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NCATS is issuing this FOA in response to the declared public health emergency issued by the Secretary, HHS. Please see Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists Nationwide as the Result of the Opioid Crisis as renewed in Renewal of the Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists Nationwide as the Result of the Continued Consequences of the Opioid Crisis. The Helping End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) New Innovator Award supports a postdoctoral or newly independent Early Stage Investigator of exceptional creativity who proposes novel, original and insightful research concepts with the potential to produce a major impact, test scientific paradigms, or advance key concepts on broad, important problems in biomedical research related to pain, opioid use disorder (OUD), and/or overdose (OD). Applications proposing unexpected convergence of disciplines, new scientific directions, or the use of novel methodologies are encouraged.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to solicit applications to develop, test, and implement, novel, multi-level, culturally appropriate interventions and/or adapt, test and evaluate efficacy and effectiveness of existing interventions in NIH designated populations that disproportionately experience negative health outcomes (HDP). Desired outcomes of these interventions include reduction of pain and pain-related symptoms and improvement in patient satisfaction, and overall health outcomes, including function and quality of life. Interventions that target HDPs with chronic pain in addition to at least one comorbid condition (OUD, mental health disorders and/or chronic health conditions) are of the highest priority.

NCATS is issuing this FOA in response to the declared public health emergency issued by the Secretary, HHS. Please see Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists Nationwide as the Result of the Opioid Crisis as renewed in Renewal of the Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists Nationwide as the Result of the Continued Consequences of the Opioid Crisis. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support early-stage research projects focusing on the identification of new druggable targets for pain, opioid use disorder and/or overdose within the understudied druggable proteome. This FOA is part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long Term (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 FOA will support early career clinical pain scientists development as a means to enhance the clinical pain research workforce. Under this award, promising early-career clinician-scientists will have access to high-quality mentorship that will promote their successful transition to independent research careers in academic settings. Clinicians in their last year of residency/fellowship/post-doctoral training, or in their first year of an independent faculty position, can apply to the awarded HCPDP national program for support, which is intended to begin during their first or second faculty year. The program will primarily support clinicians who leave their training institution for a faculty position at another institution. Under some circumstances a candidate who remains at their residency institution for their faculty position may be supported. The awarded HCPDP national program will provide the selected scholars with the experience, research support, and protected time for research and funding necessary to initiate a sustainable research program. In addition, the awarded HCPDP national program will create a National Advisory Committee (NAC) whereby scholars will have the opportunity to interact with both experienced pain researchers and pain patients. The FOA will develop a national network of mentors and scholars.

HEAL Initiative: Restoring Joint Health and Function to Reduce Pain Consortium (RE-JOIN) (UC2 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) - The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to solicit cooperative agreement applications to support interdisciplinary teams that will work together to form the Restoring Joint Health and Function to Reduce Pain Consortium (RE-JOIN). The goal of RE-JOIN will be to define the innervation of the different tissues, which collectively form the joints, by sensory neurons that mediate the sensation of pain. Knowledge about the types and distribution of neurites in joint tissues will facilitate the identification of key receptors and mediators that induce pain by activating specific sensory neurons. These mediators or their receptors will provide novel targets for reducing pain.

There is an urgent need for more research to establish best practices in the pain management field, however, there is a limited workforce pipeline of pain researchers to meet NIHs long-term goals of providing effective non-opioid options for the treatment of pain conditions and better pain management overall. The Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC) has identified the workforce problem as a barrier for new pain research, and has identified factors that contributed to it such as barriers to entry into the field of pain research that have constricted growth high departure rate of senior investigators and mentors. The IPRCC also identified a need for more structured opportunities for early-stage investigators to learn from and be mentored by experienced investigators. The pain management field has further recognized that basic, translational, and clinical researchers do not regularly collaborate when developing grant applications. If pain management researchers across all disciplines were to work together, it would enhance the innovation, relevance, and practical application of pain management research. To support the NIH HEAL Initiatives response supporting new investigators, promoting multidisciplinary collaborations among pain researchers, and identifying innovate treatments to manage pain, this FOA invites applications for the Coordinating Center for National Pain Scientists (CCNPS). The CCNPS will be a central facilitator for integrating training and mentoring across a network of mentors and early-stage investigators funded by NIH (e.g., NIH trainees, NIH fellows, and Career Development Awardees). The main purpose of the CCNPS is to enhance the training experience of new pain researchers across the continuum of basic, translational, and clinical research and create a vast network of NIH-funded pain researchers to promote multidisciplinary collaborations in pain research. The CCNPS will create and run a coordination center to connect NIH-fund

