Single Source: Human Tumor Atlas Network Data Coordinating Center (HTAN-DCC; U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA CA 23 041

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 23 041

This funding opportunity (RFA-CA-23-041) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH cooperative agreement to support a single awardee that will run the Human Tumor Atlas Network Data Coordinating Center (HTAN-DCC). The central purpose is to speed up and improve how complex, single-cell and spatially resolved tumor atlas data are shared with the broader cancer research community. It is explicitly a U24 mechanism and is labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning the funded work is intended to focus on coordination, data operations, standards, and community enablement rather than running clinical trials.

The HTAN-DCC is expected to play two tightly linked roles: network coordination and data coordination. On the network side, it functions as the administrative backbone for HTAN operations. That includes organizing and running recurring governance and collaboration activities such as monthly HTAN Steering Committee meetings, monthly working group meetings, and semi-annual in-person (face-to-face) meetings. The idea is that the DCC keeps a distributed network aligned by maintaining schedules, agendas, documentation, follow-ups, and consistent communication so that participating groups can focus on generating and using atlas-quality data without operational friction.

On the data side, the DCC is responsible for making HTAN data broadly usable, consistently described, and easy to access and reuse. A major theme in this renewal period is that the emphasis shifts away from building brand-new data-sharing infrastructure and more toward reusing what HTAN established in its first phase. The NOFO signals that the highest value now comes from improving data and tool reusability, which includes creating and deploying community education resources. In practice, that points to activities like training materials, documentation, user guides, example workflows, and other resources that help outside researchers understand HTAN datasets, metadata, file formats, and how to work with the associated tools.

A particularly important expectation is that the HTAN-DCC continues to serve as a testbed and driver for interactions with the NCI Cancer Research Data Commons (CRDC). The DCC is expected to push forward CRDC capabilities needed for sharing, interacting with, and integrating highly multiplexed imaging datasets, which are often large, complex, and difficult to harmonize across studies. This means the awardee will not only prepare and package HTAN datasets for sharing, but will also actively collaborate with CRDC partners so the commons can better support these data types for the long term.

Long-term sustainability is a core requirement. The DCC will work closely with the CRDC to ensure that all relevant HTAN data and metadata are transferred into CRDC systems for durable stewardship and continued availability. The NOFO frames this as beneficial beyond HTAN itself: by refining standards, pipelines, and commons integrations for complex single-cell and imaging data, the work can spill over to other NCI and NIH programs, improving how multiple initiatives share and connect related datasets.

Budget and staffing expectations are also clearly signaled. The opportunity notes that the budget request is reduced compared to the first phase because existing infrastructure can be reused rather than rebuilt. At the same time, the NOFO emphasizes that substantial, responsive staffing is still necessary, particularly for hands-on tasks like data wrangling, ingest, and sharing. In other words, even with reusable platforms, the effort remains personnel-intensive because harmonizing metadata, validating submissions, supporting contributors, and ensuring high-quality releases requires ongoing operational attention.

Key administrative details included in the listing are as follows: the agency is NIH (NCI), the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (which typically involves substantial programmatic involvement from NIH compared to a standard grant), the opportunity category is discretionary, and the activity category is listed under education and health. The CFDA/assistance listings cited are 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, and 93.399. The original closing date shown is 2023-12-05, the opportunity was created 2023-10-03, and the award ceiling listed is $1,800,000.

Eligibility is restricted in ways that matter for international participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S. applicant may include certain foreign elements in the project if they meet NIH policy requirements. The listing also indicates eligible applicants include small businesses, though the full NOFO should be consulted for the complete and controlling eligibility language and any additional constraints specific to this single-source setup.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Single Source: Human Tumor Atlas Network Data Coordinating Center (HTAN-DCC; U24 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, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-10-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-12-05. (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 $1,800,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for RFA CA 23 041

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