Behavioral and Social Sciences Project Team History

NIAID and NIMH have a long history of working together to promote the integration of behavioral and biomedical HIV research. Early efforts began in 2009 with a workshop sponsored by the Division of AIDS (DAIDS), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH, entitled "Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS) in HIV Vaccine Clinical Research."

To further extend and advance this early effort, the BSS Project Team (BSSPT) was formed to enhance the integration of BSS into biomedical HIV clinical research, including clinical trials of HIV vaccines, non-vaccine prevention, therapeutics, and cure research. BSSPT members come from the NIAID DAIDS Office of the Director, Vaccine Research Program, Prevention Sciences Program, Therapeutic Research Program, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Division of AIDS Research (DAR).

A series of joint workshops and consultations followed in 2011, 2012 and 2014, culminating in a document entitled “Behavioral and Social Sciences in HIV Prevention Clinical Trials: Points to Consider in Designing and Undertaking Research.” This document provides an extensive review of best practices, experiences, and expert advice on addressing the behavioral and social factors that impact HIV biomedical clinical trials in the advancement of new biomedical prevention technologies.

More recently, the BSSPT has hosted meetings and a webinar series focused on HIV behavioral and social research.

Content last reviewed on