Research on Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PA 18 937

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 937

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Research on Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number: PA 18-937) supports research aimed at explaining why many people with chronic pain do not fit neatly into a single diagnosis. Instead, they often experience multiple chronic pain conditions at the same time, share symptoms across conditions, or move from one diagnostic category to another over time. The program is designed to fund epidemiological, clinical, and translational studies that clarify how common these overlaps are, how they develop, what biological and psychological processes drive them, and which clinical factors increase risk.

A central theme of the opportunity is improving understanding of the natural history of chronic overlapping pain conditions. That includes tracking when and how overlapping conditions begin, identifying patterns of progression, and describing how overlaps evolve across the lifespan or across stages of illness. NIH is looking for work that can sort out underlying etiologies and mechanisms, such as shared biological pathways, nervous system changes, immune or inflammatory contributions, genetic or epigenetic influences, and other mechanistic explanations that might account for why different pain conditions cluster in the same individuals. At the same time, the FOA emphasizes psychological variables and clinical risk factors, reflecting an interest in how factors like mood, stress responses, trauma exposure, sleep problems, cognitive and behavioral processes, and health care experiences may contribute to comorbidity and persistence.

The announcement also highlights a practical goal: improving treatment strategies for people who live with multiple chronic pain conditions. Because clinical care is often organized around single-diagnosis models, patients with overlapping conditions may not respond well to standard approaches. NIH is therefore encouraging projects that can inform which therapeutic approaches are best suited for individuals with overlapping pain presentations, including studies that test or refine intervention strategies. The "clinical trial optional" designation means applicants may propose studies with or without a clinical trial component, depending on what best addresses the scientific question.

Another major objective is team science and deliberate cross-disciplinary collaboration. NIH wants applicants to build research groups that bridge expertise in pain mechanisms with translational and clinical expertise, so that findings can move more effectively between basic discovery, patient-oriented research, and real-world clinical relevance. Applicants are encouraged to leverage existing resources (such as established cohorts, registries, biobanks, data repositories, or clinical networks) and to develop new resources that strengthen the field's capacity to study chronic overlapping pain conditions. The FOA also explicitly encourages including investigators from outside the traditional pain research field when their expertise would broaden perspectives or introduce new methods, such as computational biology, systems neuroscience, immunology, psychiatry, epidemiology, behavioral science, data science, or implementation research.

In terms of eligibility, the opportunity is broadly open to many types of applicants. Eligible organizations include state and local governments, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses, independent school districts, special district governments, and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. It also includes federally recognized tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations. In addition, the FOA calls out a wide set of other eligible applicants, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), as well as regional organizations and tribal governments that are not federally recognized.

Administratively, this is an NIH discretionary grant using the R01 mechanism, under the health funding activity category. The listing includes multiple CFDA numbers (93.121, 93.213, 93.273, 93.313, 93.846, 93.853), reflecting involvement across NIH programs that support pain and related research areas. The opportunity was created on September 26, 2018, and the source record notes an original closing date of May 7, 2022. The provided record does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards, suggesting applicants would need to refer to the full FOA details and NIH institute-specific participation for budget expectations and award volumes.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research on Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.121, 93.213, 93.273, 93.313, 93.846, 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-09-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-05-07. (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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