Funded Projects

NOFO Title: Administrative Supplements for Validation of Novel Non-Addictive Pain Targets (Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-18-073
Summary:

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating affliction present in 26% of diabetic patients, with substantial impact on the quality of life. Despite this significant impact and prevalence, current therapies for painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) are only partially effective, and the molecular mechanisms underlying neuropathic pain in diabetes are not well understood. Our long-term goal is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms responsible for PDN in order to provide targets for the development of therapeutic agents. Our objective is to identify the molecular cascade linking CXCR4/SDF-1 chemokine signaling to DRG nociceptor hyper-excitability, neuropathic pain, and small fiber degeneration. Our aims will determine: 1) the ion-channel current profile of the nociceptor hyper-excitable state produced by CXCR4/SDF-1 signaling in PDN; 2) the gene expression profile of the nociceptor hyper-excitable state produced by CXCR4/SDF-1 signaling in PDN; and 3) the specific features of nociceptor mitochondrial dysfunction produced by CXCR4/SDF-1 signaling in PDN.

NOFO Title: Administrative Supplements for Validation of Novel Non-Addictive Pain Targets (Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-18-073
Summary:

Persistent pain states arising from inflammatory conditions, such as in arthritis, diabetes, HIV, and chemotherapy, exhibit a common feature in the release of damage-associated molecular pattern molecules, which can activate toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4). Previous studies suggest that TLR4 is critical in mediating the transition from acute to persistent pain. TLR4 as well as other inflammatory receptors localize to lipid raft microdomains on the plasma membrane. We have found that the secreted apoA-I binding protein (AIBP) accelerates cholesterol removal, disrupts lipid rafts, prevents TLR4 dimerization, and inhibits microglia inflammatory responses. We propose that AIBP targets cholesterol removal to lipid rafts harboring activated TLR4. The aims of this proposal are to: 1) determine whether AIBP targets lipid rafts harboring activated TLR4; 2) test whether AIBP reduces glial activation and neuroinflammation in mouse models of neuropathic pain; and 3) identify the origin and function of endogenous AIBP in the spinal cord.

NOFO Title: Medications Development Centers of Excellence Cooperative Program (U54)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-15-003
Summary:

This U54 Center will use translational research from brain to bedside as a tool for medication development in cocaine use disorder. Preclinical and early phase I clinical PK/PD data will provide information for go/no-go decisions on phase II–III clinical trials with medications that show promise for cocaine use disorder. The overall goal of this research is to create a center that can provide important preclinical and early phase I clinical data to NIDA and pharmaceutical industry partners on novel compounds for cocaine use disorder. The aims related to the theme of the center will be achieved through two cores and three projects: The Administrative Core serves as a general resource for the other projects and the Educational Core, including oversight of fiscal and compliance matters, and will oversee interactions with outside entities, including NIDA and the pharmaceutical industry. The Educational Core will focus on training translational researchers for medication development for addictions across the two institutions.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: America’s Startups and Small Businesses Build Technologies to Stop the Opioid Crisis (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-019
Summary:

Novel therapies that could alleviate the severe symptoms of opioid withdrawal and/or reduce risk of relapse could help address the devastating opioid crisis. Memantine, an FDA-approved NMDA receptor antagonist, has shown encouraging results as an adjunct to existing opioid use therapies. Its therapeutic efficacy likely derives from its preferential binding to NMDA receptors located outside the synapse, since broad spectrum NMDA receptor antagonists are associated with multiple clinical side effects. This project will use a preclinical model to evaluate a nanostructured version of memantine (AuM) that physically prevents its binding to synaptic NMDA receptors but allows activation of extrasynaptic receptors with potency exceeding that of free memantine.

