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)

All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO)

Purpose

The goal of this Notice of Special interest (NOSI) from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is to support administrative supplements for currently funded investigators to better understand within-group factors that contribute to cancer prevention and control outcomes and intervention effectiveness in populations that are underrepresented in or excluded from cancer research. This administrative supplement would provide funding for one year to initiate or enhance evaluation of heterogeneity within populations and/or how this heterogeneity influences cancer outcomes, within the scope of the parent grant.

For this Notice, applications should focus on heterogeneity within under-resourced settings and/or among populations that are traditionally underrepresented in or excluded from behavioral research, including minoritized racial and ethnic groups, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, rural populations, LGBTQ+ individuals, and individuals living with intellectual or physical disabilities.

Background

Significant heterogeneity within  sociodemographic groups can influence health behaviors, health outcomes, and intervention effectiveness. Individuals within broad categories of underrepresented groups can have different lived experiences, health behaviors, risk factors (e.g., environmental exposures, genetic predispositions), and needs (e.g., individual, interpersonal, structural). For example, racial and ethnic categories include individuals from many countries of origin, speaking different native languages, across varied socioeconomic strata, living in rural and urban settings, and with different US acculturation levels. There is substantial variation in cancer risk and mortality based on these and other within-group factors. Furthermore, structural systems and stigmas may act synergistically to amplify health inequities among individuals with multiple marginalized identities.

However, research efforts often lack the samples, measures, and methods to account for such heterogeneity. Between-group comparisons and estimates of average effects are common in health disparities research but may reify group-based differences and mask meaningful within-group differences. For example, cancer rates may not differ when Asian Americans are compared to non-Hispanic White Americans, but disaggregating Asian Americans by country of origin can reveal  disparities that are masked at the aggregate level because of high rates among some subgroups and low rates among others. Similarly, measurement and analysis of race/ethnicity, sexual and gender identity, and social determinants of health within a study population of low-income adults may uncover important variation that predicts intervention effectiveness.

Efforts to improve cancer prevention and control outcomes for all individuals require expanded understanding of multi-level factors underlying cancer outcomes within populations, especially among smaller subgroups or those with multiple marginalized identities. Research supported by this supplement aims to contribute to the understanding how heterogeneity affects the distribution of cancer risk, the efficacy of cancer prevention and treatment efforts, and the experience of cancer and treatment-related symptoms and side effects. 

Research Objectives

Within the context of the parent study, this administrative supplement would allow NCI-funded investigators to initiate or enhance evaluation of heterogeneity within underrepresented  populations and of how this heterogeneity influences cancer prevention and control outcomes. Data from this initiative is expected to be broadly shared with the extramural research community.

Research priorities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Increase samples of individuals from small populations or with multiple marginalized or minoritized identities;  
• Enhance measurement of multilevel factors that may be associated with cancer control outcomes within parent study populations through new or secondary data;
• Apply statistical methods designed to describe and assess the impact of within-group heterogeneity;
• Engage research participants in mixed methods and participatory approaches to guide intervention adaptation, cultural tailoring or suitability for individuals from small populations or with multiple marginalized identities;
• Collaborate with scientists with expertise in an underrepresented  group  or with individuals with multiple marginalized identities;
• Use quantitative or qualitative data to examine how variation at the individual, interpersonal, community, and/or societal levels influence relationships of interest in the parent study. Examples of these multilevel determinants and mediators may include cultural values, communication processes, healthcare access, digital access, implicit bias, healthcare and community infrastructure, and health policies, among others.

Applicants interested in obtaining DNA genotyping, sequencing, or methylation measures in study appropriate available samples, have the option to compete for these services through the NCI Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) program, and at no additional cost to this administrative supplement, by submitting a companion X01 application to PAR-23-184. Please visit https://epi.grants.cancer.gov/cidr/  for additional information on how to apply.

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, P30, U01, UM1, UH3, or U19 are eligible to apply.
• PDs/PIs must hold an active award supported through NCI with sufficient time (minimum 1 year) left to complete the proposed project after the supplement has been awarded within the existing project period.
• The proposed project must be within the scope of the parent 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 scientific research contact 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 $100,000 in total costs for the entire allowable 1-year project period of the application/award.
• The administrative supplement application budget is limited to 1 year only.
• Administrative supplements may only be used to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award, but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted; 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 March 29, 2024, April 29, 2024, at 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization for FY 2024 funding. The NOSI will expire April 30, 2024.
• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-CA-24-032" (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-24-032".
• In order 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
• Research Strategy: 5 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:

• Does the administrative supplement reasonably allow for the proposed project to be completed, given the time and budget requested?
• Are the proposed activities relevant to the parent grant and original work scope?
• Does the applicant demonstrate satisfactory progress towards achieving the aims of the parent grant, as appropriate to the current stage of the project?
• Does the proposed project for supplemental funding fill an identified gap in the scientific literature that advances cancer research?
• Do the results from the proposed project have the potential to provide evidence related to the effects of heterogeneity within populations experiencing cancer disparities on cancer-related outcomes?

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.

Inquiries

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Nicole Senft Everson, Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-234-0773
Email: nicole.everson@nih.gov

Rebecca A Ferrer, Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 301-852-1167
Email: rebecca.ferrer@nih.gov

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

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