Letters from the Director: Request for Information: NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities and Guidelines for Determining AIDS Funding

The OAR is soliciting feedback from its stakeholder communities on the NIH HIV Research Priorities and Guidelines for Determining HIV Funding as a flexible, dynamic, comprehensive framework to guide the use of HIV-designated funding for fiscal years 2021 through 2025. Stakeholder comments about the NIH HIV Research Priorities will provide valuable information for use in advancing the NIH HIV research agenda and for developing the NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-related Research for fiscal years 2021 through 2025.

On August 12, 2015, NIH released NOT-OD-15-137 to inform the scientific community of the overarching HIV research priorities and the guidelines NIH would use to determine HIV funding beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2016 for the next three to five years.

On February 12, 2019, the NIH published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking community comments on the current high-priority topics for research that include:

• Reduce the incidence of HIV.
• Develop the next generation of HIV therapies.
• Identify strategies towards a cure.
• Improve the prevention and treatment of HIV-associated comorbidities, coinfections, and complications.
• Cross-cutting research areas in basic biological science, behavioral and social sciences, health disparities, implementation science, training, capacity-building and infrastructure.

Specifically, the OAR is asking for responses to the following questions:

1. For fiscal years 2021 through 2025, the NIH proposes to maintain the existing overarching research priorities and the cross-cutting areas of research on basic biological, behavioral, and social sciences; epidemiology; translational and implementation science; health disparities; training and capacity building; and information dissemination, as outlined in NOT-OD-15-137. Do the priorities continue to be relevant to advancing the state of the science and sufficient to capture anticipated research needs or are changes to priorities needed?
    
2. NOT-OD-15-137 includes guidelines to determine if proposed research has a high-, medium-, or low-priority for receiving HIV -designated funding. To capture the dynamic and evolving scientific landscape and breadth of HIV research anticipated for fiscal years 2021 through 2025, the NIH may introduce assessment of a research project as “aligned” (rather than high or medium) or “not aligned” (rather than low) with the priorities in NOT-OD-15-137. Does an “aligned” or “not aligned” assessment provide increased flexibility to support emerging scientific opportunities using HIV-designated funds or is a different approach needed?

To provide feedback electronically through NIH’s Office of Extramural Research, please click here.

The public comment period will be open for 60 days and closes on April 13, 2019. All feedback will be reviewed by the OAR and considered in the development of the next iteration of the NIH Research Priorities and Funding Guidance Document that will apply for the period of fiscal years 2021 through 2025.

I invite and encourage you to provide feedback on this RFI and I look forward to reviewing your valuable input.

Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D.
Associate Director for AIDS Research and
Director, Office of AIDS Research
National Institutes of Health