Learning for Early Careers in Addiction & Development (LEAD) Program
The LEAD Program provides early-career researchers in addiction science with intensive mentoring, training, and funding to conduct independent pilot studies and advance their research careers.
Funder: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Due Dates (Anticipated): December 2026 (Application deadline, projected)
Funding Amounts: Up to $22,000 for an independent pilot research project; travel and housing for summer sessions provided; 3-year program duration.
Summary: Supports early-career researchers in addiction science with intensive mentoring, training, and pilot funding to foster independent research careers.
Key Information: U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required; applicants must not have received a K or investigator-initiated R NIH award.
Description
The Learning for Early Careers in Addiction and Development (LEAD) Program is a comprehensive three-year training initiative for early-career researchers—assistant professors and postdoctoral fellows—focused on substance use and addiction research. Integrated within the NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN) and based at UCSF, the program provides a multidisciplinary mentoring team, a four-week intensive summer session at UCSF each year, and pilot project funding. The curriculum emphasizes grant writing, manuscript development, advanced research methods, community-engaged research, scientific ethics, and professional development. Scholars are expected to conduct an independent pilot study relevant to substance use/addiction, generating preliminary data for future NIH grant applications.
