Key Dates

Related Announcements

• May 7, 2020 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required). See NOFO PA-20-194.
• May 7, 2020 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-195.
• May 5, 2020 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Required). See NOFO PA-20-183.
• May 5, 2020 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-185.  

Issued by

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Purpose

Purpose:

This notice of special interest (NOSI) invites both preclinical and clinical applications to evaluate the role of social functioning in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and as potential endpoints for therapeutics development.

Background:

SUDs  often correspond with social dysfunction. Namely, DSM V diagnostic criteria for SUD include 1) reduced involvement in social activities because of substance use, 2) failure to meet occupational and societal obligations due to substance use, and 3) continued substance use in the face of recurrent interpersonal problems. These diagnostic criteria illustrate that social dysfunction is not only a common consequence of SUD, but also a clinically recognized feature of its pathology. Therefore, interventions that improve social function would be expected to reduce SUD diagnostic scores related to social dysfunction and could also promote a decrease in drug use. However, the relationships between social function, SUD severity, and drug use have not been explicitly determined. This Notice of Special Interest invites both preclinical and clinical applications to evaluate the role of social functioning in the treatment of SUDs as well as the development of social function endpoints for therapeutics development.

Areas of Interest include (but are not limited to):

1. Determine whether existing effective interventions for SUDs (e.g., contingency management, medications for opioid use disorder) increase social engagement.
2. Develop valid and reliable outcome measures of social function in SUD patients.
3. Determine the role of social functioning in the treatment and prognosis of SUDs.
4. Evaluate social interaction and/or isolation as mediators/moderators of SUD treatment outcomes, particularly drug use or craving.
5. Identify novel pharmacological compounds that decrease drug use and promote social interaction using animal models.
6. Identify novel interventions (pharmacological or otherwise) that decrease drug use and improve social function in individuals with SUD.

Application and Submission Information

This notice applies to due dates on or after October 5, 2023 and subsequent receipt dates through September 8, 2026.

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

• NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Required). See NOFO PA-20-194.
• NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-195.
• NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Required). See NOFO PA-20-183.
• NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-185.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the NOFO used for submission must be followed.

• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-DA-25-026” (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 not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Inquiries

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

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Drew Townsend, PhD
Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Email: drew.townsend@nih.gov 
Telephone: 301-443-4577 

Peer Review Contact(s)

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Please direct all inquiries to the Financial/Grants Management contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunity.