Notice Number: NOT-DA-19-015
Key Dates
Release Date: January 8, 2019
Response Date:
January 25, 2019
None
Issued by
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Purpose
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to invite input for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Strategic Plan for research at the intersection of HIV/AIDS and substance use, misuse and addiction. NIDA is publishing this Notice to solicit comments on topics under consideration for the strategic plan from diverse stakeholders, including the academic and scientific community, the private sector, health care providers, professional societies, advocacy groups, patient communities, and family members, as well as other interested members of the public.
Note: It is important to read this entire RFI notice to ensure how to submit adequate responses and to understand how the responses will be utilized in the development of the NIDA HIV/AIDS drug abuse strategic plan.
Background:
The mission of the NIDA's AIDS Research Program (ARP) is to advance research at the intersection of HIV and substance use, misuse, and addiction with the potential to better prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure HIV and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and mitigate the deleterious impact of drugs of abuse. NIDA is committed to ensuring the institute has an innovative strategic plan to address high priority research questions related to HIV/AIDS, drug exposure, and SUD. To date, NIDA has solicited individual feedback from a small number of scientific experts during two workshops: one focused on basic science, and one focused on clinical research related to HIV/AIDS and substance use. (see for NIDA AIDS Research Program Strategic Planning Workshops | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) more information) The following topics emerged for consideration as high priority research areas:
- Research aiming to:
- Prevent the acquisitin (primary prevention) and transmission (secondary prevention) of HIV among people who use drugs and their partners
- Enhance understanding f the spread, pathogenesis and persistence of HIV. among people who use drugs, with a special focus on central nervous system (CNS) impacts.
- Assess the impact f drugs of abuse on immune cells and inflammatory processes related to HIV including: onset, course, treatment response, and neurological complications.
- Imprve HIV treatment and health outcomes in people with substance use, misuse and addiction.
- Reduce cmorbidities and complications related to SUD and HIV/AIDS.
- Enhance patient centered appraches to HIV and SUD treatment.
- Develp better tools, technologies and resources to study HIV/AIDS and substance use including, but not limited to: animal models, biomarkers, neuroimaging, multi-Omics studies, therapeutic delivery technologies that have the potential to cross the blood brain barrier, bio-specimens, data sharing platforms, and modeling.
- Increase understanding f stigma and structural determinants of health and their role in effectively preventing and treating HIV/AIDS and SUDs.
- Support collaborations between researchers, community leaders and organizations, governmental officials, patients, families, and advocacy groups to address the unique needs of rural, urban, and suburban settings related to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, substance use, and SUD.
- Leverage substance abuse and HIV biological, phenotypical and clinical data available within NIDA’s Collaborating Consortium of Cohorts to address novel research questions.
- Foster interactions between the basic, clinical, translational, and behavioral research communities to promote the exchange of ideas and resources to accelerate the pace of biomedical discoveries relevant to HIV/AIDS and SUDs.
- Build training programs that interlace broad cross-disciplinary research training and collaboration opportunities, and team science approaches to HIV/AIDS and SUDs.
Information Requested:
This RFI seeks input from stakeholders throughout the scientific research community and the general public regarding the NIDA HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan for advancing science at the intersection HIV/AIDS, substance use, and SUDs.
The NIH seeks comments on any of the following topics:
-
- Appropriateness and priority level of research areas listed above
- Additional research areas for consideration in the plan
- Opportunities for creative collaborations and partnerships to develop and support innovative research
- Performance metrics and milestones that can be used to gauge success and inform course corrections
- Any other topic the respondent feels is relevant for NIDA to consider in developing the HIV/AIDS strategic plan
How to Submit a Response:
Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically via: NIDAHIVStrategicPlan@nida.nih.gov
Responses must be received by January 25, 2019.
Responses to this RFI are voluntary. Do not include any proprietary, classified, confidential, trade secret, or sensitive information in your response. The responses will be reviewed by NIH staff, and individual feedback will not be provided to any responder. The Government will use the information submitted in response to this RFI at its discretion. The Government reserves the right to use any submitted information on public NIH websites, in reports, in summaries of the state of the science, in any possible resultant solicitation(s), grant(s), or cooperative agreement(s), or in the development of future funding opportunity announcements.
This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation, grant, or cooperative agreement, or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the NIH, or individual NIH Institutes and Centers to provide support for any ideas identified in response to it. The Government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the Government’s use of such information. No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise because of a response to this request for information or from the Government’s use of such information. NIH looks forward to your input and we hope that you will share this RFI document with your colleagues.
Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to:
Vasundhara Varthakavi, DVM, PhD
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Telephone: 301-443-2146
Email: varthakaviv@nida.nih.gov
and Human Services (HHS)
