Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 15 164
Apply for PAR 15 164
- The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HIV Vaccine Research and Design (HIVRAD) Program (P01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.855 Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research 93.856 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 31, 2015 and posted on Mar 31, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 14, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $5,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Eligible applicants include: County governments Private institutions of higher education Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) State governments Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities Independent school districts City or township governments Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Small businesses Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) For profit organizations other than small businesses Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Special district governments.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs) Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government Faith based or Community based Organizations Hispanic serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized) Non domestic (non U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) Regional Organizations Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession.
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Opportunity Summary:
The HIV Vaccine Research and Design (HIVRAD) Program (P01) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity focused on supporting coordinated, multi-project research efforts that can directly inform the rational design of an effective preventive (prophylactic) HIV/AIDS vaccine. The program is aimed at hypothesis-driven work that addresses core scientific questions and design concepts that must be solved to move the field toward a vaccine that reliably prevents infection. In practical terms, the opportunity is meant for research teams that are beyond the earliest exploratory phase and are ready to pursue a more integrated plan that can generate decisive evidence about vaccine design strategies, immune responses, and how those responses might translate into protection.
This is a discretionary grant mechanism using the P01 (program project) structure, which generally supports several interrelated projects under a unified theme, often sharing scientific cores or resources. The announcement emphasizes that applications requesting the full five years of support should present a mature plan backed by preliminary data, indicating that the key ideas have already been tested enough to justify a longer, more substantial investment. At the same time, it leaves room for less fully developed concepts by allowing requests for fewer than five years when the primary need is to establish feasibility or de-risk an approach before committing to a longer pathway.
A central expectation is that proposed work should be tightly connected to hypotheses that are "crucial" for vaccine design, not simply incremental improvements or broad exploratory studies. For applicants working on a particular vaccine platform (for example, a specific vector, protein subunit strategy, nucleic-acid approach, or other delivery system), the program calls for a clearly articulated research pathway. That pathway should include explicit decision points, meaning predefined criteria for deciding whether to advance, modify, or discontinue a candidate strategy based on results. This reflects a translational, design-oriented mindset: the research should be structured so that it yields clear go/no-go outcomes and helps narrow the field toward vaccine concepts with the strongest evidence.
The opportunity also notes that extensive modeling of vaccine concepts in non-human primates may be included. This signals that the program is open to advanced preclinical testing where appropriate, particularly when such models are necessary to evaluate immunogenicity, protection, durability, and other features that are hard to interpret from smaller-scale or purely in vitro work. The emphasis is on modeling that supports the underlying vaccine design hypotheses, rather than animal studies conducted without a clear connection to specific, testable design questions.
From an administrative standpoint, the funding opportunity number is PAR-15-164, titled "HIV Vaccine Research and Design (HIVRAD) Program (P01)." It was posted and created on March 31, 2015, with the original and final listed closing date of July 14, 2017, and an archive date of August 14, 2017. The estimated total funding amount listed is $5,000,000, and there is no cost sharing or matching requirement. The activity areas referenced include NIH CFDA numbers 93.855 (Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research) and 93.856 (Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research), which aligns with the program's focus on infectious disease immunology and vaccine development.
Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and non-U.S. entities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; public housing/Indian housing authorities; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (including those other than universities); small businesses; for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses); tribal governments and tribal organizations (including federally recognized and other than federally recognized); and other organizations specified in the announcement. Additional eligible categories explicitly include historically underrepresented and mission-focused institutions such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, and AANAPISI institutions, as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, foreign (non-U.S.) entities, and regional organizations. In short, NIH structured eligibility to encourage participation from a wide range of research and community institutions, including international partners, which is often important in HIV research due to global disease burden and diverse viral clades.
For reference, NIH provided an additional information link to the full announcement at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-164.html, and listed the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Webmaster as the contact point for access or linking issues (FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV).
FAQs: HIV Vaccine Research and Design (HIVRAD) Program (P01) - PAR-15-164
What is the HIV Vaccine Research and Design (HIVRAD) Program (P01)?
The HIVRAD Program is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity that supports coordinated, multi-project research efforts designed to directly inform the rational design of an effective preventive (prophylactic) HIV/AIDS vaccine. It is built for integrated teams working on hypothesis-driven questions that are considered crucial to making vaccine design decisions.
