CSHP doctoral student, John Ferrand, recently received a grant from Gilead Sciences to fund some of his dissertation work. Gilead Sciences is a "research-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative medicines". The company has a mission "to discover, develop and deliver innovative therapeutics for people with life-threatening diseases".

We asked John to share about his research and his advice for graduate students seeking funding for their research:

What is the topic of your research that you were funded for? The title of your project?

"The topic of the project is HIV prevention, specifically through pre-exposure prophylaxis use. The title of the project is 'Facilitators and Barriers to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Provision and Use in a Midwest College Health Center.'"

Can you talk about the importance of your research?

"Results from this study will be used to describe the implementation context around PrEP provision at IU Student Health Center. The short-term outcome involves identifying areas of the implementation context that are less supportive of PrEP provision that can then be targeted for improvement as well as areas that are more supportive that can be bolstered. The long-term goal is to reduce instances of HIV by more effectively providing PrEP to IU students who would benefit from it."

What advice do you have for other graduate students who are seeking funding/applying for research grants?

"Students seeking funding or applying for grants should focus on having a supportive team/committee assembled before submitting the grant. This team/committee should demonstrate to funders how equipped you are to meet the stated research goals. I also recommend looking outside of traditional funding sources (NIH, CDC) as there are lesser-known funders who may be better fits for the proposed research."