This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) invites applications for administrative supplements from NIMHD funded Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) U54 in partnership with the Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) P30s, to support pilot research projects led by RCMI investigators focused on minority health and health disparities research on HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this NOSI is to promote research on HIV/AIDS at RCMI institutions through collaboration with the CFAR sites, leveraging existing resources to conduct pilot studies, to provide mentorship to the pilot project PIs, submit publications based on their work, and apply for future NIH or external grant funding.

Background

The objective of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative is to reduce new HIV infections in the United States by 75% in five years and by 90% by 2030 ( https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/ending-the-hiv-epidemic/overview ). This will be accomplished by implementing strategies to prevent new HIV infections including use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by high-risk HIV-uninfected individuals and achieving an undetectable viral load through antiretroviral therapy (ART) among People living with HIV (PLWH) in geographic hotspots with disproportionate numbers of new HIV infections. New HIV infections disproportionately occur in young men who have sex with men (MSM) from racial and ethnic minority populations, in particular African Americans and Latinos; additionally, comorbidity burden is higher in older people living with HIV (OPLWH) from racial and ethnic minority populations. However, the subpopulations at the highest risk of acquiring HIV may vary across geographic hotspots and include American Indian/Alaska Native populations, migrants, cis-gender and transgender women, persons who use drugs and alcohol, criminal justice-involved populations, and persons who engage in sex work. Towards EHE goals and to enhance the pool of investigators to conduct seminal HIV/AIDS research in minority health and reduce health disparities, this NOSI solicits administrative supplements to support HIV/AIDS research projects at NIMHD-funded Research Centers in Minority Institutions with the NIH Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR).

NIMHD's 22 Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program supports specialized research centers in institutions that offer doctoral degrees in the health professions or health-related sciences and have an historical and current commitment to educating underrepresented students. RCMIs play an important role in building institutional research capacity, supporting scientific research, particularly on diseases or conditions that disproportionately impact racial/ethnic minorities and other U.S. populations that experience health disparities. These institutions are uniquely positioned to engage minority populations in clinical, behavioral, and population research and in the translation of research advances into culturally competent, measurable, and sustained improvements in health outcomes in populations that experience health disparities. Each RCMI U54 center includes an Investigator Development Core to support the development of postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and other early-stage investigators in basic biomedical, behavioral, and/or clinical sciences through a Pilot Project Program. The RCMI Centers also include a Community Engagement Core and Research Capacity Core, which provides support to investigators for their research projects. For more information on funded RCMI centers, see link, https://rcmi-cc.org/institution-directory/.

The Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) program at the National Institutes of Health provides administrative and shared research support to synergistically enhance and coordinate high quality AIDS research projects. CFARs accomplish this through core facilities that provide expertise, resources, and services not otherwise readily obtained through more traditional funding mechanisms. The CFAR program emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, especially between basic and clinical investigators, translational research in which findings from the laboratory are brought to the clinic and vice versa, and an emphasis upon inclusion of minorities and inclusion of prevention and behavioral change research. CFAR program provides opportunities for building partnerships and supporting training and mentorship for HIV/AIDS researchers. There are 19 Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs) located at academic and research institutions throughout the United States. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/cfar-developmental-sites.

NIMHD, in partnership with NIAID, through the CFAR Program, seeks to leverage the center resources, and unique contributions of RCMIs in the areas of health disparity research on HIV/AIDS through effective pilot projects at participating programs. RCMI Centers are expected to encourage a diverse pool of potential PIs to consider applying for the pilot project program, and in collaboration with CFAR provide ongoing advice, mentorship to pilot PIs as they conduct their research projects, submit publications based on their work, and apply for NIH or external grants such as mentored K-award or equivalent and ultimately an R01 grant as appropriate to their career level.

Research Objectives

Supplements awarded through this NOSI are intended to provide support for RCMI institutions to conduct pilot studies in the areas of health disparities research on HIV/AIDS in partnership with CFAR sites, leverage existing resources, provide mentorship to better prepare for future applications for independent funding. A proposed pilot research study can range in scope from basic, behavioral, clinical, translation, epidemiology, services, and prevention, but must be relevant to minority health or health disparities research. The supplement can be for one- or two-year time periods in partnership with a CFAR and one or more community organizations. RCMI investigators at all levels are eligible for pilot projects, however, investigators at the senior post-doctoral or fellowship level or assistant professor or equivalent are encouraged. Applicants are encouraged to focus the research on populations and communities experiencing a disproportionate burden of HIV see ( https://files.hiv.gov/s3fs-public/Ending-the-HIV-Epidemic-Counties-and-Territories.pdf).

The CFAR sites are designed to support multidisciplinary HIV/AIDS research and are well versed in mentoring and support for early career investigators and investigators new to HIV. This is achieved through established CFAR infrastructure. CFARs are required to have an Administrative Core, Developmental Core, Advanced Technology and Basic Science Core, and a Clinical Science Core. CFARs may also have additional specialized Cores (e.g., Social/Behavioral, Biostatistics, Data Science, HIV Prevention, or Bioinformatics), and scientific working groups with specific focus areas in HIV research. The Developmental Core can link investigators to appropriate CFAR mentors and to additional CFAR cores for project consultation and service support. During the project period, the CFAR Developmental Core may also recommend additional trainings, webinars, seminars, and other resources at the CFAR or in the CFAR network to benefit the investigator professionally and to support the proposed project. Cores and services are tailored for each CFAR site based on local CFAR membership needs and vary widely across the CFAR network. RCMI applicants are highly encouraged to review the cores available to see which CFAR best meets the needs of the pilot project and the investigator.

