Sponsored by the NIAID Centers for HIV Structural Biology U54 Program

Overview:

The HARC (HIV Accessory and Regulatory Complex) Center has funds to support up to three Mentored Scientist Awards (MSAs) per year. The goal for these training grants is to encourage young investigators to pursue HIV related research, and provide training programs to support the advancement of their careers. 

This program supports early career investigators (postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty without independent funding) with a science research project aligned with the HARC Center’s objectives, and aims to generate preliminary data for subsequent outside funding applications, fostering the development of the next generation of researchers in HIV-related fields.

Award Information:

Funding for this program is a maximum of $50,000 in direct costs with a funding period of one year. Early-career awardees will be prepared for their future independence and will receive support in budget planning (QBI finance team). Graduate student awardees will receive mentorship and training as they pursue their research project aligned with the HARC Center’s objectives. 

MSAs may encompass research to obtain preliminary data to apply for independent funding. Budgets may include salary and research costs of candidates, as well as other reasonable costs. Awardees, regardless of their career stage, are required to mentor a summer intern as part of the award and should include intern salary in their budget. Awardees will be required to participate in the HARC Center’s annual Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) Meeting, and the annual NIH HIV Structure meeting in Bethesda the year they are awarded. In addition, they are expected to participate regularly in the HIV/Infectious Disease Journal Club and career development programs including the HARC Trainee Club. 

Designation of Mentor:

All Mentored Scientist Award applications are required to have two faculty mentors, at least one of whom must be a member of the HARC Center. The HARC Center mentor is allowed but not required to have supervisory authority over the applicant during the project period. The second faculty mentor may come from one of the HARC Center’s institutions, a Sister Center, or one of the many affiliated institutions, such as the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. The mentor should be recognized as an accomplished investigator in HIV/AIDS research and should be able to demonstrate past success in training/mentoring independent investigators.

Eligibility Criteria: 

All applicants must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent terminal degree. Applicants must have completed at least two career development workshops pertaining to grantsmanship, mentoring, or scientific leadership prior to their application. This requirement can be fulfilled by participating in institute or program offered courses, or through HARC Center workshops.

Research Objectives and Scope:

The HARC Center is one of five interdisciplinary research centers funded by the NIH AIDS-Related Structural Biology Program. The Center focuses on improving our understanding of the interactions between HIV accessory and regulatory proteins and host cellular systems, with the ultimate goal to expand on therapeutic targets and treatment modalities for HIV/AIDS. 

The HARC Center utilizes an integrated “Systems-to-Structure” platform that includes (1) Discovery, through functional proteomics and genetics technologies developed in the HARC Center, (2) Validation, through breakthrough CRISPR methods in primary T cells and targeted biochemical and functional assays; and (3) Structure Determination, using innovative structural techniques to address large, flexible, heterogeneous, and membrane-associated complexes that are studied. 

See the HARC Center website at harc.ucsf.edu for more information.

Proposed MSA projects should address topics relevant to HARC Projects research efforts, and may include specific technologies that complement or advance HARC Cores approaches. MSA projects should be aligned with and advance the HARC Center’s central mission to improve our understanding of HIV-host protein complexes and expand therapeutic targets and treatment modalities for HIV/AIDS.

Required Application Components: 

1. Abstract 300 words maximum.
2. Specific Aims 1 page maximum [Arial, font size 11].
3. Research Approach 6 page maximum [Arial, font size 11] aimed at generating preliminary data for K-awards, R21 or R01 applications over one year, including a section on expected outcomes including: Significance/Innovation; Approach & Preliminary Data; and Milestones.
4. Separate 1 page maximum research plan for a subproject to be carried out by an intern mentored by the applicant for 10 weeks (include project summary, project aims, and training goals).
5. NIH format biosketches of the applicant and both mentors: 
   
• Applicants must indicate two faculty research mentors at the time of submission who will commit to guiding the applicant throughout the duration of the proposed project (as proven by letters of support). 
• At least one of the mentors has to be a HARC Center senior faculty member (at the full professor level), while the other can come from any institution and should be recognized as an accomplished investigator in HIV/AIDS research. 
• The HARC Center faculty serving as a mentor is not required to, but can be the trainee’s lab’s Principal Investigator.
  
6. A budget and budget justification of maximum $50,000 in direct costs, including allocation of $6000 to a summer intern (inclusion of salary of the applicant is optional).
7. Projects involving human or animal subjects are only allowed if IRB approvals and IACUC protocols are covered under the Center grant. 

All documents should be submitted as one PDF to [email protected] with the subject line “HARC MSA Application” by 9:00 AM PT on February 17th, 2025. Please also direct any questions to [email protected]

Review Criteria:

Completed applications that meet eligibility requirements will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate review committee convened by the HARC Administrative and Developmental Cores in accordance with NIH review criteria: (1) Significance; (2) Approach; (3) Innovation; (4) Investigator; and (5) Environment. Each of these criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall application score. Funding decisions will be based on several factors: scientific review score, alignment of proposal to the Center’s strategic goals, proposal research area of focus, and potential for an early-career level applicant to become an independent investigator.

Progress Reporting: 

Progress reports will be due to the HARC Center one month prior to the Center’s NIH progress reporting date and at the end of the project period. The funding period is one year, but a no-cost extension can be granted if justified in the progress report. Final reports will be required to include research progress, including metrics such as resulting submitted and/or accepted publications and follow-on grant applications, as well as future plans. In addition, awardees should describe whether outcomes in the application have been accomplished or justify why outcomes could not be achieved or have been modified. Progress reports will be provided to the HARC Center Director and the NIH program office.

Program Contact: 

HARC Admin team: [email protected]