1. Bioactivity Assay Bioactivity Assay consultants may be required to evaluate bioactivity assays and recommend strategies and experiments to optimize and/or validate the assays for use in a medicinal chemistry campaign. Bioactivity Assay consultants may be asked to assist in the establishment of milestones related to assay optimization or validation. The NIH may seek guidance from consultants on the design and interpretation of commonly used in vitro assays, such as biochemical and cell-based assays. Specific consulting responsibilities will depend on the expertise of the individual consultant and the needs of individual projects. Assay-related consultation services may be required on an ad hoc basis or on LDTs. The role of the Bioactivity Assay consultant may include but is not limited to the following responsibilities and tasks: • In partnership with other consultants, contractors, and NIH staff, advise, strategically plan, and manage programs to facilitate lead optimization, INDenabling studies, and clinical studies. • Serve as a resource to LDT for assay requirements and logistics to conduct drug development activities for small molecule compounds from the preclinical stage through to the initial clinical stage • Serve as the assay expert in order to identify potential developmental challenges and suggest strategies to address these challenges. • Collaborate on design of investigative studies in support of development compounds. This study is part of the NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative to speed scientific solutions to understand the basis of pain and enhance clinical pain management. It’s part of the program that establishes novel treatment options for a variety of pain conditions to improve quality of life and reduce opioid dependency. The program studies a broad range of pain conditions, including chronic overlapping pain conditions, chronic musculoskeletal pain, perioperative pain, and knee osteoarthritis.