Getting to Zero: Understanding HIV Viral Suppression and Transmission in the United States (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 18 411

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 411

Getting to Zero: Understanding HIV Viral Suppression and Transmission in the United States (PAR-18-411) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary research grant opportunity that uses the R01 mechanism and does not allow clinical trials. The central goal is to strengthen how the United States measures and understands two closely linked issues in HIV control: viral suppression (whether people living with HIV have reduced viral load to very low or undetectable levels) and HIV transmission (how, where, and under what conditions new infections occur). The FOA is built around the idea that better, more precise population-level data and modern analytic approaches can reveal patterns that are hard to see with traditional methods, and that those insights can be translated into more effective and locally tailored strategies to reduce HIV incidence and improve health outcomes.

This opportunity specifically encourages research that combines population-level epidemiology with newer tools from Big Data science and mobile/electronic health (m/eHealth). In practice, that means applicants are expected to move beyond small or narrowly defined datasets and instead leverage larger, more complex, and often linked data sources to answer questions about viral suppression and transmission dynamics in real-world U.S. contexts. Proposed projects might integrate surveillance and cohort data, health care utilization and claims records, electronic health records, pharmacy data, laboratory reporting, geospatial information, social or behavioral indicators, and data captured through mobile technologies or digital platforms. The FOA is aimed at producing actionable knowledge from these data streams, not just methodological demonstrations. The endpoint is to generate evidence that helps decision-makers and practitioners design HIV control strategies that are more effective because they are grounded in the realities of specific populations, places, and care systems.

The research emphasis is on improving measurement and understanding at the population level. That includes refining how viral suppression is quantified and tracked across communities, identifying gaps in suppression across demographic or geographic groups, and clarifying how suppression relates to transmission risk in different settings. It also includes investigating contextual drivers that shape both suppression and transmission, such as access to care, treatment continuity, structural barriers, stigma, mobility, incarceration, housing instability, and local health system factors. Because the FOA calls out Big Data approaches and m/eHealth, it also implicitly supports work on innovative data collection and analytic methods, such as advanced statistical modeling, machine learning, network and phylogenetic-informed analyses (when appropriate and ethical), spatiotemporal mapping, or near-real-time monitoring approaches that can better detect emerging trends or outbreaks. The overall direction is toward higher-resolution, more timely, and more decision-relevant understanding of the U.S. HIV epidemic.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic entities and organizations capable of conducting NIH-funded research. Eligible applicants include state, county, and 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; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible federal government agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. While the program is U.S.-focused, it is explicit that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, meaning a U.S.-based applicant can include certain well-justified international elements or collaborations if they meet NIH policy definitions and are relevant to the proposed work.

Administratively, this FOA is listed under NIH and associated with CFDA numbers 93.242 and 93.855, reflecting NIH program areas tied to HIV/AIDS research and related health research authorities. The funding instrument is a grant, the activity category is health, and the opportunity is categorized as discretionary. The original posting date in the source data is November 16, 2017, and the original closing date shown is October 24, 2019. An award ceiling and the expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source fields, which often indicates that budgets and award counts depend on application quality, available appropriations, and NIH institute or center priorities during the relevant fiscal periods.

In terms of expected impact, the FOA is designed to help the U.S. move closer to the "getting to zero" goals by generating stronger evidence on where viral suppression is succeeding, where it is lagging, and how those patterns connect to ongoing transmission. By enabling researchers to use modern data infrastructure and analytic tools, NIH is signaling interest in work that can guide smarter targeting of interventions, refine public health monitoring, and support context-specific strategies that account for differences across regions and populations. The emphasis is not on running interventional clinical trials, but on leveraging data-driven epidemiology and digital health-enabled measurement to sharpen the national understanding of HIV suppression and transmission and translate that understanding into better HIV control approaches.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Getting to Zero: Understanding HIV Viral Suppression and Transmission in the United States (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): 93.242, 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-10-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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.

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