• Core Services: Contact SD CFAR service cores at least 4 weeks prior to your submission to discuss assistance needed if you require cores’ assistance. See service core checklist below.
• Mentor:
  • Early stage (pre-R01) investigators must work with at least one mentor. Newly recruited senior investigators are not required to have a mentor, though it is encouraged. Recruits in their second year will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 
  • Mentors assist in preparing the proposal and, if funded, advise on study conduct and publication. They must certify that they have reviewed and provided input on the application prior to submission—applications will only be accepted after this pre-submission review. Mentors need not be HIV experts but should have received NIH R01 (or equivalent: R23, R29, R37, DP2) funding and have experience with NIH grants; their qualifications will be evaluated during the review process.

  • For assistance in identifying a mentor, please use Dev Core Services Form. Otherwise, please email cfar@ucsd.edu with any questions.

• Applicants may submit only one Developmental grant application per cycle and may only serve as PI on one active Developmental grant at a time.
• Postdoctoral fellows may not apply for Developmental grants, and these grants may not be used to provide salaries for postdoctoral fellows.
• Developmental grants cannot support clinical trials or studies involving new drugs, treatments, or devices, or off-label use of a licensed drug.
• Developmental grants cannot fund travel to scientific meetings, with one exception: Early-stage investigators may include travel to a scientific meeting to present the results of their Developmental grant research.
• If an awarded grant includes research in humans or animals, Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care Use Committee approval must be submitted to the SD CFAR Developmental Core before funds may be spent. Regulatory approvals should be emailed to cfar@ucsd.edu.

Investigators are encouraged to submit their applications up to one week in advance to allow time for resolving any technical issues or errors. SD CFAR staff will notify you if your application requires revision or is ready for review. Applications that do not follow the published instructions will be returned without review.

Applications are submitted through REDCap. You may start your online application, receive a personalized link, and return to complete your application at any time leading up to the due date. Please note the following recommendations and refer to the suggested timeline above:

• Your mentor will be required to sign off on your application. Allow 5-7 business days for your mentor to review and provide feedback.
• We strongly recommend that you submit your completed application with your mentor’s signature, at least one week before the due date for administrative preview and corrections, if needed.

You may download the following forms to start preparing your application. Note that you will enter some content directly into REDCap, while other pages will be uploaded as indicated below.

INFORMATION ENTERED INTO REDCAP:

1. Face page and demographic information
2. Abstract
3. Goals/mentoring plan
4. Budget in Excel or Budget in Word
   You may apply for a maximum of $50,000. Your budget should list direct costs only. Do not include indirect costs. The SD CFAR will cover indirects for all awarded grants at all of our member institutions.
5. Budget justification
   Explain how each item in your requested budget will further your research plan. Briefly describe the specific expertise and role of each person listed in the budget, and the reasons you are requesting specific equipment, supplies, or other expenses, such as participant reimbursement. Travel is only allowed for  early-stage investigators to present results of their Developmental grants at scientific conferences.
6. Environment and institutional commitment
   Describe your research environment and institutional commitment to support your project, if funded.
7. Service core checklist
   If you intend to request support from SD CFAR service cores, you must contact them at least four weeks prior to your grant submission. While many services are available at no cost to SD CFAR grant recipients, some may require budgeted expenses. Early coordination is essential, as core staff support multiple investigators and scheduling limitations may apply.

FILES UPLOADED INTO REDCAP:

• NIH other support
  Only required by the Developmental grant PI. Visit this NIH webpage for links to detailed instructions, FAQs, and a sample other support file.
• NIH non-fellowship biosketch
  Visit this NIH webpage for links to detailed instructions, FAQs, and a sample biosketch. Include one for the Developmental grant PI, mentor if applicable, and each co-investigator. Combine all biosketches into a single PDF before uploading.
• Research plan and literature cited
  Describe your research plan following the outline below. Note the first four sections must be covered in four pages. You may take as many pages as needed for Literature Cited. Follow NIH guidelines for typeface and size (minimum 11 point type):
• Specific Aims
• Significance
• Preliminary Studies (if applicable)
• Experimental Design and Methods
• Literature Cited (not included in 4 page limit)
•  

The SD CFAR cores provide a variety of services, often for free or at reduced costs to SD CFAR grant recipients. If you require help from our SD CFAR Cores, PLEASE CONTACT THEM NO LESS THAN 4 WEEKS BEFORE THE APPLICATION DUE DATE.

