Pilot Grants Miller School of Medicine

Pilot Awards

The Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR offers Pilot Award funding to support highly innovative research proposals that will generate preliminary data for publications & extramural funding. The Miami CFAR provides support for Pilot Grants in HIV/AIDS research.

Application Process and Timeline

Proposal submission is a two-step process requiring both a Letter of Intent (LOI) and a full application. Applicants will be invited to submit their full application, based on eligibility criteria and on the potential scientific merit of the proposed research presented in the LOI.

The Miami CFAR awards pilot grants on an annual cycle. Applicants are invited to submit a full application based on the review of how the specific aims address the NIH HIV/AIDS research priorities. Investigators are then invited to participate in a speed review of their specific aims as they prepare their full application. The speed review is completed by at least two senior investigators that are able to offer an informal critique and provide feedback. All applicants to the CFAR pilot grants are encouraged to take advantage of the voluntary speed review program.

Senior investigators review the pilot applications and present their scores to the Developmental and Administrative Core Directors. The following criteria are scored: Significance; Innovation; Approach; Investigators; Environment; and Overall Impact. The applications are discussed among all reviewers before final scoring and ranking for funding is determined. Funding decisions are made to align with the fiscal period: June 1 for CFAR awards.

The Miami CFAR Developmental Core has released the FY2025 Funding Opportunity Announcement. Interested candidates are encouraged to discuss the responsiveness of their proposal with the Developmental Core directors Dr. Mario Stevenson, Dr. Claudia Martinez, and Dr. Emmanuel Thomas prior to submission of their Letter of Intent (LOI).

Eligible applicants are required to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by 3:00 PM ET, April 15, 2024. To submit your Letter of Intent, please click the link below:

Click Here to Submit LOI

2023 Awardees

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Principal Investigator	Department	Project Title
Anuj Ahuja, PhD	Microbiology & Immunology	Study the effect of HIV proteins in deregulation of retrotransposable elements in AIDS associated KSHV malignancies (AIDS-KS/AIDS-PEL)
Denise Vidot, PhD	School of Nursing & Health Studies	Cannabinoid Urine Metabolites and Cardiovascular Risk among Racially/Ethnic Diverse HIV Patients with and without Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Lesley de Armas, PhD	Microbiology & Immunology	Dual specificity IL-15-based immune therapeutic to boost immune function and reduce senescence in Aging People living with HIV
John Burnett, PhD	Microbiology & Immunology	Cell Receptor-Targeted Exosome-Mediated Excision of HIV
Folusakin Ayoade, MD	Infectious Diseases	Cerebral small vessel disease risk in virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients with Metabolic syndrome

2022 Awardees

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Principal Investigator	Department	Project Title
Mourad Bendjennat, PhD	Microbiology & Immunology	Deciphering molecularly the heightening effect of HIV on HPV-mediated carcinogenesis
Lunthita Duthely, EdD	Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences	ORCHID: A Novel Positive Affect Intervention for Aging, Racial/Ethnic Minoritized Women, Co-Diagnosed with HIV and Ano-Genital Dysplasia, at-risk for Falling out of Care
Silvia Torices, PhD	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	Inflammasome response and gut dysbiosis as targets of ischemic stroke in HIV-infection
Phabiola Herrera Aldana, MD	Department of Medicine, Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine	Developing REsearch on Advancing Mental and Sleep health (DREAMS) in pregnant women living with HIV

2021 Awardees

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Principal Investigator	Department	Project Title
Sebastian Fuchs, PhD	Pathology	Protein and mRNA-mediated induction of antigen-specific tolerance toward AAV-delivered anti-HIV antibodies
Roger McIntosh, PhD	Psychology	Geriatric Resilience Informed by Precision Selection (GRIPS)
Jose Martinez-Navio, PhD	Pathology	Induction of immunological tolerance to AAV-delivered antibodies by preventing immune responses at the inoculation site
Teddy Salan, PhD	Radiology	Multimodal Brain Imaging Biomarkers for Identification of Habitats of HIV infection in the Whole Brain Using a Machine Learning Approach
James Termini, PhD	Pathology	Design and Development of AAV-Delivered NK Cell-Activating Bispecific Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies with Enhanced ADCC Activity

