Fellowship Priority Announcement: HIV/AIDS (Archived)
Institute of Infection and Immunity - HIV/AIDS Research Initiative
Request for Applications
Priority Announcements fund highly rated research applications that are determined to be relevant to specific CIHR research priority areas and do not receive funding through CIHR's regular competitions.
| Important Dates | |
| Opportunity Launched | June 2006 |
| Content Last Updated | (No updates since launch) |
| October 1, 2006 | Full applications must be courier stamped by this date. |
| April, 30, 2007 | Anticipated notification of decision. |
| May 1, 2007 | Earliest start date. |
| Additional Information | Applications are submitted through the October 2006 - Fellowship Awards competition |
| Funds Available | |
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CIHR's contribution to the amount available for this initiative is subject to availability of funds voted annually to CIHR by parliamentary appropriations, and the conditions that may be attached to them. The maximum amount awarded for a single award is $ 60,000 per annum for up to 5 years. Trainee stipend: Degree and Licensure: PhD degree Stipend Per Annum: $40,000 Degree and Licensure: Health professionals who hold licensure (full or educational) in Canada at the time of taking up the award Experience:
Degree and Licensure: Health professionals who do not hold licensure in Canada Experience:
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| Summary | |
| Part of CIHR's mandate is to promote research that addresses the HIV/AIDS epidemic both in Canada and globally. The purpose of this priority announcement is to further strengthen HIV/AIDS research by building research capacity through increased opportunities for funding Fellowship Awards within the open awards competition. It is expected that this targeted investment will lead to the support of highly qualified candidates at the postdoctoral (post-PhD) or post-health professional degree stages to add to their experience by engaging in HIV/AIDS research either in Canada or abroad. | |
Table of Contents
Partners
Objectives
Eligibility
Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
General CIHR Guidelines
Conditions of Funding
How to Apply
Contact Information
Partners
The CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative is supported by the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada. The Federal Initiative reaffirms the Government of Canada's commitment to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic both in Canada and globally.
The goals of the Federal Initiative are to:
- Prevent the acquisition and transmission of new infections.
- Slow the progression of the disease and improve quality of life.
- Reduce the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS.
- Contribute to the global effort to reduce the spread of HIV and mitigate the impact of the disease.
CIHR is one of the four federal partners in this Initiative which also includes the Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada and Correctional Service Canada. The primary roles of CIHR under the Federal Initiative are to set priorities for and administer Federal Initiative funding for extramural HIV/AIDS research which supports research grants and research personnel awards across the entire spectrum of HIV/AIDS research. The goals of the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative are to develop knowledge that will help prevent new infections, to improve the quality of care and treatment for people living with HIV and, ultimately, to contribute to finding a cure for AIDS.
Objectives
The objectives of this priority announcement are:
- To provide recognition and funding to academic researchers early in their academic research career in the field of HIV/AIDS.
- To provide a reliable supply of highly skilled and qualified HIV/AIDS researchers.
Relevant Research Areas
The CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity - HIV/AIDS Research Initiative will provide funding for applications across the entire spectrum of HIV/AIDS research but applications are encouraged in the priority areas described below. More information on the research priorities of the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative can be found on the Institute of Infection and Immunity website.
The priority research areas for this announcement are:
- Health Systems, Services and Policy - Increasing access to testing, care, treatment and prevention services through a better understanding of barriers to access is fundamental to our ability to get ahead of HIV/AIDS. Along with this, an understanding of the associated economic impact and appropriate health care policies is needed.
- Resilience and Determinants of Health - Community and biological factors that result in lower infection rates in certain populations with known risk factors may offer insight into resistance to HIV/AIDS. A greater understanding of resistance factors and determinants of health may be key to reducing infection rates in Canada.
- Health of Populations and Population Specific Research - HIV/AIDS impacts all individuals and communities differently. Gender, cultural and population specific and appropriate investigations with a special focus on target populations (Aboriginals, immigrants from countries where AIDS is endemic, etc.) is required.
- Prevention technologies and interventions - Behavioural, social and medical interventions all contribute to the overall prevention of HIV/AIDS. Basic biomedical research in prevention interventions such as vaccines and microbicides as well as research on culturally sensitive behavioural and social interventions is needed.
- Drug development, toxicities and resistance - The development of new and more effective drug therapies, including combination and salvage therapies, for combating HIV infection is required. Research on new and improved therapies which reduce complications of drug toxicities and resistance is a priority.
