NIH NOSI: Research Opportunities Centering the Health of Women Across the HIV Research Continuum

Notice Number: NOT-OD-24-119

Deadline: January 7, 2026

Purpose

The NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) and Office of AIDS Research (OAR), in partnership with our Institute, Center, and Office (ICO) partners are issuing this Notice to highlight interest in receiving HIV research and training grant applications that explicitly and intersectionally center the health needs of cisgender women and girls, and gender-diverse people.

Despite tremendous scientific advances that have translated to substantial progress in confronting the HIV epidemic, women – and particularly women of color, young women and girls, and transgender women – and gender-diverse individuals remain disproportionately affected by HIV. An intersectional, equity-informed, data-driven approach is essential to advance HIV research and clinical care for all women with or impacted by HIV across their lifespan and to end the HIV pandemic (Barr et al, 2024.

Background

According to UNAIDS, women and girls accounted for more than half (53%; 20.7 million) of the 39 million people with HIV and 46% of new acquisitions in 2022 with approximately 4,000 adolescent girls and women (AGYW) aged 15-24 years acquiring HIV on a weekly basis. Worldwide HIV prevalence among transgender women is approximately 20% and transgender women experience a 14-fold higher chance of acquiring HIV (Stutterheim 2021. Although 81% of the 1.3 million pregnant women with HIV receive antiretroviral therapy to prevent perinatal transmission, breast/chest-feeding is complicated by HIV status. The WHO estimates 1.22% of maternal deaths world-wide are HIV-related and pregnancy in women with HIV is complicated by an increased association with comorbidities resulting in a 2-10-fold increased chance of mortality (Calvert et al, 2013Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2017: estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division

In the United States and dependent areas, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-24-119.html)indicate that over 250,000 women were living with HIV and more than 5,000 women newly acquired HIV in 2020. Black and African American women accounted for 54% of new diagnoses among females despite only comprising 13% of the female population. An estimated 44% of Black and African American transgender women and 26% of Latinx transgender women in the U.S. are living with HIV (Becasen et al., 2019UNAIDS, 2022. New HIV acquisitions were highest among women aged 25 to 34 years. Approximately 54% of women with HIV in the US are over the age of 50 and CDC analyses report that HIV acquisition among women 55 and older increased 7% from 2015-2019 further demonstrating that women with HIV are aging, and aging women remain vulnerable to HIV.

Insufficient consideration of sex, gender, and their intersections in health as well as limited inclusion of women and gender diverse people in health research reduces the availability and accessibility of safe and effective HIV prevention, treatment, and cure modalities (Curno et al., 2016Pepperrell et al, 2020NASEM, 2022. Prioritizing the inclusion of diverse populations of women in prevention, therapeutic, and cure-related research is an essential component of ending the HIV epidemic.

Informed by responses received to a Request for Information (NIH Request for Information (RFI) on Research Opportunities Related to HIV and Women’s Health (NOT-OD-24-011 and analyses of the NIH HIV research portfolio, this Notice of Special Interest highlights key opportunities of high interest at the intersection of HIV and women’s health.

Institute and Center-specific areas of high interest for this NOSI can be found on the announcement webpage