“Unlocking Insights: Analyzing All of Us Data for Drug Addiction Research” Challenge

Challenge Summary:

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the “Unlocking Insights: Analyzing All of Us Data for Drug Addiction Research” Challenge. The All of Us Research Program at NIH consists of a nationwide community of participants and researchers aiming to accelerate research advances and precision medicine. The Challenge goal is to motivate teams of researchers, from colleges and universities, companies, nonprofit organizations, and more, to delve into the extensive dataset provided by the All of Us Research Program, with the goal of uncovering insights and advancing research into all aspects of substance use, misuse, and drug addiction. Participants in this Challenge are tasked with uncovering, analyzing, and characterizing relationships between different variables and data available in the All of Us Researcher Workbench related to substance use, misuse, and drug addiction. The Researcher Workbench includes an array of data such as survey responses, electronic health records (EHR), genetic data, behavioral data, drug usage patterns, and more. NIDA anticipates this Challenge will reveal new correlations across genetic, behavioral, environmental, developmental, or other factors that play a role in substance use, misuse, and drug addiction.

The Challenge will offer up to 5 awards of up to $20,000 each. The Challenge total cash prize purse is up to $100,000.

Subject of the Challenge:

The All of Us Research Program at the NIH was established in 2015 through the Precision Medicine Initiative with the goal of recruiting at least one million study participants from across the U.S. and its territories. Program participants provide a wide variety of data, including biospecimens, physical measurements, health and wellbeing surveys, access to their EHR data, fitness tracker data, and opting into genomic sequencing. Unlike typical research studies, the participants in All of Us are considered partners in the research, allowing them to provide feedback on the program and receive information about themselves. To date, the program has recruited over 860,000 participants from more than 730 sites across the country.

Another critical aspect of the All of Us Research Program is the emphasis on data sharing, which is accomplished by offering multiple levels of access to the data, from the publicly available Data Browser to the more restricted access of the Researcher Workbench. The Researcher Workbench opened to researchers in 2020 and currently has more than 17,800 active projects registered, resulting in more than 650 peer-reviewed journal articles published using the data. Despite the size and complexity of this data resource available to researchers, few studies on drug addiction and substance use or misuse have been registered in the Researcher Workbench or published in peer-reviewed journals. NIDA aims to leverage this rich dataset provided by All of Us and encourages teams of researchers to explore the data and discover novel insights which could be valuable for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of substance use, misuse, and drug addiction.

The most recent data release (version 8) in the All of Us Researcher Workbench includes:

  • Survey data from more than 633,000 participants,
  • Physical measurement data from more than 509,000 participants, including self-reported data collected from participants remotely (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, BMI)
  • EHR data from more than 393,596 participants (including demographics, healthcare visits, diagnoses, and medications),
  • Fitbit data from more than 59,000 participants, including data from the Wearables Enhancing All of Us Research (WEAR) Study,
  • Genetic data, including:
    • Array data from more than 447,000 participants,
    • Short-read whole genome sequences from more than 414,000 participants, and
    • Long-read whole genome sequences from more than 2,700 participants.

NIDA invites researchers to apply their most innovative study designs and methodologies to query the multimodal, complex data available in the Researcher Workbench. Researchers are tasked with extracting relationships between the different variables in the All of Us dataset and describing how various factors, such as social, genetic, lifestyle, behavioral, biological, and others, contribute to substance use, misuse, and drug addiction susceptibility, relapse, course, and outcomes. Researchers are encouraged to utilize advanced computational methods, which could include artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and similar tools, to analyze the data.

Examples of analyses that would be responsive to the Challenge include, but are not limited to:

  • Identifying features or variables (such as genetic predispositions, social determinants, and behavioral patterns) that increase or lessen the propensity of individuals to transition along the drug use and addiction spectrum (e.g., from use to problematic use or drug addiction, from drug addiction to recovery, from recovery to relapse).
  • Investigating predictors that determine which individuals are most likely to benefit from a specific treatment (e.g., buprenorphine, GLP-1 agonists, behavioral interventions) including genetic markers, biological mechanisms, social determinants, and behavioral profiles that influence treatment response and long-term outcomes.
  • Determining the optimal touchpoints and care transitions that facilitate receipt of treatment services to enable long-term recovery.

