National Institutes of Health · United States

NIDA Avenir Program: Fundamental Mechanistic Research in Addiction Science

Forecast — expected to open 1 Feb 2027

National Institutes of Health expects to make 5 awards of up to $375,000 each, from a total budget of $3 million. This is a forecast: the funder has announced the opportunity but it is not open yet; posting is expected around 1 Feb 2027 and the estimated deadline is 26 May 2027. Eligible applicant types include independent school districts, public and State controlled institutions of higher education, nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education and 12 more.

Deadline: Estimated 26 May 2027 (not yet confirmed)
Opens: 1 Feb 2027
Grant amount: Up to $375,000 per project
Total budget: $3 million
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Total budget: $3 million
Expected awards: 5
Cost sharing: Not required
Likely applicant types: Public bodies, Universities & research, Non-profits, SMEs / start-ups, Companies From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Reference: RFA-DA-28-002
Assistance listing: 93.279 Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs
Last checked: 15 Nov 2026

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About this call

Avenir, the French word for "future," reflects NIDA's commitment to developing the next generation of leaders in addiction science. Since 2015, the Avenir Program has supported exceptionally creative early stage investigators (ESIs) in launching innovative research programs. NIDA is now expanding this program to support bold mechanistic research across a broader range of addiction science, including genetic, epigenetic, molecular, cellular, circuit, chemical, pharmacological, behavioral, and cognitive processes relevant to Substance Use Disorders (SUDs).

This initiative is intended to catalyze high-risk, high-reward research and attract outstanding new investigators, including those from outside the addiction field. Applications proposing novel, unconventional, or interdisciplinary wet-lab and/or data science approaches to advance understanding of the mechanisms underlying SUDs are encouraged. The Avenir Program is designed for ESIs who may lack the preliminary data needed for an R01 application but propose high-impact research and show strong potential to become future leaders in fundamental mechanistic addiction science.

Read the full text

Grant authorities that allow NIDA to forecast this opportunity are 42 U.S.C. §§ 241 and 284.

Who can apply

Independent school districts
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Special district governments
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
State governments
Private institutions of higher education
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Small businesses
City or township governments
County governments
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Health

How to apply

Read the full notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) linked from the official page: eligibility, cost sharing and evaluation criteria.
Make sure your organisation has an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI); registration can take several weeks.
For NIH: the organisation and the principal investigator also need eRA Commons accounts; applications are usually submitted through Grants.gov (for example with ASSIST).
Prepare the required forms, narrative, budget and attachments exactly as the NOFO specifies.
Submit before the deadline and keep the tracking number. Check for amendments before you submit.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA · NIDA_GED_Program@nida.nih.gov · Please contact via e-mail.

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	26 May 2027	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	Up to $375,000	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Total budget	$3 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Funding rate	No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026
Who can apply	Independent school districts; Public and State controlled institutions of higher education; Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; Special district governments;…	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Where to apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—

Official sources

Official call page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 15 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.