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications from early and mid-career investigators (i.e. postdoctoral fellow/associates associate professor) who strive to expand their research trajectories through the acquisition of new knowledge and skills in the areas of therapeutic drug, biologic, or device development. The development of novel treatments for pain, addiction, and overdose is a vital component to address the ongoing opioid epidemic. This development will be most effective if performed by scientists with training in translational science. Translation is defined as the process of turning observations in the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public from diagnostics and therapeutics to medical procedures and behavioral changes, with translational science representing the field of investigation focused on understanding the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process (https://ncats.nih.gov/translation). Traditional academic training provides deep knowledge of a relatively narrow scientific discipline. While domain expertise is an important characteristic of a proficient translational scientist, a comprehensive understanding of the stages of therapeutic development is also necessary. For many trainees, acquiring needed expertise through participatory training in the various fields that are required to compile an investigational new drug (IND), investigational device exemption (IDE), or new drug application (NDA) is extraordinarily difficult given the diversity of these domains.

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to invite applications for testing laboratories to take part in the NINDS Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN). SPAN will facilitate the testing of up to 8 promising cerebroprotective drugs or interventions to be given prior to or at the time of reperfusion in experimental models of ischemic stroke (e.g., transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO)). Awarded testing laboratories will compose the main infrastructure of the network and will be expected to work with the SPAN Coordinating Center and intervention contributors to facilitate the parallel testing of multiple cerebroprotective interventions in experimental models of ischemic stroke. If successful, this network will accelerate the identification of the most promising neuroprotective therapies for future pivotal clinical trials and span the gap between preclinical and clinical testing, in a cost-and time-effective fashion

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to invite applications for research projects to test promising cerebrovascular interventions in the NINDS Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN). SPAN will facilitate the testing of up to 8 promising cerebroprotective drugs or interventions to be given prior to or at the time of reperfusion in experimental models of ischemic stroke (e.g., transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, tMCAo). The PIs of the awarded interventions will become part of the network and will collaborate with the SPAN Coordinating Center (RFA-NS-22-004), testing laboratories (RFA-NS-22-003), and other intervention contributors (RFA-NS-22-032, RFA-NS-22-033) to facilitate the parallel testing of multiple cerebroprotective interventions in experimental models of ischemic stroke. Applicants must propose a promising cerebroprotective intervention, supported by rigorous and extensive preliminary data, to be tested in SPAN. If successful, this network will accelerate the identification of the most promising cerebroprotective therapies for future pivotal clinical trials and span the gap between small businesses, preclinical testing laboratories, and a pipeline to clinical testing, in a cost-and time-effective fashion.

Recent advances in endovascular thrombectomy offer a new opportunity to reconsider neuroprotective agents as adjunctive therapies to extend the time window for reperfusion and to improve long-term functional outcome. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) issued by NINDS is to invite applications for the Coordinating Center (CC) for the NIH Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN). SPAN will facilitate testing of up to 6 promising neuroprotective drugs or interventions to be given prior to or at the time of reperfusion in experimental models of ischemic stroke (e.g., transient middle cerebral artery occlusion). The CC will work with the awarded network sites (RFA-NS-18-033) and will provide centralized administrative oversight and coordination of all aspects of the network. If successful, this network will accelerate the identification of the most promising neuroprotective therapies for future pivotal clinical trials and span the gap between preclinical and clinical testing, in a cost-and time-effective fashion.