Funding Opportunities

Developmental Awards Program 

The purpose of the Developmental Awards program is to stimulate new, community-engaged
research projects for the generation of preliminary data to increase
competitiveness for future extramural HIV/AIDS and mental health research funding.
Award proposals in any area relevant to the intersection of HIV and mental health
disparities will be given full consideration. The CHARM Developmental Awards Program
encourages proposals addressing the intersection of HIV and mental health in Florida. 

Please find full RFA for 2025 here. 

Upcoming Informational sessions: 

• Informational Session 1: April 23, 2025 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
• Informational Session 2: May 15, 2025 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Eligibility

• Applicants must be post-doctoral associates or full-time faculty members at Florida Higher Education Institutions provided there is an established research at one or more of the CHARM-affiliated institutions
  • CHARM affiliated institutions include University of Miami [UM], Florida State University [FSU], Florida International University [FIU], and University of Central Florida [UCF].)
  • Applicants from outside of CHARM affiliated institutions will need a mentor or Co-Investigator from CHARM at the University of Miami or affiliated institutions.
• Career Stage: Pilot Award applicants may be early career investigators (post-doctoral associates or assistant professors), or mid-level/senior investigators new to the area of HIV and mental health research. Scholar Award applicants must meet NIH criteria for early-stage investigator.

PILOT AWARDS

Pilot Awards provide research support to conduct community-engaged research projects for generation of preliminary data to increase competitiveness for future extramural HIV/AIDS and mental health research funding. This is a traditional pilot award / research project that involves new data collection, and a minimum of 10% of PI time should be budgeted for.

SCHOLAR AWARDS

Scholar Awards provide salary (minimum of 25% principal investigator effort), research and career development support for promising early career investigators aiming to transition to independence as HIV/AIDS and mental health researchers. The scholar awards typically do not involve new data collection but instead involve conducting a secondary data analysis project with existing data and/or data being collected as part of a parent study.
Click here for a list of National and Publicly Available Datasets.  

BRIDGE AWARD

As part of our Developmental Awards Program this year, CHARM will also consider supporting a University of Miami investigator who has lost their funding due to shifting NIH priorities and who needs to pivot their program of research to realign with current priorities consistent with the mission of CHARM and NIH priorities. The CHARM Bridge Award will have the same elements and review criteria as the other Developmental Awards (i.e. should be designated as a scholar award or CHARM Pilot) and will also have a peer review process. However, they will be due by June 1, 2025. Award amounts will be up to $45,000 for 12 months. Interested investigators should reach out directly to the CHARM Developmental Core at ydc9@miami.edu for further instructions.

2025-2026 Application Timeline

Forms and Instructions

RFA and Instructions

Collaborator's Table

Budget Template (Excel, Word, PDF) - Please start building your budget in the excel spreadsheet before transferring the figures in the word or pdf docs. 

Biosketch template

Submission Portal

LOI Submission (optional except for post-docs) - View application (PDF) 

Speed Review Submission (optional except for post-docs) - View application (PDF) 

Full Application Submission - View application (PDF) 

E. Implementation Science (EIS) Core Program-Planning Microgrants

Note - the cycle is now closed for this award. Please see below information from the previous cycle. 

CHARM will be accepting applications for Microgrants for early-career investigators (ESIs) and South Florida service implementers. The purpose of this program to support the development of partnerships between investigators and implementers to lay the groundwork for future equitable implementation research in HIV and mental health.

Eligibility

• University of Miami (UM), Florida State University, Florida International University, or University of Central Florida affiliation is required.
• South Florida implementation partner involved in the delivery of HIV/mental health services.
• If you have questions about eligibility, please email Araceli Garcia (axg6042@miami.edu)

Deadline for applications is June 13th, 2025 at 5:00PM EST. 

Please find full RFA for 2025 here.

To see a recording of last year's informational session, please click here. 

CHARM Community Pilot Awards

Note - the cycle is now closed for this award. Please see below information from the previous cycle. 

CHARM will be accepting applications for community focused projects in:

1. HIV and Sexual Health
2. Mental Health
3. Community Engagement and Advocacy

The purpose of this program is to encourage community-centered research projects focused on HIV and Mental Health initiatives. Through our collaboration, we hope to financially support community-centered-research and position awardees for future funding.

Eligibility

• Miami Community Based Organization
• Must identify a University of Miami (UM) Faculty Collaborator

Deadline for applications is January 15^th, 2024 at 5:00PM EST

Please find full RFA for 2023 here.

Have any questions? View our informational session here, or reach out to Meadgine Ilmet (MHD-CE Core Coordinator, mfi13@miami.edu. 

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Funding Opportunity

Note - the cycle is now closed for this award. Please see below information from the previous cycle. 

NIMH and NIAID, along with several other participating NIH institutes, have recently announced a new Notice of Special Interest (NOT-AI-23-070) for applications to advance the goals of EHE. The NOSI solicits research in two priority areas:

1. Expanding and/or improving engagement and re-engagement in HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care services. Studies focused on people experiencing unstable housing or homelessness, including those within communities affected by clusters and outbreaks, are especially encouraged.
2. Scale-up of strategies to deliver integrated HIV prevention, treatment, and care services to address co-morbidities and coinfections, health conditions associated with HIV risk, and/or underlying social determinants of health that adversely affect HIV prevention and treatment outcomes.

As discussed during NIAID’s latest AIDS Research Advisory Committee Meeting, this notice represents a change in how the NIH is soliciting research in support of EHE, moving from one-year pilot projects funded through supplements, to larger multi-year studies. Interested applicants can apply to one of several different IC parent announcements for R01, R21, or R34 funding, and applications are not limited to the CFARs or ARCs. Applications must focus on one of the 57 geographic priority areas defined in the EHE Initiative, and the proposed work should support local EHE efforts through meaningful engagement with implementing partners, community members, and people with lived experience. This notice applies to due dates on or after January 7, 2024, and subsequent receipt dates through January 9, 2024.

For more information, please visit the following link:

NOT-Al-23-070

If you have any questions about the NOSI, please contact Christopher Gordon at cgordon1@mail.nih.gov.

If you have an idea and are interested in applying, please contact Mohamed Keita (mxk845@miami.edu) and Rosana Smith-Alvarez Chinigo (13rsmith@miami.edu), and CC Dr. Steve Safren (ssafren@miami.edu).