Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-24-311
Deadlines: February 5, 2025, March 5, 2025
PURPOSE
Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) intends to support R01 projects that leverage cutting-edge in vivo imaging technologies to monitor specific cell populations or signaling pathways, aiming to elucidate the relationship between inflammation and tumor behavior. The insights gained are expected to provide novel mechanistic understandings of the dynamic changes in cellular physiology related to inflammation in cancer. This knowledge will be utilized to reduce disease burden by accelerating tumor-specific therapeutic approaches and improving the monitoring of therapeutic responses. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the NOFO, applicants must be led by Multiple Principal Investigators in imaging and cancer biology who will contribute unique expertise and scientific insights toward the successful completion of the proposed research.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND KEY REQUIREMENTS OF THIS NOFO
This NOFO aims to stimulate cancer inflammation imaging research by combining the efforts of imaging- and biology-based scientists as Multiple Principal Investigators, fostering interdisciplinary interactions among Cancer Biology, Immunology, and Imaging researchers. The Cancer Biology and Immunology component, which investigates and validates known cancer inflammation targets using state-of-the-art molecular and cellular assays, may serve as the foundation for developing molecular imaging probes (e.g., small molecules, peptides, aptamers, antibodies, engineered proteins, and nanoparticles) and approaches capable of monitoring relevant cancer inflammation signatures.
It is anticipated that in vivo measurements, including the development of imaging probes with target specificity, sensitivity, stability, optimal biodistribution, and low toxicity, conducted in the Imaging component, will provide deeper insights into cellular signaling, pro- versus anti-inflammatory mediators, and feedback to the Cancer Biology and Immunology component for a better understanding of cancer behavior mechanisms. Key personnel should demonstrate a willingness to collaborate outside their own disciplines. The number of project lead partners and the nature of these interactions will be determined by the applicants to establish creative, productive, and synergistic collaborations. Collaborative activities should go beyond merely providing reagents and materials; they are expected to involve the integration and exchange of ideas, knowledge, data, and methodologies to contribute to hypothesis-driven projects. Applications with a single PD/PI will be considered non-responsive and will be administratively withdrawn without peer review.
Under this NOFO, research proposing the combination of in vivo whole organism imaging studies with multi-omics approaches or with in vitro and ex vivo imaging methods (e.g., multi-omics mass spectrometry imaging, multiplex spatial imaging) to address mechanistic hypotheses is highly encouraged. The use of quantitative molecular imaging approaches at the multimodal and multiscale levels to study and monitor in vivo inflammatory responses throughout the tumor lifespan is within the scope of this NOFO. The translation of existing imaging agents and quantitative tools developed for other inflammation-associated diseases to investigate the biology of cancer-associated inflammation is also supported by this NOFO.
For more information, please see the opportunity webpage.