Notice Number: NOT-HD-15-017

Key Dates
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: July 2015
First Estimated Application Due Date: December 2015
Earliest Estimated Award Date: July 2016
Earliest Estimated Start Date: July 2016

Related Announcements
NOT-HD-15-018

Issued by
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Purpose

The Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) has been newly redesigned as up to 5 U19 Cooperative Research Program awards and one U24 Coordinating Center (CC). Previously the Network used U01s to fund a Data and Operations Center, a Coordinating Center and several clinical sites. In this totally new and more efficient design, the U19’s will support a research program with a well-defined central theme, research focus, or objective(s) and will include up to 4 Research Projects, and Core(s) necessary to support the proposed projects and may include pilot project(s). The ATN CC will provide the ATN's infrastructure and organizational support including coordination of the Network's cross-U19 collaborative projects and other external collaboration needs. It is expected that this new structure will create and foster exciting new and efficient scientific collaborations within the U19s and across the U19s. There will be close and substantial interactions between the ATN U24, and U19 awardees, and the NIH, to accomplish the objectives of the FOA and the new ATN.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) N is planning to publish these Funding Opportunity Announcements for the U19s and the U24 to support this new structure for the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN).

The network will have the capacity to develop and conduct innovative behavioral, community-based, translational, therapeutic, microbicide and vaccine trials in HIV-at-risk and HIV-infected youth ages 12 to 24 years, with a focus on the inclusion of minors and will have the overall objective to increase the numbers of at-risk youth in each segment of the US HIV care continuum to 95% and help bend the infection rate curve downward toward zero. Investigators with innovative thinking and new approaches to address the public health issues facing adolescents are encouraged to apply.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. 

The FOA, which will utilize the U19 activity code, is expected to be published in the summer of 2015 with an expected application due date in winter of 2015. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

This Notice encourages investigators with expertise and insights into HIV/AIDS among adolescent and young adult populations to apply for this new FOA. The initiative calls for a broad array of interventional studies, conducted collaboratively and independently when needed, aimed at the reduction of new HIV infections among at-risk youth and improvement in retention across the HIV care continuum among HIV-infected adolescents and young adults who are medically disenfranchised, of low socio-economic status, sexual and gender minority and/or of racial/ethnic minority constituency
Primary prevention studies should focus on efforts to interrupt HIV transmission in uninfected populations. Studies should also focus on the HIV continuum of care for adolescents and young adults to preserve health and function in HIV-infected youth and prevent onward transmission.

The ATN will be composed of up to 5 U19’s, an award to support a research program with a well-defined central theme, research focus, or objective(s). Each ATN U19 should include up to 4 Research and may include pilot project(s) along with Core(s) necessary to support these projects. These research projects should directly focus on one or more aspects of primary prevention among adolescents in the US. The U19 research effort will be facilitated by the sharing of ideas, data, and specialized resources, such as equipment, services, and clinical facilities. The U19 Research Projects proposed must be scientifically meritorious, and also complement one another, be synergistic, and support the program's overall theme. The program's overall scientific merit should be greater than the sum of its parts.

A critical component for success of the ATN network is the full and transparent collaboration between the ATN CC and all ATN U19’s, including sharing of all necessary tools, materials, technologies and other essential methodologies necessary for protocol and program development, implementation and monitoring. Plans for this data and resource sharing will be expected.

A separate award, for the U24 Coordinating Center, is described in more detail in a separate Notice for ATN Central Data and Coordinating Center (CC) (U24).

A pre-application webinar is planned for summer 2015.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Bill G. Kapogiannis, MD
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Telephone: 301-402-0698
Email: kapogiannisb@mail.nih.gov