Cross-posted from NIAID Funding News

Diagnose. Treat. Prevent. Respond.

Such are the four pillars of the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative that represent key strategies to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. As part of EHE, NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently published three companion funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), which we briefly describe below.

All three FOAs encourage applicants to consider creative, locally defined, and culturally sensitive concepts.

Phase I of the EHE initiative focuses efforts in Priority Jurisdictions: Phase I. Funded research must focus on one or more of these areas.

To optimize the match of the research directions with local needs, and to optimize implementing these findings and advances, applications must include a collaboration with one or more local implementing partners, such as city, county, or state public health departments; local and regional clinics and health care facilities; clinicians; providers of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder; and community- and faith-based organizations.

Respond: Epidemiology To End the HIV Epidemic (RESPOND: EEE) (R01, Clinical Trial Optional)—RFA-AI-21-023

• Application budget: not limited but needs to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project
• Maximum project period: five years
• Application due date: July 30, 2021
• Scientific/research contact: Dr. Rosemary McKaig; peer review contact: Dr. Cynthia de la Fuente

Apply to this FOA if you can increase knowledge of HIV in the United States and use this knowledge to create more effective, more timely, and tailored approaches to end the HIV epidemic. Funded research will seek to rapidly identify priority populations and places where HIV is spreading and provide data-driven evidence-based guidance for public health decision-making to support EHE goals through the RESPOND pillar.

Applicants should also consider innovative ways to enhance engagement and response efforts across community and implementing partners towards improved prevention and treatment.

The FOA includes an extensive list of the types of research that are responsive—and nonresponsive. We encourage you to take a look.

Multidisciplinary Treatment Approaches To End the HIV Epidemic (R01, Clinical Trial Optional)—RFA-AI-21-024

• Application budget: not limited but needs to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project
• Maximum project period: five years
• Application due date: August 4, 2021
• Scientific/research contact: Tia Morton; peer review contact: Dr. Robert Unfer

Consider this FOA if you can propose using implementation science to carry out and evaluate creative, multidisciplinary approaches to healthcare delivery that more effectively engage and retain individuals in HIV care and treatment so that they achieve durable viral suppression.

Funded research:

• Will support the goals of the DIAGNOSE and TREAT pillars of the EHE initiative by seeking to achieve more rapid and sustained viral suppression and improved outcomes for people with HIV through better healthcare engagement.
• Requires meaningful involvement of people with HIV and direct care providers living and working in the community where the project takes place in order to optimize the match of the research directions with local needs.

See the FOA for examples of responsive and nonresponsive areas of research interest.

Prevention Strategies To End the HIV Epidemic (R01, Clinical Trial Optional)—RFA-AI-21-025

• Application budget: not limited but needs to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project
• Maximum project period: five years
• Application due date: July 30, 2021
• Scientific/research contact: Dr. Dale Burwen; peer review contact: Dr. Dimitrios Vatakis

This FOA seeks to increase the sustainable, high quality implementation of evidence-based HIV prevention interventions among populations in priority areas identified as highly impacted by HIV. Funded research will support the goals of the DIAGNOSE and PREVENT pillars of the EHE initiative towards reducing HIV incidence.

Applications must propose:

• To undertake an implementation science approach to improve the use of existing prevention tools for specific populations and localities.
• To use creative, multidisciplinary approaches to meet the needs of specific populations and localities.

See the FOA for examples of responsive and nonresponsive areas of research interest.

Have Questions? NIH Has Answers

Find additional information at Questions and Answers for NIH’s Ending the HIV Epidemic—A Plan for America (EHE) FOAs.