Mission
The Basic Biobehavioral and Psychological Sciences Branch (BBPSB) advances research in biobehavioral mechanisms and psychological processes to reduce cancer risk and improve outcomes. BBPSB is within the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Behavioral Research Program (BRP), in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS).
BBPSB cultivates an extramural portfolio that generates basic behavioral, biobehavioral, and psychological science knowledge with translational relevance to cancer prevention and control.
News and Highlights
Featured Funding Announcement
Advancing Research to Develop Improved Measures and Methods for Understanding Multimorbidity PAR-20-179 (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
See More AnnouncementsScientific Priorities
The branch supports the systematic analysis and investigation of the molecular, cellular, neural, psychological, and social processes underlying health-related behaviors and decisions identified as attributable risks for cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality. Research that employs observational or causal experimental designs in controlled or natural conditions with human or animal subjects is supported. Studies that combine diverse levels of analysis and examine reciprocal interactions among levels are encouraged.
Research domains cultivated by BBPSB:
- Cognition, emotion, judgment, and decision making
- Sensation, attention, and perception
- Biological pathways through which psychosocial stressors influence cancer biology and outcomes
- Methodology and measurement of biobehavioral moderators and mediators
- Identification and validation of psychological and biobehavioral mechanisms or processes hypothesized to be measurable, malleable, and implicated in behavior change
- Short- and long-term effects of cancer and cancer treatment
- Ethical issues in behavioral research
- Psychological and behavioral aspects of cancer treatment adherence
Initiatives and Measures
BBPSB Grant Portfolio and Funding Opportunities
Featured Grantees
I began my career as a family doctor working in neighborhood health centers in underserved communities. The turning point in my career from clinician to clinician researcher occurred on a job interview in an internal medicine department at a teaching hospital caring for a large population of older individuals.Jeanne Mandelblatt, M.D., M.P.H. Other BBPSB Featured Grantees
The explosion of genetic information into the lives of patients and populations requires that we find tools that will translate genomics to better patient experiences in decision-making, treatment, quality of life, and outcomes. To achieve this goal, we must nucleate interdisciplinary teams that include geneticists, population scientists, behavioral scientists, oncologists, and others to develop and implement comprehensive and impactful patient tools.Timothy Rebbeck, Ph.D. Other BBPSB Featured Grantees
The most profound influence on my work was my mentor, Dr Jane Weeks, who taught me that doing research, and working with the smartest, most interesting, most fun people, can be one of the great joys of life.Jennifer Mack, M.D., M.P.H. Other BBPSB Featured Grantees
Meet Our Staff
Our team of accomplished scientists and research associates, fellows, and administrators is dedicated to advancing behavioral science research in cancer prevention and control.
BBPSB Staff