2020 Awardees

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Principal Investigator	Department	Project Title
Patricia Jeudin	Gynecology/Oncology	Identifying Anal High-risk HPV Subtypes in Haitian Men and Women Living with HIV in Miami
Shamsudheen Moidunny	Surgery	Understanding the role of microbiota-gut-GABA receptor signaling in development of HIV-associated depression
David Serota	Infectious Diseases	Patent Navigation and integrated harm reduction for patients hospitalized with severe injection-related infections
Candice Sternberg	Infectious Diseases	Telemedicine: Addressing Barriers to HIV Care Among Haitian Americans
Lydia Fein	Obstetrics and Gynecology	HIV Risk in Transgender Women After Gender Affirmation Surgery

2019 Awardees

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Principal Investigator	Department	Project Title
Taghrid Asfar	Public Health Sciences	“Mind2Quit” Developing A Mindfulness Smartphone App for Smoking Cessation for People Living withHIV
Julian Naipauer	Microbiology & Immunology	Studying the contribution ofHIVinfection to Kaposi’s sarcoma in a novel mesenchymal stem cell model ofKSHVsarcomagenesis
Claudia Martinez	Cardiovascular	Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Transgender Women Living withHIV
Suresh Pallikkuth	Microbiology & Immunology	Epigenetic regulation of peripheral T follicular helper cells inHIVand Aging
Sannisha Dale	Psychology	Writing to Alleviate Violence Exposure for Transgender Women Living withHIV(WAVE-TW)
Jose Martinez-Navio	Anatomic Pathology	Induction of immunological tolerance toAAV-delivered antibodies
James Termini	Pathology	Inducing Oral Tolerance toAAV-Delivered Monoclonal Antibodies by Pretreatment with Designer Probiotics Expressing Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines.
Ana Leda	Pediatrics – Infectious Diseases	The impact of antiretroviral drug metabolism by the gut microbiota onHIVreservoir size.
Sebastian Fuchs	Pathology	Strategies for reducing immune responses towardsAAV-antibody delivery.
Lesley de Armas	Microbiology & Immunology	Effect ofJAKInhibitors onHIVLatency Establishment and Maintenance
Stefano Rinaldi	Microbiology & Immunology	HIVperinatal infection and B cell ontogeny: a path to broad neutralizing antibody
Jennifer Manuzak	Infectious Diseases	Impact of microbial dysbiosis on inflammation among young gay and bisexual men
Claudia Martinez	Cardiovascular	Does Feminizing Hormone Therapy Influence the Microbiome and Biomarkers of CVD Risk in Transgender Women Living with HIV?
Stefano Rinaldi	Microbiology & Immunology	Microbiome investigation in HIV Infected (HEI) and HIV exposed uninfected (HEU) for the evaluation of the effect of HIV infection on the gut microbiota and its development
Jingling Meng	Surgery	Opioids Impair Intestinal Epithelial Repair in HIV-Infected Humanized Mice

2018 Awardees

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PI	Department	Project Title
Victoria Orrego Dunleavy	Communicaton Studies	Engaging the capacity of local comadonas in rural Guatemala: A tool forHIVprevention and maternal health.
Stefano Rinaldi	Microbiology & Immunology	Study of accelerated aging inHIVand its effect on memory B cells.
Kathryn Nowotny	Sociology	National Survey of Health Care in U.S. Jails.
Emmanuel Thomas	Microbiology & Immunology	Liver on a Chip to StudyHIVand Coinfection with Viral Hepatitis.
Audrey Harkness	Psychology	Syndemic barriers and facilitators to engagement inHIV-prevention and behavioral health services for LatinoMSMin Miami.

2017 Awardees

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PI	Department	Project Title
Santanu Banerjee	Surgery	Pulmonary-intestinal microbial cross-talk inHIV-induced dysbiosis.
Varan Govind & Suresh Pallikkuth	Radiology/Micro and Immuno	Immune activation in Heavy Alcohol Use andHIVinfection.
Minseon Park	Biochemistry	Exercise-mediated protection against methamphetamine andHIV-induced neurocognitive impairment.
Umakant Sharma	Surgery	Morphine induced gut dysbiosis and systemic inflammation accelerates progression of Kaposi’s sarcoma in the context ofHIVinfection.
Natalia Villegas	School of Nursing	Reducing disparities inHIVprevention through the development of a telenovela for young latina seasonal farmworkers in South Florida.