Opioid use disorder — NIH Funding Overview

Why this matters now

Despite some recent declines, overdose deaths remain near historic highs, and synthetic opioids (fentanyl analogs, nitazenes) keep evolving the threat landscape. HEAL appropriations have continued through annual budgets, supporting non-opioid pain therapeutics, MOUD (medications for opioid use disorder) implementation, and overdose response.

How NIH funds this area

HEAL awards span U01, U19, U24, R01, and U54 cooperative agreements. NIDA-led awards focus on substance use disorder; NINDS-led awards focus on pain mechanisms and non-opioid analgesics. Data below covers all NIH awards mentioning opioid in title, abstract, or terms.

What the data shows

• Funding peaked in FY2023 at $1.7B. The FY2025 total of $1.6B is -3% versus FY2021.
• The number of awards fell about 9% in FY2025.
• About 86% of FY2026 dollars so far are renewals and continuations. Mid-year snapshots overweight renewals because non-competing continuations are issued early in the fiscal year, but the share still indicates how much of the portfolio is committed before new applications compete.
• The average FY2025 award was $738K, and R01 was the most common mechanism in the recent window.

Yearly NIH Awards for Opioid use disorder

Counts and total funding per fiscal year from NIH RePORTER. Recent fiscal years may understate final totals because of reporting lag.

Open the full interactive trends view for Opioid use disorder →

Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)

Which NIH institutes funded the most Opioid projects in the most recent 90-day window.

Common Activity Codes (last 90 days)

Which grant mechanisms (R01, R21, U01, P30, etc.) appeared most often for Opioid in the recent period.

Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)

Universities and research organizations with the most Opioid awards in the most recent 90-day window.

1. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR — 16 awards
2. YALE UNIVERSITY — 15 awards
3. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY — 15 awards
4. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY — 14 awards
5. UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH — 12 awards
6. STANFORD UNIVERSITY — 12 awards
7. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA — 11 awards
8. MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL — 11 awards

Recently Awarded Opioid use disorder Grants

Twelve most recent awards mentioning Opioid, drawn from NIH RePORTER. Click through to Find PIs for the full investigator search.

• Functional connectivity alterations among opioid users in treatment

  5K25DA055156-05
  Hyuntaek Oh · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, TX · $178,027 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · K25

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposed study is a step toward the career development goal of becoming an independent researcher who focused on the study of the functional connectivity alterations among opioid users. The opioid overdose results in almost 450,000 deaths during 1999-2018, and 128 people in the United States die every day from the opioid…

• A mechanistic neuroimaging study to determine brain changes with auricular stimulation and auriculotherapy in healthy volunteers and chronic low back pain patients

  5R01AT013058-02
  Keith Vogt · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH, PA · $655,046 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  Project Summary - Abstract There is a critical unmet need for effective low-cost, non-invasive, opioid-sparing treatments for chronic pain, particularly chronic low-back pain (CLBP). Auriculotherapy (AT) is a promising alternative treatment for chronic pain that is underutilized, in large part due to lack of demonstration of systems-neuroscience changes…

• Ending HIV: Bringing Integrated Prevention and Treatment Services to People Who Use Drugs Where They Live

  5DP1DA056106-05
  SANDRA SPRINGER · YALE UNIVERSITY, CT · $1,172,500 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · DP1

  The United States (U.S.) Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) plan’s primary goal is to reduce the number of new HIV infections by 90% by 2030, but this will not happen unless we develop ways to BRING the evidenced- based services to persons who use drugs (PWUD). Overdose deaths are dramatically increasing in the US, and fentanyl and stimulants are fueling new HIV…

• SPINE-WORK: An inclusive research community to study and improve force-based manipulations for spine pain

  5U24AT011978-05
  Beth Winkelstein · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PA · $632,484 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · U24

  Low back and neck pain, which impose major impediments to quality of life and are responsible for significant productivity loss, are often treated with expensive, sometimes ineffective, and potentially addictive drugs. Complementary therapies, especially force-based manipulations (FBMs), have the potential to address these challenges but remain poorly…

• Adult Progression of Adolescent Onset Substance Use Disorder in a High Risk Sample

  5R01DA053693-05
  Christian Hopfer · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER, CO · $623,787 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  The research proposed in this application aims to understand risk and protective factors that promote continuation and desistance of problematic substance use (SU) and antisocial behavior (ASB) that began in adolescence. We propose a fourth wave of follow-up, approximately 18 years after initial recruitment, of an extremely affected adolescent sample as…

• Using opioid industry documents to understand marketing of addictive medications

  5R01DA058687-03
  Dorothy Apollonio · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, CA · $680,979 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01

  ABSTRACT Prescription opioids have been a key driver of the US opioid crisis, resulting in nearly 500,000 overdose deaths from 1999 to 2019. The US has the highest rate of per capita opioid consumption in the world. Prior to class action lawsuits beginning in 2014, prescription opioids such as oxycodone were marketed by their producers as safe and…

• Lifespan effects of prenatal and perinatal opioid exposure on the brain's metabolic-epigenetic axis

  5DP1DA063517-02
  Ana Cristancho · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA, PA · $534,000 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · DP1

  PROJECT SUMMARY The rising opioid use rates have led to a significant increase in children exposed to opioids in utero, with adverse effects on both the placenta and developing brain. These effects include alterations in brain structures, including the cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. Affected children also have an increased susceptibility to…

• The Impact of Cannabis Use Disorder and its Treatment on Opioid-related Health Consequences: A Longitudinal Study of VA Patients

  5R01DA064130-02
  Zachary Mannes · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES, NY · $708,556 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Over 600,000 people have died from opioid-related overdoses in the United States (U.S.) since 1999, and rates of opioid-related hospitalizations, overdose, and opioid use disorder (OUD) remain high despite policy reforms aimed at reducing their public health burden. Alongside the ongoing opioid crisis, cannabis use has increased…

• Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance Through Opioid Antagonism in Head and Neck Cancer

  5R01DE033473-03
  Nicole Scheff · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH, PA · $560,904 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY Current treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) results in 5-year survival rates around 63%; however, treatment is often associated with significant pain as well as a 50% recurrence rate within the first 2 years. Opioids are the primary strategy for pain control, and the drug requirement is high, with dosages increasing…

• Characterizing and exploiting "allosteric crosstalk" amongst pain receptors

  1DP1DA066056-01
  Evan O'Brien · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, MD · $466,363 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · DP1

  PROJECT SUMMARY Opioid receptors not only mediate pain relief but also act as the targets of potent exogenous opioids that are devastatingly addictive and cause overdose deaths. The principal target for both analgesia and addiction of exogenous opioids is the µ-opioid receptor (µOR). While traditionally thought to be regulated exclusively by opioids, recent…

• Injectable Extended-Release Buprenorphine (XR-B) in a Correctional Setting: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

  5K23DA055695-05
  Justin Berk · RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL, RI · $195,696 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · K23

  PROJECT SUMMARY This K23 application proposes novel research in opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment in a correctional healthcare setting and a robust training plan to support the successful transition of the Dr. Justin Berk, MD MPH MBA (PI) to independent clinician-scientist. His background in public health, health management, and clinical medicine creates…

• Investigating the mechanistic consequences of fentanyl-induced hypoxia and cardiorespiratory collapse

  5R01DA061412-03
  Alfredo Garcia · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, IL · $491,997 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY Acute exposure to ultrapotent synthetic opioids (UPSO), such as fentanyl, represents a significant public health concern. In the ongoing opioid epidemic, it is estimated that UPSO exposure contributes to over 80% of overdose-related deaths. The current defense strategy against UPSO exposure has been the development of reversal agents, such…

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