Revisions for Incorporation of Novel NCI-Supported Technology to Accelerate Cancer Research (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA CA 19 027

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 19 027

Revisions for Incorporation of Novel NCI-Supported Technology to Accelerate Cancer Research (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-CA-19-027) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant opportunity designed specifically for currently funded NCI P50 Specialized Center programs that want to submit a revision application (previously referred to as a competing revision). The central idea is to help established cancer research centers move faster or broaden the impact of their existing, peer-reviewed center research by adding a new technical approach or instrument that was developed with support from the NCI Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) program. Rather than funding an entirely new center or a brand-new standalone project, this FOA focuses on targeted expansions to the active parent award that meaningfully enhance what the center is already doing.

The purpose of the program is twofold: first, to accelerate progress on the parent P50 study by incorporating an IMAT-developed technology that can deepen, refine, or extend the original research questions in one or more of the center's projects; and second, to promote independent validation of emerging technologies. In practice, this means the NCI is trying to bridge the gap between promising, innovative tools and their real-world usefulness in broader cancer research settings. By supporting independent testing and application within active P50 centers, the FOA aims to demonstrate reliability, suitability, and value for the larger research community, not just for the group that originally invented the technology.

A defining feature of the opportunity is its emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration. Because IMAT technologies often sit at the intersection of engineering, computational science, molecular measurement, and cancer biology or clinical research, the FOA encourages teams to bring together diverse expertise to integrate a novel method into ongoing cancer research. The revisions are meant to be practical and additive: they should either expand the scope of specific projects under the P50 or remove bottlenecks and accelerate discovery by enabling measurements or analyses that were not previously feasible within the parent study.

The funding mechanism is a discretionary grant administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the NIH (specifically NCI). The activity category is listed under Education and Health, with CFDA number 93.394. Clinical trials are optional under this FOA, meaning applicants may propose work that includes a clinical trial component if it fits the revision aims and the parent center structure, but a clinical trial is not required.

In terms of scale and competitiveness, the FOA anticipated a small number of awards (expected awards: 3), reflecting a targeted initiative rather than a broad-based funding program. The maximum award amount listed is $150,000, which reinforces that these are intended to be focused revision efforts that add a defined technological component to an existing, well-supported P50 program, rather than large multi-year expansions comparable to a new center award.

Eligibility is broad in the general NIH sense and includes many organization types (such as public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations, small businesses, and various government and tribal entities). However, the practical eligibility constraint is that the applicant must already hold an active NCI P50 Specialized Center award that can serve as the parent grant for the revision, since the FOA is explicitly for revision applications tied to currently funded P50 centers.

Key administrative details include the FOA creation date of January 7, 2019, and an original closing date of September 27, 2019. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted NCI effort to speed adoption and rigorous testing of IMAT-enabled innovations inside established cancer research centers, with the near-term goal of accelerating progress on the parent center projects and the longer-term goal of moving novel technologies closer to routine use by appropriate cancer research communities.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Revisions for Incorporation of Novel NCI-Supported Technology to Accelerate Cancer Research (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.394.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 07, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 27, 2019. (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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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