Tomáš Hanke

Professor Hanke has dedicated his entire professional career to fighting the HIV-1/AIDS pandemic. His work has focused on the iterative improvement of T-cell vaccine design, encompassing both immunogens and delivery platforms, guided partly by preclinical studies but primarily driven by human clinical data. He coordinates and supports a global programme of experimental medicine trials evaluating his candidate T-cell vaccines, both as standalone interventions and in combination with other cutting-edge HIV cure strategies. These studies span five continents and are conducted in partnership with international networks, while simultaneously strengthening African research capacity and clinical trial infrastructure.

In addition to securing numerous smaller awards, Professor Hanke has led two UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Programme Grants and coordinated three successive consortia funded by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). He has served on the trial leadership teams for the Horizon 2020 European AIDS Vaccine Initiative 2020, MRC-funded Translational Medicine awards (HIVA, PEACHI, RIVER and AbVax), the Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally (ACTG) network, the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) Network, and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program in partnership with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Between 2015 and 2023, he was seconded to the University of Kumamoto, Japan, as a Distinguished Professor. In 2023, he and his collaborators at IrsiCaixa were awarded the European Hector Research Award for HIV Therapy in recognition of their contributions to the field.