Substance Use and Abuse, Risky Decision Making and HIV/AIDS (R01) | Apply Online

FAQs: PA 11-006 - Substance Use and Abuse, Risky Decision Making and HIV/AIDS (R01)

What is PA 11-006?

PA 11-006 is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity announcement (FOA) titled "Substance Use and Abuse, Risky Decision Making and HIV/AIDS (R01)." It supports research focused on understanding decision-making processes that influence HIV acquisition or transmission risk and decisions that affect adherence to HIV treatment.

What is the main goal of this FOA?

The main goal is to support research that explains how people make decisions that increase or reduce HIV-related risk and how they make choices that affect adherence to HIV treatment. A core premise is that decision-making mechanisms may be a shared driver of both substance use/abuse and other behaviors linked to HIV risk and treatment nonadherence.

What kinds of decisions or behaviors does the announcement focus on?

The FOA centers on decisions that influence HIV acquisition or transmission risk, as well as decisions affecting adherence to HIV treatment and related care plans. It specifically frames these in relation to substance use or abuse and other HIV-related risk behaviors.

What type of research approach is emphasized?

The announcement emphasizes model-driven, hypothesis-based research that links observable behavior to underlying mechanisms. The expectation is that projects will be empirical and confirmatory, with a clear conceptual model and testable predictions, rather than primarily descriptive or exploratory.

What does "model-driven, hypothesis-based" mean in the context of this FOA?

Based on the FOA description, it means the project should be grounded in a clear decision-making model or conceptual framework and should test specific, confirmatory hypotheses about mechanisms driving risky choices or treatment nonadherence, rather than only describing patterns or generating hypotheses.

What mechanisms or explanatory factors are applicants encouraged to study?

Applicants are encouraged to investigate decision making through two broad, connected lenses: (1) cognitive, motivational, and emotional mechanisms that shape risky choices or nonadherence; and (2) brain-related neuroendocrine and reinforcement systems that may bias decisions toward immediate reward, risk taking, or inconsistent treatment behavior.

Does the FOA encourage linking behavior to neuroscience?

Yes. The FOA highlights the value of linking psychological and behavioral mechanisms to brain neural networks and associated functions, with the idea that more precise mechanistic explanations can better inform interventions, prevention strategies, and adherence supports.

How does the FOA describe the value of this research for interventions?

The FOA indicates that understanding decision-making mechanisms more precisely can point to stronger, more targeted ways to reduce HIV-related risk behaviors and improve treatment compliance, including interventions and prevention/adherence supports better matched to real-world decision processes.

Is interdisciplinarity expected or optional?

Interdisciplinarity is a major theme. NIH encourages projects that combine perspectives and methods from multiple fields such as psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, decision sciences, neuroscience, and computational modeling.

What methods or study components are mentioned as examples?

The FOA notes that proposals could involve formal decision models, behavioral experiments, neurocognitive assessments, or computational approaches that test confirmatory hypotheses about substance-related and sexual or other HIV risk behaviors and/or adherence to antiretroviral therapy and related care plans.

Is exploratory or descriptive work appropriate for PA 11-006?

The FOA signals that research that is primarily descriptive, hypothesis-generating, or early-stage exploration would likely be a better fit for the companion opportunities rather than this R01 announcement.

What funding mechanism does PA 11-006 use?

This FOA uses the NIH R01 mechanism, which is generally intended for more mature, well-developed research programs with solid preliminary rationale and a focused set of aims.

Are there related or companion funding opportunities?

Yes. The announcement notes companion opportunities with the same scientific scope using smaller mechanisms: an R21 (PA 11-007) for exploratory/developmental work and an R03 (PA 11-008) for smaller, limited-scope studies.

How should an applicant decide between the R01, R21, and R03 versions?

Based on the FOA description: use the R01 (PA 11-006) for more mature, well-developed, hypothesis-driven programs; consider the R21 (PA 11-007) for exploratory or developmental work; and consider the R03 (PA 11-008) for smaller, limited-scope studies. If the work is primarily descriptive or hypothesis-generating, NIH suggests it likely fits better under the companion R21 or R03 announcements rather than the R01.

Are animal studies allowed under this FOA?

No. The FOA includes an explicit restriction that animal research should not be proposed. Applications that include animal studies are described as non-responsive to this FOA (and to the companion R21 and R03 opportunities).

What happens if an application includes animal research?

Based on the FOA language provided, applications that propose animal studies are considered non-responsive, meaning they would not be considered aligned with the program requirements.

Does the FOA specify a fixed award amount or project duration?

No fixed award size or single project period is set in the summary provided. The FOA states that scope, budget, and duration are expected to vary across awards based on what the proposed research requires.

Does NIH state how many awards will be made?

The summary indicates the total number of awards and total dollars depend on the quality, duration, and costs of the applications NIH receives.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. Cost sharing or matching is not required for this opportunity.

What is the funding category and activity area for this opportunity?

The opportunity is categorized as discretionary grant funding in the education and health activity area.

Which CFDA numbers are associated with this FOA?

The opportunity is associated with CFDA 93.273 (Alcohol Research Programs) and CFDA 93.279 (Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs).

Who is the sponsoring agency?

The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What types of organizations are eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits (including 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); small businesses; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and government entities such as state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, and eligible tribal governments and tribal organizations.

Are minority-serving institutions and community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and faith-based or community-based organizations.

Are foreign (non-U.S.) organizations eligible?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly includes non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), as well as U.S. territories or possessions.

When was the FOA posted, and what were the key dates?

The FOA was posted on October 19, 2010. The original and current closing date listed in the source data is January 7, 2014, and the archive date is February 7, 2014.

Where was the full announcement made available?

The full announcement was available through the NIH grants guide at the link provided in the opportunity materials.

Who should be contacted for access or technical issues related to the announcement?

For access or technical issues, the opportunity materials route support through the NIH Office of Extramural Research webmaster email listed in the announcement.