The Laboratory for Tumor and AIDS Virus Research was initially established by Dr.Levy in 1971 as a cancer virus laboratory in the Cancer Research Institute. Early work by the laboratory dealt with animal models of cancer and immune disorders. The research specifically examined the possible role of retroviruses and herpesviruses in cancer and autoimmunity.

With the recognition of AIDS in 1981, Levy's laboratory was one of the first to isolate the causative agent, originally calling it the AIDS-associated retrovirus (ARV). Since that time, his laboratory has been dedicated to the biologic, immunologic, and molecular studies of HIV and the host's immune response against the virus.

The Levy laboratory began working in AIDS in August of 1981 by studying the possible role of a virus in Kaposi's sarcoma. With the discovery of ARV, the laboratory turned its attention to examining how this virus infects human cells and causes AIDS.