Intramural AIDS Research Fellowship

The Intramural AIDS Research Fellowship (IARF) program is a collaborative effort of the Office of AIDS Research (OAR), the Office of Intramural Training & Education (OITE), and the Office of Intramural Research (OIR), designed to further cross disciplinary research into HIV and AIDS at the NIH. The aim of the program is to recruit graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from all scientific disciplines to the broad field of AIDS research and to provide a funding opportunity for intramural fellows whose work can be directly related to HIV and AIDS.

The program seeks to promote research within the comprehensive portfolio of basic and clinical AIDS research at the NIH. This includes work in the following fields: epidemiology; etiology and pathogenesis; therapeutics research; vaccines; microbicides; health disparities; implementation sciences, and behavioral and social science research to address HIV infection and its associated coinfections, opportunistic infections, malignancies, and other complications.

Graduate (predoctoral level) students in the NIH Graduate Partnerships Program and postdoctoral trainees in the NIH Intramural Research Program, both U.S. citizens and individuals from abroad, are eligible to apply.

Note that Research and Clinical Fellows and others appointed as FTEs are not eligible.

The IARF is designed to provide funding to the next generation of AIDS researchers as well as recruiting the attention of established investigators in the intramural program. Awardees will be individuals who show outstanding scientific potential through both an imaginative and thoughtful research plan and a well thought out career development plan.

The IARF application opens Monday, April 13th, 2026.
The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026.
The awards will be announced at the beginning of June.

Read all of the information provided below for guidance on addressing each component. Equal emphasis is placed on all the materials submitted.

Provide the following information:

• Project title
• Applicant’s full name and title
• Mentor’s name and title
• Sponsoring IC
• Proposed start date
• The signatures of the proposed mentor and the IC Scientific Director (or designee), indicating their approval of the submission and that the proposal was indeed written by the applicant.

Limit your CV to three pages. Do not submit a document in NIH biosketch format. You should:

• Demonstrate productivity (e.g. posters, publications, travel awards, oral presentations, patents, etc.)
• Show a proactive approach in developing skills towards advancing your career goals
• Demonstrate a commitment to promoting science through mentoring and outreach

Use these resources to craft your CV and follow appropriate formatting guidelines:

• OITE Guide to Resumes and CVs
• Resumes, Curriculum Vitae, & Cover Letters

Limit the research plan to four pages, single-spaced, including references. Make sure that the font size is easy to read (minimum = font size 10). Your plan should:

• Include clear and realistic aims
• Propose an innovative or novel scientific approach
• Demonstrate relevance and significant impact to advance HIV and HIV-related research
• Describe how it can feasibly be accomplished during the one-year fellowship period

May be included as part of the 'Research plan' or as a separate document (no longer than half a page). This section should:

• Explicitly state its relevance to the research project.
• Directly address one or more of the NIH HIV Research Priorities

Limit the career development plan to two pages, double-spaced. Your plan should:

• Clearly state your career goals and your current stage of career exploration
• Discuss in detail your training goals and what will be done during the year of support to move towards those goals. Be specific about the types of activities/workshops/training that will be taken as well as the relationship of these activities to your long-range career plans. Include the skills that you will learn, both at and away from the bench.
• Address gaps in knowledge or scientific/technical skills
• Describes how you will use resources offered by the OITE, your IC, or other groups
• Describe how it is feasible to complete your plan during the one-year fellowship period
• Demonstrates that you are taking necessary steps to develop a productive scientific career

The letter of support must be from the proposed mentor. The letter of support should:

• Discuss the applicant’s career goals and support/encourage participation in appropriate IC and OITE-sponsored training activities
• Show a strong scientific research history to provide expertise on the proposed research project.
• Describe research environment, facilities, and resources available to the applicant to successfully complete the project
• Express a commitment to helping you, the applicant, meet your career goals
• Describe a strong mentorship history of postdocs and/or graduate students
• Demonstrate support to a variety of career paths as evidenced by former mentees career outcomes

Submit a single electronic package containing all documents in one pdf via email to Dr. Gail Seabold at [email protected]. Use “IARF 2026_Last Name, First Name, IC” as the SUBJECT line.

Renewal applications from 2025 fellows will be considered. A complete application, as outlined above, is required for renewal applications. The research plan should summarize any accomplishments or progress made during 2025 and describe the research that will be conducted during the second year of IARF support. No more than two years of funding will be awarded to any individual. Additionally, we expect that the career development plan and CV included in the renewal to be significantly updated as well (not an exact copy of previous years).

When reviewing applications, reviewers place equal emphasis on all materials submitted. Applications that are successful are those where applicants have a well thought-out, innovative, and feasible research plan that shows outstanding scientific potential. You, as an applicant, must demonstrate through the materials submitted commitment to science and careful consideration of the steps needed to advance your career. Equal emphasis is placed on mentor’s history of mentorship and how he/she will contribute to the career and professional development of the applicant.

The number of fellowships awarded varies by year depending on the funding available. However, the program usually awards 11-15 fellowships per year.