Highlights: June 2026 NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council Meeting

Strategic planning, early career investigator development, community engagement, and HIV cure research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC) convened its 72nd meeting virtually on June 25.

OARAC provides advice to the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) on the planning, coordination, and evaluation of research and other HIV-related activities conducted or supported by NIH.

Key meeting highlights included updates on the FY 2026-2030 NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research, the FY 2025 HIV research portfolio, initiatives to strengthen the HIV research workforce, opportunities to leverage the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) to advance HIV research, and the importance of sustained partnerships between researchers and communities in advancing HIV cure science. The meeting also featured updates from NIH advisory council representatives and the pediatric HIV clinical guidelines working group.

Report: Office of AIDS Research Director

Geri R. Donenberg, Ph.D., Associate Director for AIDS Research and Director, OAR, NIH
Dr. Donenberg delivered her first in-person OARAC Director’s Report, reflecting on two significant observances on June 5: the 45th anniversary of the first CDC report describing what would later be known as AIDS and HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day. She highlighted the continued importance of community advocacy, implementation science, and whole-person approaches to HIV research.

Responding to questions raised during the April OARAC meeting, Dr. Donenberg provided additional details on OAR’s FY 2026 transfer authority decisions. She explained that implementation science investments were guided by NIH institute, center, and office (ICO) readiness; existing infrastructure; prior funding patterns; planned future investments; co-funding activities; and ICO-specific scientific priorities. OAR continued to promote collaboration with NIH ICOs, rather than prescriptive funding requirements.

Dr. Donenberg reviewed newly released CDC surveillance data showing improvements in viral suppression rates while noting that key public health challenges remain, including approximately 39,000 new HIV diagnoses, ongoing racial and geographic disparities, and increasing rates of late HIV diagnoses. She noted that these findings reinforce the need to strengthen implementation science and improve the uptake of effective prevention and treatment strategies.

Additional updates included:

• The release of a Request for Information seeking public input on a proposed NIH policy limiting the number of simultaneous research grants held by individual principal investigators
• An introduction of the new Collaborative International Research Project (PF5) funding mechanism supporting international research collaborations
• Advancing Research in Implementation Science to End HIV’s (ARISE-HIV) “Access, Delivery, Engagement, and Retention for Long-Acting HIV Prevention and Treatment in the United States” Challenge (LAUNCH Challenge), a prize competition designed to generate innovative approaches to improve the uptake of long-acting HIV prevention and treatment
• Recent engagements with the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), the NIH Tribal Advisory Committee, the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network (ATN), and Continuum 2026, with upcoming participation in AIDS 2026 and USCHA.

Council discussion focused on implementation science investments, international collaborations, and maintaining a robust HIV research infrastructure while expanding real-world implementation efforts.

FY 2026-2030 NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research: Status Update and Next Steps

Rachel Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff, OAR, NIH
Dr. Anderson provided an update on the development of the FY 2026-2030 NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research.

She reviewed the extensive development and review processes, including OARAC task force recommendations, NIH-wide review, and multiple rounds of revisions following leadership transitions and agency-wide staffing changes. Although publication has taken longer than anticipated, she noted that the scientific priorities developed by OARAC remain intact.

The revised plan maintains its organization around three foundational goals: research, capacity, and operations. The most significant structural change is the addition of an overarching implementation science priority that spans all three goals. This addition is intended to strengthen translation of discoveries into practice.

Council members discussed balancing implementation and basic science research, reaffirming that continued investment in foundational science, including HIV vaccine development, remains essential for achieving epidemic control.

FY 2025 NIH HIV Funding Overview

Leslie Marshall, Ph.D., Acting Deputy Director, OAR, NIH
Dr. Marshall reviewed trends in the NIH HIV research portfolio from FY 2019-2025.

Overall, NIH HIV funding has remained relatively stable. However, the number of funded projects has fluctuated, reflecting broader changes across the biomedical research enterprise following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key portfolio trends included:

• Continued strong investments in cross-cutting HIV research
• Growing investments in HIV-associated co-occurring conditions, aging, and long-term health outcomes
• Stable investment in workforce development through fellowships and institutional training programs
• Broad scientific diversity spanning epidemiology, vaccines, HIV reservoirs, HIV and women, mental health, implementation science, and aging

Council discussion focused on maintaining balance across the HIV research portfolio while adapting to emerging scientific priorities.

Early Career Investigators in HIV: Updates and Discussion

Elisabet Caler, Ph.D., Senior Science Advisor, OAR, NIH
David Chang, Ph.D., Supervisory Health Science Administrator, Senior Science Advisor, OAR, NIH
Ericka Boone, Ph.D., Director, Division of Biomedical Research Workforce, Office of Extramural Research, NIH
OAR presented new analyses of the NIH HIV early career investigator (ECI) pipeline and ongoing efforts to strengthen workforce development.

OAR reviewed trends in HIV ECI awards, noting that although FY 2025 showed a decline from the record number of awards in FY 2024, long-term investments in ECIs remain a priority. Data shows that grant application volume continues to increase while fewer awards are being made, resulting in a more competitive funding environment despite larger average award sizes.

