Limited Competition Cohort Studies of HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DA 20 005

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 20 005

The grant opportunity titled "Limited Competition Cohort Studies of HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DA-20-005) is a discretionary funding announcement issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically aligned with the mission priorities of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). It uses the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism, which means projects are supported as research partnerships where NIH staff typically have a more active, collaborative role than they would under a standard research grant. The announcement is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," signaling that applicants are expected to propose observational, cohort-based, and other non-interventional research activities rather than testing clinical interventions in a trial framework.

The central purpose of the announcement is to maintain and expand already-established, NIDA-funded cohort studies that sit at the intersection of HIV/AIDS and substance use. Rather than building entirely new cohorts from scratch, the FOA is designed to help existing cohorts continue operating, remain scientifically productive, and evolve so they can address emerging or newly urgent public health questions. In practice, this typically includes strengthening cohort infrastructure, improving or broadening participant follow-up, adding new data elements or measures, incorporating new scientific methods, and ensuring that these cohorts can respond quickly to changes in HIV epidemiology, substance use patterns, prevention and treatment landscapes, and related syndemics. The emphasis on "multidisciplinary aspects" reflects an expectation that supported cohorts will integrate perspectives and methods across fields such as epidemiology, behavioral science, clinical science, implementation science, social science, data science, and health services research.

A key framing element in the description is alignment with NIH HIV research priorities. This indicates that proposed cohort expansions or ancillary research aims should map clearly onto current NIH-wide HIV objectives, which commonly include improving HIV prevention, treatment, and care outcomes; reducing disparities and inequities; understanding and addressing comorbidities and co-infections; and improving implementation of evidence-based practices. Within the specific NIDA context, the work is expected to focus strongly on how substance use and substance use disorders shape HIV risk, transmission, engagement in prevention, uptake and adherence to antiretroviral therapy, viral suppression, overdose risk, and broader health outcomes. The "new emerging and/or high priority research" language suggests that cohorts should be positioned to answer timely questions, for example those related to shifts in drug markets and routes of administration, changing patterns of polysubstance use, evolving prevention tools, or structural factors affecting risk and care.

Eligibility is limited competition, meaning not every institution or investigator can apply; the intent is to restrict applicants to a defined group connected to existing NIDA-supported cohorts (the announcement notes that additional eligibility details are provided in the full funding announcement). The summarized source data lists eligible applicants as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, while also noting that there are other eligible applicant types referenced in the full announcement. The funding activity category is listed under education and health, and the CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 93.279, which corresponds to NIDA programs.

From an administrative standpoint, the FOA was created on April 25, 2019, with an original closing date of August 15, 2019. The public summary does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, so those details would need to be confirmed in the full announcement or related NIH notices. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an investment in sustaining and upgrading established HIV and substance use cohort platforms so they remain capable of generating high-impact, policy- and practice-relevant evidence on the evolving HIV/substance use landscape, without running clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition Cohort Studies of HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" 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 2019-04-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-08-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for RFA DA 20 005

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