A researcher from the Faculdade de Farmácia e Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisbon, Portugal, is to receive a Grand Challenges Exploration Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for his work in developing therapeutic nanoparticles to eliminate HIV-1 viruses from infected organisms. João Gonçalves and his team will use the grant to develop nanoparticles with two essential molecules: antibodies that will recognize cell types where latent HIV-1 viruses integrate the genome; and, a DNA portion containing encoding information for the production of a toxin that will destroy cells containing HIV-1 viruses. These nanoparticles will be designed in such a way that the toxin production will only be triggered inside cells that actually contain HIV-1 viruses integrated in the genome. According to Gonçalves, “We are very proud to receive this award. It will allow us to pursue an out-of-the-box, bold approach to fight HIV/AIDS infection, something that is seldom funded by traditional funding schemes.” If the research project demonstrates initial success, there is the possibility of further funding for a second phase, in which the nanoparticles will be produced in large scale, and efficacy and security tests will be developed.