Funding-DHHS cancer-relevant technologies for biospecimen science grants; first deadline Jan. 23, 2009

Please note that the funding announcement below is also available through additional funding mechanisms as an R233 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-09-005.html)

Department of Health and Human Services

Participating Organizations
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)

Components of Participating Organizations
National Cancer Institute (NCI), (http://www.cancer.gov)

Title: Innovative and Applied Emerging Technologies in Biospecimen Science (R21)

Announcement Type
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is a reissue of RFA-CA-08-009.

Request for Applications (RFA) Number: RFA-CA-09-004

NOTICE: Applications submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Federal assistance must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE SUBMITTED IN PAPER FORMAT.

This FOA must be read in conjunction with the application guidelines included with this announcement in Grants.gov/Apply for Grants (hereafter called Grants.gov/Apply).

A registration process is necessary before submission and applicants are highly encouraged to start the process at least four (4) weeks prior to the grant submission date. See Section IV.

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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.392, 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396

Key Dates
Release/Posted Date: December 15, 2009
Opening Date:  January 23, 2009 (Earliest date an application may be submitted to Grants.gov)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): January 23, 2009; April 27, 2009; August 30, 2009
NOTE: On-time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant institution/organization). 
Application Due Date(s):  February 23, 2009; May 27, 2009; September 30, 2009
Peer Review Date(s): May/June 2009; August/September 2009; January/February 2010
Council Review Date(s): October 2009; January 2010; May 2010
Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): December 2009; April 2010; July 2010
Additional Information To Be Available Date (Activation Date): Not Applicable
Expiration Date: October 1, 2009

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Additional Overview Content

Executive Summary

• Purpose. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), solicits grant applications proposing exceptionally innovative, high risk, original and/or unconventional exploratory research projects focused on the inception and early stage development of highly innovative cancer-relevant technologies for biospecimen science. The overall goal is to develop and evaluate technologies capable of interrogating and/or maximizing the quality and utility of biospecimens for molecular analyses with minimal invasiveness or compromise to donor/patient health. This FOA will also support the development of tools, devices, instrumentation, and associated methods to assess sample quality, preserve/protect sample integrity, and establish verification criteria for quality assessment/quality control and handling under diverse conditions. Projects must clearly demonstrate potential to produce a major impact in the area of biospecimen science.  This funding opportunity is part of a broader NCI-sponsored Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) Program. Several IMAT FOAs of identical or closely related scientific scope using various funding mechanisms are available. To facilitate selection, a separate Notice in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts provides brief cross-comparison and links to all the IMAT FOAs. See NOT-CA-09-007.
• Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the R21 grant mechanism and runs in parallel with a FOA of identical scientific scope, RFA-CA-09-005, that solicits applications under the NIH Exploratory/Developmental Phase II Research Grant (R33) award mechanism.
• Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NCI intends to commit a total of approximately $1,000,000 to this FOA in fiscal year 2010 to award up to 5 applications.
• Budget and Project Period. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed 2 years. Direct costs are limited to $275,000 over an R21 2-year period, with no more than $200,000 in direct costs allowed in any single year.
• Application Research Plan Component Length: The R21 application Research Plan component of the PHS398 (Items 2-5) may not exceed 15 pages, including tables, graphs, figures, diagrams, and charts. See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm.
• Eligible Institutions/Organizations. Institutions/organizations listed in Section III, 1.A. are eligible to apply.
• Eligible Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs). Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research are invited to work with their institution/ organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.
• Number of PDs/PIs. More than one PD/PI (i.e., multiple PDs/PIs) may be designated on the application.
• Number of Applications. Applicants may submit more than one application, provided each application is scientifically distinct.
• Resubmissions. Applicants may submit a resubmission application, but such application must include an Introduction addressing the previous peer review critique (Summary Statement). See new NIH policy on resubmission (amended) applications (NOT-OD-09-003, NOT-OD-09-016).
• Renewals. The R21 awards are non-renewable.  
• Special Date(s). This FOA uses non-standard due dates. See Receipt, Review and Anticipated Start Dates.
• Application Materials. See Section IV.1 for application materials.
• General Information. For general information on SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission, see these Web sites:
• SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission Information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm
• General information on Electronic Submission of Grant Applications: http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/
• Hearing Impaired. Telecommunications for the hearing impaired are available at: TTY 301-451-5936. 

For further information

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-09-004.html