Open Funding Opportunities

The purpose of this HEAL Initiative program is to: (1) support basic and mechanistic pain research from R15-eligible undergraduate-focused serving institutions, health professional schools or graduate schools; (2) promote integrated, interdisciplinary research partnerships between Principal Investigators (PIs) from R15-eligible institutions and investigators from U.S. domestic institutions; and (3) enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution for health professional students, undergraduate and/or graduate students through active engagement in pain research.

Applications in response to this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) should include plans to accomplish these goals. Specifically, applications should include a rigorous plan for conducting basic and mechanistic pain research in the Research Strategy section of the application. In addition, a research partnership between the PI’s institution and at least one investigator from a separate U.S. domestic institution that provides resources and/or expertise that will enhance the proposed pain research program must be included in a separate Team Management Plan. The proposed partnership will be a sub-award agreement(s) with at least one partnering institution, which does not need to be R15-eligible. The budget of all sub-awards must not exceed one third of the total budget. Furthermore, applications must include a Facilities & Other Resources document that demonstrates active involvement of health professional students, undergraduate and/or graduate students from the R15-eligible institution(s) in the proposed pain research projects.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP).

The purpose of this NOFO is to solicit UG3/UH3 phased cooperative agreement research applications to conduct efficient, large-scale pragmatic clinical trials and/or implementation science demonstration projects within the infrastructure of the NIH-DOD-VA Pain Management Collaboratory (PMC) on nonopioid approaches to management of pain and other comorbid conditions, including complementary and integrative approaches used alone and in combination with standard care (e.g., mindfulness meditation combined with standard pharmaceutical treatment), and improving prevention and treatment for opioid misuse and addiction in U.S. Veterans, military personnel, and their families. Supporting the trials, the PMC has established a coordinating center that provides national leadership and technical expertise for all aspects of health care system (HCS)-focused research including assistance to UG3/UH3 grant recipients.

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to solicit cooperative agreement applications from interdisciplinary teams to enhance longitudinal data collection and analysis with existing large scale chronic low back pain (cLBP) cohort studies.

This Notice of Fuding Opportunity (NOFO) requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP).

As part of the NIH's Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and other participating NIH Institutes and Centers invite applications for the HEAL KIDS Chronic Pain Collaborating Research Teams (HEAL KIDS CPT) Program to conduct interdisciplinary team-based research projects that combine clinical research, novel/cutting-edge technologies, and measurement science, which will improve our understanding of primary and secondary chronic pain conditions in children and adolescents. The results are expected to enhance and expand our capacity to pursue challenging biological problems, therapeutics development, and effective management of pediatric pain conditions.

The HEAL KIDS CPT projects are expected to address a significant scientific challenge in the biopsychosocial model of pain that requires collaboration, synergy, knowledge integration and team interactions. Teams are encouraged to consider transformative objectives and design projects that would lead to new, innovative, and improved strategies to enhance understanding of chronic pain mechanisms at the individual level. Research may include testing of powerful tools, models, and approaches to accelerate the development and translation of pain condition-specific, age-appropriate therapeutics, and next-generation clinical management of pain.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) complements the previously issued NOFO (RFA-HD-24-011) and NOFO (RFA-HD-24-012) focused on clinical trials of acute pain in infants, children, and adolescents and the establishment of a HEAL KIDS Resource Center, respectively.

This Notice of Fuding Opportunity (NOFO) requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP).

The purpose of this NIH HEAL Initiative PainCare Clinician Training Program (PCTP): Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Awards (K08 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed) is to support the career development of individuals with clinical doctoral degrees to create a group of new and well-trained, independent investigators. This supervised career development program will provide independent NIH research support during the early-career phase to help recipients establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative’s Clinical Research in Pain Management program.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. Under this NOFO applicants are permitted to propose a research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. Those proposing a clinical trial or an ancillary clinical trial as lead investigator should apply to the companion NOFO.

This Parent Announcement is for basic science experimental studies involving humans, referred to in NOT-OD-18-212 as “prospective basic science studies involving human participants.” These studies fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research. Types of studies that should be submitted under this NOFO include studies that prospectively assign human participants to conditions (i.e., experimentally manipulate independent variables) and that assess biomedical or behavioral outcomes in humans for the purpose of understanding the fundamental aspects of phenomena without specific application towards processes or products in mind. Applicants not planning an independent clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans led by another investigator, must apply to the 'Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed' companion NOFO.

The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions.

The purpose of this NIH HEAL Initiative PainCare Clinician Training Program (PCTP): Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Awards (K08) (Clinical Trials Required) is to support the career development of individuals with clinical doctoral degrees to create a group of new and well-trained, independent investigators. This supervised career development program will provide independent NIH research support during the early-career phase to help recipients establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative’s Clinical Research in Pain Management program.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for applicants proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary study to an existing trial, as part of their research and career development. Applicants not planning an independent clinical trial, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial led by another investigator, must apply to a companion NOFO.

