NIH Heal Initiative

The I-STARR project is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) as part of the NIH’s HEAL Initiative. 

The Helping to End Addiction Long-term^® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative^®, is an NIH-wide effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis. Almost every NIH Institute and Center is accelerating research to address this public health emergency from all angles.

The initiative funds over 1,000 projects nationwide. Researchers are taking a variety of approaches to address the opioid epidemic through:

• Understanding, managing, and treating pain
• Improving prevention and treatment for opioid misuse and addiction

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CoARS Network

The Consortium on Addiction Recovery Science (CoARS) is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and coordinated by Dr. Aaron Hogue (PI).

It is an example of NIDA’s investment in increasing our understanding of recovery support services. In 2018, NIDA announced a new funding opportunity: RFA-DA-20-014; Research Networks for the Study of Recovery Support Services for Persons Treated with Medications for Opioid Use Disorder.

The I-STARR project was one of three R24 projects funded in 2022.  

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Other CoARS Projects

Advancing the Science on Recovery Community Centers

Through this project (R24DA051988; M-PI: John Kelly and Bettina Hoeppner), we are building a research infrastructure that enhances the study of recovery community centers with a focus on their utility for persons who were or who are being maintained on medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

The JEAP Initiative

The investigators and Community Boards of the JEAP Initiative worked together to provide an official vision statement. This statement encapsulates the aims of our research and the goals for our partnerships, taking a wide variety of voices into account as it was developed.

Partnership to End Addiction: FIRST Research Network

The Family Involvement in Recovery Support and Treatment (FIRST) Research Network is a NIDA-funded (1R24DA051946; PI: Hogue) multidisciplinary collaborative dedicated to promoting family integration in treatment and recovery services for youth with opioid use disorder (OUD) and other substance use disorders (SUDs).

STARS: Studies to Advance Recovery Support

The Studies To Advance Recovery Support (STARS) Network, is a thematic, stakeholder-focused research network that aims to generate trainings, tools, and platforms targeted to the implementation and study of peer recovery support services for individuals treated with medications for opioid use disorder. The STARS Network provides a critical foundation for high-priority research on peer recovery support services to inform the expansion of peer recovery support services and advance recovery among individuals with opioid use disorder.

Innovations in Recovery Through Infrastructure Support

IRIS develops and disseminates effective opioid recovery support strategies through strong community-academic partnerships. This is achieved through trainings, funded pilot projects, recovery research fellowship, and other collaborative efforts to create and answer important recovery research questions.

Collaborative Hub for Emerging Adult Recovery Research (CHEARR) 

The Collaborative Hub for Emerging Adult Recovery Research (CHEARR) partners with communities impacted by the opioid epidemic to advance research on recovery support services for young adults (ages 16-25). We specifically focus on clinical continuing care models of recovery supports for young adults who take or who have taken medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

Peer Recovery Innovation Network (PRIN)

While recovery support services are an established best practice, research is scarce on the efficacy and effectiveness of recovery support, training approaches, and delivery models adjunctive to and independent of treatment. The Peer Recovery Innovation Network (PRIN) was created to build capacity for current and future research.