Basic Research in Cancer Health Disparities (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 25 244

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 244

Basic Research in Cancer Health Disparities (PAR-25-244) is an NIH R21 grant opportunity that focuses on basic, mechanistic studies aimed at understanding the biological and genetic drivers of cancer health disparities. The core idea is to fund early-stage, high-impact projects that can uncover why certain populations experience differences in cancer risk, tumor biology, prevention outcomes, or related cancer burdens, with a clear emphasis on foundational science rather than clinical intervention testing. As stated in the title, clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement, so proposed work needs to stay in the realm of basic research, model development, and analysis rather than prospective clinical testing of treatments or prevention interventions.

The NOFO specifically invites innovative research that investigates biological factors linked to cancer disparities. This can include mechanistic studies in cancer biology that explain how genetic variation, tumor evolution, immune response, metabolism, epigenetic regulation, or other core biological processes may differ across populations and contribute to unequal outcomes. It also welcomes basic prevention-focused mechanistic work, meaning projects could explore biological pathways that influence prevention efficacy or susceptibility, as long as the work remains mechanistic and not a clinical trial. In addition to hypothesis-driven biology, the opportunity encourages the development and testing of new methodologies and models, such as improved experimental systems or analytical approaches that make it easier to study disparities in rigorous and scalable ways. Secondary data analyses are also explicitly supported, which can include reanalysis of existing datasets to uncover biological or genetic patterns relevant to disparities, provided the work aligns with the mechanistic and basic-science intent of the program.

A major programmatic goal is capacity-building for the field. NIH is using this R21 to help grow a nationwide cohort of scientists with strong basic-research expertise specifically focused on cancer health disparities. The NOFO highlights the need to expand shared resources and tools that enable this kind of research, including biospecimens, patient-derived models, and methods that can be used broadly. In practice, that means applications that not only answer a scientific question but also strengthen the underlying research infrastructure (for example, generating well-annotated biospecimen collections, building patient-derived xenografts or organoid models reflecting underserved populations, or creating transferable assays and computational methods) are aligned with the spirit of the announcement, as long as they remain consistent with the R21 scope and the basic/mechanistic focus.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations and governments, such as state, county, and city governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. It also includes public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses, along with an “other” category that can capture additional eligible entities. The NOFO also calls out additional eligible applicants and institution types often central to disparities-focused research and community-relevant infrastructure, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). Faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies are also included, and the announcement allows participation by non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations) as well as U.S. territories or possessions and regional organizations. The funding instrument is a discretionary grant under the NIH umbrella, and the activity category is listed as Education/Health, with CFDA number 93.393.

Key administrative details from the listing include the funding opportunity number PAR-25-244, the sponsoring agency as the National Institutes of Health, and an original closing date of 2027-11-16. The listing does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided fields, so applicants typically need to consult the full NOFO text and NIH policy for budget limits and project period expectations associated with the R21 mechanism. Overall, this opportunity is best suited for teams proposing tightly focused, mechanistic projects that can generate compelling preliminary insights, new models, or reusable tools that move the field toward a clearer biological/genetic understanding of why cancer outcomes differ across populations, without crossing into clinical trial territory.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Basic Research in Cancer Health Disparities (R21 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): 93.393.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-11-16.
• 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 25 244

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