Atom | Advancing HIV/AIDS Research within the Mission of the NIDCD (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)

Funder: National Institutes of Health

Funding Amounts: Up to $275,000 direct costs over 2 years; no more than $200,000 in any single year; project period max 2 years.

Summary: Supports exploratory/developmental HIV/AIDS research in hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language within NIDCD’s mission, with a focus on NIH Office of AIDS Research priorities.

Key Information: Only low risk clinical trials are allowed; foreign and domestic applicants eligible; Data Management and Sharing Plan required.

Description

This opportunity from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) aims to stimulate HIV/AIDS research within its scientific mission areas. The focus is on high-priority HIV/AIDS research as outlined by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR), specifically in the domains of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. The program supports hypothesis-driven epidemiological, basic, translational, and clinical research, including multidisciplinary collaborations and leveraging of existing HIV/AIDS cohorts and clinical trials.

For clinical trials, only low risk studies are permitted—those not requiring FDA oversight (e.g., IND/IDE), with minimal risk to participants, and not intended to directly change health policy or standard of care.

Due Dates

Applications are accepted on the following AIDS-specific due dates:
- September 7, 2025
- January 7, 2026
- May 7, 2026
- September 7, 2026
- January 7, 2027
- May 7, 2027
- September 7, 2027
- January 7, 2028
Letter of Intent: 30 days prior to application due date
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization

Funding Amount

Direct Costs: Up to $275,000 over a two-year project period
Annual Limit: No more than $200,000 in direct costs in any single year
Project Period: Maximum of 2 years
Number of Awards: Contingent on NIH appropriations and the number of meritorious applications

Eligibility

Eligible Organizations:
- Higher education institutions (public, private)
- Nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status)
- For-profit organizations (including small businesses)
- State, county, city, township, and special district governments
- Independent school districts
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Native American tribal governments and organizations (federally recognized and other)
- Faith-based and community-based organizations
- Regional organizations
- U.S. territories and possessions
- Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations) and foreign components of U.S. organizations
Individuals: Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as PD/PI(s) may apply.
Multiple Applications: Allowed if each application is scientifically distinct.

Application Process

Submission Systems: Applications must be submitted electronically via NIH ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, or an institutional system-to-system solution.
Required Registrations: SAM, eRA Commons, Grants.gov, and (for foreign organizations) NCAGE code.
Letter of Intent: Strongly encouraged, due 30 days before the application deadline.
Application Guide: Follow the NIH Research (R) Instructions and the specific instructions in the funding announcement.
Data Management and Sharing Plan: Required for all applications generating scientific data.
Appendix: Only limited materials allowed (see FOA for details).

Additional Information

Scope: Research must address both NIDCD’s mission and OAR’s HIV/AIDS research priorities. See OAR priorities.
Clinical Trials: Only low risk clinical trials are supported. Trials requiring FDA oversight, exceeding budget limits, or intended to establish efficacy (NIH-defined Phase III) are not eligible under this mechanism.
Budget: Modular or detailed budget formats may be used as appropriate. Foreign applicants must use the R&R Budget Form.
Review Criteria: Emphasis on significance, innovation, approach, investigator(s), and environment. R21 applications do not require preliminary data.
Data Sharing: Compliance with the 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy is required.
Overlap: NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time.

External Links

Contact Information

Topic	Contact Person/Office	Email/Phone
Scientific/Research Contact	Trinh T. Ly, MD (NIDCD)	trinh.ly@nih.gov
Grants Management Contact	Samantha Tempchin (NIDCD)	samantha.tempchin@nih.gov
General Grants Info	NIH Grants Information	GrantsInfo@nih.gov / 301-480-7075
Application Submission Help	eRA Service Desk	eRA Help / 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552
Grants.gov Support	Grants.gov Customer Support	support@grants.gov / 800-518-4726