Single Cell Opioid Responses in the Context of HIV (SCORCH) Program: Phase 2
Forecasted
This grant supports research using advanced single cell techniques to study how substance use disorders and HIV interact in the brain, aiming to uncover mechanisms and identify new therapy targets.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates (Anticipated): June 2027
Funding Amounts: Up to $1,000,000 per award; estimated total program funding $5,000,000; ~8 awards expected
Summary: Supports research using single cell approaches to study opioid and substance use disorder interactions with HIV in the central nervous system.
Description
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is forecasting Phase 2 of the Single Cell Opioid Responses in the Context of HIV (SCORCH) Program. This initiative builds on previous efforts to generate single-nucleus datasets from postmortem human and animal brain tissue under conditions of HIV infection, antiretroviral therapy, and/or substance exposure (including opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and cannabinoids). The program aims to advance mechanistic understanding of how substance use disorders (SUDs) interact with HIV disease progression at subcellular, cellular, and circuit levels in the central nervous system (CNS).
Research is encouraged that leverages new single cell technologies—such as analyses of RNA splicing, non-coding RNAs, epigenomic/proteomic features, subcellular/synaptic localization and function, spatial interactions, cell-cell communication, and cellular connectivity—to generate hypotheses and identify candidate mechanisms or therapeutic targets. Both data mining and hypothesis-driven studies are welcome, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel interventions for SUDs and HIV in the CNS.
