HEAL Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral-to-Independent Career Transition Award in PAIN and SUD Research to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required) | RFA NS 22 024

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 22 024

The HEAL Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral-to-Independent Career Transition Award in Pain and SUD Research to Promote Diversity (K99/R00; RFA-NS-22-024) is an NIH grant opportunity aimed at helping outstanding postdoctoral researchers move more quickly and securely into independent, faculty-level research careers. It sits within the NIH HEAL Initiative (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) and focuses on building and sustaining a strong pipeline of new investigators working on pain and/or substance use disorder (SUD) research. A central goal is to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce, meaning the program is explicitly structured to expand the pool of independent investigators from a wide range of backgrounds who are positioned to lead HEAL-relevant research programs over the long term.

This award uses the familiar NIH K99/R00 "Pathway to Independence" structure. In practical terms, it supports a two-stage transition: first, a mentored phase (the K99) while the applicant is still in a postdoctoral or equivalent training position, and then an independent phase (the R00) that begins once the awardee secures a tenure-track or equivalent independent research position. The intent is not simply to fund a single project, but to provide a launchpad that helps an early-career scientist gather the training, publications, preliminary data, and professional development needed to compete as an independent principal investigator, and then to provide research support during the critical early years of establishing a lab or independent research program.

This specific FOA is tailored for applicants who plan to lead an independent clinical study as the primary investigator. NIH highlights that this includes serving as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, an ancillary clinical trial, or an independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH) project. BESH generally refers to mechanistic or experimental studies in human participants that are not traditional clinical trials aimed at evaluating health outcomes, but still involve prospective assignment to conditions or interventions and collection of human data to understand biological, behavioral, or other mechanisms. The key point is that the applicant is proposing to be in charge of an independent human study component that fits NIH definitions in this area. If an applicant is not planning to lead an independent clinical trial or BESH study and instead plans to gain experience on a clinical trial led by someone else (or proposes no independent trial/BESH leadership), NIH directs them to use the companion announcement (RFA-NS-22-025) rather than this one.

In terms of scientific focus, the grant is anchored in research areas supported by the NIH HEAL Initiative, specifically pain and/or substance use disorder. That can span basic, translational, and clinically oriented work, as long as it aligns with HEAL priorities and fits the FOA requirement that the applicant is proposing an independent clinical trial-related activity or independent BESH study. The overarching program purpose is to maintain a strong cohort of promising new investigators in these fields and to increase the number of diverse, independent researchers leading pain and SUD research programs.

Eligibility is broad at the organizational level and reflects NIH’s standard range of eligible applicant organizations for many grant programs. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit entities (including small businesses, and nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) status). The FOA also calls out additional eligible organization types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and certain tribal governments and tribal organizations. At the same time, NIH is explicit that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, which typically means a U.S. applicant organization can include a foreign component when scientifically justified and permitted under NIH policy, even though a foreign organization cannot be the direct applicant.

Administratively, the opportunity is offered by the National Institutes of Health under a discretionary grant mechanism, and it is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.121, 93.213, 93.273, 93.398, 93.846, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866), reflecting NIH’s multi-institute involvement in HEAL-related funding streams. The opportunity number is RFA-NS-22-024. The original closing date listed for this FOA is March 11, 2025. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided text, which usually means applicants need to consult the full FOA and NIH budget guidance for detailed cost limits, project period expectations, and institute-specific considerations.

Overall, this FOA is best understood as a targeted K99/R00 transition award for postdoctoral researchers who are ready to propose and lead an independent human study (clinical trial, feasibility/ancillary trial, or BESH) in pain and/or SUD research, and who will benefit from structured support as they move from mentored training to an independent faculty-equivalent role. The program’s defining features are (1) its workforce diversity emphasis, (2) its HEAL-aligned scientific scope in pain and addiction, and (3) its requirement that the applicant proposes to lead an independent clinical trial-related project or independent BESH study, with a separate companion FOA available for applicants whose plans do not include that type of independent human study leadership.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral-to-Independent Career Transition Award in PAIN and SUD Research to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.121, 93.213, 93.273, 93.398, 93.846, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-12-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-11. (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.

Apply for RFA NS 22 024

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