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 Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) announces the Dog Oncology Grant Supplement (DOGS) program that seeks to support collaborative, multidisciplinary research in canine oncology. DOGS applications must propose a new collaborative project that intersects two or more of the following topic areas: immuno-oncology (IO), radiation treatment (RT), and imaging. 

Canine oncology research provides numerous advantages as a translational path for human patients. Spontaneous, naturally occurring canine cancers are heterogeneous, develop metastatic disease, and are subject to immunoediting as they arise in immunocompetent hosts with age- and tissue-appropriate contexts. For these reasons, treatment responses in canine patients can be similar to humans relative to modeling in rodents. Moreover, canine imaging and treatment delivery systems (e.g., radiation therapies) are comparable or the same as those used with humans, providing superior scalability and potential for the transfer of treatment combination research into human clinical trials. This administrative supplement funding opportunity seeks to leverage the existing NCI infrastructure in companion canine cancer research to facilitate new high-quality collaborative opportunities that integrate across approaches in IO, imaging, and RT. The programmatic intent of the DOGS program is to enable new cross-correlatives and response measures leading to the optimization of treatment approaches using companion canine cancer research to maximize the translational benefits for humans with cancer.

Awards through this administrative supplement opportunity are to be shared between a current NCI grantee and at least one partnering collaborator who is not named on the parent award. Either the PI of the parent award or the collaborator must have demonstrated canine cancer research expertise. DOGS-eligible parent awards must have an NCI primary assignment through any of the following mechanisms: R01, R37, U01, P01, P30, P50, U19, U24, or U54. The proposed DOGS collaborative project must be hypothesis-driven and must include a new collaboration in at least two of the following topic areas: IO, imaging, and RT. Cancer treatment regimens and modalities in addition to IO, imaging, and RT are allowed, but not required. Applications proposing to use non-companion, research dogs will be deemed non-responsive to this NOSI. Data generated by the administrative supplement awards must be deposited into the Integrated Canine Data Commons (ICDC) after publication. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Connie Sommers at sommersc@mail.nih.gov to discuss the planned collaboration and application. 

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:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the NCI Program Director assigned to the parent award and Connie Sommers (sommersc@mail.nih.gov) that a request has been submitted in response to this NOSI to facilitate efficient processing of the request.

Eligibility and Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator):

• The parent award must be an active grant or cooperative agreement (R01, R37, U01, P01, P30, P50, U19, U24, or U54) with an NCI primary assignment.
• The parent award must be able to receive funds in FY23 and be active throughout the 1-year project period. The parent award must not be in an extension period (e.g., cost or no-cost extension).
• A DOGS collaboration team, at a minimum, must be composed of the PI/MPI of an active NCI parent grant and a collaborator PI who is not listed on the NCI parent grant. The partnering collaborator PI does not need to hold a current active award but must be eligible to apply for an independent NIH research grant.
• Either the parent award or the collaborating partner(s) proposed research plan must include a companion canine research component. The research plan for the proposed DOGS project must intersect at least two of these topic areas: IO, imaging, or RT. The collaboration must involve a novel research question and must be within the broad scope of the parent award.
• For supplements to parent awards that include multiple program directors/principal investigators (PD/PIs), the supplement may be requested by any or all of the PD/PIs on that award (in accordance with the existing leadership plan) and must be submitted by the awardee institution of the parent award.
• Early Stage Investigators (ESIs) are encouraged to apply as part of collaborative teams.
• NIH supports the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).
• Collaborations with foreign institutions are allowed, but investigators must provide a justification for the collaboration. Please note that some foreign collaborations will require U.S. State Department approval by the NCI, and that may delay receipt of funding.

Application Due Date:

• All requests, regardless of the parent award funding mechanism, must be received by 5:00 PM local time on June 15, 2023.
• This is a one-time announcement. Late applications will not be accepted.

