HEAL Initiative: Career Development Awards in Implementation Science for Substance Use Prevention and Treatment (K23 - Clinical Trial Required) | PAS 22 207

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS 22 207

The HEAL Initiative: Career Development Awards in Implementation Science for Substance Use Prevention and Treatment (K23 - Clinical Trial Required) is an NIH-funded career development grant designed to help early career researchers and early career clinicians who already have a foundational background in addiction build real expertise in implementation science. The focus is not simply on testing whether an addiction-related intervention works under ideal conditions, but on learning how to put evidence-based practices into routine use across real-world clinical and community settings, where barriers like staffing, workflow, patient access, financing, stigma, and local policy often determine whether care actually improves. The award is structured around two integrated pieces: a mentored training plan in implementation science methods and a companion research project that applies those methods to a concrete implementation challenge in substance use prevention or treatment.

A central expectation is that the proposed research and training align with one or more priority domains from the HHS Overdose Prevention Strategy. Applicants are asked to focus their implementation science project in at least one of four areas: primary prevention (including appropriate opioid prescribing), opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, harm reduction, and/or recovery support services. In practice, that could mean studying strategies to improve uptake of evidence-based prescribing and pain management practices, increasing access to medications for OUD, expanding adoption of harm reduction services, or strengthening recovery supports so that people can sustain treatment gains. The throughline is that projects should be about implementation: understanding and overcoming the practical, system-level, and behavioral hurdles that keep proven approaches from being delivered consistently and equitably.

The broader goal of the opportunity is workforce-building. NIH is using this FOA to grow a pipeline of investigators who can respond to the overdose crisis with rigorous implementation research, improve the quality of addiction care over the long term, and eventually become the next generation of implementation science leaders, collaborators, and mentors. That emphasis on career development means reviewers will look for a strong mentorship team, a credible plan for gaining implementation science competencies, and a project that is both methodologically sound and positioned to produce a trajectory of future research funding and impact.

This is a K23 mechanism and it is explicitly "Clinical Trial Required," meaning the application is expected to include a clinical trial component as defined by NIH, rather than being purely observational or secondary analysis. The research portion should be designed so that it can generate interpretable evidence about implementation strategies, outcomes, and contextual factors. While the exact approach can vary widely, the intent is that the applicant will use established implementation science frameworks and measures to evaluate how best to integrate and sustain evidence-based prevention or treatment practices in routine care environments.

Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types that can serve as the applicant institution. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other categories. The FOA also 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, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized ones, and U.S. territories or possessions.

There are also clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as the applicant institution. At the same time, foreign components are allowed when they meet the NIH Grants Policy Statement definition, which typically means a U.S.-based applicant can include certain foreign elements in the project if they are justified and compliant with NIH policy.

Administrative details from the listing include the Funding Opportunity Number PAS-22-207, the sponsoring agency as the National Institutes of Health, the funding instrument type as a grant, and the activity category spanning education and health (consistent with a mentored career development award). The original closing date shown is 2025-11-12. An award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided information, which usually means applicants should rely on the full FOA and NIH institute-specific guidance for budget and award expectations.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HEAL Initiative: Career Development Awards in Implementation Science for Substance Use Prevention and Treatment (K23 - Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.398.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-07-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-11-12. (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 PAS 22 207

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