Notice Number: NOT-CA-16-012

Key Dates
Release Date: January 6, 2016
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: February 2016
First Estimated Application Due Date: May 2016
Earliest Estimated Award Date: January 2017
Earliest Estimated Start Date: April 2017

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Purpose

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) intends to continue its support for the Barrett's Esophagus Translational Research Network (BETRNet). Through this Notice, the NCI announces the plans to publish the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the BETRNet Research Centers. These Research Centers (to be supported by the U54 cooperative agreement mechanism) will interact with one another as well as with the U24 BETRNet Coordinating Center (to be funded under a separate FOA, announced by the companion Notice of Intent to Publish, NOT-CA-16-009).

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive applications.

The FOA for BETRNet Research Centers is expected to be published in early 2016 with an expected application due date in late Spring 2016.

Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

The BETRNet is an NCI program established to address the rising incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) in the United States and to energize the field of EA research. Specifically, the program seeks a better understanding of EA biology and its precursor lesion, Barrett’s esophagus (BE), for translation into management and prevention measures, through multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations.

The planned BETRNet U54 Research Centers, announced by this Notice, are envisaged as a network of multi-institutional, trans-disciplinary centers, focused primarily on translational research. These centers are expected to foster long-term productive collaborations among investigators with the common objective of achieving a comprehensive understanding of EA biology as the foundation for validated preventive measures that improve patients' management. The transdisciplinary research should include appropriate combination of cancer biology, genomics, molecular medicine, imaging, computational biology, bioinformatics, gastroenterology, and other relevant fields and approaches. Among the research directions encouraged by this FOA are the efforts to understand the mechanisms underlying the origin and progression of EA and its precursor lesion BE as well as the translation of biological knowledge to strategies for the prevention and treatment of EA.

The announced FOA will be open to all qualified applicants who can establish and lead multi-institutional, trans-disciplinary research groups that are supported by critical cores and strong organizational oversight. The center structure should enable the investigation of research questions, development of important resources and models, and outreach to the larger scientific community.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

For inquiries related to biology-focused prospective applications:

Rihab Yassin, Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-6230
Email: ry38k@nih.gov

For inquiries related to prospective applications intended to focus on prevention and intervention research:

Ellen Richmond, MS, GNP-BC
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-7043
Email: richmone@mail.nih.gov