Key Dates

Related Announcements

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Issued by

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Purpose

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) is soliciting feedback, comments, innovative ideas, and strategies to guide its efforts in expanding and improving the development of the molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research workforce in the United States.  This includes education and training needs for both early- (e.g., including pre- and postdoctoral fellows, early-stage investigators) and mid-career scientists who are passionate about cancer prevention or may be seeking to enter the fields of molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception (including foundational/basic, translational, and clinical research), as well as specific research areas within these fields.  NCI also seeks input on how to best support successful career transitions for molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception scientists to enable these scientists to become leaders in the broader cancer prevention research community, and across various career sectors (i.e., academia, industry, and government).

Background

NCI seeks input from key extramural community stakeholders, including early-career scientists, biomedical faculty, training program directors, scientific societies, and academic institutions, as well as interested members of the public, on strategies to expand and enhance development of the molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception workforce. Within the broader area of cancer prevention, molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception includes the translation of the biological mechanisms and processes underlying carcinogenesis and cancer towards interventions focused on cancer prevention, interception, screening, and early detection.  The goal is to use these mechanistic understandings to interrupt or intervene in the carcinogenic process at the earliest point possible. Molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research encompasses the full translational spectrum, from preclinical (e.g., cell and tissue culture, animal models) to clinical research, and requires contributions from scientists across a variety of different scientific disciplines (e.g., fundamental basic science, epidemiology, behavioral, and clinical research). Areas of interest for this RFI include, but are not limited to, education and training needs, mentoring, and utilization of current funding mechanisms.

Information Requested

Topics that could be addressed include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

A:) Developing the Molecular Cancer Prevention and Cancer Interception Research Workforce – General Topics

• A1. Essential knowledge and skills required of molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception scientists to have successful independent research careers or enable career advancement within DCP priority areas:
  • Cancer Early Detection Biomarker Development and Screening
  • Intervention Development for Cancer Prevention
  • Precision Cancer Prevention
• A2. Strategies or approaches that might be helpful in promoting careers in the research areas listed above.
• A3. Identifying and developing strategies to reduce barriers to developing a career in the research areas listed above.
• A4. Strategies for improving mentoring and career advising to enable molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception scientists to be successful researchers and leaders in academia, industry, and government.
• A5. Strategies to enhance the diversity of the molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception workforce. Strategies would encourage inclusion of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those in underrepresented groups, and fostering the inclusion of diverse perspectives along the research continuum.
• A6. Anything else specific to addressing why predoctoral, postdoctoral, and early career scientists, or more established scientists, may not be pursuing molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research.

B:) Education and Training Needs for Early- and Mid-Career Molecular Cancer Prevention and Cancer Interception Scientists

• B1. The education and training needs for early-career (e.g., pre- and postdoctoral fellows, early-stage investigators, etc.) scientists pursuing careers in molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research.
• B2. Strategies for improving mentoring for early-career cancer scientists and supporting mentors in these areas.
• B3. Addressing the education and training needs for individuals who have already established an independent research program but are transitioning or augmenting their research with a focus on molecular cancer prevention or cancer interception research.
• B4. Strategies for improving mentoring for mid-career cancer scientists in these areas.
•  

C:) Molecular Cancer Prevention and Cancer Interception Research Education and Training Needs for Physician-Scientists

• C1. Education needs for physician-scientists pursuing careers focused on molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research (e.g., developing and leading clinical cancer prevention intervention studies) or augmenting their existing research with a focus on molecular cancer prevention or cancer interception.
• C2. Identifying barriers and strategies to reduce these to incorporating molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception (e.g., availability of mentors, training opportunities, funding opportunities, protected time, support for malpractice insurance) into a research program for physician-scientists.
• C3.  Barriers to incorporating molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception into curriculum for training/education of physician-scientists.
• C4.  Strategies or approaches that have been successful in promoting molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research among physician-scientists.
• C5. Strategies for improving mentoring and supporting mentors for physician-scientists seeking to engage in molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception studies.
• C6.  Strategies to improve research fellowship or funding opportunities for physician-scientists to facilitate the transition from training to independence.

D:) NCI-supported Cancer Prevention Research Training and Education Programs

• D1. The ways in which NCI-supported cancer prevention research training and education programs (https://www.cancer.gov/grants-training/training/funding) have been beneficial for developing the molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research workforce.
• D2. The ways in which NCI-supported cancer prevention research training and education program could be improved to develop the molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research workforce.
• D3. The ways in which NCI-supported cancer prevention research training and education programs have been beneficial for or could be improved for developing physician-scientists conducing molecular cancer prevention or cancer interception research.
• D4. Barriers to applying for NCI-supported cancer prevention research training and education programs as a molecular cancer prevention or cancer interception scientist (e.g., funding provided by training and education mechanisms, support for specific areas of research or multidisciplinary research, mentoring, institutional support).
• D5. Strategies for improving NCI-supported cancer prevention research training and education programs to support molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception scientists.

E:) Other

• E1. Anything else specific to expanding and developing the molecular cancer prevention and cancer interception research workforce you feel is important for NCI to consider with respect to enhancing training, education, and career development opportunities, and the persistence of individuals in research careers in these areas.

How to Submit a Response

Responses to this RFI will be accepted through the Strategies to Expand and Enhance Development of the Molecular Cancer Prevention and Cancer Interception Research Workforce webform Responders are free to address any or all of the questions listed above.  The webform is the preferred mode of input, but a file with associated answers may also be sent to NCIDCPworkforce@mail.nih.gov 

Responses will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on June 30, 2023.

Responses to this RFI are entirely voluntary and may be submitted anonymously.

Do not include any proprietary, classified, confidential, trade secret, or sensitive information in your response. The responses will be reviewed by NIH staff, and individual feedback will not be provided to any responder except as described above. The Government will use the information submitted in response to this RFI at its discretion. Any identifiers (e.g., names, institutions, e-mail addresses, etc.) will be removed when responses are compiled. The Government reserves the right to use only the processed, anonymized results on public NIH websites, in reports, in summaries of the state of the science, in any possible resultant solicitation(s), grant(s), or cooperative agreement(s), or in the development of future funding opportunity announcements.

This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation, grant, or cooperative agreement, or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the NIH, or individual NIH Institutes and Centers to provide support for any ideas identified in response to it. The Government will not pay for the preparation of any information submitted or for the Government’s use of such information. No basis for claims against the U.S. Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or from the Government’s use of such information.

NIH looks forward to your input, and we hope that you will share this RFI document with your colleagues.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Jessica Faupel-Badger
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-7296
Email: NCIDCPworkforce@mail.nih.gov