CFAR New Investigator Award

• August 27, 2025 – REQUIRED Non-Binding Letter of Intent Due
• September 4, 2025 – Requests for Consultation Appointments Due
  • REQUIRED: Biostatistics, Office of Community Engagement
  • OPTIONAL: Other Core/Scientific Working Group
• September 11, 2025 – Request for Budget Compliance & Allowability Review Due
• October 20, 2025 – Application Deadline

Applicants must:

1. Have an MD or PhD or equivalent terminal degree (includes an MBChB).
2. Have not had a NIH R01 or equivalent grant in HIV.
3. Have an appropriate appointment, as follows:
   1. Early-stage faculty (including acting positions) at a US-based CFAR affiliate*, OR
   2. A scientist completing a fellowship at a US-based CFAR affiliate*, OR
   3. A senior post-doctoral fellow at a US-based CFAR affiliate* initiating a new area of HIV-related research that will form a basis for their independent program.
4. Be a UW/Fred Hutch CFAR member, or have applied for membership at the time of proposal submission.

*US-based CFAR affiliates include the University of Washington, Fred Hutch, Seattle Children’s, and University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

Applicants may submit only one application to this program per cycle. Only individual Principal Investigators (PIs) are eligible to apply; we do not allow Co-PIs to apply. NIH K awards do not impact program eligibility as long as the requested funds support different items; the research can be on the same topic. Successful applicants usually have some preliminary data to support their application but preliminary data is not a requirement. We accept applicant resubmissions of prior-year NIA proposals that have been revised to address previous NIA reviewer critiques.

Contact cfardev@uw.edu if you have questions about eligibility.

Awards will be up to $70,000 total (direct costs) for 2-year non-interdisciplinary projects, or $80,000 total for 2-year interdisciplinary projects. To qualify for interdisciplinary level funding, successful applicants must demonstrate that the research work itself incorporates methods from multiple disciplines (e.g. behavioral science, implementation science, laboratory sciences).

HIV-related research is defined broadly and includes basic science, clinical, epidemiological, behavioral, and implementation science research. We seek submissions reflecting the breadth of scientific disciplines, and are partnering with the UW Behavioral Research Center for HIV (BIRCH) to strongly encourage those related to mental health and/or behavioral science topics.

We can only accept applications aligned with NIH HIV/AIDS research priorities. Click here to view examples of aligned and unaligned topics. Though published NIH HIV Research Priorities have not changed, we recognize that the new federal administration has begun shifting research priorities through actions on existing and pending NIH awards and applications. If you have any questions or concerns about the scientific area of interest you wish to focus on, please contact us at cfardev@uw.edu.

Given recent NIH foreign subaward policy updates (NOT-OD-25-104), please note that for this cycle we can only accept applications without foreign subawards and only from US-based investigators – acceptable options include international data analyses or specimen use. To inquire about whether your proposal may qualify for an exception, please contact cfardev@uw.edu by August 18, 2025, though sooner is recommended.

Please also refer to the CFAR Clinical Clearance guidelines. Examples of successful NIA proposals are accessible via the online CFAR Developmental Core Resources Repository. Please contact us with any questions throughout the process at cfardev@uw.edu.

Each NIA submission must include a letter of support from the applicant’s primary project mentor. However, only the primary project mentor is required to provide a letter of support stating that they have read and discussed the proposal with the applicant as part of the full application. If needed, please contact Dr. Grace John-Stewart, Developmental Core Director, (gjohn@uw.edu, cc: cfardev@uw.edu) to provide suggestions for possible mentors. Successful NIA applicants will form a Mentoring Committee to provide guidance for their career development and to assess NIA project progress at least annually.

Please note that the pre-submission process is designed to support applicants in strengthening their grantsmanship skills and success if selected for an award. Only applicants who have fulfilled the pre-submission requirements will be considered during the proposal review phase. Please refer to the RFA for detailed instructions on pre-submission requirements, and contact cfardev@uw.edu with questions.