Alcohol and Other Substance Use Research Education Programs for Health Professionals (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) through its participating organizations, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has released the reissue of PAR-19-207 under Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) number PAR-23-240. This Research Education Program (R25) opportunity is designed to support educational activities that enhance the understanding of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research, with a particular emphasis on outreach to health professionals. The program explicitly excludes clinical trials and focuses instead on disseminating knowledge and advancing education in the field of substance use research. The purpose of this NOFO is to support creative educational outreach activities that provide practicing health professionals with the latest research findings and evidence-based approaches related to alcohol and other substance use disorders (AUD/SUD). The goal is to foster better patient care through increased knowledge of the neurobiology, prevention, detection, and treatment of addictive disorders. Outreach activities should go beyond traditional classroom-based education and must be designed to engage professionals in clinical settings such as hospitals, clinics, schools, child welfare agencies, emergency departments, and other environments where substance use issues are encountered. Projects may include short courses, online modules, or other innovative methods to communicate state-of-the-art findings in AUD/SUD research. Programs are encouraged to incorporate content on stigma reduction, co-occurring health conditions, and treatment disparities among special populations. Strong dissemination and evaluation plans are required, ensuring that materials reach a broad professional audience and that program effectiveness is systematically measured. Sustainability of the programs beyond the life of the award must also be demonstrated. The funding instrument for this opportunity is a grant, with a maximum budget request of $250,000 in direct costs per year and a project period of up to four years. NIH anticipates making multiple awards, subject to available appropriations and the receipt of meritorious applications. Allowable costs include personnel, participant stipends, travel, supplies, and program-related expenses. Indirect costs are reimbursed at 8 percent of modified total direct costs. Participant costs, such as per diem or partial tuition, may be allowable with sufficient justification. Eligibility is broad and includes institutions of higher education, nonprofits, for-profit organizations, governments, independent school districts, tribal organizations, housing authorities, and faith- or community-based organizations. Foreign institutions and components are not eligible to apply. Applications must be submitted electronically through NIH systems such as ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, or institutional system-to-system solutions. Applicant organizations must maintain active registrations in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons, and program directors must hold valid eRA Commons IDs. Applications are due on NIH’s standard due dates of January 25, May 25, and September 25 through May 25, 2026. Letters of Intent, while not required, are requested 30 days before the application deadline. The earliest submission date for this reissue was August 25, 2023, and the opportunity will remain open until its expiration on May 26, 2026. Review cycles follow NIH standard timelines, with scientific merit review, advisory council review, and award start dates occurring approximately six to nine months after each application due date. Program applications will be evaluated based on significance, innovation, approach, investigator capability, and environment, with additional criteria addressing responsible conduct of research training, reproducibility, and inclusivity. NIH emphasizes the importance of diversity, sustainability, and dissemination in proposed programs. Applicants are encouraged to contact NIH program officers for guidance on priorities before submitting applications. Key contacts include Dr. Miya Whitaker (NIAAA) and Dr. Angela Holmes (NIDA) for scientific questions, Dr. Ranga Srinivas (NIAAA) and Dr. Dharmendar Rathore (NIDA) for peer review inquiries, and Judy Fox (NIAAA) and Pam Fleming (NIDA) for grants management questions.

Contact NIAAA or NIDA staff before preparing an application; submit early to allow corrections; ensure institutional support; provide sustainability and evaluation plans