Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity for The NCI Worta McCaskill-Stevens Career Development Award for Community Oncology and Prevention Research (K12 Clinical Trial Optional)

Key Dates

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National Cancer Institute (NCI)

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the NCI Worta McCaskill-Stevens Career Development Award for Community Oncology and Prevention Research (K12). The NOFO will invite applications for institutional research career development programs to support the training of clinical scientists in community cancer prevention, intervention, and treatment research. Special emphasis is placed on training of clinical scientists whose career goal is to meet the needs of underserved or underrepresented communities for access to clinical care and participation in clinical research.

The NOFO will allow the appointment of Scholars proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent community-based clinical trial; or proposing a separate ancillary study to an existing prevention, screening or control clinical trial; or proposing to gain research experience in a community-based clinical trial led by another investigator; or proposing to serve as leader of innovative clinical trial approaches that expand engagement of underserved or underrepresented communities in cancer clinical research, as part of their research and career development.

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

The NOFO is expected to be published in April 2024 with an expected application due date in June 2024.

The NOFO will utilize the K12 activity code for Clinical Scientist Institutional Career Development Program Awards. Details of the planned NOFO are provided below.

The purpose of the Worta McCaskill-Stevens K12 funding opportunity is to support institutional career development awards designed to prepare newly trained clinicians who have made a commitment to independent research careers in community oncology or cancer prevention, and to facilitate their transition to more advanced support mechanisms or independent research funding (e.g., K08, R03, R21, R01).

This new, additional NCI K12 funding opportunity focusing on community oncology and cancer prevention is named after medical oncologist Dr. Worta McCaskill-Stevens, a leader and visionary in designing clinical oncology research to help all populations benefit from its advances, with specific emphasis on the recruitment of underrepresented groups and populations to clinical trials. Working at the National Cancer Institute since 1998, Dr. McCaskill-Stevens, Director of the Community Oncology Research Program at the Division of Cancer Prevention, has led advances in breast cancer prevention and community-based clinical trials for cancer treatment, prevention, screening, and control. This funding opportunity will encourage applications proposing creative trans-disciplinary and innovative institutional research career development programs to address the challenge of implementing changes in community-based prevention and cancer care delivery research with an equity lens. Program areas of interest include, but are not limited to, cancer health disparities research both nationally and internationally, management of comorbidities within clinical trials, and molecular research that helps to identify those individuals who will best benefit from cancer prevention interventions.

The Worta McCaskill-Stevens K12 Programs will be required to have at least two oncology or prevention specialties represented among the included faculty and the pool of K12 appointees (Scholars). NCI K12 programs are expected to leverage the institution’s unique strengths in these oncology or prevention specialties and to incorporate the latest research and technology advancements in designing cutting-edge career development curricula. NCI K12 programs must establish individualized career development plans to accommodate Scholars with different levels of prior research training/experience and assign two mentors, such as a clinician conducting patient-oriented research and a cancer care delivery researcher with expertise in serving underserved or underrepresented communities, to each Scholar.

The award budgets may include salary support for the PD(s)/PI(s) and Scholars, research and development support, and administrative support costs. Scholars are individuals who are appointed to the program and benefit from the proposed activities and experiences involved in the career development program. Scholar costs must be justified as specifically required for the proposed career development program and based on institutional policies for salaries paid to individuals in similar positions, regardless of the source of funds. These expenses must be itemized in the proposed budget.

Scholar appointments will be up to two (2) years in length, with the option of an extra year for Scholars who would benefit. The application must clearly indicate the number of’s cholar appointments proposed for each year. Candidates must have a full-time appointment at the applicant institution or a partnering institution. Scholar support is provided for a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years of consecutive funding for each’s cholar, consisting of 12-month appointments, provided their progress towards an independent academic career is on track and satisfactory.

Applicant organizations are encouraged to recruit a pool of potential qualified Scholars, faculty, and mentors from diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups, such as individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, persons with disabilities, and women.

For more information, see Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity, NOT-OD-20-031.

Funding Information

Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Private Institution of Higher Education
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized)
Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
U.S. Territory or Possession
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized)
Regional Organization
Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

Applications are not being solicited at this time.

Inquiries

Yansong Bian, MD, PhD
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-5630
Email: yansong.bian@nih.gov