Research Training Newsletter

Research Training and Career Development Newsletter, April 2020

COVID-19 Updates

Amid the public health emergency due to COVID-19, your health and safety is our main priority and we want to reassure the training and career development community that NIDA will be doing our part to help you continue your research. Since this is a rapidly evolving situation, we understand that you will have many questions in the coming weeks and would like to direct you to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients of NIH Funding webpage which is updated frequently to share the latest information and guidance about programs in place to help with NIH projects. This webpage provides information about proposal submission, award management, human subjects, clinical trials, animal welfare, peer review, and lists funding opportunities related specifically to COVID-19, including one published by NIDA (NOT-DA-20-047) that encourages Competitive Revisions of active grants to examine the impact that this virus is having on individuals with substance use disorder. We encourage you to check this webpage often for updates and don’t hesitate to reach out to your Program Officer or our office if you have questions.

The COVID-19 public health emergency may disproportionately impact individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), many of whom have complex healthcare needs that can include treatment for additional health conditions including HIV, HCV, or other mental health disorders. In the NIDA Director’s blog and a recently published Annals of Internal Medicine Ideas and Opinions article, NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow raises several important concerns about the impact COVID-19 may have on SUD populations overall, and SUD populations experiencing vulnerabilities such as HIV infection, homelessness, or incarceration.

Addressing these challenges will require all the talents of a multi-disciplinary research workforce to understand the risks, prevalence, and control measures needed to protect and treat vulnerable populations, including those with SUD during the COVID-19 crisis. We encourage talented scientists like you to lend your expertise to this public health challenge, because together, we can find solutions.

 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)Image by CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMSThis illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

NIDA Training Program Updates

Dr. Wilson ComptonWilson M. Compton, M.D., M.P.E. 
Deputy Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse.
  • NIDA’s Office of Research Training and Office of Diversity and Health Disparities are being combined into a new Office of Research Training, Diversity, and Disparities (ORTDD) in an effort to better support all the young scholars that represent the future SUD scientific workforce. Dr. Michele Rankin, who has been an outstanding Director of NIDA’s Research Training Program for the past three years, will be moving on to a new position within NIDA, and Dr. Wilson Compton will fill this very important role in the interim. He can be reached at NIDA_Training@nida.nih.gov. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting new development.

Policy and Program Updates

  • A Notice of Special Interest (NOT-NS-20-040) was published increasing the annual salary during the K00 phase to $58,000 (plus fringe benefits). This change is effective immediately for new and continuing awards made with FY2020 funds. The following provisions remain unchanged: The salary must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries provided to other staff members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities. Please refer to the Notice of Change to salary allowance for K00 awardees for NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award for additional details.
  • NIDA recently published a Notice of Special Interest (NOT-DA-20-006): Mentored Career Development Award in Large-Scale Clinical Study Development and Analysis to encourage mentored career development applications (K01, K08, K23, K25, K99/R00) with a focus on clinical research involving design and collection of large-scale data and/or quantitative research on existing large-scale datasets (i.e., Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, the Human Connectome Project (HCP)). Please refer to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Mentored Career Development Award in Large-Scale Clinical Study Development and Analysis for additional details and application/submission information.
  • A recent Notice of Special Interest (NOT-NS-20-023) encourages eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research to increase the participation of individuals at all career stages (high school, undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, graduate/clinical doctorate, postdoctorate/residency, early career investigators) in biomedical research. This notice is part of the NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative to speed scientific solutions to the national opioid public health crisis. More information about the HEAL Initiative is available at: https://heal.nih.gov/. Please refer to the Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-18-906 Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research for additional details and application/submission information.
  • NIH recently released a Notice of Special Interest (NOT-OD-20-073): Administrative Supplements to Support Enhancement of Software Tools for Open Science to support collaborations between biomedical scientists and software engineers to enhance the design, implementation, and “cloud-readiness” of research software. Through these awards, the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) intends to help researchers who have developed scientifically valuable software to make tools sustainable, contribute to open science, and take advantage of new data science and computing paradigms. Please refer to the notice for additional details and application/submission information.

Funding Opportunities

For a full list of training, fellowship, career development, and research education funding opportunities, including parent announcements, please see the NIH Research Training and Career Development webpage.

Predoctoral Training

  • Jointly Sponsored Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences (T32 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) PAR-20-076
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (F31-Diversity) PA-19-196
  • NIH Blueprint Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award (F99/K00) RFA-NS-19-011
  • Drug Abuse Dissertation Research (R36) PA-16-443

Postdoctoral Training

  • Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)  PAR-19-343
  • BRAIN Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 Clinical Trial Required) RFA-19-044
  • BRAIN Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) RFA-19-043
  • Pathway to Independence Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K99/R00  - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) RFA-OD-20-009
  • Pathway to Independence Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K99/R00  - Independent Clinical Trial  Required) RFA-OD-20-010
  • BRAIN Initiative Fellows: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) RFA-MH-18-510

Career Development

  • Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K01 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) RFA-OD-20-008
  • Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award in Tobacco Regulatory Research (K01 -  Independent Clinical Trial Required) RFA-OD-20-011
  • Notice of NIDA Participation in PAR-20-039, Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) Research Advancement Award (SC1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) NOT-DA-20-025
  • Notice of NIDA Participation in PAR-20-040, Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) Pilot Project Award (SC2 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) NOT-DA-20-026
  • Notice of Special Interest: Administrative Supplements for Research on Sex/Gender Influences (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional) NOT-OD-20-049
  • Notice of Special Interest for Administrative Supplements for Research on Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Populations (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional) NOT-OD-20-032 
    Applications in response to this NOSI must be submitted using PA-18-591
  • Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) for Administrative and Revision Supplements to Expand Vaping Research and Understand EVALI NOT-HL-19-724  Applications in response to this NOSI must be submitted using PA-18-591 or PA-18-935
  • Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) for Administrative Supplements to Support Research on Bioethical Issues NOT-OD-20-038. Applications in response to this NOSI must be submitted using PA-19-217 or PA-18-591
  • Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) for Administrative Supplements to Expand Research to Include Issues of importance to Women’s Health in IDeA states NOT-GM-20-017
  • Short-term Mentored Career Enhancement Awards in Mobile and Wireless Health Technology and Data Analytics: Cross-Training at the intersection of Behavioral and Social Sciences and STEM Disciplines (K18 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) PAR-18-881
  • Short-term Mentored Career Enhancement Awards in Mobile and Wireless Health Technology and Data Analytics: Cross-Training at the intersection of Behavioral and Social Sciences and STEM Disciplines (K18 Independent Clinical Trial Required) PAR-18-882
  • NIDA Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program Award in Substance Use and Substance Use Disorder Research (K12 Clinical Trial Optional) PAR-18-746

Research Education

  • NIDA Research Education Program for Clinical Researchers and Clinicians (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) PAR-19-258
  • Providing Research Education Experiences to Enhance Diversity in the Next Generation of Substance Abuse and Addiction Scientists (R25 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed) PAR-19-246
  • Alcohol and Other Substance Use Research Education Programs for Health Professionals (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) PAR-19-207
  • Summer Research Education Experience Program (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) PAR-19-197

Other Opportunities

  • Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) (S06 Clinical Trials Optional) PAR-20-125
  • Strengthening the Impact of Community Health Workers on the HIV Care Continuum in the US (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) RFA-NR-20-002

Upcoming Event

Please visit nida.nih.gov/international/meetings to find information on scientific meetings, which have relevance to substance use/substance use disorder research. Please note, many upcoming meetings and events may be canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. We encourage you to check the respective meeting websites for updates on their official status.