Budget:

• Supplement budget requests must reflect the actual needs of the proposed one-year project and are limited to $475,000 total costs per project (e.g., for a collaboration between two NIH awardees, each could request up to $237,500 in total costs in independent budgets; for a collaborative project that includes a sub-contract, the parent research program award could request up to $475,000 in total costs to support the collaboration, which would include the sub-award).
• At least one full year on the parent award or partnering collaborator award (if not utilizing a sub-award mechanism) must remain at the time of funding. The administrative supplement application budget is limited to a project period of one year.
• It is allowable for institutions to waive indirect costs, but not required.
• Budget allocation to the parent award or collaborator award/sub-award cannot exceed 70 percent of the total costs for the collaborative partnership (e.g., the proposed financial split between collaborating partners could be between 50-50, 70-30, or 30-70).
• The earliest anticipated start date is September 1, 2023.
• Requests for no-cost extensions of the parent grant to accommodate a supplement will not be permitted; however, a no-cost extension of the supplement will be considered if the parent grant is still active.
• If the budget includes a request for salary support, a justification and clear details on what each person will be responsible for are required. If supporting students and/or postdocs, please indicate if they are already working in the lab or when they will be recruited. A description of how the student/postdoc will be supported after the conclusion of the one-year supplement must be included. It is not appropriate to have TBN personnel listed as part of the budget request.
• The administrative supplement awards pursuant to this opportunity are contingent upon the availability of funds from NCI and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious requests. Two collaborative awards are anticipated. 

Submitting Applications:

• 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-23-059.”
• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-CA-23-059” (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 funding opportunity.
• Page limits: The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 4 pages (excluding references).
• A single application should be submitted. For a collaborative application between two NIH awardees, each awardee should submit independent budgets.

Review and Selection Process:

NCI will conduct administrative reviews of applications and will support meritorious applications submitted for consideration based on the availability of funds and programmatic priorities.

Specific Review Criteria

NIH staff will consider the potential impact of the collaborative project on the translation of canine cancer research to human outcomes. Collaborations with combined expertise in canine and human cancer research are encouraged. A companion canine cancer component is required. Importantly, collaborative projects that bridge or have combination strategies in at least two of these topic areas – IO, imaging, RT – are required. Two examples are listed below:

1. Grant 1: Allogeneic NK cell-based therapy clinical trial of cancer in companion canines. Grant 2: Novel PET tracer probes for intratumoral detection of NK cells (human or canine). The hypothesis of the proposed collaborative project:  Allogeneic NK cell product 1 has better anti-cancer efficacy in dogs related to a particular biodistribution pattern as detected by PET scanning vs alternative NK cell products.
2. Grant 1: Optimization of high-dose RT in high-grade gliomas in companion canines. Grant 2: Novel IO targets and biomarker correlatives in glioblastoma multiforme (human) or high-grade gliomas (canine). The hypothesis of the proposed collaborative project:  Effective high-dose RT therapies in brain cancer identified in grant 1 elicit IO targets and biomarker correlatives previously identified in grant 2.

It is highly recommended that potential applicants contact Connie Sommers at sommersc@mail.nih.gov before applying to ensure collaborative projects reflect programmatic priorities.

Other criteria that will be considered during the review include:

• The significance of the specific question being pursued in the collaborative project;
• The suitability of companion canines to address the specific question being pursued in the collaborative project;
• The requirement for and importance of collaborative research, to accomplish the goals of the project;
• A rigorous study or experimental design with adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects;
• A realistic scope of work, given the time and budget requested;
• Supportive environments at research institutions;
• Clear articulation of the logistics of the collaboration;
• A statement of willingness to contribute data to the ICDC after publication.

Note that projects facilitating new collaborations are of particular interest. Applicants are encouraged to consider how collaborative projects may address whether and how canines are a suitable model for studying human cancer while connecting new investigators, ideas, and viewpoints. Awardees will be encouraged to join PRECINCT if they are not already participating in this collaborative network for investigators studying canine cancer immunotherapies.

Applicants are encouraged to discuss their application with the scientific/research contact listed in this NOSI prior to submission. Applications nonresponsive to the terms of this NOSI will not be considered.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries related to IO to:

Connie Sommers, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-7187
Email: sommersc@mail.nih.gov

Please direct inquiries related to RT to:
Michael Graham Espey, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-7619
Email: SP@nih.gov

Please direct overall inquiries related to imaging to:
Hope Beier, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-6345
Email: hope.beier@nih.gov