I'm new to bioinformatics and I'm currently studying the bioinformatics course featured on Coursera. I have come across a subject involving the presence of a defensin (specifically theta -defensin) present in old world monkeys that, in short terms; fully prevents the infection of a host by HIV-1.

By reading further I have learned that the gene which codes for the concerning peptide is in fact available in the human genome, though a premature stop codon prevents the peptide from fully forming. I am very much interested in further studying computational aspects of the matter. Would anyone know any active projects or cited research papers working on activating such a gene or the inhibition of ERF1 (protein responsible for recognition of the stop codon) in that specific area? I have a strong background in machine learning and pattern recognition studies and have recently developed a huge liking to the studies of bioinformatics. First time writing a post here any help and/or advice would be very much appreciated!