Research Foundation to Cure AIDS

Research Foundation to Cure AIDS (RFTCA) is the first and only U.S. not-for-profit public charity with a license to its own cell engineering biotechnology to research, develop and implement a cure for HIV-1. Rockefeller University alumnus biotech inventor Dr. Kambiz Shekdar established RFTCA based on using Chromovert Technology, cell and nanotechnology originating from The Rockefeller University that utilizes Molecular Beacons, to increase the efficiency of existing cell-based strategies to cure HIV-1 infection. RFTCA has an exclusive, royalty-free license to use Chromovert in the field of curing HIV/AIDS. The late Nobel-laureate and Rockefeller University cell biologist Gunter Blobel, M.D., Ph.D., NYC drag artist Sherry Vine and actor Alan Cumming served as founding members of RFTCA's board of directors.
Scientific Mission
An estimated 38 million individuals are currently living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Only two people, originally reported as the Berlin Patient and the London Patient, have ever been cured of AIDS. RFTCA intends to build on the science underlying those two events in order to develop a broadly-applicable cure for all those in need.
NIH Support to Cure AIDS
RFTCA is advocating for increased public funding and urgency to develop a worldwide cure. In November 2019, Senator Bernie Sanders became the first U.S. presidential candidate to prioritize the development of a cure in response to a Q&A by RFTCA President Dr. Shekdar. In 2019, NIH made its first major announcement to prioritize development of a cure. In 2020, NIAID issued the first NIH solicitation seeking research proposals focused on developing a cure for HIV-infection. In 2021, RFTCA submitted its first application for support from NIH with collaboration partners and support from Columbia University Medical Center, New York Stem Cell Foundation and New York Blood Center.
Public Advocacy
In 2015, RFTCA hosted a symposium at Columbia University where former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and Timothy Ray Brown, also known as the Berlin Patient, spoke about the need to develop a global cure. In 2018, RFTCA partnered with the NYC's to raise public awareness to find a broadly-applicable cure.

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