R24MH134305
Project Grant
Overview
Grant Description
The Sociostructural Implementation Science Coordination Initiative - we have the biomedical tools necessary to prevent HIV and improve the health of people living with HIV, yet achievement of the Ending the HIV Epidemic goals requires sociostructural interventions that address social determinants of health that contribute to inequities.
Evidence-based sociostructural interventions exist that have a direct impact on PrEP, care-related, and viral suppression outcomes, yet they have been much less studied than individual-level interventions and their implementation poses unique methodological and institutional challenges.
Determining how sociostructural interventions can reduce health inequities, including implications for implementation and sustainment, is an urgent public health research priority.
The Sociostructural Implementation Science Coordination Initiative (SISCI) Hub will bring the best of Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) science to collaborate with the companion R01s to coordinate data harmonization, foster opportunities for cross-site learning, and coordinate research, capacity building, and dissemination efforts.
We will grow the capacity of both researchers and implementers to apply D&I models and methods for developing, testing, and implementing sociostructural interventions. SISCI investigators and consultative team are nationally recognized experts in HIV D&I science and have a strong record of coordinating HIV D&I projects and providing tools and training to the field.
The SISCI aims to:
(1) Assist the companion R01s through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and expert consultation on D&I science and social determinants of health models and methods. We will coordinate in person and virtual communications between companion R01s and provide tailored methodological support to the projects based on collective needs and opportunities.
(2) Integrate implementation and effectiveness data across R01 studies to collect cross-project data and perform integrated analyses. Using shared decision making, we will identify common data elements (CDEs) for collections across projects and plan for integrated analyses. We will deploy data coordination infrastructure to collect cross-project data and perform integrated analyses—whenever possible obtaining administrative data to allow new generalizable knowledge beyond what individual projects have studied. We will disseminate findings on implementation determinants and strategies using our popular HIV Implementation Science website and newsletter, conference presentations, and a special journal issue of companion R01 and other sociostructural project findings.
(3) Advance the field of sociostructural interventions to reduce HIV disparities by developing and offering a combined D&I science and sociostructural training tailored to early career investigators and implementation partners. We will further grow the capacity of the field by conducting a scoping review to build a compendium of promising and proven implementation strategies for sociostructural interventions. We will support the dissemination of implementation strategies identified in the companion R01 projects by creation and dissemination of training materials and policy briefs.
Evidence-based sociostructural interventions exist that have a direct impact on PrEP, care-related, and viral suppression outcomes, yet they have been much less studied than individual-level interventions and their implementation poses unique methodological and institutional challenges.
Determining how sociostructural interventions can reduce health inequities, including implications for implementation and sustainment, is an urgent public health research priority.
The Sociostructural Implementation Science Coordination Initiative (SISCI) Hub will bring the best of Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) science to collaborate with the companion R01s to coordinate data harmonization, foster opportunities for cross-site learning, and coordinate research, capacity building, and dissemination efforts.
We will grow the capacity of both researchers and implementers to apply D&I models and methods for developing, testing, and implementing sociostructural interventions. SISCI investigators and consultative team are nationally recognized experts in HIV D&I science and have a strong record of coordinating HIV D&I projects and providing tools and training to the field.
The SISCI aims to:
(1) Assist the companion R01s through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and expert consultation on D&I science and social determinants of health models and methods. We will coordinate in person and virtual communications between companion R01s and provide tailored methodological support to the projects based on collective needs and opportunities.
(2) Integrate implementation and effectiveness data across R01 studies to collect cross-project data and perform integrated analyses. Using shared decision making, we will identify common data elements (CDEs) for collections across projects and plan for integrated analyses. We will deploy data coordination infrastructure to collect cross-project data and perform integrated analyses—whenever possible obtaining administrative data to allow new generalizable knowledge beyond what individual projects have studied. We will disseminate findings on implementation determinants and strategies using our popular HIV Implementation Science website and newsletter, conference presentations, and a special journal issue of companion R01 and other sociostructural project findings.
(3) Advance the field of sociostructural interventions to reduce HIV disparities by developing and offering a combined D&I science and sociostructural training tailored to early career investigators and implementation partners. We will further grow the capacity of the field by conducting a scoping review to build a compendium of promising and proven implementation strategies for sociostructural interventions. We will support the dissemination of implementation strategies identified in the companion R01 projects by creation and dissemination of training materials and policy briefs.
