Key Dates

Related Announcements

• October 9, 2020 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional). See NOFO PA-20-272

Issued by

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Purpose

The Office of the Director (OD) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announces this notice of special interest (NOSI) to encourage current grant or cooperative agreement awardees to extend their funded studies to investigate uterine serous carcinoma (USC). To be eligible for these supplemental funds, parent grants must currently focus on (1) endometrial cancer; (2) TP53 aberrant tumors; (3) serous ovarian cancer; (4) development of in vitro and in vivo model systems; or (5) cancer health disparities.  The overall goal of these administrative supplements is to advance knowledge in the tumor biology (including the tumor microenvironment), prevention, diagnosis, early detection, treatment, risk assessment, or the health disparity issues of USC that would lead to future benefits for patients with this disease. 

Background

Uterine serous carcinoma (USC), known by various names (Type II endometrial cancer, high-grade non-endometrioid endometrial cancer, uterine serous papillary carcinoma, uterine serous cancer, and TP53 mutant uterine cancer), is a diverse subtype of endometrial cancer (EC) that has been increasing in incidence and mortality. USC accounts for up to 10% of EC incidence but at least 40% of EC deaths. Unlike other types of EC, USC is associated with a higher median age and post-menopausal onset and is less strongly linked to estrogen-related risk factors. It has been suggested that USC may be associated with the aged tumor microenvironment. This disease also shows a wide disparity in incidence, aggressiveness, and mortality between Black and White women in the United States. The causes of these disparities are understudied, and much is unknown, particularly the interplay between molecular alterations and social determinants of health that may influence outcomes. 
 

The primary goal of the supplemental funding is to support research in USC to expand the field by filling knowledge gaps in the biology and pre-clinical/translational aspects of the disease. A secondary goal is to attract investigators, both new and in allied research, to study USC.

Research Objectives

The research objective of these administrated supplements is to better understand the molecular and cellular biology and disease progression, devise strategies for prevention, early detection and diagnosis, discover and/or develop novel agents and combinations (including immunotherapies) for treatment, develop new clinically relevant models, or assess disease risk, while also identifying the factors that may be contributing to racial cancer health disparities observed in this disease.
 

Investigators should request supplement support to carry out short-term studies (1 year) in one or more of the research objectives above. In addition, because benefitting the USC patient is the aspirational goal of this supplement, the project proposed should either involve a gynecologic oncologist, engage an endometrial cancer patient advocate, or state a commitment to attend a workshop/conference on endometrial cancer during the period of the award. It is intended that these studies lay the foundation for longer-term studies in the future that could be supported by other NCI funding mechanisms.

Non-responsive Applications

Applications not responsive to this NOSI include those that:

• Supplement Parent Grant awards that are not focused on one of the areas stated in the Purpose.
• Are led by investigators who are not the PI(s) of the Parent Grant. (Other investigators may be co-investigators, significant contributors, or collaborators.)
• Include a plan that is not reasonable for the proposed project to be completed, given the time and budget requested.
• Propose work that is not considered to be within scope of the parent grant.

All applicants are encouraged to discuss their applications with the scientific/research contact listed in this NOSI (below) prior to submission.
 

Application and Submission Information

Applications for this initiative must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.

• PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-20-272 must be followed, with the following additions:

Eligibility

• Only current awardees of an active NCI-funded R01, R37, R00, P01, P20, P30, P50, U01, UG1, UG3, UM1, UH3, UH2/UH3, U54, or U19 are eligible to apply.
• PDs/PIs must hold an active award supported through NCI with sufficient time (minimum 1 year not including no-cost extensions) left within the existing project period to complete the proposed  project after the supplement has been awarded..
• The proposed project must be within the scope of the parent award.  
• The project period for the parent award must be active, and cannot be in a no-cost extension, for the 1 year of the administrative supplement application/project/award. 
• Requests for no-cost extensions on the parent grant to accommodate a supplement will not be permitted.
• If an applicant anticipates a balance of 25% or more of the current total costs for the parent grant, please contact the grant’s Program Officer prior to submitting an application.
• Only one supplement application per parent award will be accepted for consideration. For supplements to parent awards that include multiple PDs/PIs, the supplement may be requested by any or all of the PDs/PIs (in accordance with the existing leadership plan) and submitted by the awardee institution of the parent award.

 Budget:

• The budget should not exceed $125,000 in direct costs for the entire allowable 1-year project period of the application/award.
•  The administrative supplement application budget is limited to 1 year only.
•  Supplements designed to meet cost increases for unanticipated expenses within the original scope of the project will not be considered
   

Submitting Applications

• Application Due Date: Submissions must be received by July 1, 2024, at 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization for FY 2024 funding. The NOSI will expire July 2, 2024.
• For funding consideration, applicants must include "NOT-CA-24-044" (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
• Applicants should begin the supplement application abstract by stating “This application is being submitted in response to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) identified as “NOT-CA-24-044”.
• To facilitate efficient processing of the request, applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the assigned NCI Program Official for the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this NOSI.

Page Limits

The application must include the following sections and adhere to the following limits:

• Project Summary/Abstract: 30 lines of text
• Project Narrative: 3 sentences
• Specific Aims: 1 page
• Research Strategy: 3 pages. 
• Biographical Sketch: for Senior/Key Personnel and Significant Contributors only

Review and Selection Process

NCI will conduct administrative reviews of applications and will support the most meritorious applications submitted for consideration, based upon availability of funds. Additionally, NCI program staff will evaluate applications using the following selection factors:

• If successful, will the proposed project for supplemental funding fill a significant knowledge gap in what is currently known about USC?
• Is the approach of the proposed supplemental study feasible and can it be completed in 1 year with the budget requested?
• Are the proposed activities relevant to the parent grant and original work scope?
• Has the applicant demonstrated satisfactory progress towards achieving the aims of the parent grant, as appropriate to the current stage of the project?
   

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their application with the scientific/research contacts listed in this NOSI prior to submission.

Applications nonresponsive to the terms of this NOSI will not be considered for funding.

The process for Streamlined Submissions using the eRA Commons cannot be used for this initiative.
 

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Scientific/Research Contact(s) for the following topics:

Toby T. Hecht, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis 
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-5683
Email: hechtt@mail.nih.gov
 

Biology:
Mihoko Kai, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Biology
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-5811
Email: mihoko.kai@nih.gov

Prevention and Early Detection:
Brandy Heckman-Stoddard, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Prevention
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-7048
Email: brandy.heckman@nih.gov
 

SPORE Translational Science:
Naveena Basa Janakiram, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-5892
Email: naveena.basajanakiram@nih.gov
 

Cancer Therapy:
Elise Kohn, M.D.
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-7163
Email: kohne@nih.gov

Cancer Health Disparities:
Tiffany Wallace, Ph.D.
Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-5114
Email: tiffany.wallace@nih.gov

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Crystal Wolfrey
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-6277
Email: crystal.wolfrey@nih.gov