Five scientists will receive the Avante-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, according to an NIH press release.

Each of the scientists will receive $500,000 a year for five years to continue their research. The goal is to explore creative approaches that could transform the HIV research field. The NIDA website offers more information about the awards, and a video announcement explains more about this year’s winners.

This year’s awardees are:

  • Don C. Des Jarlais, PhD, of Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York City, for a project on reducing HIV transmissions among injection drug users

  • Eli Gilboa, PhD, of the University of Miami School of Medicine, for a project to develop drugs that restore the function of T-cells

  • Nichole Klatt, PhD, of the University of Washington, Seattle, for a project that explores using cannabis to reduce inflammation and viral persistence

  • Alan D. Levine, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, for a project on repairing intestinal barrier protection from HIV and drug use

  • Tariq M. Rana, PhD, of the University of California, San Diego, for a project to better understand the molecular mechanisms of brain disorders caused by HIV and crystal meth