Fill out a service request to connect with an expert biostatistician or mathematical modeler.

• Biostatistics and Modeling Core Examples: pre-award grant support (power, sample size, statistical considerations); experimental design and analysis; observational studies (e.g., cohort, case-control); epidemic modeling of HIV and co-infections; health economic evaluations.

  See this BAM CORE short video. Please note, while the consultation is free, you will need to budget for BAM Core services if you would like them to perform any of the analyses or modeling in your project.

• Clinical Investigation Core Examples: specimen collection, IRB, clinical database access, REDCap database design, participant recruitment, clinical and translational study design.
• HESS Core Examples: population recruitment and retention; behavioral-type research; survey development; grant preparation assistance; Community Advisory Board guidance; mentorship of junior investigators

  Molecular and Cellular Immunology Core–Flow Cytometry Examples: consultation on experimental design and panel development; cell sorting; biohazardous cell sorting; data acquisition for analysis; training

• Molecular and Cellular Immunology Core—Genomics Examples: nucleic acid isolation, quantification and quality control; quantification of gene expression using real-time quantitative qPCR technology and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR); single cell separation and sequencing, next generation sequencing, bioinformatics
• Molecular and Cellular Immunology Core—Single-cell –Omics Examples: Sequencing (Illumina Nova and Next Seq, ONT Minion and P2), 10X genomics (5’ or 3’ chemistry, HT or standard, multiple addons), data analysis (adaptive sampling, post-run basecalling, CellRanger processing)
• Translational Virology Core Examples: clinical specimen processing and storage, HIV genotyping, nucleic acid extractions, viral quantification, next generation sequencing, BSL-3 access, data processing.

Evaluation Process

Applications for Developmental Grants submitted to the San Diego Center for AIDS Research (SD CFAR) are evaluated by qualified experts from institutions across the United States and abroad. Each application is reviewed according to defined criteria, including applicant eligibility, the strength of the proposed mentorship structure, and the experience and qualifications of the mentor. Reviewers also assess the scientific merit of the research proposal, its alignment with HIV research goals, and its potential to lead to future competitive funding and publications.

Reviewers assign scores based on these established criteria and provide written, constructive comments. All application materials, including evaluations, are reviewed by the Developmental Grant Review Committee, which makes funding recommendations based on scientific quality and programmatic priorities. Final award decisions are contingent upon available funding.

Evaluation Criteria

• Eligibility: Reviewers assess whether each applicant meets the established eligibility requirements. Please confirm your eligibility before submitting an application.
• Scientific Merit: Reviewers evaluate proposals based on their innovation, feasibility, and likely contribution to ongoing HIV research efforts. Reviewers are selected for their expertise in relevant scientific fields.
• Relevance to HIV Research: Proposals must align with the research priorities of the NIH Office of AIDS Research. Applications should introduce a new concept or explore an under-investigated area of HIV research. Projects may involve basic, clinical, behavioral, or public health science. 
• Potential for Future Impact: As SD CFAR is supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), each funded project is expected to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of HIV research. Reviewers assess whether a proposal is likely to result in peer-reviewed publications and external grant funding.

Notification
Applicants are typically notified of the Core’s decision within four to six weeks following the submission deadline. The decision notice includes written critiques prepared by the reviewers; reviewer identities are not disclosed. These critiques are intended to provide constructive feedback to help applicants strengthen their proposals, regardless of the funding outcome.

Revisions
Applicants whose proposals are not funded are encouraged to work with their SD CFAR mentors to submit a revised application. Minor revisions may be addressed within 30 days. Major revisions should be submitted during a future funding cycle. Mentorship is required for early-stage investigators and is available to other applicants upon request.