HEAL Initiative: Whole Joint Health Program (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required)
- Funder
- National Institutes of Health
- Award amount
- Not specified
- Deadline
- October 30, 2026
- Eligible countries
- United States
Summary
The NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative is releasing this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to support a phased mechanistic clinical research program focusing on understudied biological mechanisms that drive joint pain. The phased projects supported by this program (of up to five years total in duration) will first identify and validate multi-tissue mechanisms underlying joint pain, then test non-pharmacologic or multimodal interventions that directly target these mechanisms. The initiative responds to priorities identified in the 2023 HEAL Whole Joint Pain Workshop and supports the broader goals of the NIH HEAL Initiative and the Make America Healthy Again vision by advancing safe, non-addictive, and prevention-oriented approaches to chronic pain.
Summary as listed on Grants.gov (opportunity 361304). Always read the full announcement for eligibility, limits and how to apply.
Read the full announcement on Grants.gov →What National Institutes of Health reviewers look for
- Importance of the research (significance and innovation), scored 1–9.
- Rigor and feasibility of the approach, scored 1–9. Preliminary data and alternative strategies carry much of this.
- Expertise and resources, rated sufficient or not, without a score.
- Overall impact: the likelihood the project will have a sustained, powerful influence on its field.
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