CNMS

UMBC researcher awarded high-risk, high-reward NIAID grant to improve HIV prevention drugs

Jul 27, 2026 • By Sarah Hansen, M.S. '15

A University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) scientist has received a two-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to explore how two key HIV prevention drugs work inside the body—specifically in colon tissue, where HIV transmission risk is especially high. The project, led by Herana Kamal Seneviratne, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, seeks to explain why these drugs protect some people better than others and could help make prevention tools more reliable.