Notice Number: NOT-HD-15-018

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

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, necessary to accomplish the objectives this FOA and of the new ATN.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 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 U24 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

The ATN CC will provide the ATN's infrastructure and organizational support coordination of the Network's cross-U19 collaborative projects and other external collaboration needs.

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 data and resource sharing will be expected. Close and substantial interactions between the ATN U24 and U19 awardees, to accomplish the objectives of the ATN and of this FOA are expected.

A separate award, for ATN U19's is described in more detail in a separate Notice for ATN Research Program Grants (U19).

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