Texas scientists have received a substantial award for research into the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has given a new four-year grant of nearly $4 million to the Texas Biomedical Research Institute for advancement in developing a vaccine for HIV.

HIV is a type of virus that assaults the body’s immune system and can lead to the eventual development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The CDC says that, as of now, there is no cure for this affliction.

Research on this potential “promising” vaccine is headed by Dr. Marie-Claire Gauduin. She and her team have been observing how this vaccine works on a genetic and molecular level in primates.

According to the NIH, about one million new HIV infections occur each year. Progress toward a vaccine has been slow over the years.

Gauduin has been developing this potential vaccine for over 10 years with support from previous grants from the NIH.

“I had this idea as a postdoc,” said Dr. Gauduin, according to a press release, as reported by KXAN. “I thought it had to be naïve because nobody was talking about it. It was so obvious and simple to me; I thought someone would have already done it.”

This new vaccine is a “live attenuated vaccine,” which is based on the genetic code of the virus but is edited to remove harmful aspects. This method of vaccine is already in use for other afflictions such as smallpox, yellow fever, measles, and chicken pox.

Mutations in HIV, however, have prevented this method from working in the past.

Gauduin claimed that this new vaccine could mitigate the effects of the virus with one dose with “no boosting required, compared to daily antiretroviral pills,” reported KXAN.

This team of scientists observed that the primates that had the vaccine administered became infected with SIV, the primate variant of the virus, long after a group that had not received the vaccines. While infection eventually did occur, no symptoms of the disease were discovered.

“I did not think it would work so well, but it did,” said Gauduin in the press release, per KXAN.

Gauduin hopes that this vaccine will soon advance to human trials. She also expects to explore different delivery methods to administer the vaccine.

Up next, the vaccine will be tested on a larger group of animals to determine if it is safe and effective.