Awardee
Funding Goals
THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH) IS TO TRANSFORM THE UNDERSTANDING AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESSES THROUGH BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, PAVING THE WAY FOR PREVENTION, RECOVERY, AND CURE. IN MAY 2020, NIMH RELEASED ITS NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR RESEARCH. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN BUILDS ON THE SUCCESSES OF PREVIOUS NIMH STRATEGIC PLANS BY PROVIDING A FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION, AND ADDRESSING NEW CHALLENGES IN MENTAL HEALTH. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN OUTLINES FOUR HIGH-LEVEL GOALS: GOAL 1: DEFINE THE BRAIN MECHANISMS UNDERLYING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS GOAL 2: EXAMINE MENTAL ILLNESS TRAJECTORIES ACROSS THE LIFESPAN GOAL 3: STRIVE FOR PREVENTION AND CURES GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT OF NIMH-SUPPORTED RESEARCH THESE FOUR GOALS FORM A BROAD ROADMAP FOR THE INSTITUTE'S RESEARCH PRIORITIES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, BEGINNING WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, AND EXTENDING THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES THAT IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES. THE INSTITUTE'S OVERALL FUNDING STRATEGY IS TO SUPPORT A BROAD SPECTRUM OF INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED RESEARCH IN FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE, WITH INCREASING USE OF INSTITUTE-SOLICITED INITIATIVES FOR APPLIED RESEARCH WHERE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT IS A SHORT-TERM MEASURE OF SUCCESS. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN ALSO ADDRESSES A NUMBER OF CROSS-CUTTING THEMES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO ALL RESEARCH SUPPORTED BY NIMH, THESE THEMES HIGHLIGHT AREAS WHERE NIMH-FUNDED SCIENCE MAY HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT, BRIDGE GAPS, AND OFFER NOVEL APPROACHES TO ACCELERATE ADVANCES IN MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH. FOR EXAMPLE, NIMH VALUES A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH AGENDA THAT TAKES AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH THAT ENSURES RESEARCH INTERESTS ARE VARIED, MAINTAIN DIVERSE PARTICIPATION AND PARTNERSHIPS, AND ACHIEVE RESEARCH GOALS ACROSS MULTIPLE TIMEFRAMES. THIS INCLUDES DIVERSE METHODOLOGIES, TOOLS, AND MODELS, RESEARCH ADDRESSING COMPLEX BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, AND APPLIED QUESTIONS, RESEARCH INCLUDING BOTH SEXES AND, AS APPROPRIATE, GENETIC BACKGROUND, AND, PARTICIPANTS FROM DIVERSE RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS, AND ACROSS GENDER IDENTITIES, GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, NEUROTYPE, AND AGE OFFERING THE BEST POSSIBLE REPRESENTATION, FOR THE BROADEST NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY ULTIMATELY BENEFIT FROM THESE SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES. TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS OUTLINED IN THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, NIMH WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT AIMS: TO CHARACTERIZE THE GENOMIC, MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND CIRCUIT COMPONENTS CONTRIBUTING TO BRAIN ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION, TO IDENTIFY THE DEVELOPMENTAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND REGULATORY MECHANISMS RELEVANT TO COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, AND SOCIAL DOMAINS, ACROSS UNITS OF ANALYSIS, AND, TO GENERATE AND VALIDATE NOVEL TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, AND MEASURES TO QUANTIFY CHANGES IN THE ACTIVITY OF MOLECULES, CELLS, CIRCUITS, AND CONNECTOMES. TO DISCOVER GENE VARIANTS AND OTHER GENOMIC ELEMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESSES IN DIVERSE POPULATIONS, TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEX ETIOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESSES USING MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGIC APPROACHES THAT INCORPORATE INDIVIDUAL GENETIC INFORMATION IN LARGE COHORTS, TO ELUCIDATE HOW HUMAN GENETIC VARIATION AFFECTS THE COORDINATION OF MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL NETWORKS SUPPORTING HIGHER-ORDER FUNCTIONS AND EMERGENT PROPERTIES OF NEUROBIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, AND, TO DEVELOP NOVEL TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF LARGE-SCALE GENETIC, MULTI-OMIC DATA AS IT APPLIES TO MENTAL HEALTH. TO UTILIZE CONNECTOMIC APPROACHES TO IDENTIFY BRAIN NETWORKS AND CIRCUIT COMPONENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO VARIOUS ASPECTS OF MENTAL FUNCTION AND DYSFUNCTION, TO DETERMINE THROUGH BRAIN-WIDE ANALYSIS HOW CHANGES IN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF MOLECULES, CELLS, AND CIRCUITS CONTRIBUTE TO MENTAL ILLNESSES, TO DEVELOP MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND CIRCUIT-LEVEL BIOMARKERS OF IMPAIRED NEURAL FUNCTION IN HUMANS, AND, TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING NEW IMAGING, COMPUTATIONAL, PHARMACOLOGICAL, AND GENETIC TOOLS TO INTERROGATE AND MODULATE CIRCUIT ACTIVITY AND STRUCTURE ALTERED IN MENTAL ILLNESSES. TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTING TO THE TRAJECTORIES OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR, AND, TO CHARACTERIZE THE EMERGENCE AND PROGRESSION OF MENTAL ILLNESSES, AND IDENTIFYING SENSITIVE