National Cancer Institute
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Epidemiology and Genetics Research Branch
Cancer Control and Population Sciences


NCI logo  Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
March 16 , 2007

EGRP NEWS FLASH
From the Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute


New Grant Award Program for Innovative Investigators

NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D., unveiled a program to fund new investigators who have innovative research project ideas that may produce an unusually high impact in biomedical and behavioral research, but do not have the preliminary data needed to be successful in the traditional peer review system. The NIH Director's New Innovator Award offers grants of up to $1.5 million in direct costs over the course of five years, plus applicable facility and administrative costs.

The grant award is for investigators who have never been a Principal Investigator (PI) on an NIH R01 or similar grant, or leader of a P01 or center grant peer-reviewed project. The investigator may submit or have an R01 grant application pending at the same time as submission of the New Innovator Award application. Applicants must hold an independent research position at an institution in the United States as of September 20, 2007, and have completed their most recent doctoral degree or medical internship and residency in 1997 or later.

Investigators must apply for this award between April 25, 2007 and May 22, 2007. NIH plans to issue at least 14 awards in September 2007.

More information about the NIH Director's New Innovator Award can be found in the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts RFA-RM-07-009, and the Office of Extramural Research's NIH Director's New Innovator Award.

You may also wish to view the press release announcing the award program.


Grants Available in Small Business Innovation Research

Three new Program Announcements (PA) on opportunities in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) are available. The opportunities use the SBIR (R43/R44) grant mechanism for Phase I, Phase II, and Fast-Track applications.

  • Technology Development for the Detection and Evaluation of Chemical and Biological Carcinogens (SBIR) (PAS-07-240) invites small businesses to develop or improve on technologies that detect or evaluate chemical and biological carcinogens in clinical and/or environmental specimens. The goal is to develop innovative technologies into commercially viable assays. PAS-07-240 appears in the NIH Guide.
  • Technology for the Detection and Characterization of Low Abundance Proteins, Peptides, or micro RNAs (SBIR) (PAS-07-241) solicits grant applications from small businesses that wish to develop new technologies or improvements to existing technologies for the detection, isolation, and characterization of proteins, peptides, or micro RNAs that normally exist in complex biologically relevant mixtures at concentrations that are beyond the lower limits of current technologies (e.g., low abundance proteins present in <5000 copies per cell). PAS-07-241 appears in the NIH Guide.
  • Technologies and Software to Support Integrative Cancer Biology Research (SBIR) (PAS-07-042) solicits grant applications from small businesses for the development of software tools, computational/mathematical methods, and technologies that enable integrative cancer biology research. Integrative cancer biology focuses on understanding cancer as a complex biological system by using both computational and experimental biology to integrate different data sources and ultimately to generate predictive computational models of cancer processes. PAS-07-242 appears in the NIH Guide.

Occupational Health and Safety Research PA Reissued

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced PA-07-318, a reissue of PA-04-038 for R01 awards.  This PA is to encourage research that develops an understanding of the risks and conditions associated with occupational diseases and injuries; explores methods for reducing risks and for preventing or minimizing exposure to hazardous conditions in the workplace; and translates significant scientific findings into prevention practices and products that will effectively reduce work-related illness and injury. Of special interest to NCI is basic, applied, methodological, and statistical research that can advance cancer control activities, including surveillance, dissemination of public health information, and elucidation of susceptibility factors associated with cancer risk in individuals and population subgroups. The NCI-relevant priority area includes applicable research approaches and methods (e.g., exposure and risk assessment, biomonitoring and surveillance techniques, analysis of cancer risk factors, and characterization of possible carcinogens in mixed exposures).  PAS-07-318 appears in the NIH Guide.

Direct questions about this PA to EGRP's  Mukesh Verma, Ph.D., Acting Chief, Analytic Epidemiology Research Branch (AERB); e-mail: vermam@mail.nih.gov. This PA is cosponsored with several Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).


Administrative Supplement Opportunity in Dissemination of Surveillance Research

Investigators who have an active NCI grant award and who are conducting peer-reviewed research on cancer control can apply for administrative supplements for dissemination of surveillance research. These supplements will provide funding of up to $100,000 in direct costs for 1 year. The award mechanisms eligible for this supplement include the R01, P01, P50, U01, and U19 awards.

This award is for investigators conducting surveillance research on topics ranging from throughout the cancer control continuum, including risk factors, screening, cancer rates, treatment, and outcomes; and in subjects such as tobacco use, diet and physical activity, sun exposure, and genetic testing for cancer susceptibility. Possible research objectives for the supplement include testing strategies for applying data to problems in policy, programs, and practices; communications research; and improving strategies for dissemination of surveillance research tools and data.

Applicants for this administrative supplement must meet the following requirements:

  • The focus of the supplement must be the same as the focus of the parent award;
  • There should be no funds in the parent award for the proposed dissemination of research findings;
  • An active grant must exist during the entire funding period of the supplement;
  • The PI for the supplement must be the same as the PI for the parent grant; and
  • Only domestic applicant institutions are eligible. 

The notice describing this opportunity appears in the NIH Guide. Please also view the application instructions.


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Last modified:
24 May 2007
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