The National Cancer Institute (NCI) invites applications for U54 Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in Cancer Health Disparities and Minority Health (CHD-MH SPOREs). The program will fund a network of multidisciplinary, multi-institutional U54 CHD-MH SPOREs uniquely focused on health disparities and/or minority health translational research for improved prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer in populations who are underserved (and/or underrepresented). U54 CHD-MH SPOREs can investigate more than one cancer type in underserved populations, including groups of highly related cancers (e.g., gastrointestinal, neuroendocrine, and head and neck). The research supported through this program must be translational and must stem from knowledge of human biology, addressing the interplay of various determinants of health with the biology of the disease. U54 CHD-MH SPORE projects must have the goal of reaching a translational human endpoint within the project period of the grant.
Deadlines:
- Letter of Intent Due Date(s): 30 days prior to the application due date.
- Application Due Date: September 26, 2024
RFA-CA-24-020 Expiration Date September 27, 2024
Investigators may serve as a PI/multi-PI on only one funded U54 or P50 SPORE at a time. However, investigators may have other roles (i.e., co-leader, Core director) on multiple U54 or P50 SPOREs concurrently, even from more than one institution.
Minimum Research Base: For a SPORE application to be programmatically considered for award by NCI, the application must include four or more independent investigators who currently serve as PDs/PIs (or project leaders) on peer-reviewed research grants (e.g., R01, R21, P01, U01, U10, U19, American Cancer Society [ACS], U.S. Department of Defense [DOD], or equivalent) or are overall chairpersons or site chairpersons on an active NCI-sponsored clinical trial. These activities must be directly related to the cancer(s) being investigated in the SPORE or the specific expertise required for the SPORE, including CHD-MH. PDs/PIs supported by the NCI’s non-mentored “K” career development grants or the R00 portion of the K99/R00 award can also be included in the research base requirement if the career award is directly relevant to the cancer(s) being investigated or the specific expertise required for the SPORE project. Please note that an investigator who is a PD/PI on multiple qualified grants or clinical trials counts only once towards the research base, and to qualify, the investigator must be the PD/PI on the highlighted activity. The qualifying investigators also must serve on the SPORE as a PD/PI, a multi-PD/PI, project co-leader or Shared Resources Core director.
Applicants may request a maximum of $1.6M in direct costs per year, which excludes third-party indirect costs.
The maximum project period is 5 years.