National Institute on Drug Abuse Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative

The NIH HEAL Initiative seeks to speed scientific solutions to the overdose epidemic, including opioid and stimulant use disorders, and the crisis of chronic pain. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) each receive additional funding from Congress to lead the NIH HEAL Initiative based upon their robust investments in substance use and pain research. The NIH HEAL Initiative is a collaborative research effort that involves nearly all of the institutes, centers, and offices across NIH leveraging the rich knowledge and infrastructure each has developed to drive scientific advances around the overdose and pain health crises, engaging researchers across the country. NIDA specifically leads the portion of the HEAL Initiative focused on the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder, stimulant use disorder, opioid and other drug-related overdoses, and research at the intersection of pain and opioid use disorder. Many people living with opioid use disorder, chronic pain, or both have other chronic medical and mental health conditions; solutions are needed for personalized, coordinated, and effective care for people with complex and diverse conditions. HEAL funds research to address these complex, diverse conditions to rapidly adapt clinical practice to bring urgently needed relief to people experiencing these conditions. Specifically, HEAL supports studies that address research gaps that can be rapidly translated into clinical practice or health policy changes as opposed to basic, foundational research that is supported by NIDA institutional funds.