Mechanistic investigations of psychosocial stress effects on opioid use patterns (R21- Clinical Trial Optional) | PAS 18 625

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS 18 625

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Mechanistic investigations of psychosocial stress effects on opioid use patterns (R21 - Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAS-18-625) supports early-stage, innovative research aimed at understanding how psychosocial stress shapes opioid use disorder (OUD). The central emphasis is on mechanistic work, meaning projects should go beyond documenting correlations and instead clarify how stress-related processes change behavior, brain function, cognition, emotion, and/or pain in ways that influence opioid use patterns and OUD trajectories. The FOA is designed for research that can identify determinants of vulnerability and resilience, helping explain why stress contributes to escalation and relapse in some people while others maintain recovery or avoid problematic opioid use despite stress exposure.

A key scientific focus is characterizing the downstream consequences of psychosocial stress on affective and cognitive functioning (such as negative mood, anhedonia, impulsivity, decision-making, attention, learning, and stress-related changes in reward processing) and/or on pain processing (including stress-related amplification of pain, changes in pain tolerance, and interactions between stress and pain that may increase motivation to use opioids). By tying these stress-driven changes directly to opioid use patterns, applicants are expected to provide a clearer account of how stress can alter craving, self-administration, misuse, relapse risk, treatment response, or other clinically meaningful OUD outcomes. The FOA explicitly welcomes either basic or clinical approaches, so applications may use laboratory models, human experimental paradigms, observational designs, or translational strategies, as long as the work meaningfully informs mechanisms linking psychosocial stress to opioid-related behaviors.

The mechanism is an NIH R21 exploratory/developmental grant, which typically supports high-impact, early-phase ideas and feasibility-building studies. In this announcement, clinical trials are optional, meaning applicants may propose clinical trial components if they are appropriate for the mechanistic question, but a clinical trial is not required. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, reflecting the smaller, exploratory nature of the R21 mechanism and the expectation that studies will be tightly focused on establishing or testing key mechanistic pathways rather than running large-scale efficacy trials.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. institutions and organizations, such as state, county, and local governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; independent school districts; special district governments; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicants and partners, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations), underscoring an intent to encourage broad participation and diverse research settings and populations.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant within the education and health activity area and is associated with CFDA number 93.279. The FOA was created on 2018-02-02, with an original closing date listed as 2020-09-07. While the source information provided does not specify expected award counts, the overall purpose is clear: to accelerate mechanistic understanding of how psychosocial stress affects opioid use patterns and OUD progression, ultimately supporting better identification of risk pathways and protective factors that can inform prevention, intervention development, and more precise approaches to treatment and relapse prevention.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mechanistic investigations of psychosocial stress effects on opioid use patterns (R21- Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-02-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAS 18 625

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