NIDA Research Center of Excellence Grant Program (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 18 224

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 224

The NIDA Research Center of Excellence Grant Program (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health funding opportunity designed to build high-impact research centers focused on drug abuse and addiction across any area of NIDA's mission. The core idea is to support centers that do more than run a collection of related studies. NIDA is looking for a tightly connected, multidisciplinary hub where projects and shared resources reinforce one another, producing outcomes that are bigger than what each part could achieve alone. The emphasis is on outstanding, innovative science that has the potential to transform what the field knows, rather than incremental or routine extensions of existing work. Clinical trials may be included, but they are not required under this announcement.

A strong P50 Center of Excellence under this program is expected to be thematically integrated and synergistic, meaning the different research components should be coordinated around a clear central theme, with cross-project collaboration that accelerates discovery. The center is also expected to function as a national resource. That includes sharing knowledge, findings, data, and other research resources in ways that allow other investigators and organizations to build on the center's work and advance the broader addiction research enterprise. Just as important, NIDA expects centers to provide educational and outreach activities that connect to multiple audiences, including the drug abuse research community, educational organizations, the general public, and policymakers working in areas relevant to NIDA's research fields.

Career development is a defined priority in this program. The FOA highlights that centers should actively foster mentoring and professional growth for new investigators, giving them meaningful roles in center projects rather than peripheral participation. In practice, this means the center structure should create real pathways for early-stage researchers to gain leadership experience, develop independent lines of inquiry, and benefit from the center's multidisciplinary environment, shared infrastructure, and collaborative culture.

From an eligibility standpoint, the program is broadly open to many U.S.-based organization types. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (when not institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible federal government agencies, regional organizations, tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the announcement is clear about what is not allowed regarding foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible, and foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not permitted under this FOA. In other words, the applicant organization and the work supported by the award must remain within the allowable domestic scope.

Administratively, this opportunity is identified as PAR-18-224, offered by the National Institutes of Health under CFDA 93.279, and categorized under education and health-related funding activities. It is a discretionary grant mechanism with a P50 center structure, reflecting the expectation of coordinated multi-project activity and center-level responsibilities like shared resources, integration, dissemination, and outreach. The source record lists an original closing date of January 7, 2019, and does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided data, so applicants typically need to consult the full FOA text and NIH budget guidance to understand allowable costs, project periods, and any institute-specific constraints.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIDA Research Center of Excellence Grant Program (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-01-07. (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 PAR 18 224

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