National Institute on Drug Abuse

In accomplishing NIDA's twofold mission of understanding the processes underlying drug abuse and searching for new knowledge in preventing, detecting, diagnosing, and treating the program, the Institute has in place an intramural and extramural research program. The intramural program supports clinical and biomedical research projects which are conducted at the Institute's Addiction Research Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The extramural program supports research conducted by investigators at other institutions. The extramural research support mechanisms are diverse, but can be divided into two main categories: grants and contracts. Grants are usually unsolicited and the applicant investigator is responsible for developing the ideas, concepts, methods, and approach for a research project. Contracts are solicited, and the awarding institute is responsible for establishing the plans, parameters, and detailed requirements for a project. NIDA also has two major support mechanisms for talented investigators whi...