Programmatic updates included:

• Expansion of NIH HIV ECI office hours connecting ECIs directly with NIH program staff
• Increased outreach through workshops at the U.S. Military HIV Research Program, the Mid-Atlantic CFAR Consortium, and the continued annual NIH HIV ECI Workshop
• New online resources highlighting HIV funding opportunities across NIH

Dr. Boone provided a broader analysis of NIH T32 institutional training grants, highlighting long-term funding trends, concentration of training awards at research-intensive institutions, and the need to better understand how training investments influence long-term workforce development.

Council members discussed broader challenges affecting the HIV research workforce, including declining funding rates for ECIs, the concentration of T32 training awards at a relatively small number of research-intensive institutions, and strategies to expand access to training opportunities while maintaining scientific excellence. Discussion also examined the relationship between training grants, R01 funding, and workforce sustainability, with NIH leadership noting that the new unified funding strategy provides greater flexibility to consider investigatory career stage and other factors beyond peer review scores when making funding recommendations.

NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL): A Platform for Advancing MAHA Strategic Priorities

Maliha Ilias, Ph.D., Branch Chief, Center for Translational Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH
George Mensah, M.D., Director, CTRIS, NHLBI, NIH
Nathaniel Stinson, Jr., Ph.D., M.D., M.P.H., Director, Division of Community Health and Population Science, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH
Drs. Ilias and Mensah introduced CEAL as an NIH-wide infrastructure that supports community-engaged research focused on improving health outcomes and reducing chronic disease disparities.

CEAL currently supports more than 40 intervention studies across multiple health conditions using rigorous community engagement and implementation science approaches. Drs. Ilias and Mensah described CEAL’s focus on building trust through sustained community partnerships; conducting rigorous implementation research; integrating biological, behavioral, clinical, and implementation outcomes; expanding research in rural, Tribal, and other underserved communities; and providing consultation services and implementation resources to support investigators.

The presenters outlined opportunities to expand CEAL’s existing infrastructure to HIV research, particularly in areas such as:

• Improving pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake and adherence
• HIV and chronic disease management
• Reducing HIV stigma
• Maternal HIV transmission prevention
• Strengthening implementation science within Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) priority communities

Council discussion highlighted the importance of meaningful community partnerships, equitable compensation for community collaborators, and adapting successful HIV community engagement models for broader public health initiatives.

It Takes All of Us: Partnering Science and Community for the Cure We All Need

Dázon Dixon Diallo, D.H.L., M.P.H., Founder/President, SisterLove
Mirko Paiardini, Ph.D., Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Microbiology & Immunology, Emory National Primate Research Center; Program Director, ERASE HIV, Martin Delaney Collaboratory for HIV Cure Research
Dr. Diallo described SisterLove’s decades-long partnership with HIV researchers, underscoring that authentic community engagement must extend far beyond participant recruitment to include co-creation of research priorities, shared decision-making, research literacy, transparency, and sustained community leadership.

She highlighted the Enterprise for Research and Advancements to Stop and Eradicate HIV Community Organized Leadership Advisory Board (ERASE HIV COLAB) as a model for integrating community expertise throughout every stage of HIV cure research.

Dr. Paiardini presented preclinical studies evaluating the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax as a potential HIV cure strategy. Using nonhuman primate models, investigators demonstrated significant reductions in the intact viral reservoir following short-course treatment initiated with antiretroviral therapy. Early clinical studies evaluating safety in people with HIV are now underway, with additional preclinical work planned to optimize duration and combination strategies.

Together, the presenters illustrated that successful HIV cure research depends on sustained partnerships between scientists and communities, with community members contributing throughout study design, implementation, interpretation, and dissemination.

Council discussion reinforced the importance of integrating community perspectives early in HIV cure research and ensuring appropriate support and compensation for community partners.

Updates: NIH Advisory Council Representatives

Vasundhara Varthakavi, D.V.M., Ph.D., Acting Director, HIV Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH
Gregory Greenwood, Ph.D., M.P.H., Acting Director, Division of AIDS Research, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH
Representatives from the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse and the National Advisory Mental Health Council provided updates on emerging research priorities related to substance use, IS, neuroHIV, and behavioral research.

Council members discussed maintaining strong multidisciplinary collaborations across NIH ICOs while continuing to strengthen implementation science, behavioral research, and community partnerships.

Guidelines Updates and Next Meeting

Lisa Abuogi, M.D., M.Sc., Professor, Department of Pediatrics University of Colorado; Medical Director, CHIP Prevention Program; Co-Director, CHIP Perinatal HIV Program; Senior Investigator, Center for Global Health
Melissa Herrera, M.P.H., Public Health Analyst, OAR, NIH
Luis Montaner, D.V.M., D.Phil., Executive Vice President and Director, HIV Cure and Viral Diseases Center, Herbert Kean, M.D. Family Professor, The Wistar Institute
Dr. Abuogi provided an update on the HHS Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection.

Recent revisions incorporate new antiretroviral therapies, updated treatment recommendations, and expanded guidance supporting evidence-based pediatric HIV care. Discussion highlighted the continued importance of maintaining regularly updated clinical guidelines that rapidly translate new scientific evidence into clinical practice.

The full meeting will be available on NIH VideoCast, and meeting minutes will be posted on the OAR website.

The next OARAC meeting will be on October 22. OARAC welcomes public comments via email to [email protected].