National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Project Summary/Abstract of your application must include a brief description of the supplement’s purpose and scope. Applications without this information in the Project Summary/Abstract will be rejected.

Other considerations

• Administrative supplement requests that exceed $100,000 AND more than 25% of the direct costs of the active year of the parent grant will undergo a second level of review and recommendation of approval/disapproval by the NIAAA National Advisory Council and the NIAAA Director. Grantees should expect a longer review time for these requests
• The parent grant must be active for at least another 12 months at the time of submission

NIAAA will receive administrative supplement applications on a rolling basis. Funding considerations will occur only twice a year: January 31, July 15. Applications received after July 15 will be considered for funding in the next fiscal year.

Grants Management Branch, NIAAA
[email protected]

Office of Extramural Activities, NIAAA
[email protected]

NIAAA supports conferences, symposia and workshops focusing on alcohol-research related topics. NIAAA will provide funds for the travel of U.S. residents that include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and/or newly appointed non-NIH funded faculty members within two years of their academic appointment to participate in meetings. NIAAA will prioritize conference grants that support conferences that are not free-standing conferences, i.e., included as symposia, or as satellite meetings of major domestic Scientific Organizations or Societies with venues within the continental USA.

NIAAA conference grant applications are capped at $25,000 total costs/year. Rare, justified exceptions may be considered. Applicants contemplating a budget over the threshold are strongly encouraged to consult NIAAA staff prior to applying to assess support. NIAAA does not fund fees or expenses for PIs, key contributors, or speakers.

NIAAA will consider supporting applications requesting more than one year of funding within a period of up to 5 years.

NIAAA Conference Coordination Office
[email protected]

NIAAA supports career development programs across the full range of alcohol research, including basic, translational, clinical, behavioral, social, epidemiologic, prevention, treatment, recovery, and data science. Topics must align with NIAAA mission and interest areas, including alcohol misuse, alcohol use disorder, related health conditions, prenatal alcohol exposure, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

• Pathway to Independence (K99/R00): Candidates with less than 4 years of post-doctoral research experience are encouraged to apply for a K99/R00 award. To activate the R00 phase, the K99 awardee must secure a full-time tenure-track assistant professor or equivalent position at an institution eligible to receive NIH funds. The R00 institution should contact NIAAA OEA to submit a R00 application package at least 90 days before K99 ends.
• Mentored career development awards: At the time of award, candidates must have secured a full-time faculty or equivalent position in an appropriate research-intensive environment.
  • Research Scientist Development Award (K01)
  • Clinical Investigator Award (K08)
  • Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
  • Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
• Independent Scientist Award (K02): NIAAA prioritizes candidates who have shown independent alcohol-related research accomplishments but are not yet well established. At the time of award, applicants must be the PD/PI on an active alcohol-related R01 or equivalent grant, or on a subproject of a multicomponent project. At least 2 years must remain on that grant, not counting any no-cost extension. 
• Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24): At the time of award, applicants must have a mid-career faculty appointment at the Associate Professor level or higher and be the PD/PI on an active alcohol-related R01 or equivalent grant, or on a subproject of a multicomponent project, with sufficient time remaining to support mentoring activities.

NIAAA supports project periods of three-five years. 

• Salary support: 
  • K01, K02, and K99 awards provide up to $90,000 plus fringe benefits per year.
  • K08, K23, and K25 awards provide up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits per year.
  • K24 awards provide up to the maximum legislative salary cap plus fringe benefits per year.
  • In all cases, salary support is commensurate with the applicant institution’s salary structure for persons of equivalent qualifications, experience, and rank.
• Institutional base salary will be verified at the time of award. 

Other program related expenses: up to $50,000 per year.

[email protected]

NIAAA sponsors a variety of fellowships programs to ensure the training of highly qualified new investigators in alcohol-related research. Training opportunities of interest include research in the social, behavioral, biomedical, biological, and computational sciences related to alcohol misuse, alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related health effects.

Current NRSA stipends, tuition/fees, and budgetary levels apply.

[email protected]

The NIAAA Institutional Training Program is meant to build a skilled workforce in alcohol-related biomedical and behavioral research. It should support the NIAAA mission, strategic plan, scientific priorities and highlighted topics. Training programs should focus on research areas related to alcohol use, alcohol misuse, alcohol use disorder, related health conditions, and health outcomes. They should offer multidisciplinary training in research methods, theories, and new scientific developments. 

The Program Director/Principal Investigator should be an active leader in alcohol research, have a strong externally funded research program, and show a successful record of mentoring and research training. This person should also have the leadership needed to build, run, and sustain the training program.

Majority of the proposed mentors should have strong records in alcohol research and external research funding. At the same time, programs are encouraged to include experts from other fields when their knowledge adds important complementary expertise.

Predoctoral, postdoctoral, and short-term.

NIAAA only considers Institutional Training applications during January council.

Travel costs for pre- and post-doctoral trainees: Applicants may request up to $2,250 per trainee per year with acceptable justification that meets the training objectives.