NOFO Title: PHS 2018-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44] Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: PA-18-574
Summary:

Voltage-gated sodium channels are responsible for the transmission of pain signals. Nine genes have been identified, each having unique properties and tissue distribution patterns. Genetic studies have correlated a hereditary loss-of-function mutation in one human Na+ channel isoform – ?Na?V?1.7 – with a rare genetic disorder known as Congenital Insensitivity to Pain (CIP). Individuals with CIP are not able to feel pain without any significant secondary alteration. Thus, selective inhibition of ?Na?V?1.7 in normal humans could recapitulate the phenotype of CIP. This research team developed a non-permanent gene therapy to target pain that is non-addictive (because it targets a non-opioid pathway), highly specific (only targeting the gene of interest), and long-term lasting (around 3 weeks in preliminary assays in mice). During this Phase I , the team will 1) test additional pain targets ?in vitro?, and 2) evaluate the new targets ?in vivo ?in mice models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain. 

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Pragmatic and Implementation Studies for the Management of Pain to Reduce Opioid Prescribing (PRISM)(UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-AT-19-004
Summary:

The opioid crisis has underscored the urgency of alleviating patients’ chronic low back pain (cLBP) with effective therapies, including evidence-based nonpharmacologic approaches. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is now recommended by the American College of Physicians for initial treatment of cLBP. A pragmatic clinical trial (PCT) will inform health care decision makers about whether this program can be implemented in a real-life clinical setting and measure its impact on outcomes. The OPTIMUM (Optimizing Pain Treatment In Medical settings Using Mindfulness) program will integrate and test an evidence-based mindfulness clinical pain program for patients with cLBP in the primary care provider (PCP) setting. It will be conducted with three health care system sites. Four hundred and fifty persons ? 18 years of age with cLBP will be randomized to OPTIMUM + PCP Usual Care or PCP Usual Care.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Behavioral Research to Improve MAT: Behavioral and Social Interventions to Improve Adherence to Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorders (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-AT-19-006
Summary:

There is evidence that combining mindfulness-based interventions and peer recovery support services with medication-assisted therapy (MAT) to treat opioid use disorders (OUD) reduces substance use, cravings, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and relapse rates, and improves treatment retention, and relationships with treatment providers and social supports. The goal of the present study is to determine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention that also utilizes peer mentors in addition to professional substance abuse therapists (the Minds and Mentors program [MiMP]) in improving adherence to MAT for OUD and reducing relapse rates in a sample of individuals with OUD who are also on MAT versus a 12-step facilitation (TSF) program. The study hypothesizes that participants in MiMP will demonstrate better adherence; reduced relapse and cravings (primary outcomes measures); reduced depression, anxiety, and stress; improved social support (secondary outcomes measures); and reduced cortisol levels and reactivity to drug cues (exploratory outcome measures).

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HEALthy BCD) (Collaborative R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-029
Summary:

Despite increased efforts to understand the neurodevelopmental sequelae of in utero opioid and other substance exposure on long-term behavioral, cognitive, and societal outcomes, important questions remain, specifically, 1) How is brain growth disrupted by fetal substance and related pre- and post-natal exposures? and 2) How are these disrupted growth patterns causally related to later cognitive and behavioral outcomes? This project seeks to formulate an approach to addressing these key questions and decipher the individual and cumulative effect of these intertwined pre- and post-natal exposures on child neurodevelopment. First, researchers will address the legal, ethical, and mother-child care and support concerns implicit in this study. Next, they will integrate across our areas of neuroimaging expertise to develop, implement, and harmonize a multi-modal MRI and EEG protocol to assess maturing brain structure, function, and connectivity. Finally, researchers will develop and test advanced statistical approaches to model and analyze this multidimensional and longitudinal data.

