Deadline: 30-Oct-20
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is accepting LOIs for its Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER) Research Grant Programme to fund research projects with the potential to address critical research questions that remain unanswered in the global response in order to inform policy change and ensure better outcomes in infants, children and adolescents living with and affected by HIV in resource-limited settings.
The IAS is the steward of the world’s most prestigious HIV conferences, each convened biennially. These conferences have established a gold-standard meeting that convenes the world’s top scientists, civil society members and policymakers to jointly discuss the fight against HIV.
Designed for early-stage investigators, a key aim of the programme is to build research capacity within resource-limited settings by fostering the next generation of investigators in paediatric and adolescent HIV. . This is a unique “stepping up” opportunity, designed to give investigators the experience they need to compete for larger funding. The grants are resulting in personal and career development, capacity building on the ground, and research that informs policies and programmes.
CIPHER has partnered with the World Health Organization to develop global research agendas on HIV testing, treatment and service delivery for paediatric and adolescent populations.
Focus Areas
The 2020/2021 round is focusing on service delivery for HIV and related co-infections for paediatric and adolescent populations in resource-limited settings, including research on:
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV and related co-infections service delivery;
- Community interventions to improve outcomes along the HIV cascade.
Funding Information
- The CIPHER Grant Programme directly supports the development of early-stage investigators, awarding up to US$150,000 for up to two years to address research gaps in paediatric and adolescent HIV in resource-limited settings.
Eligibility Criteria
- Any individual with the skills, formal education and access to resources necessary to carry out the proposed research is welcome to submit an application to the CIPHER Grant Programme.
- The applicant must be the principal investigator (PI) of the proposed project. The PI should work with a mentor, his/her institutional colleagues and partners to develop the research plan.
- Eligibility criteria and mandatory supporting documents:
- The PI must be an early-stage investigator, i.e., an individual who obtained her/his terminal research degree (e.g., PhD, MD, MBBS or equivalent) less than 10 years before the application deadline.
- The PI must serve for the first time as primary PI. Primary PIs who have previously received a non-training research grant exceeding US$ 30,000 are not eligible.
- The PI must fulfil one of the following criteria prior to the submission deadline for the Letter of Intent:
- He/she is a clinical/research trainee (e.g., fellow, senior resident) at an academic institute or an institute whose primary mission is research.
- He/she has a faculty or comparable position (e.g., assistant professor, lecturer) at an academic institute or an institute whose primary mission is research.
- He/she has an established position at an organization with adequate research infrastructure to undertake the proposed research activities.
- The research project should demonstrate the potential to contribute to the optimization of HIV diagnosis, treatment and care for infants and children affected by HIV in resource limited settings by responding to identified research priorities.
- Applications are encouraged from any country; however please note that approximately 80% of available funds in any given year will be awarded to applicants from (meaning holding a passport from) low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) according to the World Bank classification.
- The PI must choose a mentor with relevant expertise in paediatric HIV research.
- The budget should reflect that at least 80% of the direct grant expenses will be spent in LMICs.
- A letter of support from the applicant’s institution is required, as well as a copy of the applicant’s terminal research degree diploma.
For more information, visit https://www.iasociety.org/HIV-Programmes/Programmes/Paediatrics-CIPHER/CIPHER-Grant-Programme