Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Vanderbilt University Medical Center received a $825,492 Project Grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279), effective July 15, 2026, through April 30, 2031. The research project, titled "Aligning Evidence and Practice: Comparing Buprenorphine Dosing and Clinical Outcomes Across Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Populations," addresses the critical public health challenge of opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnant women, where drug overdose represents the leading cause of pregnancy-associated death in several U.S. states and affects an estimated 28.4 per 1,000 Medicaid-covered births.

The project will assess national and state-level differences in buprenorphine dosing patterns between pregnant and non-pregnant women with OUD, examining how dosing has evolved in response to the fentanyl crisis. The research recognizes that while evidence demonstrates up to 89% of pregnant women require higher buprenorphine doses due to metabolic changes, current clinical practice remains highly variable and suboptimal—largely due to vague guidance, therapeutic inertia, and restrictive state Medicaid dosage caps. The deliverables include comparative analysis of dosing patterns over time, determination of optimal dose-response relationships specific to pregnant populations, and evidence-based recommendations to improve treatment outcomes and reduce preventable adverse outcomes in this vulnerable population.