Accelerating the Pace of Substance Use Research Using Existing Data (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DA 26 055

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 26 055

Accelerating the Pace of Substance Use Research Using Existing Data (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DA-26-055) designed to push substance use research forward by making stronger, more creative use of data that already exist. Instead of funding new clinical trials, the program centers on innovative secondary analyses of extant datasets, including social science, behavioral, administrative, and neuroimaging data. The overall intent is to help researchers extract more value from public-use or otherwise available community-based and clinical datasets to answer high-impact questions about substance use and related health outcomes.

The scientific scope is broad but clearly focused on understanding drug-using behaviors and their consequences across the lifespan and across populations. "Drug using behaviors" is defined here in an inclusive way that covers alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, and other drugs, along with related substance use disorders. Applications are encouraged to address etiologic and epidemiologic questions, meaning work that clarifies why substance use starts, how it changes over time, and what factors shape its distribution and burden in communities. A key theme is trajectory research: identifying patterns of initiation, escalation, remission, relapse, and polysubstance use, and linking those patterns to downstream outcomes such as morbidity and mortality.

The opportunity also emphasizes prevention and service-related research, including prevention of drug use and HIV, as well as health service utilization. In practice, this means proposals can focus not only on individual-level risk and protective factors, but also on systems-level questions such as access to care, treatment engagement, retention, quality of services, and the real-world delivery of prevention and treatment interventions. The NOFO highlights interest in research on risk and resilience in the development of psychopathology, encouraging applicants to study how substance use interacts with mental health and broader behavioral health outcomes. The program is also positioned to support analyses that can guide the development, testing, implementation, and delivery of high-quality, effective, and efficient prevention and treatment services, particularly when existing datasets can be leveraged to produce actionable insights.

As an R01 mechanism, this is meant for substantial, hypothesis-driven projects with rigorous analytic plans, strong measurement strategies, and clear potential to advance knowledge. Because the NOFO specifies "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," the work should not involve conducting a new clinical trial; it should rely on existing data sources, which may include large observational cohorts, administrative claims, electronic health records (when appropriately accessed and governed), longitudinal surveys, registries, clinical datasets, or previously collected neuroimaging datasets. Competitive applications will typically show that the dataset is well-suited to the research questions, that the analytic approach is innovative and appropriate (for example, advanced causal inference, longitudinal modeling, machine learning used responsibly, or harmonization across datasets), and that the results will meaningfully inform substance use science, prevention, HIV-related outcomes, or service delivery.

Eligibility is intentionally expansive. Eligible applicants include a wide range of U.S. government entities (state, county, city/township, and special district governments), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) as well as tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments). The NOFO also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types such as 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). This broad eligibility signals a desire for diverse applicants and settings, and for research that can speak to varied communities and health systems.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant program under NIH, with activity areas spanning education and health, and associated CFDA numbers 93.273 and 93.279. The opportunity was created on 2024-12-05, and the listed original closing date is 2027-12-03. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, which often means applicants should consult the full NOFO text and NIH standard policies for budget expectations and competitiveness factors.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Accelerating the Pace of Substance Use Research Using Existing Data (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273, 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-12-03.
• 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.

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