Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 20 007
The National Institutes of Health announced this discretionary grant opportunity, RFA-DA-20-007, titled "Leveraging Big Data Science to Elucidate the Neural Mechanisms of Addiction and Substance Use Disorder (R21 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed)." It uses the R21 mechanism, which is generally intended for exploratory, high-risk/high-reward projects that can generate proof-of-concept results, new directions, or early-stage methods rather than fully mature, large-scale research programs. As the title indicates, clinical trials are not allowed under this funding opportunity, so the work should focus on computational, analytical, and data-driven approaches rather than testing clinical interventions in human participants.
The core goal of the program is to bring more data and computational scientists into addiction and substance use disorder research by encouraging proposals that can integrate and analyze complex datasets that differ in type and scale. In practical terms, this means the NIH is looking for teams that can combine information across levels such as molecular or genomic data, neural circuit or brain imaging data, physiological measures, behavioral data, and other relevant sources in ways that traditional analysis pipelines do not handle well. The emphasis is on developing and applying novel computational, bioinformatics, statistical, and analytical methods that make it possible to ask new questions, find patterns that were previously hidden, and generate insights into the biology of addiction that could not be reached through single-dataset or single-modality approaches.
A major theme in the description is innovation in data integration. The opportunity is not just asking applicants to run standard analyses on existing datasets; it is specifically encouraging new frameworks, tools, or strategies that can connect disparate datasets, harmonize them, and support new types of inference. Examples of the kind of technical direction implied by the language include multimodal data fusion, advanced machine learning or network-based modeling, scalable pipelines for very large datasets, methods for handling data heterogeneity and missingness, and approaches that enable interpretable links between neural mechanisms and addiction-related phenotypes. The intended payoff is that these methods will unlock "previously inaccessible insights" and reveal new aspects of addiction biology, particularly as it relates to neural mechanisms and substance use disorder.
In terms of who can apply, eligibility is broad and spans many sectors. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city or township, and special district governments), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and private institutions of higher education. The opportunity is also open to federally recognized Native American tribal governments, tribal organizations that are not federally recognized, public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities, and a range of nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status. For-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses are listed as eligible as well, along with an "Others" category that NIH uses to capture additional eligible entity types. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicants 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 even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). Taken together, this signals an intent to broaden participation and encourage cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations, including organizations that may bring unique datasets, community connections, or specialized computational expertise.
From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument is a grant, the agency is the NIH, and the activity category is listed under education and health, with CFDA number 93.279. The original closing date in the source information is November 14, 2019, and the creation date is July 10, 2019. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided excerpt, which often means applicants would need to consult the full FOA text for budget limits, project period expectations, and any institute- or program-specific constraints tied to the R21 mechanism.
Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a call for methodologically ambitious, data-centric projects that can connect the dots across complex addiction-related datasets to clarify neural and biological mechanisms. The NIH is explicitly trying to stimulate new analytical capabilities in the field by attracting researchers who specialize in computation, statistics, bioinformatics, and big data science, with the expectation that these tools will open up new lines of discovery in addiction and substance use disorder research without conducting clinical trials.Apply for RFA DA 20 007
- The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Leveraging Big Data Science to Elucidate the Neural Mechanisms of Addiction and Substance Use Disorder (R21 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" 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 2019-07-10.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-11-14. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- 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.
[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal:
FAQs: RFA-DA-20-007 (NIH) - Leveraging Big Data Science to Elucidate the Neural Mechanisms of Addiction and Substance Use Disorder (R21 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
What is the official title and number of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is NIH RFA-DA-20-007, titled "Leveraging Big Data Science to Elucidate the Neural Mechanisms of Addiction and Substance Use Disorder (R21 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed)."
Which agency is offering this grant?
The funding agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What type of funding instrument is this?
The funding instrument is a grant.
What mechanism does this opportunity use?
This opportunity uses the NIH R21 mechanism, which is generally intended for exploratory, high-risk/high-reward research aimed at generating proof-of-concept results, opening new directions, or developing early-stage methods.
What is the main goal of the program?
