CFAR Funding Programs

CFAR provides direct funding for innovative and developmental research through programs administered by the Developmental CoreExplore all awards in in our online database.

From 2007-2022 we have distributed awards in excess of $12.3 MM for more than 280 research projects.

CFAR offers three types of Developmental Awards mechanisms: Mentored Science AwardInternational Mentored Scientist Award, and Pilot Award for Investigators New to HIV. Applications are administered through the RAP Allocation Program.

CFAR has made several strategic updates to Developmental Award programs, highlighted below:

  1. Award amounts have been increased for all CFAR programs (Mentored Scientist and Pilot Awards to $50,000 for one year and the International Mentored Science Award to $30,000 for one year.)
  2. The Basic Science program has been combined with the Mentored Scientist Program. 
  3. Eligibility Criteria have changed for the Mentored Scientist and Pilot Award Programs:
    • The Mentored Scientist Award program is targeted to early stage investigators (clinical or postdoctoral fellows or faculty at the assistant professor level or below).
    • The Pilot Award Program is now targeted to investigators who are new to HIV (assistant or associate faculty with no prior HIV funding).
  4. All projects must be within NIH’s HIV/AIDS research high or medium priority areas.

Active Award Programs

Program Developmental International Focus Supplemental
Maximum Award Amount $50,000 $30,000 $75K-$100,000+
Award Period 1 year 1 year 1 year
Mentored Scientist Award    
Pilot Award for Investigators New to HIV    
International Mentored Scientist Award    
Supplemental Awards (EHE, MPX, CFAR Administrative)    

Recent Awards

14 Awards

Award Recipient Award date Award Type
HIV and STI prevention practices among in-person and digital male sex workers who have sex with men (MSMSW) in the United States Kristopher Jackson, PhD, RN Spring Mentored Scientist Award
A genomic-pharmacometabolomic investigation of tenofovir, a commonly prescribed anti-HIV medication Bani Tamraz, PharmD, PhD Spring Pilot Awards for Investigators New to HIV
Understanding Women Living with HIV’s Perceptions of the Relationship between HIV, ART, and Fertility Erica Sedlander, DrPH Spring Mentored Scientist Award
Modulating effects of HIV infection and early ART initiation on Immune dysfunction and TB risk Fatoumatta Darboe, PhD Spring Mentored Scientist Award
“For Us by Us:” A Peer-led Community-Informed Exploratory Study to Increase HIV-Self Testing and PrEP Uptake Among Men who have Sex with Men in Nairobi, Kenya Maureen Akolo, RN, PhD Spring International Mentored Scientist Award
Exploring the Benefit of Machine Learning to Predict Biomarker-Measured Alcohol Use, Opioid Use, and Co-Use via Routinely Collected Biological Data in the All of Us Research Program Cristina Espinosa da Silva, PhD, MPH Spring Mentored Scientist Award
The Accuracy of Clinical TB Diagnoses among HIV positive and negative individuals in Zambia: Alternative Diagnoses, Treatment Outcomes, and Decision-Making Factors Mary Kagujje, MBChB, MSc Spring International Mentored Scientist Award
Immunodominance and CD8+ T-cell avidity in mRNA vs. Ad vaccine efficacy and viral evasion Gema Mendez-Lagares, PhD Spring Mentored Scientist Award
Assessment of chronic kidney disease and its progression among older people living with HIV in Uganda Judith Amutuhaire Ssemasaazi, MD Spring International Mentored Scientist Award
Evaluation of immune-mediated depletion of CD127+ tissue reservoirs as an HIV cure strategy Ifeanyi Ezeonwumelu, PhD Spring Mentored Scientist Award
Early Structural Cardiovascular Disease and HIV in East Africa Saate Shakil, MD, MS Fall Mentored Scientist Award
Characterizing delivery preferences and opportunities for implementing long-acting injectable cabotegravir and event-driven PrEP for transgender women in So Paulo, Brazil Neia Prata Menezes, PhD, MPH Fall Mentored Scientist Award
CAPTURE Study: Causes and Predictors of post-Tuberculosis Restrictive lung disease in people with and without HIV in Uganda Katerina Byanova, MD, MS Fall Mentored Scientist Award
Evaluation of Monkeypox natural history among MSM living with HIV or currently on PrEP in San Francisco Franco Chevalier, MD Fall Monkeypox Rapid Response Pilot Grant
Contacts