Developmental Core

The Einstein-Rockefeller-CUNY CFAR (ERC-CFAR) Developmental Core provides wide-ranging services to nurture and advance the research careers of early stage investigators (ESIs) engaged in HIV/AIDS-related research at Einstein, Rockefeller and CUNY by providing the following services:

  1. Mentoring: Our grantsmanship mentoring utilizes is a multi-pronged strategy, which combines mentoring plans individually tailored for each ESI and multiple general and specialized forums for ESIs to present their HIV/AIDS-related research progress to other ERC-CFAR investigators to garner their feedback, and to initiate new collaborations.
  2. Catalytic Pilot Grants: We support selected HIV/AIDS ESIs with ERC-CFAR catalytic pilot grants, microgrant programs and NIH CFAR administrative supplements. Catalytic pilot grants applications are solicited by biannual RFAs sent to the ERC-CFAR membership specifying high priority HIV/AIDS topics of interest. The applications are peer-reviewed in a process coordinated by the Developmental Core Mentoring Committee (DCMC). Applications selected by the DCMC are provided with up to $75,000 of funding for a 1 year project. ERC-CFAR awarded catalytic and micro grants are listed here and awarded NIH CFAR Program Supplemental grants are listed here.
  3. Microgrants: We also support selected HIV/AIDS ESIs with funding from microgrants ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 to support short-term needs such as the requirement to generate data required for submission of a major grant or completion of a major publication. These can be submitted any time and are rapidly reviewed by the DCMC.
  4. Promoting trans- and intra-institutional collaborations
    1. We actively recruit established investigators engaged in non-HIV/AIDS research to apply their unique skills and methodologies to HIV/AIDS-related research by seminar invitations and by providing access to funding by ERC-CFAR catalytic pilot grants, microgrant programs and NIH CFAR administrative supplements.
    2. We organize biannual K-clubs attended by Einstein, Rockefeller, and CUNY HIV/AIDS ESIs that include presentations by successful ESIs and by the ERC-CFAR Developmental and Operational Core leaders informing them about all available ERC-CFAR core services that can assist ESIs in their research projects and planned grant submissions
    3. We organize biannual New York City-wide research symposia attended by NYC HIV/AIDS investigators where researchers from major NYC research institutions such as Rockefeller, Mount Sinai, Columbia, NYU and Weill-Cornell present their HIV/AIDS cutting edge research. Information about previous symposia can be accessed here.
  5. Enhancing scientific communication among the investigators of ERC-CFAR
    1. We administer a CME-accredited biweekly Trans-institutional ERC-CFAR research seminar series where Einstein, Rockefeller and CUNY investigators present their HIV/AIDS-related research. A list of the scheduled speakers is listed here.
    2. We coordinate a ERC-CFAR Invited Speaker Seminar series.
    3. We organize a monthly Virus Hub meeting (in coordination with Einstein’s HIV/AIDS T32 Institutional training grant-PI: Dr. V. Prasad and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology) bringing together ERC-CFAR investigators who are virologists, including 9 faculty members that focus their research on HIV, HSV or HCV, to provide a forum to update ERC-CFAR investigators about their cutting edge virological research.
  6. Publications by Investigators supported by the Developmental Core
    1. 2021 publications from research supported by the ERC-CFAR catalytic pilot grants, microgrants and NIH CFAR administrative supplements Core mentoring are listed here.

For further information or to access the Developmental Core services, please contact Drs. Prasad (Einstein), Arnsten (Einstein), Hatziioannou (Rockefeller) or Grov (CUNY).