The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University (CIRA)'s 2024 Pilot Projects in HIV Research Program offers funding for preliminary and/or feasibility studies in HIV-related research that will ultimately lead to larger studies evaluating novel interventions or implementation strategies. This funding mechanism is not intended to supplement the costs of activities covered by another grant.
Download 2024 Funding Announcement and Application Requirements (PDF)
FUNDING CATEGORIES
- CIRA Pilot Research Award ($15,000 max, up to 2 awards) for research into reducing HIV inequities and/or incorporating key health justice constructs (e.g., social determinants of health, structural or systemic racism, and stigma).
- CIRA Community Partnership Kickstarter Research Award ($5,000 max, up to 1 award) for supporting community-academic research partnership initiatives to promote equity in HIV prevention and treatment.
- CIRA-Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH) Joint Pilot Call ($15,000 max, up to 2 awards) for research on the syndemics of HIV/AIDS and noncommunicable diseases (NCD) in high-burden countries for HIV/AIDS.
FUNDING PRIORITIES
For funding categories 1 and 2, we strongly encourage consistency with CIRA’s aims, namely:
- Research into reducing HIV disparities and/or promoting status neutral HIV-related care.
- Research approaches or methods incorporating key health justice constructs (e.g., social determinants of health, structural or systemic racism, stigma).
- Studies that focus on populations at high risk of HIV infection and investigate how to reduce disparities in HIV incidence, prevalence, and outcomes among marginalized populations, including those with common co-morbidities such as substance use and mental health disorders.
- Studies that examine the well-being of people with HIV or at risk for HIV who are affected by humanitarian crises (e.g., natural disasters, conflicts, forced migration or other displacement).
- Application of implementation science, community-engaged research, health services research, or digital health methodologies.
- Alignment with the NIMH HIV Prevention and Care Continuum, Co-Morbidities, and Translational Research areas of emphasis.
KEY DATES
Letters of intent due: Friday, December 1, 2023
Invitation to submit full applications: Friday, December 8, 2023
Applications due (by invitation): Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Awards announcement expected: week of January 29, 2024
Earliest start date: March 1, 2024 (dependent on IRB and NIMH approvals)
ELIGIBILITY
Emerging and new investigators (including post-doctoral fellows and associates, research associates, research scientists, and assistant professors) affiliated with CIRA and/or a YIGH Faculty Network will be given priority, although associate professors can also apply as principal investigators (PIs). An individual investigator may only serve as PI on one proposal.
QUESTIONS
For questions about this funding announcement, please contact John Pachankis (john.pachankis@yale.edu), Director of CIRA's Development Core.
PREVIOUS PILOT AWARDEES
2020
- Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with HIV with tobacco use: A mixed-methods Study (P.I.: Eva Jennifer Edelman)
- Using Web-based Peer Support to Increase HIV Testing Among Men who have Sex with Men in Kenya (P.I.: Deanne Turner)
2019
- Optimizing PrEP's Potential in Non-Clinical Settings: Development and Evaluation of a PrEP Shared Decision Making Tool for Women Seeking Domestic Violence Services (P.I.: Jaimie Meyer & Tiara Willie)
2018
- Developing social capital interventions to improve viral suppression and quality of life among HIV- positive aging populations in New Haven, CT. (P.I.: Yusuf Ransome)
- Interrupting HIV stigma in the household using home HIV testing offers in South Africa. (PIs: Luke Davis, Mari Armstrong-Hough)
2017
- Adapting an evidence-based intervention for stigma-related stress, mental health, and HIV risk for MSM of color in small urban areas (P.I.: John Pachankis, Krystn Wagner)
- Barriers to HIV Care for Adults 50yo+, a Neglected but at-Risk Population in Ukraine (P.I.: Julia Rozanova, Sheela Shenoi)
2016
- Assessing Local HIV Care Continuum Experiences in Small Cities (P.I.: Lauretta Grau, Thomas Stopka)
- Pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation for HIV prevention among substance-using men who have sex with men (P.I.: Philip Chan, Jacob van den Berg, Trace Kershaw, Eva Jennifer Edelman)
- A Theory-informed Education and Counseling Intervention for HIV-TB Treatment Adherence (TEACH) in South Africa and Uganda (P.I.: Luke Davis, Sheela Shenoi)
- Rapid Assessment and Response to Substance Use and Risk of HIV and Other Blood-Borne Infections Among Displaced Populations in Beirut, Lebanon (P.I.: Kaveh Khoshnood)
- Who's On Board: Parent, Child, and Provider Attitudes towards the Feasibility of PrEP Uptake among Adolescents (P.I.: Tamara Taggart, Tashuna Albritton)
2015
- Implementing PrEP in a Family Planning Setting (P.I.: Sarah Calabrese)
- Feasibility of a Multi-Sector Collaboration to Initiate PrEP Uptake among IPV-Exposed Women (P.I.: Trace Kershaw)
- Developing a Comprehensive Model of the HIV Care Continuum in Nine Small Cities in CT, MA and RI (P.I.: Lauretta Grau, Thomas Stopka)
2014
- HIV Prevention Needs among Unstably Housed Youth in Small Urban Areas (P.I.: Heather Mosher)
- Estimating the Size of Hidden and Hard-to-Reach Populations Using Respondent- Driven Sampling (P.I.: Forrest Crawford)
- Implementation of HIV PrEP for MSM with and without Substance Use in Providence, RI and New Haven, CT (P.I.: E. Jennifer Edelman, Phillip Chan, Brandon D.L. Marshall, Onyema Ogbuagu)
2013
- HIV Prevention Needs among MSM in Small Urban Areas (P.I.: John Pachankis, Danya Keene)
- Barriers to Implementation of Isoniazid Preventive Therapy in Rural South Africa (P.I.: Sheela Shonoi)
- Overweight/Obesity & Weight Gain among HIV-positive Prisoners in Rhode Island: Prevalence and Intervention Feasibility (P.I.: Amy Smoyer)
