NIDA REI: Research at Minority Serving Institutions on Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Impact of Structural Racism on the Substance Use Trajectory (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 23 029

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is this funding opportunity?

This is a discretionary NIH grant solicitation from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) titled "NIDA REI: Research at Minority Serving Institutions on Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Impact of Structural Racism on the Substance Use Trajectory (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)." The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-DA-23-029, and the CFDA listing is 93.279.

Which NIH institute is offering this opportunity?

The opportunity is offered by NIDA (the National Institute on Drug Abuse), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What is the main goal of the grant?

The central goal is to support exploratory basic research that clarifies how racism, especially structural racism and interpersonal racism, influences neurocognitive processes in ways that shape substance use trajectories over time (for example, initiation, escalation, persistence, relapse, or recovery). The emphasis is on mechanistic insight that can ultimately inform prevention.

What does "substance use trajectory" mean in the context of this opportunity?

Within the provided description, substance use trajectory refers to the course of substance use across time, including risk for starting use, increasing use, maintaining persistent use, returning to use after abstinence (relapse), or moving toward recovery.

What does "Clinical Trial Optional" mean?

It means proposed projects may be purely basic or mechanistic, or they may include clinical trial elements if appropriate for the research questions. A clinical trial is not required to be responsive to the opportunity.

What is the R61/R33 mechanism?

This opportunity uses the R61/R33 phased innovation mechanism. It is generally designed to support an initial exploratory, proof-of-concept phase (R61) followed by a second phase (R33) that expands or validates the work once early milestones are met.

How do the two phases (R61 and R33) typically differ?

Based on the description provided: the R61 phase is intended for exploratory, proof-of-concept work, while the R33 phase is intended to expand or validate the work after early milestones are achieved.

Are milestones important for moving from R61 to R33?

Yes. The description indicates that the second phase (R33) is pursued once early milestones are met, which implies that milestone planning and achievement are central to progression across phases.

What types of racism-related exposures are of interest?

The opportunity highlights both structural racism and interpersonal racism. A key feature is "parsing" structural racism into measurable sub-components rather than treating it as a single broad exposure.

What does it mean to "parse" structural racism into sub-components?

In this solicitation, it points to breaking structural racism into distinct, measurable elements (instead of using one broad measure) and examining how those elements relate to neurocognitive mechanisms tied to substance use risk.

What are examples of structural racism sub-components mentioned in the opportunity description?

Examples provided include policies, institutional practices, neighborhood conditions, differential access to resources, exposure to policing or criminal-legal involvement, educational inequities, housing segregation, and healthcare access barriers.

What scientific mechanisms does the opportunity focus on?

The focus is explicitly on neurocognitive mechanisms, meaning cognitive and brain-related processes that could be influenced by racism-related exposures and that may shape substance use risk across time.

What neurocognitive processes are specifically mentioned?

The description lists examples such as stress reactivity and regulation, executive function, inhibitory control, reward processing, decision-making under uncertainty, learning and habit formation, attention, working memory, emotion regulation, and threat processing.

Is the intent to document disparities, or to study mechanisms?

The solicitation emphasizes mechanistic research. It prioritizes generating mechanistic insights (how exposures influence neurocognitive processes) that can guide prevention strategies, rather than only documenting disparities.

How does this opportunity connect to prevention?

The stated aim is to produce evidence that can inform prevention by identifying targets, sensitive periods, or modifiable pathways that preventive interventions could address to reduce risk and interrupt harmful pathways.

What kinds of study approaches seem most responsive based on the description?

The description suggests that responsive projects would typically prioritize clear conceptual models, rigorous measurement of racism-related constructs, and strong neurocognitive or neurobehavioral approaches, with an emphasis on exploratory basic research.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is centered on institutions of higher education (including public/state-controlled and private institutions), with an emphasis on Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

Which Minority Serving Institution categories are explicitly named?

The opportunity explicitly names 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), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs).

Are foreign (non-U.S.) institutions eligible to apply directly?

No. Foreign institutions (non-U.S. entities) are not eligible to apply.

Can a U.S. institution include a non-domestic component as part of the applicant organization?

No. The description states that non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as applicant components.

Are any foreign components allowed at all?

Yes. Foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S.-based applicant can include a defined foreign component if it is well-justified and consistent with NIH policy.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FOA number)?

The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-DA-23-029.

What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA listing provided is 93.279.

What type of funding instrument is used?

The funding instrument is a grant.

What is the activity category or general area?

The activity category is listed under education and health, consistent with NIH research funding.

When was the opportunity created?

The opportunity was created on 2022-08-09.

What is the closing date?

The opportunity lists an original closing date of 2024-11-14.

Are award ceiling, expected number of awards, or other award totals provided?

Not in the information provided. The description notes that fields such as award ceiling and expected awards are not specified in the provided source data.

What should applicants do if they need details like budget structure, project period limits, or milestone requirements?

The description indicates applicants would normally confirm those details by reviewing the full RFA text and NIH application instructions for the R61/R33 mechanism.

What is the overall intended payoff of this funding opportunity?

The intended payoff is to build a stronger mechanistic evidence base about how structural and interpersonal racism become biologically and cognitively embedded in ways that affect substance use risk, and to generate actionable knowledge that can support the design or refinement of preventive interventions.

Why are Minority Serving Institutions emphasized?

Based on the description, MSIs are positioned as key leaders in conducting this research, aligning the opportunity with research at Minority Serving Institutions and their role in advancing mechanistic understanding in this area.