, completely differently, about (vaccine) trials.  And rather than thinking about them as the culmination of a series of basic science experiments, we need to now think about them as an integral part of the discovery process to get a vaccine.  And we need to therefore organize differently to reflect that thinking.”
Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise
Alan Bernstein, Executive Director, Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise
 Late last year, a trial in Thailand proved that a vaccine candidate can offer some protection against HIV infection.  It wasn’t good enough to put on the market, but it was a big step forward.

“That really has been a landmark⁵ trial, landmark moment for the field.  And there’s also been a number of very important advances in this field, basic science advances.  And so I think we’re at a really important moment in time for the HIV vaccine research field,” he says.

The success in Thailand actually followed disappointing news in what was called the STEP trial.  Merck stopped the trial on what was considered a very promising⁶ vaccine candidate when it learned it was ineffective.  Bernstein says in scientific research there are no guarantees.

“You know what? In science it’s not always one step forward, one step forward.  It’s quite often one step forward, two steps backwards⁷.  That’s just the nature of science.  And if it was always forward, we would have solved every human disease by now.  And so I think we need to be prepared and acknowledge that this is tough.”

What should be done

The Strategic Scientific Plan makes a number of recommendations.

“Bringing together basic scientists and pre-clinical scientists and the people who do trials to actually think as one.  Another major priority is every field, but including the HIV vaccine field, needs to be proactively scanning what’s going on elsewhere and say we can take advantage of that.  We can use that technology,” he says.

Other recommendations include the rapid sharing of scientific data among researchers around the world and enlisting⁸ the help of industry in developing a vaccine.  Bernstein says industry may have shied away from being proactive due to the difficulties in blocking HIV infection and concerns over funding and finding profitable markets.

Bernstein says, “We need to now sit down with industry and say, look, we’ve made a lot of progress.  We think there’s light at the end of this tunnel.  We need to have strategic partnering with you in a way that works for you and a way that works for us and a way that works for people who are at risk of getting HIV so that we will get a vaccine as quickly as possible.  Because at the end of the day we will not get a vaccine without industry.”

The head of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise says it’s fair to ask: when will an effective vaccine be available?  But he says no one has the answer to that question yet.  He says, though, it’ll be sooner rather than later if the strategic plan is implemented⁹.
 

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

3 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

4 specifies   

v.指定( specify的第三人称单数 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• The third clause of the contract specifies steel sashes for the windows. 合同的第三款指定使用钢窗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 enlisting   

v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的现在分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• He thought about enlisting-about the Spanish legion-about a profession. 他想去打仗，想参加西班牙军团，想找个职业。 来自辞典例句
• They are not enlisting men over thirty-five. 他们不召超过35岁的人入伍。 来自辞典例句

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句