Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA CA 22 023

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 22 023

The Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (RFA-CA-22-023) is a National Institutes of Health cooperative agreement announcement through the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) Program. Its main goal is to support the advanced development and enhancement of emerging informatics technologies that can meaningfully improve how cancer-related data and knowledge are acquired, managed, analyzed, and shared across the full cancer research continuum. That continuum explicitly includes areas like cancer biology, diagnostics and treatment, early detection, risk assessment and prevention, cancer control and epidemiology, and cancer health disparities. The emphasis is on building technologies that can strengthen the end-to-end flow from data generation to usable knowledge, so that researchers and clinicians can work with cancer data more effectively and at larger scale.

A defining feature of this FOA is its focus on "emerging informatics technology" that is beyond the earliest stage of work. In practice, the technology should already be past initial prototyping and pilot development, with some proof that it works and evidence that it could have significant broader impact if improved. At the same time, it should not already be widely adopted in the cancer research field. That combination matters: the program is not aimed at brand-new concepts that still need basic feasibility testing, and it is also not aimed at mature, already-ubiquitous tools. Instead, it targets promising, partially validated technologies where additional engineering, functionality, usability, scalability, interoperability, or other enhancements could unlock much wider use and larger downstream benefits for cancer research and management.

Because this is a U24 cooperative agreement, the award structure implies substantial involvement and partnership with NIH/NCI staff compared to a typical research grant. Applicants are expected to propose a development plan that is clearly grounded in real-world cancer research needs and priorities, with a straightforward rationale for why the technology is needed, what gap it fills, and how the improved tool will benefit the broader cancer research community rather than only a single lab or institution. The FOA also makes user engagement a core expectation. Successful projects should build in concrete mechanisms to solicit, incorporate, and respond to feedback from target users and collaborators throughout development. That typically means planning for iterative development cycles, usability testing, pilot deployments with partner groups, documentation and training approaches, and dissemination strategies that support adoption by the larger community.

The scientific and technical scope is intentionally broad so long as it supports cancer research informatics. Projects can address technologies that improve data acquisition (for example, capturing clinical, imaging, pathology, genomic, or patient-reported data), data management (such as harmonization, curation, standards, metadata, governance, privacy-aware workflows), data analysis (including methods, platforms, pipelines, and reproducible computation), and data or knowledge dissemination (such as sharing, discovery, visualization, and integration of datasets and knowledge resources). The FOA explicitly allows clinical trials as optional, meaning a project may include a clinical trial component if it is appropriate to test or validate the informatics technology in a clinical or practice-related setting, but a clinical trial is not required.

Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types that commonly participate in NIH funding, spanning public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and multiple levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), as well as independent school districts and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. It also includes federally recognized Native American tribal governments and tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, along with faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-U.S. (foreign) entities. This broad eligibility is consistent with a program that aims to advance community-facing informatics technologies and encourage participation from a wide range of institutions, including those serving populations affected by cancer inequities.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as discretionary funding using the cooperative agreement funding instrument (U24) within the NIH health and education activity categories. The CFDA/assistance listings associated with the program include 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, and 93.399. The opportunity record indicates an original closing date of 2022-11-17 and a creation date of 2022-03-24. While the excerpt does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards, the core takeaway is that the FOA is designed to invest in the next stage of high-potential cancer informatics tools: taking them from demonstrated early promise to a more robust, feature-complete, user-informed, and broadly adoptable technology that can accelerate cancer research and, ultimately, improve cancer-related outcomes.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-03-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-11-17. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA CA 22 023

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