NOFO Title: PHS 2018-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44] Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: PA-18-574
Summary:

The use of a pain imaging technology would allow for objective efficacy data (both pre-clinically and in clinical trials), and reduce costs by enabling smaller sample sizes due to more homogeneous populations; i.e. with a particular “pain signal,” and more accurate measurement of analgesic effects. This research team recently invented a novel positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent as a tool to address these issues in pain care and therapy development. Although the ability of PET to detect pathological changes for (early) disease detection is widely used in cancer and neurological diseases, it has not yet been used for pain indications. The goals of this project are: 1) to change the evaluation of (experimental) pain therapies, and 2) the standard of care in pain assessment through molecular imaging. The proposed study is designed to determine the feasibility of our imaging agent to objectively measure pain in rodents. This will set the stage for a Phase II study that further develops this agent into a tool for quantifying pain/analgesia.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HEALthy BCD) (Collaborative R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-029
Summary:

The first ten years of life are accompanied by rapid changes to the developing brain and cognitive abilities. Complex interacting factors including genetics, early-life exposure to substances, family and social interactions, and home and community environments can affect brain and cognitive development. Three linked projects aim to develop effective research protocols to lay a foundation for a future HEALthy Brain and Cognitive Development (HBCD) birth cohort study. Project 1 will develop protocols for recruitment and retention of a diverse sample of pregnant and postpartum women with oversampling of mothers with prenatal opioid use. Project 2 will identify ethical, legal, and regulatory challenges for investigations in this vulnerable population and define effective solutions to enable recruitment and study of these participants. Project 3 will develop and evaluate protocols for acquiring high-quality, quantitative neuroimaging measures with magnetic resonance imaging and functional near infrared spectroscopy and assess effective strategies for measuring cognitive performance in young children, including those exposed to opioids.

NOFO Title: The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (UG1 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-008
Summary:

New Mexico (NM) is an epicenter of the opioid crisis in the United States. Many challenging social determinants, including poverty and unemployment, contribute to high rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) in NM. The aims of the NM node are to (1) develop and maintain a highly efficient platform to conduct clinical trials that will inform evidence-based prevention and treatment of OUD; (2) collaborate on and lead research that addresses and improves outcomes across the OUD Cascade of Care (CoC); and (3) promote uptake of best practices in OUD prevention and care in NM and nationwide through effective dissemination of evidence-based innovations. NM node research will ensure the development of robust and generalizable methods for prevention, identification, and treatment of OUD, including evaluation and modification of the CoC to expand the local and national knowledge base.

NOFO Title: Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Pain Treatment (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-043
Summary:

It is unclear what changes in the brain mediate the development of chronic pain from acute pain and how chronic pain may change responses to opioid reward for the altered liability of opioid abuse under chronic pain. Preliminary studies have found that Dnmt3a, a DNA methyltransferase that catalyzes DNA methylation for gene repression, is significantly downregulated in the brain in a time-dependent manner during the development of chronic pain and after repeated opioid treatment. This project will investigate whether Dnmt3a acts as a key protein in the brain for the development of chronic pain, and whether Dnmt3a could be a novel epigenetic target for the development of new drugs and therapeutic options for the treatment of chronic pain while decreasing abuse liability of opioids.

NOFO Title: Development of Medications to Prevent and Treat Opioid Use Disorders and Overdose (UG3/UH3) (Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-DA-19-002
Summary:

Naltrexone (NTX) has been proven as an important, safe, and effective therapy in helping patients overcome opioid addition and in preventing overdose. Unfortunately, the therapeutic potential of NTX has been blunted by poor adherence. To combat this issue, a system must be developed to deliver NTX for longer durations than are currently available with a more patient-friendly format. The goal of this research is to optimize and scale up our laboratory PLGA-based microparticle formulations of NTX delivery (either 2 months or 7–10 days) and bridge it to a Phase 1 clinical trial. This innovation will result in a more patient-friendly format consisting of less painful injections and improved release kinetics. PLGA-based drug delivery systems have been used successfully in a number of small-molecule products and are the most widely utilized and studied biocompatible polymer systems in controlled release. Thus, the regulatory and development hurdles with the FDA will be lower than with other novel excipients or technologies. The significance of this research and product development is that the final outcome of this project will ultimately provide a new, readily viable, essential tool to help patients overcome opioid dependence.