The purpose of the NIH HEAL Initiative PainCare Clinician Training Program (PCTP): Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development award (K23) (Clinical Trial Required) is to support the career development of individuals with clinical doctoral degrees to create a group of new and well-trained, independent investigators. This supervised career development program will provide independent NIH research support during the early-career phase to help recipients establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative’s Clinical Research in Pain Management program.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for applicants proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary study to an existing trial, as part of their research and career development. Applicants not planning an independent clinical trial, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial led by another investigator, must apply to the companion NOFO.

The purpose of this NIH HEAL Initiative PainCare Clinician Training Program (PCTP): Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Awards (K08) (BESH) is to support the career development of individuals with clinical doctoral degrees to create a group of new and well-trained, independent investigators. This supervised career development program will provide independent NIH research support during the early-career phase to help awardees establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative’s Clinical Research in Pain Management program.

This Parent Announcement is for basic science experimental studies involving humans, referred to in NOT-OD-18-212 as “prospective basic science studies involving human participants.” These studies fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research. Types of studies that should be submitted under this NOFO include studies that prospectively assign human participants to conditions (i.e., experimentally manipulate independent variables) and that assess biomedical or behavioral outcomes in humans for the purpose of understanding the fundamental aspects of phenomena without specific application towards processes or products in mind. Applicants not planning an independent clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans led by another investigator, must apply to the 'Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed' companion NOFO.

The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for applicants proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary study to an existing trial, as part of their research and career development. Applicants not planning an independent clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial basic experimental study with humans led by another investigator, must apply to the Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed companion NOFO.

This NOFO is intended to embed the coordinated care model under study into the health care delivery system of applicant institutions. Coordinated pain care approaches proposed for study are expected to include interventions from multiple disciplines as described below and should aim to improve pain management based on the biopsychosocial model of pain. Emphasis should be on reaching populations of patients with greatest need.

Models of coordinated care proposed by the study team should be aligned with health care resources of the participating HCS and should be informed through engagement of stakeholders including patients, providers, healthcare system executives, policymakers, and payors. The study teams are expected to include health care providers from multiple disciplines and implementation scientists.

The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to solicit applications for pilot projects to identify new druggable targets for pain within the understudied druggable proteome. Awards will support generation of preliminary data and/or tools around eligible understudied protein(s) listed in this NOFO. This NOFO is intended to jumpstart research on understudied proteins within the context of pain and pain management and provide applicants with sufficient funding to perform basic biochemical and/or biological work to further the characterization of understudied proteins to identify new druggable targets for pain. This NOFO is part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term ® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative ® , to accelerate the development of novel medications to treat all aspects of the opioid addiction cycle, including progression to chronic use, withdrawal symptoms, craving, relapse, and overdose.

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) aims to encourage research grant applications for initial translational efforts that will enable a drug discovery program for novel, non-opioid, and non-addictive treatments for pain. The program provides funding to develop and validate assays to support a distinct testing funnel and conduct screening efforts to identify and characterize potential therapeutic agents including small molecules, biologics, and natural products. Preliminary in vivo pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and efficacy studies may also be supported. The goal of this NOFO is to advance projects to the point where they meet the entry criteria for the Pain Therapeutics Development Program or other later-stage translational programs.

The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to support preclinical optimization and development of safe, effective, and non-addictive small molecule and biologic therapeutics to treat pain. The goal of the program is to accelerate the optimization and development of promising early therapeutic molecules and to facilitate readiness for the Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) or other Phase II clinical studies.

Despite an evidence base of effective programs to prevent the initiation of substance use, misuse and disorder, a substantial research to practice gap exists. The goal of this initiative is to support projects that fill this research to practice gap, improving public health and responding to the opioid crisis by increasing knowledge pertaining to the delivery of prevention services. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) solicits applications to address understudied areas of opportunity that, if researched, could create the foundation needed to inform a prevention infrastructure for ongoing delivery and sustainment of interventions to prevent opioid and other substance misuse and use disorders. This NOFO invites projects for which preliminary or feasibility data is not available. This NOFO is a companion to RFA-DA-24-067 which solicits applications for which pilot data is available.

Despite an evidence base of effective programs to prevent the initiation of substance use, misuse and disorder, a substantial research to practice gap exists. The goal of this initiative is to support projects that fill this research to practice gap, improving public health and responding to the opioid crisis by increasing knowledge pertaining to the delivery of prevention services. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) solicits applications to address understudied areas of opportunity that, if researched, could create the foundation needed to inform a prevention infrastructure for ongoing delivery and sustainment of interventions to prevent opioid and other substance misuse and use disorders. This NOFO invites projects for which preliminary or feasibility data is available. This NOFO is a companion to RFA-DA-24-066 which solicits applications for which pilot data is unavailable.

