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Brenda Sanchez
Developmental Core Manager
Spring 2025 funding cycle: Applications available until Monday, March 3.
- Call opens: Thursday, January 30, 2025
- Deadline: Monday March 3, 2025 (2:00 pm PST)
- Funding results: Available before end of May 2025
Amount available: $50,000 in direct costs for 1 year
Apply through the UCSF Resource Allocation Program (RAP) portal
The CFAR Mentored Scientist Award (our primary award program) is a mentoring and training grant targeted toward early stage (either at a senior stage of clinical or postdoctoral training or junior faculty) investigators at UCSF or affiliated partner institutes in the conduct of an HIV research project. These awards are designed to acquire preliminary data and research skills to prepare investigators for a future grant effort. Applicants for this award must indicate a faculty research mentor(s) who will commit to guiding the applicant throughout the duration of the proposed project.
Designation of Mentor
All Mentored award applications from individuals at the Assistant Professor level or below require an HIV research mentor. Mentors can, but are not required to, have supervisory authority over the applicant. CFAR requires your research mentor’s support to advise and guide the research portion of your application before submitting it to RAP.
Of high interest to CFAR are investigations ranging from basic pathogenesis to clinical outcomes in the research areas of HIV/aging and inflammation, latency, cure, vaccines, co-infections, HIV in women, implementation science, and research related to HIV-infected and HIV-impacted Bay Area populations. Projects must be within NIH’s HIV/AIDS research high or medium priority areas. Projects in closely related areas (e.g. TB, HCV, drug use, etc.) must be clearly linked to HIV in order to be eligible for CFAR funding.
The award amount is $50,000 in direct costs for one year.
CFAR requests that applicants review the NIAID HIV Language Guide as they prepare their proposals so that they can follow best practices on language for communicating respectfully about HIV and related topics, including the use of person-first, non-stigmatizing language. Please contact us if you have any questions about this request.
For more detailed information about this RFA, please see the RAP Portal.
To see examples of previously funded projects, see the list below.
Mentored Science Awardees
128 Awards
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Development of novel scales to measure HIV-specific social support for safer conception and male involvement in safer conception approaches for the prevention of HIV
Development of novel scales to measure HIV-specific social support for safer conception and male involvement in safer conception approaches for the prevention of HIV
Abstract
Social support and male involvement are critical factors in the use of safer conception (SC) methods and services and continued engagement across the peri-partum continuum of care. Yet, to our knowledge, no scales have yet been developed at the individual or couple-level to assess social support for SC uptake or male involvement in SC. We propose to adapt 2 scales: the Social Provisions Scale and the Male Partner Involvement Scale.
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Cardiovascular Mechanisms of Post-Acute Sequalae of COVID-19 Among People Living with HIV
Cardiovascular Mechanisms of Post-Acute Sequalae of COVID-19 Among People Living with HIV
Abstract
People living with HIV (PLWH) have excess cardiovascular risk, and SARS-CoV-2 coinfection may further increase cardiovascular risk but has not yet been studied. In this proposal we plan to leverage the Long-term Impact of Infection with Novel Coronavirus (LIINC) study, a UCSF-run, longitudinal cohort of COVID-19 survivors, and will perform cardiopulmonary exercise testing among people with HIV and COVID-19.
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Evaluating the magnitude and durability of the vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2 immune response in people with and without HIV infection
Evaluating the magnitude and durability of the vaccine-induced SARS-CoV-2 immune response in people with and without HIV infection
Abstract
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Relationship between Kynurenine Pathway and TB-specific Th17 responses in People with HIV and Latent Tuberculosis Infection
Relationship between Kynurenine Pathway and TB-specific Th17 responses in People with HIV and Latent Tuberculosis Infection
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death among people with HIV (PWH) globally and even among those with high CD4 counts during ART-mediated viral suppression. Evidence from animal studies indicate that interleukin (IL)-17 producing T cells (TH17) are likely beneficial in host immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. TH17 cells are also important in HIV infection as loss of TH17 cells likely contributes to progression to AIDS through breakdown in mucosal immunity.
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Targeting Viral Reservoirs through PET-Informed Dosing of Curative Agents
Targeting Viral Reservoirs through PET-Informed Dosing of Curative Agents
Abstract
Development of robust and validated methods to quantify tissue-specific drug exposure and the size of the HIV reservoir remains a critical challenge to inform strategies towards HIV cure. This proposal leverages three positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance (PET-MR) imaging clinical studies of radiolabeled raltegravir (RAL), broadly neutralizing antibody VRC01, and a non-specific marker of T cell activation (F-AraG) that allow us to visualize:
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“Our Lives Matter”: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Black/African American and Latino Sexual Minority Men Access to HIV Prevention and Treatment Services, Resource Security, and Vaccination Acceptance and Uptake
“Our Lives Matter”: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Black/African American and Latino Sexual Minority Men Access to HIV Prevention and Treatment Services, Resource Security, and Vaccination Acceptance and Uptake
Abstract
There is an urgent convergence of two pandemics that is disproportionately affecting marginalized racial (Black/African American and Latino) and sexual minority men, HIV and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). The current COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted HIV treatment and prevention services, with the full impact of that disruption still unknown. Additionally, as the race for a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 continues, there is growing skepticism and fear regarding their safety and effectiveness.
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Urogenital and rectal Mycoplasma genitalium in men who have sex with men and transgender women at high risk for STIs: a pilot study of prevalence and antibiotic resistance
Urogenital and rectal Mycoplasma genitalium in men who have sex with men and transgender women at high risk for STIs: a pilot study of prevalence and antibiotic resistance
Abstract
Mycoplasma genitalium is an under-recognized but important contributor to the STI epidemic in the United States. Bacterial STIs are concentrated among men who have sex with men (MSM), and disproportionately affect those living with HIV or on PrEP. Studies outside of the U.S. have demonstrated a substantial burden of asymptomatic M. genitalium in MSM. U.S. data on asymptomatic M. genitalium prevalence are limited, with a single study of MSM living with HIV showing urogenital and rectal prevalence of 10.8% and 6.4%, respectively. M.
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Application of quantitative intersectionality methods to identify the most vulnerable populations in the HIV continuum of care
Application of quantitative intersectionality methods to identify the most vulnerable populations in the HIV continuum of care
Abstract
People with severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder; SMI) are a socially marginalized population with up to ten times increased likelihood of being diagnosed with HIV compared to the general US population. The parent grant (R01-MH112420) aims to investigate the increased HIV transmission risk, low testing rate, and potential HIV treatment gaps for people with SMI using a large, geographically diverse national retrospective longitudinal Medicaid cohort.
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Addressing Health Disparities Among Transgender Women in the Middle East
Addressing Health Disparities Among Transgender Women in the Middle East
Abstract
HIV risk and mental health morbidity are high among transgender women in Lebanon. We culturally adapted and pilot-tested an existing intervention in the Lebanese context. ‘Baynetna’ (Arabic for “between us” and a play on the word for “girls”) shows great promise to impact HIV risk and mental health through the model of Gender Affirmation for increasing community connectedness via trans-facilitated small group support.
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Weight gain and metabolic consequences of switch to dolutegravir in Western Kenya
Weight gain and metabolic consequences of switch to dolutegravir in Western Kenya
Abstract
Dolutegravir was recently recommended as a component of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all adults living with HIV by the World Health Organization due to improved efficacy and tolerability over prior regimens. However, recent studies, including two randomized trials in sub-Saharan Africa, have shown significant weight gain associated with dolutegravir among ART-naïve patients newly initiating dolutegravir. It is not known whether switch to dolutegravir among ART-experienced patients will result in similar weight gain.