PERIODS FOR OPTIMAL INTERVENTION. TO DETERMINE EARLY RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS, AND RELATED MECHANISMS, TO SERVE AS NOVEL INTERVENTION GROUPS, AND, TO DEVELOP RELIABLE AND ROBUST BIOMARKERS AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS TO PREDICT ILLNESS ONSET, COURSE, AND ACROSS DIVERSE POPULATIONS. TO DEVELOP NOVEL INTERVENTIONS USING A MECHANISM-INFORMED, EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS APPROACH, AND, TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT MEASUREMENT STRATEGIES TO FACILITATE MECHANISM-BASED INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING. TO INVESTIGATE PERSONALIZED INTERVENTION STRATEGIES ACROSS DISEASE PROGRESSION AND DEVELOPMENT, AND, TO DEVELOP AND REFINE COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES AND RESEARCH DESIGNS THAT CAN BE USED TO INFORM AND TEST PERSONALIZED INTERVENTIONS. TO DEVELOP AND TEST APPROACHES FOR ADAPTING, COMBINING, AND SEQUENCING INTERVENTIONS TO ACHIEVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON THE LIVES AND FUNCTIONING OF PERSONS SEEKING CARE, TO CONDUCT EFFICIENT PRAGMATIC TRIALS THAT EMPLOY NEW TOOLS TO RAPIDLY IDENTIFY, ENGAGE, ASSESS, AND FOLLOW PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONTEXT OF ROUTINE CARE, AND, TO ENHANCE THE PRACTICAL RELEVANCE OF EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH VIA DEPLOYMENT-FOCUSED, HYBRID, EFFECTIVENESS-IMPLEMENTATION STUDIES. TO EMPLOY ASSESSMENT PLATFORMS WITHIN HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS TO ACCURATELY ASSESS THE DISTRIBUTION AND DETERMINANTS OF MENTAL ILLNESSES AND TO INFORM STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVED SERVICES, TO OPTIMIZE REAL-WORLD DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS TO IDENTIFY STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING ACCESS, QUALITY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND CONTINUITY OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, AND, TO COMPARE ALTERNATIVE FINANCING MODELS TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES AND SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES. TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING, SUSTAINING, AND CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES, TO BUILD MODELS TO SCALE-UP EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR USE IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRIMARY CARE, SPECIALTY CARE AND OTHER SETTINGS, AND, TO DEVELOP DECISION-SUPPORT TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRIMARY CARE, SPECIALTY CARE, AND OTHER SETTINGS. TO ADAPT, VALIDATE, AND SCALE-UP PROGRAMS CURRENTLY IN USE THAT IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS THAT PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF MENTAL ILLNESS, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE SYSTEMS-LEVEL STRATEGIES USING TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER APPROACHES, TO IDENTIFY, SUPPORT, AND MONITOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EVIDENCE-BASED CARE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF ILLNESS, AND, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE DECISION-MAKING MODELS THAT BRIDGE MENTAL HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND OTHER CARE SETTINGS TO INTEGRATE THE APPROPRIATE CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES AND COMORBID MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Chicago,
Illinois
606113110
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Related Opportunity
Analysis Notes
Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 427% from $600,000 to $3,159,979.
Northwestern University was awarded
SISCI: Sociostructural HIV Interventions Coordination
Project Grant R24MH134305
worth $3,159,979
from the National Institute of Mental Health in September 2023 with work to be completed primarily in Chicago Illinois United States.
The grant
has a duration of 4 years 8 months and
was awarded through assistance program 93.242 Mental Health Research Grants.
The Project Grant was awarded through grant opportunity Expanding Collaborative Implementation Science to Address Social and Structural Determinants of Health and Improve HIV Outcomes (R24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 9/24/25
Period of Performance
9/1/23
Start Date
5/31/28
End Date
Funding Split
$3.2M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$3.2M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Transaction History
Modifications to R24MH134305
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
R24MH134305
SAI Number
R24MH134305-541395433
Award ID URI
SAI UNAVAILABLE
Awardee Classifications
Private Institution Of Higher Education
Awarding Office
75N700 NIH National Institute of Mental Health
Funding Office
75N700 NIH National Institute of Mental Health
Awardee UEI
KG76WYENL5K1
Awardee CAGE
01725
Performance District
IL-05
Senators
Richard Durbin
Tammy Duckworth
Tammy Duckworth
Budget Funding
Federal Account | Budget Subfunction | Object Class | Total | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0885) | Health research and training | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $600,000 | 50% |
National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0892) | Health research and training | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $300,932 | 25% |
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0893) | Health research and training | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $300,000 | 25% |
Modified: 9/24/25