Now through October 31, 2025, the NIH-funded STAR (Stimulating Training and Access to HIV Research Experiences) Grant is accepting innovative and creative solutions through a crowdsourcing open call asking: “How might we work with community organizations to promote HIV prevention services among youth aged 13-24 years old in your community?" 

Please join us for the upcoming Q&A session on Tuesday, October 21, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST. During this session, interested students can ask questions and learn more about the program and the application process.

The STAR Institute is an innovative program that provides experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students through a capacity-building training program as they lead and develop a local research project on HIV in collaboration with a local community group.

If selected to advance from the open call, students will be invited to participate in a three-day Designathon to further refine their idea before pitching to a panel of judges. These judges will then determine who will advance to a six-week hybrid bootcamp (three weeks virtual, two weeks of local community based organizations for in-person engagement, and the final week in St. Louis) with capacity-building courses and training modules focused on crowdsourcing, leadership, implementation science research skills, and grant writing, while continuing to build out their research project with their teams and mentors. 

Each trainee will also receive a $3000 stipend over the course of the bootcamp. At the end of bootcamp, the finalist STAR Scholars will pilot or pitch the plans to pilot their demonstration projects alongside their partner community-based organization, with continued support from faculty mentors. Scholars will also receive ongoing mentorship through a supportive online learning community comprised of STAR program leads, mentors, and experts as they become the next generation of leaders in HIV research.

STAR was developed in partnership with leaders at WashU Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northeastern University, and Georgia State University to address the significant research-to-practice gap for HIV/AIDS by creating a path for the next generation of implementation researchers. This program enhances the learning and training of undergraduate and graduate students at partnering institutions by creating an opportunity to participate in experiential learning to develop and refine implementation science skills before graduation and their entrance to the field as implementation scientists.

Through the program, participants gain experience in HIV prevention research, learn how to design and lead HIV prevention strategies, and participate in evaluations of HIV prevention implementation efforts currently underway within their own communities. Individuals who are selected to participate in this training will have the privilege of receiving guidance and mentorship from leading HIV and implementation science experts and community advocates and create lifelong relationships with others committed to the work of HIV prevention using implementation science approaches.  

STAR is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under grant R25AI170379.

Please contact Dr. David Oladele, STAR Coordinator at d.oladele@wustl.edu.