Multidisciplinary Treatment Approaches to End the HIV Epidemic (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA AI 21 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA AI 21 024

The Multidisciplinary Treatment Approaches to End the HIV Epidemic (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (RFA-AI-21-024) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant designed to strengthen how HIV care is delivered in real-world settings. The central goal is to use implementation science to develop, put into practice, and rigorously evaluate creative, multidisciplinary healthcare delivery approaches that do a better job of engaging people living with HIV in care, keeping them in care over time, and supporting them to reach durable viral suppression. In practical terms, the FOA is looking for projects that do not just propose a promising idea, but that test how to make that idea work reliably in clinics and communities, especially for people who are most likely to fall out of care or experience barriers to consistent treatment.

This FOA directly supports the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) initiative, specifically the DIAGNOSE and TREAT pillars. The emphasis is on outcomes that reflect faster and more sustained viral suppression and improved health results for people living with HIV, achieved by improving healthcare engagement. That focus signals that the NIH is prioritizing research that can shorten the time from diagnosis to effective treatment, reduce gaps in care, and address the real-life reasons patients disengage, such as transportation challenges, stigma, mental health needs, substance use, unstable housing, fragmented services, or distrust of healthcare systems. Because the announcement highlights multidisciplinary approaches, competitive projects would typically involve coordinated teams and service models that may include medical providers, nurses, pharmacists, behavioral health professionals, social workers, case managers, peer navigators, community health workers, and community-based organizations working together in a structured way.

The mechanism is an R01, which generally supports substantial, hypothesis-driven research projects, and the “clinical trial optional” label indicates applicants may propose either a study that includes a clinical trial component or one that does not, as long as the work fits the implementation science purpose and the outcomes align with improved engagement, retention, and viral suppression. The activity category is listed under Education and Health, and the CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.242, 93.279, and 93.855, reflecting NIH program areas tied to infectious diseases and broader health research.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, township, and 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; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it places clear restrictions on foreign involvement: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed.

Key administrative details included in the source data are that the opportunity was created on March 30, 2021, with an original closing date of August 4, 2021. The funding instrument type is a grant, but the provided record does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards. Overall, the announcement is best understood as NIH support for applied, implementation-focused HIV care delivery research that can be translated into scalable practices and systems changes, with the end goal of getting more people diagnosed, rapidly treated, retained in care, and durably virally suppressed through integrated, patient-centered, multidisciplinary models.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Multidisciplinary Treatment Approaches to End the HIV Epidemic (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242, 93.279, 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-08-04. (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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