HEAL Initiative: Studies to Enable Analgesic Discovery (R61/R33 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Funding Opportunity RFA-NS-25-012 from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. This funding opportunity is part of a suite of NOFOs within the NIH HEAL Initiative to support the development of safe, effective, and non-addictive therapeutics to treat pain. The goal is to encourage initial translational efforts that will support a drug discovery program and advance projects to the point where they meet the entry criteria for the Pain Therapeutics Development Program. The scope will therefore be focused on development of assays to support a distinct testing funnel, screening efforts to identify hits, and initial characterization of hits and potential therapeutic agents (including small molecules, biologics, and natural products).