Professor Luc Montagnier, of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, photographed at a conference on AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) held in Paris, Summer 1986. Montagnier was the leader of one of the research teams who first isolated the causative agent of AIDS in 1983. Montagnier designated the agent, a retrovirus, LAV (lymphodenopathy-associated virus): a similar virus had been independently isolated in early 1984 by an American team from the National Institute of Health, led by Dr. Robert Gallo, who designated his virus HTLV-III (Human T-cell Lymphotrophic Virus Type 3). Both teams are independently working to develop a vaccine.