# HEAL Initiative: Coordinating Center to Support NIDA Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults

> **NIH NIH U24** · RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE · 2024 · $1,184,236

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Although many evidence-based interventions have been identified to address the consequences of the
opioid epidemic in the United States, much less progress has made been toward preventing the initiation of
opioid misuse and the development of opioid use disorder (OUD). Recognizing the urgent need to fill this
gap in knowledge, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is launching the HEAL Preventing Opioid
Misuse and Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults Initiative. Ten research projects
(RPs), one coordinating center (CC), the steering committee (SC), and NIDA and other federal staff will
collaborate to evaluate evidence-based prevention and intervention services for older adolescents and
young adults across diverse settings and populations. We recognize that this important and complex
endeavor requires exceptional coordination across a range of activities inherent to multi-site consortia.
 We propose a CC to facilitate cross-site activities and provide centralized support for the HEAL
Prevention Collaborative (HPC). Our CC has five Specific Aims. We will provide centralized operational,
administrative, and logistical infrastructure to facilitate consortium coordination and communication (Aim 1).
We will provide implementation science expertise to understand the delivery and adaptation of evidence-
based interventions within different programmatic settings (Aim 2). We will establish an infrastructure for
cross-site data collection, management, harmonization, and data sharing (Aim 3). We will provide expert
methodological and statistical consultation (Aim 4). We will conduct rigorous economic evaluation to guide
decisionmakers in choosing prevention strategies that produce the greatest impact (Aim 5).
 Our CC team is led by multiple Principal Investigators—Drs. Phillip Graham and Kevin Conway—who are
experienced leaders of multi-site studies and experts in consensus building, data harmonization, program
evaluation, and addiction etiology. The broader team of Core leaders, key staff, and consultants brings
robust scientific and implementation science skills interwoven with a deep understanding of the opioid crisis,
prevention science, and the economics of opioid misuse and addiction. We offer proven computational
infrastructure and statistical expertise to support all the required data management and analysis needs for
the consortium. We are backed by RTI's unsurpassed experience and proficiency—born from successful
leadership of over 40 other CCs—to ensure that we support and accomplish the aims. Collectively, we are
well-prepared to apply prevention science concepts to the Nation's approach to the opioid crisis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11041209
- **Project number:** 4U24DA050182-02
- **Recipient organization:** RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** PHILLIP W GRAHAM
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,184,236
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11041209

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11041209, HEAL Initiative: Coordinating Center to Support NIDA Preventing Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adolescents and Young Adults (4U24DA050182-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11041209. Licensed CC0.

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