Restoring Joint Health and Function to Reduce Pain (RE-JOIN) 2.0
🏛 National Institutes of Health (HHS-NIH11)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Oct 18, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for biomedical research institutions seeking to advance joint pain research and treatment. Eligible applicants include universities, research centers, hospitals, and nonprofits with research capability and NIH institutional support. Projects must focus on understanding joint innervation, sensory neurobiology, or clinical pain phenotyping related to musculoskeletal conditions. Research can span preclinical modeling, clinical studies, data integration, and novel therapeutic testing.
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Key dates
- Jan 22, 2026 Applications open
- Dec 1, 2026 Application deadline in 43 days
- Sep 1, 2027 Award announced
- Sep 1, 2027 Project start
Program description
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), in conjunction with other NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) as a part of the congressionally mandated NIH Helping to End Addiction Long Term (HEAL) initiative intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to leverage and accelerate the progress achieved in the Restoring Joint Health and Function to Reduce Pain (RE-JOIN) Consortium.
The NOFO aims to more fully refine and map the innervation of the different articular and peri-articular tissues that collectively form the joint (including bone, cartilage, synovium, joint capsule, ligament, tendon, fascia and muscle), by sensory neurons that mediate the sensation of pain.
The NOFO seeks to expand initial and ongoing efforts by:
- Enhancing clinical pain phenotyping with multimodal profiling of new and expanded patient samples across life span and disease conditions (i.e., other musculoskeletal and/or rheumatic conditions associated with joint pain beyond knee and temporomandibular joint (TMJ)).
- Expanding to new preclinical and New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) in modeling joint disease.
- Preclinical testing of novel joint-targeted candidates identified in RE-JOIN 1.0.
- Focusing on peri-articular tissues in joint pain, such as vasculature, synovium, adipose, myofascial tissue, etc.
- Prioritizing secondary analysis of datasets and/or validation of methods and approaches in human samples.
- Improve data integration by developing/enhancing joint atlases that will enable integration of imaging and molecular datasets.
Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful multidisciplinary collaborations and responsive projects. Investigators with expertise and insights in neurobiology, pain science, data science, orthopedics, rheumatic disease, etc. are encouraged to consider applying for this NOFO.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (or SF-424 R&R for research)
- Project Narrative/Research Strategy
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Biographical Sketches (key personnel)
- Institutional Support Letter
- Human Subjects (IRB) or Animal Care (IACUC) documentation (if applicable)
Program contact
- 👤 National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
- 📧 NIAMS_PAIN@mail.nih.gov
- 📞 Please contact via e-mail.
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.846 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$63,962,483
-
$60,038,896
-
$34,166,872
-
$28,848,731
-
$24,598,295
-
$21,654,386
-
$21,510,846
-
$20,225,012
-
$17,794,329
-
$16,915,106
Top States by Funding
- MA 17 awards $143.1M
- CA 14 awards $133.2M
- NC 5 awards $127.9M
- NY 14 awards $127.4M
- PA 11 awards $104.1M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.846). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2018 | $476,478,975 | |
| 2019 | $490,084,446 | |
| 2020 | $505,547,334 | |
| 2021 | $509,241,630 | |
| 2022 | $499,786,367 | |
| 2023 | $548,439,000 | |
| 2024 est. | $545,593,000 | |
| 2025 est. | $541,712,000 |
FAQ
Who can apply for RE-JOIN 2.0?
Research institutions with NIH research infrastructure, including universities, medical centers, and nonprofit research organizations. Applicants must demonstrate institutional support and research expertise.
What research areas does this grant support?
Joint innervation mapping, sensory neurobiology, clinical pain phenotyping, preclinical disease modeling, and therapeutic candidate testing. Secondary data analysis and method validation are also prioritized.
When is the deadline?
The anticipated deadline is December 1, 2026. This is a fixed deadline, not rolling.
What makes a competitive application?
Multidisciplinary teams with expertise in neurobiology, pain science, orthopedics, rheumatic disease, and data science. Novel approaches and human sample integration strengthen competitiveness.
Will my institution need to provide cost sharing?
No cost sharing is required for this grant.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Build a multidisciplinary team early. Combine expertise in pain science, neurobiology, rheumatology, and data integration for stronger applications.
- Align with consortium goals. Review RE-JOIN 1.0 findings and focus on expansion areas like new tissue types or patient populations.
- Include human samples or clinical data. Projects validating methods in human tissue have stronger competitiveness.
- Plan data sharing and integration. Describe how your data will feed into joint atlases or broader datasets.
- Start now. The 2026 deadline allows time to develop collaborations and pilot preliminary data before applying.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications lack multidisciplinary expertise or clear connection to NIH HEAL initiative goals. Projects proposing only basic research without clinical relevance or pain phenotyping miss consortium priorities. Insufficient detail on data integration, sharing plans, or how work advances existing RE-JOIN findings.
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