What is the main goal of this funding opportunity?
The main goal is to advance research that can generate decisive evidence about HIV vaccine design strategies, the immune responses those strategies induce, and how those immune responses might translate into protection from infection. The emphasis is on moving the field toward a vaccine concept that reliably prevents infection.
What type of grant mechanism is used?
This opportunity uses the NIH P01 (Program Project) mechanism, which typically supports several interrelated research projects organized under a unified theme, often with shared scientific cores or resources.
What kinds of projects is the program looking to support?
The announcement prioritizes hypothesis-driven research that addresses core scientific questions and design concepts that must be solved to move HIV vaccine development forward. The expectation is that the work is tied to vaccine design hypotheses that are "crucial," rather than incremental upgrades or broad exploratory studies without a clear design-testing purpose.
Is this opportunity intended for early exploratory research?
Not primarily. The program is positioned for teams that are beyond the earliest exploratory phase and ready to pursue an integrated, coordinated plan capable of producing clear evidence that informs vaccine design decisions.
Does the program require preliminary data?
The announcement emphasizes that applications requesting the full five years of support should present a mature plan backed by preliminary data, showing that key ideas have been tested enough to justify a longer and more substantial investment.
Can an applicant request fewer than five years of support?
Yes. The opportunity allows requests for fewer than five years when the main need is to establish feasibility or de-risk an approach before committing to a longer pathway.
What does NIH mean by an "integrated plan" in this context?
In practical terms, an integrated plan means multiple interrelated projects organized under a unified vaccine design theme, structured so the combined work produces interpretable outcomes that directly inform vaccine design strategies.
What are "explicit decision points" and why are they important?
For applicants working on a particular vaccine platform, the program calls for a clearly articulated research pathway with explicit decision points. These are predefined criteria used to decide whether to advance, modify, or discontinue a candidate strategy based on results. The intent is for the research to yield clear go/no-go outcomes that help narrow the field toward approaches with stronger evidence.
Are specific vaccine platforms required or preferred?
The announcement does not require a single platform. It gives examples of platforms (such as specific vectors, protein subunit strategies, nucleic-acid approaches, or other delivery systems) and emphasizes that whichever platform is proposed should be paired with a clear pathway and decision criteria tied to testable vaccine design hypotheses.
Can non-human primate studies be included?
Yes. The opportunity notes that extensive modeling of vaccine concepts in non-human primates may be included, particularly when those models are needed to evaluate immunogenicity, protection, durability, or other features that are difficult to interpret from smaller-scale or purely in vitro work.
Are animal studies allowed without a specific design hypothesis?
The emphasis is on animal modeling that supports underlying vaccine design hypotheses. The opportunity highlights that studies should be connected to specific, testable design questions, rather than being conducted without a clear hypothesis-to-design link.
What is the funding opportunity number and title?
The funding opportunity number is PAR-15-164, titled "HIV Vaccine Research and Design (HIVRAD) Program (P01)."
When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?
It was posted and created on March 31, 2015. The original and final listed closing date was July 14, 2017, and the archive date was August 14, 2017.
What is the estimated total funding amount listed?
The estimated total funding amount listed is $5,000,000.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The announcement states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
Which NIH activity areas (CFDA numbers) are referenced?
The activity areas referenced include NIH CFDA 93.855 (Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research) and 93.856 (Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research), reflecting the program's focus on infectious disease immunology and vaccine development.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes many U.S. and non-U.S. entities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; public housing/Indian housing authorities; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; small businesses; for-profit organizations (including those other than small businesses); tribal governments and tribal organizations (federally recognized and other than federally recognized); and other organizations specified in the announcement.
Are international (non-U.S.) organizations eligible?
Yes. The eligible categories explicitly include foreign (non-U.S.) entities, as well as regional organizations.
Are minority-serving or mission-focused institutions included in eligibility?
Yes. The eligible categories explicitly include HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, and AANAPISI institutions.
Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?
Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes faith-based or community-based organizations.
Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?
Yes. Eligibility includes U.S. territories or possessions.
Where can applicants find the full announcement?
NIH provided a link to the full announcement at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-164.html
Who is listed as the contact for access or linking issues?
The NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Webmaster is listed as the contact point for access or linking issues: FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV
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