The central goal is to leverage big data science to uncover neural mechanisms related to addiction and substance use disorder by developing and applying novel computational, analytical, statistical, bioinformatics, and data-driven approaches.
Is this program focused on clinical interventions or treatment testing?
No. The opportunity explicitly states that clinical trials are not allowed, so the focus is on computational and data-centric research rather than testing clinical interventions in human participants.
Are clinical trials allowed under this funding opportunity?
No. The opportunity is designated "Clinical Trials Not Allowed."
What kinds of projects does the R21 mechanism typically support in this context?
Projects that are exploratory and methodologically ambitious, including proof-of-concept analyses, new computational frameworks, early-stage tools, and innovative pipelines that can generate insights not easily achievable with standard approaches.
What scientific area is this opportunity targeting?
It targets addiction and substance use disorder research, with an emphasis on understanding neural mechanisms and the biology of addiction using large-scale and complex datasets.
Why does the announcement emphasize "big data science"?
The program aims to bring more data and computational scientists into addiction research and encourages the integration and analysis of complex datasets that differ in type and scale.
What does "data integration" mean in the context of this opportunity?
It refers to strategies and methods that can connect disparate datasets (different types and scales), harmonize them, and enable new forms of inference across modalities rather than analyzing each dataset in isolation.
Does the opportunity encourage standard analyses of existing datasets?
The description emphasizes innovation beyond standard analyses, encouraging new frameworks, tools, or strategies that enable connecting and harmonizing different datasets and extracting previously hidden patterns.
What kinds of data types are applicants encouraged to integrate?
The announcement highlights integrating across levels such as molecular or genomic data, neural circuit or brain imaging data, physiological measures, behavioral data, and other relevant sources.
What methodological directions are implied by the program description?
Examples implied include multimodal data fusion, advanced machine learning or network-based modeling, scalable pipelines for very large datasets, methods for handling heterogeneity and missing data, and approaches that produce interpretable links between neural mechanisms and addiction-related phenotypes.
What is meant by "previously inaccessible insights"?
It refers to biological or neural findings that become possible only when complex, multi-source datasets are integrated and analyzed with novel methods, revealing patterns and relationships that single-modality or traditional pipelines may miss.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types across government, education, nonprofit, and private sectors, as well as U.S. and non-U.S. entities as described in the opportunity information.
Are institutions of higher education eligible?
Yes. Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are listed as eligible.
Are government entities eligible to apply?
Yes. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and special district governments.
Are independent school districts eligible?
Yes. Independent school districts are listed as eligible applicants.
Are nonprofit organizations eligible?
Yes. Nonprofit organizations with and without 501(c)(3) status are listed as eligible.
Are for-profit organizations eligible?
Yes. For-profit organizations (other than small businesses) are listed as eligible, and small businesses are also listed as eligible.
Are tribal governments and tribal organizations eligible?
Yes. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are eligible, and tribal organizations that are not federally recognized are also listed as eligible.
Are housing authorities eligible?
Yes. Public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities are listed as eligible.
Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly highlights faith-based and community-based organizations among additional eligible applicants.
Are minority-serving institutions specifically encouraged or eligible?
Yes. The announcement highlights eligibility for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).
Are U.S. territories or possessions eligible?
Yes. U.S. territories or possessions are explicitly highlighted among additional eligible applicants.
Are foreign (non-U.S.) organizations eligible?
Yes. The opportunity indicates that non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations) are eligible.
Are federal agencies eligible to apply?
Yes. Eligible federal agencies are highlighted among additional eligible applicants.
What is the activity category for this opportunity?
The activity category is listed under education and health.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number is 93.279.
What are the key dates provided for this opportunity?
The creation date is July 10, 2019, and the original closing date listed is November 14, 2019.
Is the award ceiling provided in the excerpt?
No. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided information.
Is the expected number of awards provided in the excerpt?
No. The expected number of awards is not specified in the provided information.
Where would an applicant typically look for details like budget limits and project period expectations?
The excerpt indicates that applicants would likely need to consult the full FOA text for details such as budget limits, project period expectations, and any R21- or institute-specific constraints.
