Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program (R01 Clinical Trial Required) | PAR 21 035

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 035

The Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program (R01 Clinical Trial Required), Funding Opportunity Number PAR-21-035, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity administered by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to support investigator-initiated clinical trials that aim to reduce the overall burden of cancer. The program is specifically focused on research that can lead to practical improvements in early detection and screening, cancer prevention and interception, healthcare delivery, quality of life, and cancer survivorship. A core expectation is that the proposed clinical trial will not only generate useful scientific evidence, but also have a clear pathway to improving clinical practice and/or producing measurable public health impact.

A central requirement of this announcement is that applications must include a study that meets the NIH definition of a clinical trial and must provide the detailed clinical trial-related information requested in the FOA (with the NIH clinical trial definition referenced through NOT-OD-15-015). In other words, this is not a mechanism for observational studies or general research that does not qualify as a clinical trial under NIH rules; the clinical trial component is mandatory. At the same time, the FOA draws a firm boundary around what kinds of trials it will not fund: it explicitly excludes clinical trials that focus on cancer diagnosis and/or oncologic therapy in patients. That means trials testing therapeutic cancer treatments or diagnostic approaches in the context of treating cancer are outside scope, while trials centered on prevention, screening, survivorship, quality of life, and systems of care improvements are within scope.

Programmatically, proposed projects should align with the interests of either the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention and/or the NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, signaling that applications should be grounded in prevention and population-oriented cancer control priorities rather than treatment development. The mechanism is an R01 research project grant, indicating support for substantial, investigator-driven research efforts that are typically multi-year and designed to answer well-defined, impactful questions through rigorous trial methods.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations, reflecting an intent to encourage participation across academic, government, community, and private sectors. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education as well as private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other categories listed in the announcement. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types such as faith-based or community-based organizations, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), U.S. territories or possessions, regional organizations, and even non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations), underscoring the program's openness to a wide range of institutional settings capable of running high-quality clinical trials in prevention and cancer control.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant program within the education and health activity category, tied to CFDA numbers 93.393 and 93.399. The funding opportunity record lists an original closing date of 2024-01-07 and a creation date of 2020-11-10. An explicit award ceiling and expected number of awards are not provided in the source data excerpt, so applicants would need to consult the full FOA text and NIH/NCI guidance for budget expectations, allowable costs, and any limits or typical award sizes.

In practical terms, this FOA is best understood as a funding pathway for rigorous, well-justified clinical trials that test interventions, strategies, or delivery approaches designed to prevent cancer, detect it earlier through screening strategies, improve survivorship and quality of life, or enhance healthcare delivery in ways that reduce cancer burden at the population level, while avoiding trials centered on cancer treatment or diagnostic/therapeutic studies in patients.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program (R01 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 21 035

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