Core Infrastructure Support for Cancer Epidemiology Cohorts (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 20 136

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 136

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), released this discretionary funding opportunity to strengthen and sustain the day-to-day backbone of existing Cancer Epidemiology Cohorts (CECs). The grant is offered as a cooperative agreement (U01), which usually means the funded project is carried out by the awardee but with substantial scientific and/or programmatic involvement from NCI staff compared with a typical research grant. The announcement is explicitly labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so the supported work is meant to focus on cohort infrastructure, operations, and methods rather than testing interventions in a clinical trial framework.

The main purpose of the FOA is to keep established cancer epidemiology cohorts functioning at a high level and to improve their ability to serve as widely usable scientific resources. In practice, this means supporting core cohort functions such as maintaining participant follow-up systems, managing and improving data and biospecimen resources, ensuring data quality and harmonization, strengthening governance and access procedures, and enabling secure, compliant data sharing. A major theme is resource sharing with the broader research community, so projects that make cohort resources more discoverable, more usable, and easier to access by external scientists are aligned with the intent of the program. Alongside infrastructure support, the FOA also encourages methodological research, which generally refers to developing or refining epidemiologic, statistical, informatics, measurement, or data-integration approaches that make cohort data more informative and reliable for cancer research.

The opportunity is listed under PAR-20-136 and tied to CFDA 93.393. While the activity category is shown as education and health, the content and the administering institute make clear it is focused on cancer epidemiology cohort infrastructure and methods. The maximum award amount is listed as $500,000 (award ceiling). The source information does not specify the number of expected awards.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of applicants: state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other entities. The FOA also calls out additional eligible groups and institution types, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and foreign (non-U.S.) organizations. This breadth suggests NCI is open to funding cohort infrastructure wherever strong, established cancer epidemiology cohort resources exist, including outside the United States, as long as the proposed work fits the program goals.

Key dates provided include a creation date of March 12, 2020, with an original closing date of July 29, 2020. Overall, the grant is best understood as targeted support to maintain and modernize existing cohort infrastructure, improve interoperability and sharing, and advance methods that increase the scientific value of long-running cancer epidemiology cohorts, without funding clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Core Infrastructure Support for Cancer Epidemiology Cohorts (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-03-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-07-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 20 136

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