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) seeks to support research aimed at holistic understanding of inter-individual or between-person differences in human pain conditions, focusing on ‘Whole Person Health’ and enhancing pain treatment and management strategies towards personalized pain medicine. The goal of this NOFO is to support studies that focus on the collection of clinical and/or preclinical data to enable evidence-based modeling and understanding of inter-individual differences and/or heterogeneity of pain occurring with use of pain therapy/management, or with conditions such as a second pain condition, a comorbid health condition, a comorbid mental health condition, or conditions of use / misuse of opioids, alcohol or other substances.

Through targeted research efforts, the NIH HEAL Initiative aims to support the development of safe and effective devices to treat pain with little or no addiction liability. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is designed to support interdisciplinary research teams of multiple PDs/PIs to investigate the mechanisms of action of pain relief using FDA-approved or -cleared medical devices with the overall goal of optimizing therapeutic outcomes for these technologies. Program teams are expected to accomplish goals that require considerable synergy and collaborative interactions. Teams must leverage appropriate multi-disciplinary expertise to develop new principles and methods for experimentation, analysis, and interpretation. Project goals should not be achievable with a collection of individual efforts or projects. Teams are encouraged to consider objectives that will produce major advances in the understanding of pain relief by medical devices that are likely to improve strategies for pain management.

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to facilitate the transition of previously funded SBIR and STTR Phase II and Phase IIB projects in pain management to the commercialization stage by providing additional assistance for private partnering activities through the Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) program. Specifically, this NOFO supports the addition of entrepreneurial expertise into small business leadership teams along with supporting partnering activities to aid in commercialization through private third-party funding or partnership with industry.

Clinical trials are not accepted under this NOFO.

The purpose of this NIH HEAL Initiative® Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to support a cohort of new and well-trained, independent investigators from diverse backgrounds (e.g. see NOT-OD-20-031, Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity) conducting Pain and/or SUD research, in order to promote a diverse pool of available independent investigators working in research areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of eligible postdoctoral researchers from their mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. The program will provide independent NIH research support during this transition to help awardees establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity is for basic science experimental studies involving humans, referred to in NOT-OD-18-212 as “prospective basic science studies involving human participants.” These studies fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research. Types of studies that should be submitted under this NOFO include studies that prospectively assign human participants to conditions (i.e., experimentally manipulate independent variables) and that assess biomedical or behavioral outcomes in humans for the purpose of understanding the fundamental aspects of phenomena without specific application towards processes or products in mind. Applicants not planning an independent clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans led by another investigator, must apply to the 'Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed' companion NOFO.

The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions.

The purpose of the NIH HEAL Initiative® Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to support a cohort of new and well-trained independent investigators conducting Pain and/or SUD research, in order to increase the independent investigator workforce in research areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of eligible postdoctoral researchers from their mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. The program will provide independent NIH research support during this transition to help awardees establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for candidates proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, an ancillary study to a clinical trial, or an independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH). Applicants to this NOFO are permitted to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. Those proposing an independent BESH as lead investigator, should apply to the companion NOFO (RFA-NS-22-023).

The purpose of this NIH HEAL Initiative® Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to support a cohort of new and well-trained, independent investigators from diverse backgrounds (e.g. see NOT-OD-20-031, Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity) conducting Pain and/or SUD research, in order to promote a diverse pool of available independent investigators working in research areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of eligible postdoctoral researchers from their mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. The program will provide independent NIH research support during this transition to help awardees establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is designed specifically for candidates proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, an ancillary study to a clinical trial, or an independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH). Applicants to this FOA are permitted to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. Those proposing an independent BESH as lead investigator, should apply to the companion FOA (RFA-NS-22-024).

The purpose of the NIH HEAL Initiative® Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to support a cohort of new and well-trained independent investigators conducting Pain and/or SUD research, in order to increase the independent investigator workforce in research areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of eligible postdoctoral researchers from their mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. The program will provide independent NIH research support during this transition to help awardees establish independent research programs in areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative®.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity is for basic science experimental studies involving humans, referred to in NOT-OD-18-212 as “prospective basic science studies involving human participants.” These studies fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research. Types of studies that should be submitted under this NOFO include studies that prospectively assign human participants to conditions (i.e., experimentally manipulate independent variables) and that assess biomedical or behavioral outcomes in humans for the purpose of understanding the fundamental aspects of phenomena without specific application towards processes or products in mind. Applicants not planning an independent clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial or basic experimental study with humans led by another investigator, must apply to the 'Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed' companion NOFO.

The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions.