 When HIV was identified as a virus in the 1980s, Schinazi and his fellow researchers directed their attention towards the problem.He was able to translate his knowledge gained through his work on the herpes viruses towards addressing HIV and HBV.He is credited for setting up the first-ever HIV laboratory at Emory University complete with a protocol on how to handle the dangerous virus in the laboratory setting so he and his team could pursue the development of novel antiviral drugs.