Pilots
The Penn Mental Health AIDS Research Center (PMHARC) Developmental Award Program
Call for Applications
The Penn Mental Health AIDS Research Center (PMHARC) seeks applications for its developmental awards program. This competitive program plans to select four pilot research projects with clear potential to lead to larger, funded projects of novel strategies for the treatment of mental illness among people living with HIV infection. All applications will be evaluated for scientific merit, programmatic relevance, utilization of center cores and feasibility. Although the PMHARC will support a broad range of research topics, priority will be given to applications that are responsive to the research priorities of the PMHARC (Click here for printable pdf) and the NIMH AIDS research agenda (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organization/dar/index.shtml). Special consideration will be given to applications that include both established investigators and investigators new to this field, and junior and senior investigators are encouraged to collaborate on each application. A wide range of study designs are encouraged, including small feasibility treatment trials.
- Novel, as well as conventional, treatments and/or interventions of psychiatric conditions to improve access to, and retention in HIV treatment and improved adherence to antiretroviral medications
- Adaptations of evidence based psychiatric treatment to unique needs of HIV patient populations
- Research that links the effective treatment of mental illness among people with HIV infection to improvements in biological measures of health status
- Research focused on the treatment of HAND - HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders
- Treatments focused on psychiatric treatment of people living with HIV infection who have co-occurring medical conditions—metabolic syndrome, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancers, HCV, TB, substance use disorders (alcohol and illicit drugs)
- Studies of interaction effects between psychiatric medications and antiretroviral medications
Funding period: 1 year
Funding amount: up to $40,000. Funds may be used for personnel (including up to 10% of salary for senior investigator), supplies and/or equipment.
Application requirements: Applications must include the following sections: Cover page, Abstract, Specific Aims, Research Plan (including how the pilot study will provide information that can be used in the submission of an R-grant), and Human Subjects. Departmental approval and a budget in NIH format are also required. To ensure a timely start date, applicants are encouraged to submit to the IRB at the time of application.
Page limit: Five pages not including the literature cited, budget, budget justifications, and biosketch in NIH format.
Eligibility: All projects must be led by a member of the Penn Faculty, including Instructors, as well as Post Docs and Senior Fellows.
Application deadline: August 15, 2013
Approximate start date: October 1, 2013
Please include the following cover page and budget page with each application, and submit as a single PDF file attachment to: Jamie Good at jagood@mail.med.upenn.edu.
For further information, please contact Dave Metzger, PhD, Director of Developmental Core at dsm@upenn.edu.
