What We Do

Pilot Grants

We equip early-career researchers with the tools to explore research opportunities, expand networks, and lay the groundwork for future economic research.

We are making investments to support the next generation of substance use researchers. Through CHERISH pilot grants, we support early-career researchers and trainees become proficient with health economic methods and lead innovative economic studies of substance use disorder and HCV and HIV treatment interventions.

Overview

CHERISH works with early-career researchers to ensure that pilot studies on substance use research are responsive to the rapidly changing health policy landscape.

Our pilot grant curriculum is geared towards supporting recipients through each phase of their research project. Funded researchers receive curated training on economic research and dissemination, peer-to-peer mentorship, and opportunities to connect with CHERISH Research Affiliates and investigators across the United States.

Recipients can expand their research scope by investigating innovative methodologies or applications and collecting preliminary data to inform future grant proposals. Past grantees have acknowledged the support of the CHERISH pilot grant program in their scientific publications, national conference presentations, and grant submissions.

Prospective Applicants

Applications for the grant cycle from April 2023 to April 2024 are closed.

We seek to fund applicants interested in conducting health economics research on substance use disorder, HCV, or HIV. Areas of investigation include the economics of healthcare utilization, health outcomes, and health-related behaviors related to substance use disorder treatment policy, and the HCV and HIV care of people who use substances.

In the current grant cycle, we also encourage applicants to incorporate one or more of the following topics into their proposal:

  • Drug overdose prevention including, but not limited to, opioid overdoses
  • Syndemics of substance use, HIV, HCV, and related comorbidities
  • Harm reduction and recovery support strategies
  • Contingency management including, but not limited to, for treatment of stimulant use disorders
  • Implementation science
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Pilot Grants in Action

01/20/23 Profile Feature

Catching Up with Pilot Grant Recipient: Rachel Epstein

Rachel Epstein is a clinician-scientist with demonstrated experience in analyzing large datasets to inform hepatitis C (HCV), HIV, and substance use disorder interventions. A CHERISH pilot grantee in 2019, she worked closely with her co-investigators Benjamin Linas, CHERISH Population Data and Modeling Core director, and Shashi Kapadia, a CHERISH Research Affiliate and an infectious diseases physician at Weill […]

07/27/22 Profile Feature

Five Researchers Receive CHERISH Pilot Awards to Advance the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders, HCV, and HIV

The Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV (CHERISH) is proud to recognize five early-stage researchers who will receive up to $20,000 in pilot grant funding between 2022 and 2023. Through the CHERISH pilot grant, researchers can investigate innovative methodologies or applications, collect preliminary data to inform external […]

11/29/21 Profile Feature

Catching Up with Pilot Grant Recipients Ali Jalali, Austin Kilaru, and Hao Zhang

Every spring, the Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV (CHERISH) awards competitive pilot grants to investigators interested in developing health economic research in our areas of interest, with a focus on junior investigators and trainees. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, CHERISH pilot grants provide these investigators […]

11/11/21 Research Highlights

The Impact of Recreational Cannabis Laws and Cannabis Use Disorder Among Pregnant Patients

To date, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises pregnant patients not to use cannabis because of the increased risks of health complications to the pregnant individual and the newborn. However, as states expand access to recreational or medical cannabis, there is growing evidence of increased cannabis use and positive perceptions of cannabis among pregnant patients. […]

07/27/21 Profile Feature

Pilot Grant Recipients Receive Funding to Examine Health Disparities Related to the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders, HCV, and HIV

Shoshana Aronowitz, PhD, MSHP, FNP-BC Follow Shoshana Aronowitz, PhD, MSHP, FNP-BC, on Twitter @shoshiaronowitz. Shoshana Aronowitz is a family nurse practitioner, community-engaged health services researcher, and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Her research examines innovative delivery models to promote equitable access to substance […]

06/28/21 Research Highlights

Hepatitis C Treatment by Non-specialist Providers in the Direct-acting Antiviral Era

After direct-acting antiviral agents to treat hepatitis C were introduced, most of those who prescribed treatment was gastroenterology specialists but there was an increasing proportion of non-specialists. Treatment completion rates were similar between specialists and non-specialists. Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs), highly effective treatments for hepatitis C virus infection (HCV), transformed HCV therapy and made it […]

06/16/21 Research Highlights

Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Mandates Affect Use of Opioids to Treat Acute, Severe Pain

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMP) have been crucial tools to address unsafe opioid prescribing. High rates of prescribing stoked the flames of the opioid crisis in the early 2000s, but opioid prescriptions have steadily decreased over the past decade. Unfortunately, opioid-related deaths have continued to rise each year. Many states have enacted comprehensive mandates that all clinicians consult the PDMP […]

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