HEAL Initiative Whole Joint Health Program
This grant supports phased research to uncover and target multi-tissue mechanisms of joint pain, aiming to develop safe, non-addictive, non-drug interventions to improve outcomes for people with chronic joint pain.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: October 30, 2026 (applications)
Funding Amounts: Projects may last up to five years; award amounts are not listed
Summary: Supports phased clinical research into mechanisms of joint pain and interventions that target them.
Key Information: Clinical trials are required; foreign organizations and foreign components are not eligible.
Description
The NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative supports phased mechanistic clinical research into understudied biological mechanisms that drive joint pain. Projects first identify and validate multi-tissue mechanisms underlying joint pain, then test non-pharmacologic or multimodal interventions that directly target those mechanisms.
The program responds to priorities identified at the 2023 HEAL Whole Joint Pain Workshop. It aims to advance safe, non-addictive, prevention-oriented approaches to chronic pain. The funding opportunity uses the R61/R33 mechanism and requires a clinical trial.
