Notice Number: NOT-AA-15-007

Key Dates
Release Date: January 29, 2015
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: June 2015
First Estimated Application Due Date: January 2016
Earliest Estimated Award Date: July 2016
Earliest Estimated Start Date: July 2016

Issued by
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Purpose

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health, intends to publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to continue support for consortiums on HIV/AIDS and alcohol-related outcomes research. The overall goal of this research activity is to advance operations or implementation research in the context of alcohol and HIV/AIDS 1) to continue to develop a broader systems approach for monitoring complex HIV and alcohol-related morbidity and mortality and 2) to intervene to reduce the impact of alcohol and HIV disease progression and transmission. This proposed research initiative is aligned with the research priorities set forth in the Trans-NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research. The purpose of this FOA is to solicit Research Resources-Cooperative Agreements (U24) to provide scientific (core) support to the research projects as part of the consortiums on HIV/AIDS and alcohol-related outcomes research.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and plans prior to submitting an application in response to the published FOA. 

The FOA is expected to be published in spring 2015 with an expected application due date in winter 2016.

This FOA will utilize the Research Resources - Cooperative Agreements U24 activity code. NIAAA intends to continue support for approximately 5 consortium awards, with a maximum of 5 years of funding (consisting of U01 and U24 awards). See related announcements for further information. Please note that the Research Resource U24 is distinct from the Administrative Resource U24 and is intended to develop resources to support the individual research projects.

Research Initiative Details

This Notice encourages investigators with expertise and insights into these areas of {HIV/AIDS and alcohol research to begin to consider applying for this FOA. Collaborative investigations combining expertise in these areas will be supported and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this FOA.

Consortiums supported through this FOA are expected to demonstrate research expertise and leadership to accelerate the pace of science in the area of HIV/AIDS and alcohol research, including co-morbidities known to be associated with HIV and alcohol use (e.g., HCV, TB, other comorbidities). The future FOA would support NIAAA's existing programs in HIV/AIDS and alcohol outcomes research.

A consortium application must propose a program of multidisciplinary research around a unifying or well-defined goal or targeted area of research. It can include both the assessment of wide-ranging outcomes and proposed intervention effects as well as foundational research related to behavioral and biological mechanisms impacting progression and/or intervention success (e.g., frailty, impaired cognitive function, etc.). In addition, it is generally encouraged that emerging new methodologies focused on analysis and representation of large/complex datasets also be explored particularly in relationship to the use of electronic medical records and/or other sources of informative information related to engagement in care. Several evolving areas of research may also be explored in the context of these consortia including HIV and Aging, dynamic modeling of medical/intervention decision making, and prophylaxis/prevention of disease-related consequences related to synergisms of HIV and alcohol.

This FOA is intended to develop Research resources, for example: data management (integration, cleaning, validation, statistical analyses), pharmacy/polypharmacy, biospecimens repository, laboratory, informatics, ethics, survey/methods development and intervention training and dissemination.

These Research resources would support the following areas of research which include, but are not limited to:

• Addressing the clinical epidemiology of alcohol use in HIV infection (e.g., acquisition, progression, viral suppression, and transmission)
• Evaluating alcohol treatment interventions in HIV infected persons in care
• Understanding the role of comorbidities in determining clinical outcomes in HIV infection
• Understanding how the severity of alcohol use in alcohol use disorders (i.e., mild, moderate, and severe) impacts clinical outcomes in HIV infected individuals
• Developing translational and interdisciplinary research that will improve health outcomes and reduce HIV transmission among a diverse range of populations and communities affected by alcohol and HIV infection
• Identifying new ways of engaging and retaining the target population in effective treatment}.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Kendall J. Bryant, PhD
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Telephone: 301-402-9389
Email: [email protected]

Joan Romaine, MPH
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Telephone: 301-594-6230
Email: [email protected]