Science Track Award for Research Transition (START) Program (R03, Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks to advance its mission by providing seed funding for projects that build expertise and enable research at the intersection of substance use research and one or more of the following fields:

• Discovery and development of new chemical entities or biologics to advance therapeutic interventions for substance use disorders (SUDs) and drug dependence
• Development and application of brain imaging tools or brain imaging methods
• Application of innovative neurocognitive and behavioral science tools or paradigms
• Application of advanced data science techniques and innovative computational methods, including artificial intelligence
• Research that can lead to advancing basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological, or intervention science regarding substance use and HIV/AIDS

Projects funded by the Science Track Award for Research Transition (START) program are expected to yield findings that will lead to new concepts or guide the design of more comprehensive studies and serve as preliminary data for a larger R or equivalent applications. Early stage and new investigators, as well as investigators new to substance use or AIDS research, are encouraged to apply. Grant Authorities that allow NIDA to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Section 301 (42 U.S.C. § 241) and Section 405 (42 U.S.C. § 284).