Collaborative Research Projects to Enhance Applicability of Mammalian Models for Translational Research (Collaborative R01) | PAR 17 244

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 244

The National Institutes of Health funding opportunity titled "Collaborative Research Projects to Enhance Applicability of Mammalian Models for Translational Research (Collaborative R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR 17-244) supports multi-site, team-based R01 research projects focused on making mammalian cancer and tumor models more dependable and more useful for translational research. The central idea is to move beyond incremental, single-lab model development by encouraging coordinated, multidisciplinary collaborations that can expand, refine, or fundamentally improve how well mammalian models reflect human cancer biology and predict clinically relevant outcomes. In practical terms, the FOA is aimed at improving the reliability, reproducibility, and translational value of mammalian cancer/tumor models so that results from preclinical studies are more likely to hold up when moved toward human applications.

A defining feature of this opportunity is its collaborative structure. Rather than a single R01 housed at one institution, the FOA is designed for a linked set of collaborative R01 applications, typically involving multiple sites that each bring distinct capabilities. Each participating site submits its own R01 application and has its own Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s), but the projects are intentionally connected and designed to function as an integrated program of work. NIH frames this structure as a way to enable cross-site coordination and communication so that teams can tackle translational modeling challenges that are too large, too complex, or too resource-intensive for one lab to address alone. The expectation is that the collaboration is not superficial; the different sites should contribute complementary expertise, perspectives, technologies, data resources, or model systems, and the overall study should depend on that integration to succeed.

The scientific focus is specifically on mammalian cancer and tumor models used for translational research. While the FOA summary does not list model types in detail, the scope clearly includes mammalian systems used to study cancer biology and to test therapeutic strategies or biomarkers in settings intended to inform human disease. The emphasis on "applicability" and "translational research" signals that projects should be geared toward improving how models perform as bridges between basic discovery and clinical utility. That can include efforts to make models more representative of human tumor behavior, improve consistency across labs and sites, reduce known sources of variability, strengthen the evidence that model-based findings generalize, and build approaches that make models more predictive of treatment response, tumor progression, or other clinically meaningful endpoints.

This FOA sits within NIH’s discretionary grant portfolio and uses the standard NIH research project grant mechanism (R01). The activity categories listed are Education and Health, and the associated CFDA numbers are 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, and 93.396, which align with NIH/NCI-related research assistance programs. The opportunity was created on 2017-04-04, with an original closing date listed as 2020-05-07. The posted award ceiling is $450,000, indicating an upper limit on the amount NIH expects to provide per award under the terms of this announcement (as presented in the source information).

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of public and private entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township 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; native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (outside higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. In addition, the FOA explicitly highlights other eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI); eligible federal agencies; faith-based or community-based organizations; Hispanic-serving institutions; historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized; non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations); regional organizations; tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs); and U.S. territories or possessions. Taken together, this suggests NIH intended the program to be accessible to diverse institutional types and to support collaborations that may span sectors and, where appropriate, international partners.

Overall, the grant opportunity is best understood as NIH’s push for coordinated, multi-institutional R01 research teams to strengthen the preclinical foundation of cancer translational science by improving mammalian tumor models. The program’s structure is explicitly designed to support cross-site teamwork, shared planning, and ongoing communication so the group can address modeling problems that require multiple kinds of expertise and validation across different settings, ultimately improving confidence that results derived from these models will be more robust and more relevant to human cancer.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Collaborative Research Projects to Enhance Applicability of Mammalian Models for Translational Research (Collaborative R01)" 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.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-04-04.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-05-07. (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 $450,000.00 in funding.
• 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 PAR 17 244

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