HEAL Initiative: Interdisciplinary Team Science to Uncover the Mechanisms of Pain Relief by Medical Devices (RM1 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a program called the HEAL initiative. This program is dedicated to investigating and developing methods for treating pain, with a specific focus on minimizing addiction risk. The goal is to create alternative treatments for the 25+ million Americans who suffer from chronic pain each day.

The need for this research is vital due to the current overuse of opioids, which have been shown to provide limited function improvement while carrying a high addiction risks. This misuse has led to a problematic epidemic of opioid addictions and overdoses.

As part of this initiative, a funding opportunity is available for research teams to explore the mechanisms behind pain relief provided by medical devices. This specific opportunity is open for interdisciplinary research teams comprised of multiple PD/PIs. The teams will investigate effective treatments using FDA-approved or -cleared technologies, aiming to optimize the outcomes of these therapeutic devices.

Participating teams are required to function synergistically and collaboratively, leveraging multi-disciplinary expertise to introduce new principles and methods for experimentation, analysis, and interpretation. The program encourages teams to set objectives that can lead to significant advances in the field of pain relief provided by medical devices.