Metastasis Research Network (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA CA 20 029

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 20 029

The Metastasis Research Network (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed), Funding Opportunity Number RFA-CA-20-029, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement run under the Department of Health and Human Services. It supports the creation of collaborative, multi-disciplinary basic research centers focused on metastasis, with a specific emphasis on building a more mechanistic and integrated understanding of how metastasis unfolds as a non-linear, dynamic, and emergent biological process. In practical terms, the program is aiming to move beyond simple, linear models of how cancer spreads and instead fund teams that can capture the complexity of metastatic progression over time, across multiple biological scales, and across interacting systems within the body.

A central theme of this opportunity is the expectation that funded centers will take systems-level approaches. That includes studying metastasis as a sequence of events that evolve chronologically (for example, from local invasion to dissemination to colonization and outgrowth) and also as a phenomenon that operates at different levels of biology (such as molecular networks, cell-state transitions, cell-to-cell interactions, tissue microenvironments, organ-level constraints, and whole-organism dynamics). The intent is to produce a more cohesive picture of metastasis that can reconcile disparate observations and help explain why metastatic behavior can look different across tumor types, patients, and anatomical sites.

The FOA also highlights two broad types of contributions centers might make. First, centers may develop new, physiologically relevant models that capture the entire metastatic process more faithfully than existing systems. This implies interest in models that better reflect the real in vivo conditions metastatic cells experience, including the changing microenvironments and selective pressures encountered during dissemination and colonization. Second, centers may focus on developing novel experimental and analytical technologies, including probes and monitoring tools that can track metastatic cell states and their transitions in vivo. This points toward methods that can measure and follow cell behavior over time inside living systems, enabling researchers to observe dynamics rather than infer them indirectly from static snapshots.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism (U54), which typically means there is substantial programmatic involvement from NIH compared with a standard research project grant. The activity area is listed under education and health, and the CFDA number associated with the program is 93.396. The opportunity was created on May 13, 2020, with an original closing date of May 28, 2021. The expected number of awards was five, with an award ceiling of $1,200,000. The listing specifies that clinical trials are not allowed, signaling that the work should remain in the realm of basic research and enabling technologies rather than interventional studies in human participants.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that can assemble strong, cross-disciplinary centers. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other entities as clarified in the FOA’s additional eligibility text. Overall, the program is structured to support team science: coordinated centers capable of integrating diverse expertise, building shared resources or platforms, and generating a systems-level understanding of metastasis that can reshape how the field studies and models the metastatic cascade.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Metastasis Research Network (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.396.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 13, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 28, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• 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 (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for RFA CA 20 029

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