Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits grant applications proposing exploratory research projects focused on the early-stage development of highly innovative technologies that improve the quality and handling of samples used for cancer research or clinical care. Through this NOFO, NCI will support the development of tools, devices, instrumentation, and associated methods for the collection, handling, processing, preservation, or storage of cancer-relevant biospecimens and their derivatives. This includes tools with new capabilities to preserve or protect sample integrity, establish verification criteria for quality assessment/quality control, and address issues related to pre-analytical degradation of targeted analytes. The overall goal is to support the development of highly innovative technologies capable of maximizing or interrogating the quality and utility of biological samples used for downstream analyses. These technologies are expected to accelerate and/or enhance research in cancer biology, early detection and screening, clinical diagnosis, treatment, epidemiology, and/or address issues associated with cancer health disparities. Projects proposing the application of existing technologies where the novelty resides in the biological or clinical target/question being pursued rather than the technical innovation are not responsive to this solicitation and will not be reviewed.
This funding opportunity is part of a broader NCI-sponsored Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) Program.
Deadlines:
- Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): 30 days before the application due date
- Application Due Date(s): April 4, 2025; Oct. 3, 2025
RFA-CA-25-003 Expiration Date: October 4, 2025
Application budgets are limited to $150,000 per year (in direct costs).
The total project period request may not exceed 3 years.