Exploratory Grant Award to Promote Workforce Diversity in Basic Cancer Research (R21)
Deadline: June 18, 2024
5 pm
Amount: The combined budget for direct costs for the two-year project period may not exceed $275,000. No more than $200,000 may be requested in any single year
Purpose
The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to promote diversity in the basic cancer research workforce through recruiting and supporting New Investigators and Early Stage Investigators (ESIs) from diverse backgrounds, including those from nationally underrepresented groups, who have entered the research pipeline and are interested in developing innovative studies in cancer biology. These include but are not limited to, those individuals who have been supported by programs under the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) such as the Career Development Awards, Diversity Supplements, and those investigators participating as project leaders or co-investigators on research projects in the Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (PACHE). This initiative will also provide a bridge to investigators who have completed their training and may need extra time and/or support to develop a larger research project grant (e.g., R01) application.
This NOFO will utilize the NIH Exploratory/Developmental (R21) Research Grant mechanism. The R21 exploratory/developmental grant mechanism supports investigations of novel scientific ideas or new model systems, tools, or technologies that have the potential for a significant impact on a field of biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research, and may not yet be supported by substantial preliminary data. An R21 grant application need not have extensive background material or preliminary data. Accordingly, reviewers will focus their evaluation on the conceptual framework, the level of innovation, and the potential to significantly advance our knowledge or understanding. Appropriate justification for the proposed work can be provided through literature citations, data from other sources, or, when available, from investigator-generated data. Although preliminary data are not required for R21 applications, such data may be included if available.
Specific Research Objectives
NCI's Division of Cancer Biology (DCB) and CRCHD offer this exploratory grant (R21) mechanism to encourage eligible investigators to submit R21 applications focused on basic cancer biology. Research applications should focus on basic cancer biology or the biological basis of cancer health disparities, consistent with the research interests of both the DCB and CRCHD.
- DCB supports research in a broad range of cancer biology topics, including cancer cell biology, cancer etiology, cancer immunology and hematology, DNA and chromosome aberrations, structural biology, systems and computational biology, the tumor microenvironment, and tumor metastasis.
- CRCHD supports cancer health disparity research that is focused on basic, hypothesis-driven studies that explicitly address the unequal burden of cancer amongst racial/ethnic minorities or other underserved populations across the cancer continuum (prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship). CRCHD also supports research into the underlying causes of cancer.