Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine will be able to move forward on decades-long work for a promising HIV/AIDS vaccine after receiving $23.4 million from a consortium led by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The money was awarded to the university's Institute of Human Virology, headed by Dr. Robert Gallo, who helped discover the human immunodeficiency virus.   

The vaccine being researched would potentially neutralize different strains of HIV. The researchers say previous vaccine candidates responded only to single strains or narrow ranges of the disease.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated $16.8 million to the research, while the Army's Military HIV Research Program provided $2.2 million. The National Institutes of Health and others also have contributed funds.