The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Avant-Garde Award Program for HIV Research supports exceptionally creative scientists, who propose high-impact studies that open new areas of HIV research in the context of substance use and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and/or lead to new avenues for prevention and treatment of HIV in people with SUD. The term “avant-garde” refers to highly innovative ideas and/or approaches that have the potential to be transformative. Accordingly, applications responding to this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) must propose pioneering research that aligns with the NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities as described in NOT-OD-20-018 and is substantially different from what is currently being pursued by the principal investigator or others in the field. In essence, this funding opportunity supports innovative basic, clinical and translational research that may lead to improved therapies or preventive interventions for HIV in people with SUD. Some examples of research studies include developing creative strategies to prevent HIV transmission in high-risk substance using populations, to improve outcomes of HIV and HIV-related Comorbidities, and to achieve functional or sterilizing cure of HIV.
Deadlines:
- Letter of Intent Due Date(s): 30 days prior to the application due date
- AIDS Application Due Date(s): August 15, 2025
PAR-25-261 Expiration Date August 16, 2025
For the purpose of this NOFO, multiple PD(s)/PI(s) are not allowed. The Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is the only individual who can be listed on the SF424 form.
NIH intramural investigators are not eligible for support under this program.
Investigators at all career levels who meet the eligibility criteria and are currently engaged in research are eligible to submit applications. The research proposed need not be in a conventional biomedical or behavioral discipline; if the individual’s experience is in non-biological areas, however, he/she must demonstrate a commitment to exploring topics of biomedical or behavioral relevance to HIV and substance use and SUDs.
DP1 awardees are required to commit a large portion (at least 35% or 4.2 person months) of their research effort to activities supported by the Avant-Garde Award program.
Application budgets are limited to $700,000 in direct costs per year.
The maximum project period allowed is 5 years.