Note: To participate in this Challenge competition, teams will need to have or gain access to the Registered and/or Controlled Tier of the All of Us Researcher Workbench. To register for use of the Researcher Workbench, individuals’ institutions (which includes colleges and universities, companies, nonprofit organizations, and more) must have a Data Use and Registration Agreement (DURA) in place. You can find more information on institutions that have a DURA in place and what individuals need to do to gain access to the Researcher Workbench on the All of Us Research Hub.

Dates:

  • Challenge Launch: June 14, 2025
  • Submission Start: June 30, 2025 9:00 AM ET
  • Registration End: August 18, 2025 11:59 PM ET
  • *UPDATE* Submission End: September 15, 2025 6:00 PM ET
  • *UPDATE* Judging Period: December 1, 2025 to January 20, 2026
  • *UPDATE* Winners Announced: January 30, 2026

Statutory Authority to Conduct the Challenge

NIDA is conducting this Challenge under the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act of 2010, as amended [15 U.S.C. § 3719]. The general purpose of NIDA is to conduct and support biomedical and behavioral research, health-services research, research training, and health information dissemination with respect to the prevention of drug use and the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). This Challenge is consistent with and advances the mission of NIDA as described in 42 U.S.C. 285o in that it supports analysis of the existing All of Us Research Program dataset to uncover insights and advance research into all aspects of substance use, misuse, and drug addiction. As this Challenge is consistent with and advances the mission of NIDA, any submissions solely pursuing ideas in the area of alcohol use disorder will not be accepted.

Prizes

Amount of the Prize:

The Challenge total cash prize purse is up to $100,000. NIDA may award up to five awards of up to $20,000 each, depending on the judges’ overall score. All submissions selected to win a prize will be announced on the NIDA website and via social media.

Award Approving Official 

The Award Approving Official will be the Director of NIDA. 

Payment of the Prize: 

Prizes awarded under this Challenge will be paid by electronic funds transfer and may be subject to federal income taxes. HHS/NIH will comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable. Winners must be able to provide bank account and routing information in order to receive the cash prize funds and must be prepared to obtain additional documentation or funds transfer information from their financial institution as needed. In the case of a Team, NIDA will pay the cash prize directly and in full to the Team Leader who registers and submits on behalf of a Team. NIDA is not responsible for any distribution of the prize among the Team members.

NIH reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) cancel, suspend, or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, and/or (b) not award any prizes if no submissions are deemed worthy.

Rules

Eligibility Rules: 

The Challenge is open to Teams of participants 18 years of age or older. A Team is defined as a group of individuals assembled with the purpose of participating in this Challenge. Each Team must be a group of two to five individual participants).

To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, individuals participating as part of a Team — 

  • Shall have registered to participate in the Challenge under the rules promulgated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as published in this announcement;
  • Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
  • In the case of a Team, the Team Leader shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. However, non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents can participate as a member of a Team that otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents are not eligible to win a monetary prize (in whole or in part). Their participation as part of a winning Team, if applicable, may be recognized when the results are announced.
  • Shall not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
  • Shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, or any other component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity;
  • Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), should consult with an agency ethics official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this Challenge;
  • Shall not be a judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child).
  • Shall be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission.

Participation Rules:

(1)  Participants (participating as a group of individuals) may not use federal funds from a grant award or cooperative agreement to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.

(2)  Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions. 

(3)  By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (participating as a group of individuals) agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise. 

(4)  Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no Participant (participating as a group of individuals) participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance, or demonstrate financial responsibility, or agree to indemnify the federal government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities in order to participate in this Challenge. 

(5)  A Participant (participating as a group of individuals) shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all Participants participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.

(6)  By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (participating as a group of individuals) warrants that they are sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the submission comprises, that the works are wholly original with the Participant (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Participant has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Participant is aware. 

(7)  By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (participating as a group of individuals) grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the Participants’ names and the title and/or summary of their submission on the web or elsewhere. Each Participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but Participants must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein. 

(8)  Each Participant (participating as a group of individuals) agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.

(9)  Each Participant (participating as a group of individuals) participating in this Challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this Challenge constitutes each such Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.

Judging Criteria

Basis Upon Which a Winner Will be Selected. The judging panel, comprised of federal employee scientists, will consider the following four criteria and make recommendations to the award approving official, based upon their assessments of the criteria.

