To encourage research project applications aimed at developing and/or implementing specialized software for tracking, characterization, and analysis of Substance Use Disorder (SUD)-related behaviors.

Background

NIDA’s mission includes identification of both the biological and behavioral causes and consequences of SUD. While technology to monitor and analyze neural activity at increasingly high spatiotemporal resolution is rapidly progressing, the development of methods to track, characterize and analyze behavior has lagged behind. Indeed, a considerable amount of behavioral data is still “hand-scored” (i.e. subjectively categorized and tallied by human observers), a process which is time-consuming, lacks rigor and reproducibility, and is not well-suited for the identification of unanticipated behaviors or complex behavioral sequences/patterns. Importantly, the mismatch in resolution between the recording of neural activity and behavior impedes our ability to identify how neural activity encodes behavior, information that is necessary for understanding and developing treatments for SUD.

Research Objectives

NIDA seeks to stimulate research aimed at developing software able to rigorously and reliably classify, predict, and analyze behavior along with the application of these computational tools in behavioral models/procedures relevant to SUD.

Research areas of interest for this announcement include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Development of next-generation tools for tracking, identification, characterization, and analysis of SUD-related behaviors
• Validation of computational tools in behavioral models/procedures relevant to SUD
• Utilization of computational tools to increase rigor and reproducibility in behavioral models of SUD
• Identification and examination of new behaviors related to SUD using existing computational tools
• Integration of new computational methods for behavioral tracking with monitoring of neural activity

Application and Submission Information

This notice applies to due dates on or after June 5, 2020 and subsequent receipt dates through September 8, 2023.

Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) or any reissues of these announcement through the expiration date of this notice.

• PA-18-484 NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• PA-18-488 NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• PA-18-489 NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed

• PA-19-091 NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)

• PA-19-092 NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)

• PAR-19-310 Behavioral Science Track Award for Rapid Transition (B/Start)(R03 Clinical Trial Optional)

• PAR-15-079 Cutting-Edge Basic Research Awards (CEBRA) (R21-Clinical Trial Optional)

• PA-18-591 Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-DA-20-017” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.

Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will be not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Please direct all inquiries to the contacts in Section VII of the listed funding opportunity announcements with the following additions/substitutions:

Please direct all inquiries to the Scientific/Research, Peer Review, and Financial/Grants Management contacts in Section VII of the listed funding opportunity announcements.

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Vani Pariyadath, Ph.D.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Telephone: (301) 443-3209
Email: [email protected]