Coordinating Center for the HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Cohorts Program (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DA 23 040

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 23 040

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), released this funding opportunity to create a Coordinating Center (CC) for its HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Cohorts Program. The underlying program consists of multiple longitudinal cohort studies focused on HIV/AIDS in the context of both injection and non-injection substance use. These cohorts collectively generate extensive data and bio-specimens and support a wide range of research, including basic immunology and virology, studies of HIV prevention and treatment, and investigations into common co-morbidities and co-infections seen when HIV and substance use intersect. The main idea behind the announcement is that, while the individual cohorts are already productive, NIDA believes a dedicated coordinating structure is necessary to fully unlock the value of these resources, reduce duplication, increase consistency, and make collaboration easier and faster across studies and with outside investigators.

The Coordinating Center is intended to function as the connective hub across the NIDA-funded cohorts and NIDA program staff. A central expectation is that the CC will help optimize collaborations not only among the cohort investigators themselves, but also between the cohort program and other researchers who are not directly funded through the cohort mechanism. In practical terms, the CC is meant to improve the efficiency and reach of investigator-initiated research by making it clearer what data and specimens exist, how they can be requested and used, and how multi-cohort questions can be organized and answered. The opportunity also emphasizes infrastructure-like responsibilities rather than running an independent clinical trial, which aligns with the funding mechanism and the explicit "Clinical Trial Not Allowed" designation.

A key deliverable described in the opportunity is establishing a virtual repository. This concept generally implies an organized, searchable, and well-governed system that helps researchers discover and request access to available cohort data and bio-specimens, while respecting the ethical, legal, and consent-related constraints that apply to sensitive HIV and substance use information. The repository function is paired with an organizing role for leadership and governance: the CC is expected to facilitate the work of the cohorts Steering Committee (SC). The SC includes representatives from the NIDA-funded cohorts and NIDA staff, and the CC would support its operations, coordination, and communication so the cohorts can align on shared priorities, policies, and collaborative activities.

Administratively, this opportunity is offered as a cooperative agreement (U24), which usually means NIH/NIDA anticipates substantial programmatic involvement during the award period compared to a standard research grant. The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-DA-23-040, and the listed CFDA number is 93.279. The activity area is categorized under Education and Health, reflecting that the award supports research-enabling coordination, data infrastructure, and collaboration rather than direct service delivery. The original closing date shown is 2022-08-10, and the posting (creation) date is 2022-04-26.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governments. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local 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 (including those other than federally recognized governments); 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); and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, there are important limits related to non-U.S. participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, including foreign organizations and foreign institutions, are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means a U.S. applicant may include certain foreign elements in the project if justified and permissible under NIH policy, even though a foreign organization cannot serve as the applicant institution.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to strengthen and unify a network of HIV/AIDS and substance use cohorts by providing centralized coordination, governance support, and an access-oriented virtual repository. NIDA is essentially investing in shared infrastructure so that the cohorts' accumulated longitudinal data and bio-specimens can be used more strategically, rapidly, and collaboratively to answer emerging questions about HIV pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment in the real-world context of substance use, including the complex co-infections and co-morbidities that often accompany it.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Coordinating Center for the HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Cohorts Program (U24 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 2022-04-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-08-10. (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.

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