# Fostering diversity in the next generation of HIV researchers to improve the HIV continuum of care

> **NIH NIH R25** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $269,152

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY. Significance. Great progress has been made toward the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals
worldwide, and novel methods for HIV prevention are beginning to decrease the size of the epidemic.
However, much work on the HIV continuum of care remains. Racial and ethnic diversity among HIV
researchers will be critical in developing new approaches to address the “10-10-10” gap that currently eludes
the best behavioral science conducted to date. Yet, funding rates for underrepresented in medicine/public
health (URM) researchers are well below those of white researchers (~15% versus 25%) and only 6% of K
career development award applicants have been URM trainees. Approach. In Aim 1, the proposed Fostering
Diversity in HIV Research Program will follow Social Cognitive Career Theory and the Mentoring Across
Difference framework to train mentors in key skills to successfully support URM trainees. Workshops will be
held annually with additional quarterly sessions. In Aim 2, the program will provide structured research
mentorship exclusively to URM trainees to address the HIV continuum of care. Trainees will be identified
through residency and post-doctoral fellowship programs at Massachusetts General Hospital (Departments of
Medicine, Infectious Disease, Psychiatry, Obstetrics/Gynecology) and master’s degree and PhD programs at
the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (Departments of Behavioral and Social Science, Global Health
and Population, Epidemiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases); recruitment will also involve active
outreach efforts. Trainees will receive formal didactics on the HIV continuum of care and career development,
focusing on issues particularly relevant for URM trainees (e.g., implicit bias). Mentors will support URM
trainees in gaining knowledge about behavioral HIV research, as well as provide the hands-on technical and
professional skills needed to develop successful research careers. All activities will be tailored to the needs of
URMs and each individual’s stage of training. Research will address the following areas of the HIV continuum
of care both domestically and globally: PrEP delivery and adherence; HIV testing and outreach; linkage,
retention in care, and ART adherence; chronic care and complications of treated HIV; maternal health and
perinatal transmission. Primary outcomes of the program will be HIV research mentors with the necessary
mentoring competencies to successfully support URM trainees, as well as high quality, satisfying, and
impactful mentorship of URM trainees who achieve core research competencies. Other outcomes include
trainee scholarship (i.e., manuscripts and grants), progression of trainees through the academic research
pipeline, and fidelity of program implementation. Innovation. The Fostering Diversity in HIV Research Program
is innovative in its 1) targeted training of mentors to effective support URM trainees, 2) focus on the transition
periods when many trainees leave academic research, 3) ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10879131
- **Project number:** 5R25MH119857-05
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jessica Elizabeth Haberer
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $269,152
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-08-05 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10879131

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10879131, Fostering diversity in the next generation of HIV researchers to improve the HIV continuum of care (5R25MH119857-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10879131. Licensed CC0.

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