What kind of team or expertise does NIH appear to be trying to attract?
The description emphasizes attracting researchers with expertise in computation, statistics, bioinformatics, and big data science, including cross-disciplinary teams that can bridge computational methods with addiction and substance use disorder research questions.
How should applicants interpret the program's emphasis on cross-dataset and cross-modality work?
The emphasis suggests proposals should aim to connect information across multiple levels of analysis (for example, genomic, imaging, physiological, and behavioral data) to generate insights that would not be possible using a single dataset or modality alone.
Browse more opportunities from the same category: Education, Health
Next opportunity: NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (R35 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Previous opportunity: Sponsored Programs Administration Development (SPAD) Program (UC2 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Applicant Portal:
Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.
Apply for RFA DA 20 007
Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (RFA DA 20 007) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Modeling HIV Neuropathology Using Microglia from Human iPSC and Cerebral Organoids (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA DA 20 023 Funding Number: RFA DA 20 023 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| The NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00) Apply for RFA CA 19 057 Funding Number: RFA CA 19 057 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Strategic Alliances for Medications Development to Treat Substance Use Disorders (R01-Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 318 Funding Number: PAR 19 318 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Participant Engagement and Cancer Genome Sequencing (PE-CGS): Research Centers (U2C Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA CA 19 045 Funding Number: RFA CA 19 045 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $2,500,000 |
| Participant Engagement and Cancer Genome Sequencing (PE-CGS): Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for RFA CA 19 046 Funding Number: RFA CA 19 046 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $350,000 |
| Clinical Characterization of Cancer Therapy-induced Adverse Sequelae and Mechanism-based Interventional Strategies (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 325 Funding Number: PAR 19 325 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Palliative Care in Home and Community Settings (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 320 Funding Number: PAR 19 320 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Reducing Stigma to Improve HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 326 Funding Number: PAR 19 326 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Palliative Care in Home and Community Settings (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 321 Funding Number: PAR 19 321 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Grand Opportunity in Medications Development for Substance-Use Disorders (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 327 Funding Number: PAR 19 327 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Circadian Patterns of Gene Expression Associated with Disease (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for RFA HL 20 016 Funding Number: RFA HL 20 016 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| Leveraging Cognitive Neuroscience to Improve Assessment of Cancer Treatment-Related Cognitive Impairment (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 340 Funding Number: PAR 19 340 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Leveraging Cognitive Neuroscience to Improve Assessment of Cancer Treatment-Related Cognitive Impairment (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 339 Funding Number: PAR 19 339 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (R35 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 19 349 Funding Number: PAR 19 349 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $600,000 |
| NIDA Program Project Grant Applications (P01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 345 Funding Number: PAR 19 345 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Innovative Approaches to Studying Cancer Communication in the New Information Ecosystem (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 348 Funding Number: PAR 19 348 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Innovative Approaches to Studying Cancer Communication in the New Information Ecosystem (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 350 Funding Number: PAR 19 350 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| NCI Clinical and Translational Exploratory/Developmental Studies (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Apply for PAR 19 356 Funding Number: PAR 19 356 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Neural Regulation of Cancer (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 19 354 Funding Number: PAR 19 354 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Neural Regulation of Cancer (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Apply for PAR 19 353 Funding Number: PAR 19 353 Agency: National Institutes of Health Category: Education, Health Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
Grant application guides and resources
It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!
Apply for Grants
Inside Our Applicants Portal
Access Applicants Portal
- Grants Repository - Access current and historic funding opportunities with ease. Thousands of funding opportunities are published every week. We can help you sort through the database and find the eligible ones to apply for.
- Applicant Video Guides - The grant application process can be challenging to follow. We can help you with intuitive video guides to speed up the process and eliminate errors in submissions.
- Grant Proposal Wizard - We have developed a network of private funding organizations and investors across the United States. We can reach out and submit your proposal to these contacts to maximize your chances of getting the funding you need.
Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers
Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.
If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.
Learn More
Request more information:
Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "RFA DA 20 007", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:
Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.