Womens HIV Epidemiology Cohort Studies (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HD 19 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HD 19 024

The Womens HIV Epidemiology Cohort Studies funding opportunity (RFA-HD-19-024) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant announcement led by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to launch one or more new, large-scale epidemiology cohorts focused on women of reproductive age who are living with HIV. The core idea is to build a modern cohort resource that can support a wide range of research questions about HIV in this population, particularly questions tied to reproductive health, life course outcomes, and the changing realities of HIV care and prevention. NICHD is specifically looking for new and innovative epidemiologic research approaches, with the expectation that the resulting cohort(s) will be large enough to generate strong, generalizable evidence and to stimulate multiple lines of hypothesis-driven research.

A central requirement is cohort scale: NICHD indicates plans to establish new cohort(s) of at least 2,000 participants. That size signals an emphasis on robust statistical power, the ability to examine subgroups, and the opportunity to study multiple outcomes and exposures over time. While the announcement is framed broadly around epidemiology, the intent is clearly to create an infrastructure-like cohort that can enable a broad spectrum of HIV-related hypotheses relevant to reproductive-age women, rather than a narrowly defined single-outcome study. The FOA is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning the proposed project should be observational epidemiologic research rather than an interventional clinical trial designed to test the effect of a specific treatment or preventive strategy.

The mechanism is an NIH R01 research project grant, under the discretionary grant category, within the Health, Income Security and Social Services funding activity area. The CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.121 and 93.865. The posted award ceiling is $250,000, which typically refers to a cap on certain cost components as defined in the solicitation, and applicants would need to align their proposed scope, staffing, data collection, follow-up, and analysis plans with the budget rules and limits described in the full FOA text.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of U.S.-based entities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations. The announcement also highlights additional eligible categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. This wide eligibility signals an interest in reaching diverse applicant types, including community-rooted organizations and institutions that serve populations disproportionately affected by HIV.

At the same time, there are clear restrictions on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In practical terms, the funded cohort work is expected to be conducted entirely within allowable U.S. organizational structures and locations, without foreign components as part of the application.

Key administrative details provided include the original closing date of May 14, 2019, and a creation date of January 16, 2019. The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an NICHD-driven effort to create a large, contemporary observational cohort of at least 2,000 reproductive-age women living with HIV, designed to serve as a platform for rigorous epidemiologic research addressing a wide range of HIV-related questions relevant to womens health and reproduction, while explicitly excluding clinical trials and disallowing foreign components.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Womens HIV Epidemiology Cohort Studies (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.121, 93.865.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-01-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-05-14. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA HD 19 024

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