Chad Swanson collaborated with composer Benjamin Oliver to create ‘The Virus Within: Hearing HIV’. This was funded and supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC), King’s College London Teaching Centre of Immunology, University of Southampton Music Department and Guy’s Chapel (with special thanks to Revd Jim Craig).

The Virus Within: Hearing HIV is a three-movement composition that musically depicts the biological processes involved in HIV replication and how innovative ‘Shock and Kill’ treatments might provide a cure for HIV. The musical materials undergo conceptually similar processes or transformations that occur at the molecular and cellular level. It was premiered at Guy’s Chapel by Workers Union Ensemble in February 2018. To listen to each movement, click on the titles below.

‘Integration’ depicts the reverse transcription of viral RNA into DNA followed by the viral DNA integrating into a person’s genome.
‘Gene Expression’ consists of four main sections that musically embody HIV gene expression and protein production in a single cell.
‘Shock and Kill’ highlights how research focused on HIV gene regulation can potentially be translated into a cure for HIV.

Dr Piotr Kwiatkowski

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