  1. Pertinence to Addiction Research (0-20 points): To what extent does the work examine questions relevant to our understanding of substance use, misuse, and drug addiction and related risk factors, treatment effects, and/or consider particular symptoms related to substance use, misuse, and drug addiction? To what extent are the concepts, approaches, methodologies, factors, predictors, or analysis results novel to the field of addiction research or to substance use or misuse? To what extent is scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice for substance use, misuse, or addiction expanded on by the analysis results presented?
  2. Computational Rigor and Methodology (0-20 points): How clearly does the submission describe the computational methods used? How well does the submission outline any potential limitations or biases of the method used? To what extent is the computational method used generalizable to a larger portion of the data set or to a larger population? Do the researchers compare their model to other computational or statistical methods?
  3. Insights and Innovation (0-15 points): How much does the submission expand current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches, or methodologies? To what extent does the data analysis push forward the state of the substance use, misuse, and drug addiction research field and present novel insights and directions for further research? To what extent do the analysis results represent the potential for future innovation in the field of substance use, misuse, or addiction research?
  4. Clarity and Communication (0-5 points): How clear and well-articulated is the written submission? How well is the submission organized? How well does the submission visualize the results of the data analysis? To what extent does it clearly provide details and supporting evidence for the results of the analysis to contribute to the field of substance use, misuse, and drug addiction research? 

Depending on the quantity and quality of the submissions, judges may invite teams with high-scoring submissions to provide a presentation to the judging panel via videoconference. The invited teams will deliver a 15-minute presentation of their analysis projects to the judges, and the judges will be able to ask questions. Based on the presentations, judges may adjust their scores for each criterion listed above to assist them in making final recommendations to the award approving official.

How to Enter

Registration and Submission Process: 

Each Team must be a group of two to five individuals and assembled with the purpose of participating in this Challenge. Each Team member is required to complete the registration form. Each Team is required to identify a Team Leader who submits the required Submission on behalf of the Team. To be eligible to win a prize in this challenge, the Team Leader shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. The Team Leader and all Team Members must complete the registration form by 11:59 PM ET on Monday, August 18, 2025. Teams must register first before sending in the Submission. 
The Submission must be emailed to NIDAChallenge@nih.gov in PDF format by 6:00 pm ET on Monday, September 8, 2025.  

Submission Requirements:

Each Submission for this Challenge requires a 5-page written report describing the project aim and introduction of the topic, analytical methods used and results obtained, and discussion of the impact of the results and conclusions from the analysis. Figures, images, graphs, tables, and schematics are counted in the 5-page document limit for the written proposal sections outlined below, but the title page and list of references do not count against the 5-page document limit. Only the written report will be evaluated. Submissions that do not follow the format described below will be disqualified and removed from the prize considerations.

  1. Completion of the Registration Form: Participant information such as name, contact information, and agreement to the rules of the Challenge. All Team Members must complete the form by 11:59 PM ET on Monday, August 18, 2025.
  2. Written Report: The report must consist of a PDF file with at least 1-inch margins and be no more than five (5) pages long, excluding title page and references. Font size must be no smaller than 11-point Arial. All submissions must be in English. The participants must not use the HHS logo or official seal or the logo of NIH or NIDA in the submissions and must not claim federal government endorsement.

    The written report must contain the following sections:
    • Title Page (does not count toward page limit):
      • Title: Provide a title for the data analysis project
      • Abstract: Summarize the information provided in the written report in one paragraph
    • Project Aim and Introduction (~1 page): Explain the reason why the project was pursued, the hypothesis and any results expected at the end of the project, and provide any background information relevant to the subject of the project. References may be used and should be listed at the end of the written report; references do not count against the page limit.
    • Methods and Results (~2.5 pages): Describe the data used to complete the analysis project, all variables included, covariates, etc. Explain what analysis tools were used and how the analysis was performed. Describe the results of the analysis using tables, graphs, and any other data visualization aids deemed appropriate.
    • Discussion and Conclusions (~1.5 pages): Explain the results of the analysis in the context of substance use, misuse, and drug addiction, including the implications the results may have on the field of addiction science. Describe any limitations of the data or the analysis and the potential of the results to be generalized to a larger population. Include any conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis project and describe possible future studies that may be done.
    • References (no page limit, does not count towards page limit): Include any references pertaining to the project’s topic, analysis, or conclusions/future directions.

Additional Information

For Further Information Contact:

Challenge email: NIDAChallenge@nih.gov

Sara Lioi, PhD
NIDA Challenge Administrator
Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI) 
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Phone: (301) 827-5829 
Email: sara.lioi@nih.gov 

Roger Little, PhD
Deputy Director
Division of Neuroscience and Behavior (DNB)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Phone: (301) 435-1316
Email: roger.little@nih.gov