Unraveling the mystery of AIDS

Liz Fehrenbach figured AIDS would always be around.

  The death of her larger-than-life uncle in 1998 when she was 13 years old wasn't a shock once his HIV status turned into full-blown AIDS.

But a decade later, the Baltimore resident's thoughts regarding the disease have begun to change after meeting an "incredibly dynamic" man named Yuntao Wu.

A native of China and the only one in his family with a college degree, Wu is now a professor of molecular and microbiology at George Mason University-Manassas campus.

For the past seven years, Wu has poured countless hours of research into ways to combat AIDS. Last year, he and his research team made a breakthrough recognized by the elite minds in his field and those helping to raise money and awareness to fight the disease.

For the past two years, Wu has been the sole recipient of the NYCDC Charity AIDS Ride. This spring, Fehrenbach, who served on the race's medical crew, and several riders were invited to Wu's laboratory for an inside peek into his research.

They left in awe of both the man and the work he is doing.

"The vaccine trials recently have come up short and to hear his approach, looking at HIV, how it enters your cells, just seemed refreshing to me," said Fehrenbach, who just graduated from Johns Hopkins Nursing School. "He has an incredible level of energy and persistence."

"It was incredible to see," said David Lippe, whose partner rode in the 330-mile bike ride just completed on Sept. 13. "We saw HIV-infected cells, we saw the research he's doing, splitting DNA and how's he doing it."

Wu and his team discovered that when HIV binds to the cell surface, it uses a molecule called chemokine coreceptor CXCR4 to send a signal that activates a cell protein known as cofilin.

The protein is then used to cut through the cortical actin cytoskeleton, the circular layer that lies just beneath the cell's outer membrane.

"Now we have a basic understanding of the parts that cortical actin and cofilin play in all of this," Wu told the Mason Gazette last fall. "This study really opened avenues for us, and we hope to use this information as a foundation for more detailed studies that could lead to the development of new therapeutic tools."

If anyone can cure AIDS, Wu would probably be the one to do it, said lab manager Paul Vorster. A South African who has worked in the prosthetics field before coming to America, Vorster has seen firsthand the devastation that AIDS has wreaked in his homeland.

He's also seen the wonderful work—featured last fall in the medical journal Cell—accomplished by his boss in a field in which results take a long time to produce.

"It's really hard to even look over two years and say 'How much progress have we made?' " Vorster said. "But I can tell you, he's got more ideas than hands to do things."

Humble beginning

The 45-year-old Wu was one of nine children to a father that had seen the best and the worst of times in China.

A businessman who died in 1989 at the age of 97, Wu's dad wasn't into fostering his child's love for science.  However, he was always concerned for his children's well-being.

"As long as you were safe, he was happy," Wu said of his father.

As a child, Wu spent a great deal of time outdoors. He was fascinated by insects and often would have cricket fights.

That affinity for bugs never left him. After receiving an undergraduate and master's degree in biology in China, Wu earned his doctoral degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ont., studying the effects of viruses on insects.

In 1999, he garnered a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health to study AIDS and then was hired at Mason in 2003. Wu has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including the 2007 "Tomorrow's PIs" by Genome Technology Magazine, the 2006 Siemens Mentor Award by the Siemens Foundation and the 2003 NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence by NIH.

"In my life, I would like to see some of my research applied," said Wu, who is in the process of applying for more grant money in order to continue his study of AIDS.

A team player

In last year's inaugural ride, Wu and his lab assistants provided refreshments for the riders along the route.

After seeing all the support for his research firsthand last year—riders are expected to raise at least $2,500 apiece—Wu decided he would become part of the ride itself.

Wu had only been training for a few months and finished the rain-soaked 85 miles through New Jersey on Sept. 10, last in the group. At one point, he was so far behind the other 44 riders that he couldn't see anyone in front of him.

That night he experienced numbness in his extremities and was starting to doubt whether he could finish, knowing he had more than 240 miles left to go.

"My legs were completely frozen," Wu said. "I couldn't feel anything."

But after a rain-shortened ride on Friday,  Wu started to regain his confidence. By Saturday he was no longer finishing last.

When Wu and his fellow riders arrived at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 15th Street in Washington at approximately 5 p.m. on a warm, sunkissed Sunday, he appeared relaxed and content.

Sipping on a beer during a laid-back post-race party, Wu said he didn't want to let all the people down who had worked so hard to raise money for his research.

One of those was two-time rider and race co-organizer Tim Weinheimer. While he's never seen "the ugly side" of HIV, Weinheimer has friends afflicted with the disease and is proud to be associated with such a diverse group of caring individuals.

"It's such a charge, because you see so many types of people coming together for such a commitment," said Weinheimer. "You're talking about something that 1 percent of the population would ever do, much like marathon runners. People just don't do this."

But people like Wu do and that's, in part, what makes him so special.

"He lifts you to a place you can't get to by yourself," said Vorster, who hopes to participate in the race one day. "He elevates you."

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062.