[email protected]

NIAAA supports research education programs that expand capacity in an alcohol-focused biomedical, behavioral, and clinical workforce aligned with the NIAAA mission. Supported models may include, but are not limited to:

Research Experiences

• Mentored research experiences that strengthen participants’ knowledge and skills in alcohol-related biomedical research, including etiology and pathophysiology of alcohol misuse, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and alcohol-related organ damage, structured according to participant career stage.
• Program pathways for specialized talent, including data scientists, to enter and advance alcohol research careers.
• Clinically-anchored research exposure for healthcare professional students and practicing healthcare providers that advances evidence-based patient care for AUD.

Mentoring Activities & Networks

• Programs that leverage cross-disciplinary partnerships to address complex alcohol-related health consequences, such as networks bridging disciplines (e.g., hepatology and oncology with psychology, addiction treatment, and social work).
• Education Project Cooperative Agreements (UE5s) may be used when substantial NIAAA involvement is required for coordinated, multi-site implementation and iterative refinement.

Courses, Curriculum & Methods

• Advanced courses that build core research competencies in alcohol science, including rigorous methods, data science, implementation science, community engagement, and grantsmanship.
• Continuing education for healthcare professionals on well-established, evidence-based screening and treatment approaches across the continuum of care for AUD and alcohol-related conditions, including psychiatric comorbidities, tailored to the specific clinical audience.
• Prevention-focused curricula for community stakeholders on alcohol misuse prevention strategies to support local prevention initiatives.

• Undergraduate
• Predoctoral
• Postdoctoral/Residency
• Early Career
• Other
  • Health professional students and health care professionals. 
  • Community members, including peer support specialists and community health workers, who are engaged in local prevention for alcohol misuse as well as treatment and recovery support for alcohol use disorder.

While the proposed project period should be based on the scope of the educational program, NIAAA reserves the right to negotiate a shorter duration as appropriate for the proposed activities.

While the proposed budget should reflect the scope of the educational program, NIAAA reserves the right to negotiate a lower budget as appropriate for the proposed activities.

While the proposed budget should reflect the scope of the educational program, NIAAA reserves the right to negotiate a lower budget as appropriate for the proposed activities.

[email protected]

NIAAA-specific SBIR and STTR interests are tailored toward commercializing technologies that address the unique physiological, social, and clinical challenges of alcohol misuse.

The NIAAA specifically encourages small business applications in the following high-priority areas:

• Biosensors and Wearables: Developing non-invasive, wearable devices for real-time alcohol monitoring (e.g., transdermal sensors) that provide more accurate data than self-reporting for research and clinical use.
• Digital Health and Telehealth: Creating mobile applications, AI-driven platforms, and software for the remote delivery of evidence-based treatments, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or recovery support services.
• Pharmacotherapy Development: Advancing the discovery and testing of new medications to treat Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), specifically focusing on those with commercial potential and lower side-effect profiles.
• Diagnostic Tools and Biomarkers: Innovating point-of-care diagnostic tests and biological markers for early detection of alcohol-induced organ damage (liver, brain, heart) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).
• Advanced Data Analytics: Utilizing machine learning and big data tools to analyze large health datasets to predict relapse, identify high-risk drinking patterns, or personalize treatment plans.
• Regulatory Support: Utilizing the Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) to fund late-stage R&D, such as IND-enabling studies, manufacturing scale-up, or clinical trial verification required for FDA clearance.
• Behavioral Interventions: Developing tools designed to improve treatment adherence, reduce stigma, or provide prevention and therapies to treat alcohol use disorder

A. Development and testing of drug candidates for treating AUD and health-related effects of alcohol misuse or for diagnosing and evaluating conditions related to alcohol misuse.
B. Development, optimization, validation, and/or testing of novel technologies, devices, methods or applications for neuroscience research (e.g., the effects of alcohol on central nervous system structure and activities).
C. Development, optimization, validation, and/or testing of novel technologies, devices, methods or applications to support screening, brief intervention, referral to treatment, and recovery.
D. Development, optimization, validation, and/or testing of novel technologies, devices, methods or application to prevent harmful drinking during pregnancy.
E. Development, optimization, validation, and/or testing of novel technologies, devices, methods or application to identify prenatal alcohol exposure, and enhance outcomes of individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
F. Development, optimization, validation, and/or testing of novel technologies, devices, methods or application for preventing or treating alcohol-induced tissue injury or for the treatment of AUD.
G. Development, optimization, validation, and/or testing of novel technologies, devices, methods or application for measuring alcohol consumption.
H. Development, optimization, validation, and/or testing of novel technologies, devices, methods or application for the prevention of death or serious injury due to extreme alcohol exposure/poisoning.
I. Development and validation of tools, models, and/or technologies for alcohol-related laboratory studies, such as animal strains, cell lines, stem cells, in vitro techniques, neuroimaging, ligands, in vivo detection of neuromodulators, or computational tools.
J. Development and validation of tools, models, and/or technologies for conducting and supporting research in alcohol field (e.g., mobile application and assessment development, electronic data management system, ecological momentary assessment).
K. Development of biomolecular signatures of alcohol exposure and alcohol-induced tissue injury.
L. Digital health therapeutics and/or devices to treat or diagnose AUD or alcohol misuse.
M. Genotyping of DNA samples from subjects with addiction and substance use disorders.
 

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