Cutting-Edge Basic Research Awards (CEBRA) (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)

grants.gov listing Full announcement (NOFO)

Dealbreakers No cost share required Audit: not stated

Not reimbursement-only

“Grant: A financial assistance mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.” — From the announcement

Award range: Up to $150,000
Expected awards: Not specified
Application deadline: Aug 11, 2027
Posted: Dec 30, 2024
Last verified: 2 days ago

At a glance

AI summary

This program funds highly innovative basic research on the causes, biology, prevention, or treatment of substance use disorders, especially high-risk projects with little or no preliminary data. It is open to a wide range of applicants, including nonprofits, colleges and universities, governments, businesses, tribal entities, faith-based organizations, and foreign organizations. Awards are for up to 2 years, with no more than $275,000 in total direct costs and no more than $150,000 in direct costs in any one year. No cost sharing is required. Applications that focus on alcohol alone will not be reviewed.

AI-generated summary — verify against the announcement

What it funds

Education
Health
Research & Discovery
Researchers & Scholars
Substance Use & Addiction

Official description from grants.gov

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Cutting-Edge Basic Research Award (CEBRA) is designed to foster highly innovative or conceptually creative research related to the etiology, pathophysiology, prevention, or treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs). It supports high-risk and potentially high-impact research that is sparse or not included in NIDA's current portfolio that has the potential to transform SUD research. The proposed research should: 1. develop, and/or adapt, revolutionary techniques or methods for addiction research or that show promising future applicability to SUD research; and /or 2. test an innovative and significant hypothesis for which there are scant precedent or preliminary data and which, if confirmed, would transform current thinking.

Who can apply

City or township governments
County governments
For-profit organizations other than small businesses
Independent school districts
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized)
Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
Others
Private institutions of higher education
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Public housing authorities / Indian housing authorities
Small businesses
Special district governments
State governments

Geographic restriction None found in the announcement — likely nationwide

Program history

USASpending.gov

Assistance listing 93.279 · Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs

Real awards this federal program has made — the whole assistance listing (93.279), not just this notice.

Fiscal year	Awards	Median award	Middle half
FY 2026 (so far)	428	$422,523	$183,034 – $700,682
FY 2025	588	$709,054	$348,214 – $1,489,059
FY 2024	714	—	—
FY 2023	724	—	—
FY 2022	740	—	—
FY 2021	606	—	—

For comparison, this notice advertises Up to $150,000.

Dollar figures are based on the 1,000 most recent awards we store, not all 3,800 — award counts are complete.

Who wins it Higher education (2,743), Nonprofit (534), Business (366) of 3,800 awards — categories can overlap.

Top states CA (130) · MA (90) · NY (86) · PA (72) · MD (56)

Largest recent awards

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY $7,372,834 · FY 2025
BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC. $7,081,684 · FY 2025
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON $7,003,822 · FY 2025
REACX PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. $6,900,000 · FY 2025
WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE $6,889,914 · FY 2025

Source: USASpending.gov · refreshed Aug 18, 2026