Please see the links to each CFAR site for more details: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/cfar-site-contacts. For questions on CFAR please contact Elaine Wong at NIAID (Email: elaine.wong@nih.gov).

Specific Areas of Research Interest may include but are not limited to:

• Have a primary focus on NIH/NIMHD-designated populations that experience health disparities, especially with emphasis on most affected African American and Latino/ Hispanic Men who have Sex with Men.
• Includes multi-level approaches as identified in the NIMHD Research Framework and addresses the relevant social determinants using measures available in the Social Determinants of Health Collection of the PhenX Toolkit, as appropriate.
• Studies elucidating biological mechanisms that lead to disparities in HIV disease progression.
• Studies focused on developing and testing strategies to address health disparities among those living with HIV.
• Studies focused on developing and testing strategies to reduce co-morbidities and co-infections towards improving health span and quality of life in HIV infected populations that experience health disparities.
• HIV and Women studies in racial ethnic minority populations, including but not limited to addressing access to care, stigma, discrimination, inter-partner violence, especially in cis and transgender women.
• Studies focused on improving minority health and reducing health disparities in areas of HIV testing, treatment (e.g., ART access and adherence) and prevention (e.g., PrEP awareness and uptake).
• Interventions that include reducing health-care related stigma and discrimination, and increasing clinician comfort and willingness to prescribe PrEP or ART.
• Studies that address the intersection between housing, care seeking and treatment behaviors of People Living with HIV experiencing housing instability. When appropriate studies should meaningfully engage with community-based organizations, transitional housing, and local shelters in the research.

This opportunity should be consistent with the recent NIH HIV/AIDS research priorities (NOT-OD-20-018).

Application and Submission Information

Applications for this initiative must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.

• PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional). Administrative supplements may only be used to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award, but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-20-272 must be followed, with the following additions:

• Application Due Date(s) June 23, 2023, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
• For funding consideration, applicants must include NOT-MD-23-007- (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
• To be eligible, the parent award must be active when the supplement application is submitted (i.e., within five years of the start date of the originally reviewed and approved project period of the existing parent RCMI’s U54 competitive segment; or if applicable, within the originally reviewed and approved project period of a funded competitive revision), and have sufficient time left to complete the studies proposed within this project period at the time of application.
• The supplement proposed must be within the scope of the peer reviewed and approved parent RCMI project, including competitive revisions.
• The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 6 pages. And at minimum it should include a summary of the funded parent award, significance of supplement project, innovation, approach.
• The project must provide a partnership and mentoring plan with a CFAR and RCMI up to 2 pages maximum. The mentoring team should include RCMI and CFAR mentors for the pilot project. The plan should include details on how CFAR cores will be utilized, how RCMI cores and resources will be leveraged, participation in any CFAR trainings, other CFAR Developmental Core support, leveraging RCMI or CFAR collaborations with community groups, health departments, organizations, and other institutions, etc. The plan should include how communication will be conducted between the RCMI pilot project investigator, RCMI mentor and CFAR mentor.
• Requests may be for one or up to two years of support (if sufficient time is left to complete the studies proposed within the parent award’s above-referenced project period).
• Budgets are limited to $150,000 direct costs per year, not including consortium F&A costs.
• Institutional Commitment: The applicants RCMI institution should convincingly demonstrate that adequate resources, appropriate and dedicated support, commitment to the success of the pilot project investigator and the supplement
• Letters of Support: Letter of Support from RCMI Institution leadership and RCMI mentor for the pilot projects must be included in the application. In addition, applicants should include letters from the Director of CFAR and/or the CFAR mentor that will be providing services and resources for the project.
• Only active RCMI U54 awards supported under RFA-MD-17-003, RFA-MD-17-006, RFA-MD-18-012, RFA-MD-20-006, or RFA-MD-22-002 are eligible to apply.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the program contact at the Institute supporting the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this FOA in order to facilitate efficient processing of the request.

Applications not responsive to this NOSI:

Projects supplement awards that are not eligible under this NOSI.

• Projects that are not within the scope of the peer reviewed and approved parent RCMI project, including competitive revisions.
• Proposals that are not being used to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award, but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted.
• Projects conducting research outside of the U.S. or its territories and possessions, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or requesting foreign components.
• Applications that do not have a RCMI-CFAR partnership and mentoring plan for the supplement.

Applications not responsive to these terms will be withdrawn for this NOSI initiative.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Scientific/Research Contact:

Seema N. Desai, Ph.D.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301- 827-6698
Email: seema.desai@nih.gov

Elaine Wong, M.S.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 240-627-3100
Email: elaine.wong@nih.gov

Elizabeth Anne Barr, Ph.D.
Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
Phone: 301-402-7895
E-mail: elizabeth.barr@nih.gov

Financial/Grants Management Contact:

Priscilla Grant, JD
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-594-8412
Email: pg38h@nih.gov