Research Concepts
A Research Concept describes the basic purpose, scope, and objectives of a potential solicitation of grants or contracts. Current concepts under development are listed below to alert researchers to areas of NIH HEAL Initiative research interest and to give researchers maximal lead time to plan projects. Past concepts that have converted to funding opportunities (NOFOs) can be found at the bottom of the page. Please note that not every concept will lead to a NOFO. The NIH HEAL Initiative bases this determination on scientific and programmatic priorities and the availability of funds, and a NOFO may also differ in certain details from its originating concept. Please visit this page often for updates, subscribe to the HEAL Digest for updates, and view current (open) and past (closed) HEAL NOFOs.
Research Concepts on this page:
- Translation of Research to Practice for the Treatment of Opioid Addiction
- New Strategies to Prevent and Treat Opioid Addiction
- Enhanced Outcomes for Infants and Children Exposed to Opioids
- Novel Therapeutic Options for Opioid Use Disorder and Overdose
- Clinical Research in Pain Management
- Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management
- Past Concepts
Translation of Research to Practice for the Treatment of Opioid Addiction
American Indian and Alaska Native Collective Research Effort to Enhance Wellness: Addressing Opioid/Drug Misuse and Overdose, Mental Health, and Pain
This concept will support Tribes and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) serving organizations and communities to respond to the opioid/drug overdose crisis by establishing or expanding research infrastructure and capacity for Tribal research entities to conduct research related to all facets of the opioid/overdose crisis, including substance misuse, mental health related factors, and the management of pain. It will address data insufficiencies by providing support to improve data and surveillance of factors that contribute to the opioid/drug overdose crisis at the local level (including local data and connections to state, regional and national data). Increasing research capacity will include supporting the conduct of Tribally or community prioritized research. The concept will fund technical assistance and provide support for the development of any needed partnerships to achieve all program goals. A Tribal Consultation informed the development of this concept. HEAL Tribal Consultation Report
Contact: Kathy Etz
Workforce Interventions to Improve Addiction Care Quality and Patient Outcome
This concept aims to design and test workforce interventions that could lead to improved care quality and patient outcomes. It will support research to better understand dynamics that influence workforce recruitment, training, performance, and retention – an important aim since the demand for addiction counselors could dramatically exceed supply by approximately 38% in 2030, a shortage of nearly 35,000 workers.
Contacts: Tisha Wiley, Wendy Weber
Career Development Awards in Addiction Implementation Science
This concept will provide an opportunity for early career scientists or early career clinicians with foundational backgrounds in addiction to develop expertise in implementation science, including conducting a research project incorporating at least one of the four priority domains of the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy: primary prevention (including appropriate opioid prescribing), opioid use disorder treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services. This research aims to build a cadre of implementation researchers who can contribute to addressing the current overdose crisis, develop research careers that will impact the quality of clinical practice generally, and become the next generation of implementation experts and mentors.
Contacts: Tisha Wiley, Wendy Weber
Research to Foster an Opioid Use Disorder Treatment System Patients Can Count On
This concept will leverage existing quality measurement efforts to advance the field of addiction science to help patients, families, and payers identify effective providers and promote improvements in patient outcomes. This research will support research centers consisting of partnerships between researchers and payors, health plans, single state agencies/opioid treatment authorities, professional organizations, or other entities who can deploy a quality measurement and management system to inform provider or clinician selection and treatment improvement.
Contacts: Tisha Wiley, Wendy Weber
Addressing Exposure to Violence and Trauma in the Context of Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Services
This concept aims to address exposure to violence and related trauma among individuals with substance use disorders, for whom integrated services are lacking. This research will adapt the Optimizing Care for People with Opioid Use Disorder and Mental Health Conditions research approach that tests the adaptation, effectiveness, adoption, scalability, and sustainability of collaborative care to include exposure to violence and trauma – as well as extend the focus of research beyond primary care settings to include recovery and substance use disorder treatment settings.
Contacts: Tisha Wiley, Wendy Weber