Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Boston University received a $193,751 Career Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) beginning May 1, 2026 and concluding April 30, 2031. This grant supports the development of an independent researcher focused on improving substance use disorder (SUD) services through a rigorous training and research program. The primary deliverables include research examining variation in quality of care among outpatient SUD treatment facilities, identifying organizational and service delivery factors associated with high-quality treatment, and assessing whether Medicaid pay-for-performance initiatives improve facility-level quality outcomes. The research leverages a novel dataset linking 2016-2024 Medicaid claims with SUD treatment facility data to address critical gaps in quality measurement for the nation's outpatient SUD treatment landscape.

The award supports structured mentoring and didactic training in four key areas: management and analysis of complex datasets, quality measurement methods, financing and payment models, and SUD services research. These research and training products are designed to establish the awardee as an independent SUD services researcher capable of driving large-scale improvements in the quality of care delivery for Medicaid enrollees in outpatient settings, with direct application to addressing the ongoing overdose crisis affecting the United States.