- Pathogenesis - An effective response to the epidemic remains dependent on increasing our understanding of the virus and the body's response to it. Further research on the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS is needed.
- Issues of co-infection - People infected with HIV have or are at risk of a host of infections due to both social and biological risk factors. Factors which make people vulnerable to HIV and other infectious diseases, as well as the impact of co-infections such as HCV, tuberculosis and other infectious agents on HIV status must be further studied.
Applications for initiatives within the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative are sought in two distinct funding streams - Biomedical/Clinical Research and Health Services/Population Health Research. Although projects which display a multidisciplinary approach across all four research pillars are strongly encouraged and accepted, applicants must clearly indicate on their completed Relevance Form their preferred source of funding.
Relevance of the applications to the research priorities will be determined in the following manner.
Prior to peer review, the Institute of Infection and Immunity will review applications to determine the relevance, or alignment, of the research proposed to the research priority areas and/or mandates described above.
To conduct relevance review, these representatives will have access to the completed relevance form (see "How to Apply"), anonymized project titles and summaries, provided that applicants have indicated their consent on the "Applicant Consent Form for Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review," which is included in the application forms.
The following criteria will be used in conducting the relevance review:
- The primary research focus must be HIV/AIDS.
Upon completion of peer review, the Institute of Infection and Immunity will receive the ratings, rankings and peer review committee recommendations on funding level and grant or award term for those applications that 1) are found to be relevant to the specific objectives of the research initiative and the research priority areas described under "Relevant Research Areas"; and 2) are rated within the CIHR fundable range but are not funded through the regular CIHR competition to which they were submitted. These applications will be funded from the top down in order of ranking as far as budgets will allow. Applications that receive a ranking below 3.5 will not be funded.
The relevance review occurs apart from the peer review (scientific review) and has no relationship to the results of peer review. Peer review committees will not be informed of applications submitted for funding through this announcement.
Eligibility
Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding programs apply. The business office of the institution of an eligible Nominated Principal Applicant generally administers CIHR funds. Please refer to the Eligibility Requirements for CIHR Grants and Awards regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.
Specific to CIHR training awards, please refer to the General Guidelines for Training Programs as well as the Fellowship Awards program description.
Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. The peer review committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the Institute(s) / portfolio(s) and partner(s), following CIHR's Policy on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest and Privacy Issues in Peer and Relevance Review (CCIP). For information on CIHR's peer review process in general, see Peer Review.
General CIHR Guidelines
This Priority Announcement will follow the CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate the use of gender and sex-based analysis in applications.
Conditions of Funding
All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through this Priority Announcement. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, Official language policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial conditions prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.
Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, to recruit reviewers, to administer and monitor grants and awards, to compile statistics, and to promote and support health research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should also expect that information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review.
CIHR as a federal entity is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, therefore the requirements of these two statutes will apply to all information located in CIHR's premises including, without limitation, cost-sharing agreements related to this priority announcement and all matters pertaining thereto.
While respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, all signing parties involved in a collaborative agreement will also be bound by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under collaborative agreements related to the priority announcement will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.
How to Apply
Applicants are advised to review CIHR's grants and awards policies and guidelines outlined in the CIHR Grants and Awards Guide.
Applications are submitted through the October 2006 - Fellowship Awards competition by including a mandatory Relevance Form with your regular Fellowship Awards application. To select the appropriate application forms, follow the links beside Fellowships from the list of Application Packages.
Additional Instructions for this Priority Announcement:
- Within the Research Funding Program section of the application web form, select "Priority Announcement". In the spaces provided, enter the title of this Priority Announcement and clearly indicate that your research is on HIV/AIDS and if it is relevant to any of the HIV/AIDS research priorities (i.e.: HIV/AIDS - Pathogenesis, HIV/AIDS - Prevention technologies and interventions, etc.). Applicants must also indicate the most appropriate source of funding (biomedical/clinical or health services/population health).
- Complete the Applicant Consent Form for Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review, which is included in the application form.
- Complete one Relevance Form for each research area identified. Detailed instructions are provided on the Relevance Form.
Contact Information
For questions about the objectives and relevant research areas:
Jennifer Gunning
Team Lead, HIV/AIDS and HCV Research Initiatives
Institute of Infection and Immunity
Telephone: (613) 941-4483
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: jgunning@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
For questions related to specific CIHR competitions and programs, including CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:
Leah Jurkovic
Program Delivery Coordinator
Research Capacity Development
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Telephone: (613) 946-0088
Fax: (613) 954-1800
Email: ljurkovic@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
