Funding Opportunities

Grants for melanoma and skin cancer clinical research

Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials conducts investigator-initiated clinical trials and related research to improve how doctors prevent, diagnose and treat melanoma and skin cancer.

We have built an impressive reputation for delivering multicentre trials that improve melanoma and skin cancer outcomes across the world. Since 1999, we have delivered 29 clinical trials involving over 7,500 participants.

Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials facilitates the development of competitive investigator-initiated proposals through our concept development pathway. For more information on how we can help you develop a research proposal and secure funding, contact us.

NHMRC Development Grants 2025 for funding 2026 – GO7567

Open Date

21 February 2025

Closing Date

11 June 2025

Grant amount

Total amount: $16,500,000 AUD

Application website

NHMRC Development Grants 2025 for funding 2026

About

The objectives of the Development Grant scheme are:

To expedite the translation of health and medical research outcomes through to commercialisation, within a foreseeable timeframe
To support proof-of-concept research with a feasible commercialisation pathway and a high likelihood of producing protected IP
To provide a potential mechanism through which research outcomes can be progressed to a stage that makes them competitive to receive industry investment through other government schemes or from the private sector, and
To encourage collaboration between health research, the private sector and industry (domestic and international)

The intended outcomes of the Development Grant scheme are:

Increased rates of translation of health and medical research into commercial outcomes, resulting in improved health and medical knowledge

Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2025 – GO7368

Open Date

12 December 2024

Closing Date

25 June 2025

Grant amount

$100,000 – $1,500,000 AUD

Application website

Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2025

About

The Linkage Projects scheme supports projects which initiate or develop long term strategic research alliances to apply advanced knowledge to problems, acquire new knowledge and as a basis for securing commercial and other benefits of research.

To facilitate successful collaboration between higher education institutions and other parts of the innovation system, there will be two assessment rounds for Linkage Projects for funding applied for in 2025. Please refer to the Important Dates document for detailed information about the assessment round dates.

The Linkage Projects scheme objectives are to:

Support internationally competitive research projects and teams on challenges or opportunities of relevance to research end-users;
Foster the establishment and strengthening of research alliances between higher education organisations and research end-users;
Enhance the scale and focus of research, including in Australian Government priority areas.

The intended outcomes of the Linkage Projects scheme are:

New or strengthened collaborations and research alliances between universities and research end-users;
New knowledge that is of benefit to Australian research end-users, including in Australian Government priority areas; and
Economic, commercial, environmental, social and/or cultural benefits for Australia.

MRFF 2024 Rapid Applied Research Translation – GO7347

Open Date

10 February 2025

Closing Date

7 July 2025

Grant amount

$250,000 – $5,000,000 AUD (Total amount available $40,000,000 AUD)

Application website

MRFF 2024 Rapid Applied Research Translation

About

The 2024 Rapid Applied Research Translation Grant Opportunity is part of the Medical Research Future Fund and the Rapid Applied Research Translation Initiative.

This initiative supports the translation of research evidence into clinical practice and better quality of care for patients by encouraging collaborations between academic researchers, health service providers, consumers and other end users on projects to improve health care delivery, service and systems sustainability.

Consistent with the Medical Research Future Fund Act 2015, the objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Deliver late stage translational research that is directly relevant to clinical care, health services and/or health practices, which has the potential to be translated into existing policy and practice
Use existing knowledge and evidence to support and accelerate the translation of research findings into improved health care and health interventions
Address a clearly defined gap in best practice health care and health interventions to improve health outcomes, as identified by collaborating health services
Involve all stakeholders relevant to the research and its translation in its conceptualisation, design and implementation, including health care consumers and providers.

Two streams of funding are available:

Stream 1 (Accelerator): The Chief Investigators are primarily resident in any area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM1-7)
Stream 2 (Accelerator): The Chief Investigator A and 50% or more of all Chief Investigators are primarily resident in a regional, rural, or remote area according to the Modified Monash Model (MM2-7).

For this grant opportunity, an application may be submitted to one of the above two Streams only. Applicants must specify the Stream they are applying for in their application.

MRFF National Critical Research Infrastructure Initiative – 2024 Clinical Trial Enabling Infrastructure Opportunity – GO7381

Open Date

13 February 2025

Closing Date

17 July 2025

Grant amount

$300,000 – $7,000,000 AUD (Total amount available $35,700,000 AUD)

Application website

MRFF National Critical Research Infrastructure Initiative – 2024 Clinical Trial Enabling Infrastructure

About

The 2024 Clinical Trial Enabling Infrastructure grant opportunity focuses on promoting development and implementation of ‘adaptive platform’ and ‘registry based’ clinical trials which are thought to offer more efficient evaluation of potential medical therapies over conventional trial designs.

This grant opportunity will provide grants of financial assistance across three streams, to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Stream 1: Address an area of unmet medical need by promoting the development and implementation of adaptive platform trials. Funding under Stream 1 is available as follows:
- Topic A (Incubator): Conducting inception projects that build evidence and capability to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing a national adaptive platform trial that would allow for rapid assessment of pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological interventions in an area of unmet need (up to $300,000).
- Topic B (Targeted Call for Research): Establishing a new national adaptive platform trial that addresses an area of unmet need, including set up of central infrastructure and conduct of initial launch domains (up to $5,000,000).
- Topic C (Targeted Call for Research): Expanding an existing adaptive platform trial by adding new domains that address an area of unmet need (up to $3,000,000).
Stream 2 (Targeted Call for Research): Conduct a registry-based randomised controlled trial in an area of unmet medical need by embedding a registry-based randomised controlled trial into a pre-existing clinical registry (up to $1,500,000).
Stream 3 (Targeted Call for Research): Establish a new clinical trial practice network or extend an existing clinical trial practice network to consolidate and strengthen sector capability in clinical trials and collaboration, with the aim of embedding evidence-based care in the health system and improving health outcomes, in an area of unmet medical need (up to $7,000,000).

MRFF – PPHRI – 2025 Incorporating Patient Data in Health Technology Assessment Decision Making Grant Opportunity – GO7464

Open Date

12 February 2025

Closing Date

23 July 2025

Grant amount

$2,000,000 AUD (Total amount available $16,000,000 AUD)

Application website

MRFF – PPHRI – 2025 Incorporating Patient Data in Health Technology Assessment Decision Making Grant Opportunity

About

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Stream 1 (Targeted Call for Research): Develop consumer-informed approaches to generating and/or incorporating consumer/patient data across the health technology assessment lifecycle of medicines or vaccines.

Stream 2 (Targeted Call for Research): Develop consumer-informed approaches to generating and/or incorporating consumer/patient data across the health technology assessment lifecycle of medical devices.

Stream 3 (Targeted Call for Research): Develop scalable and sustainable approaches to evaluating the long-term effectiveness of highly specialised therapies, emerging medicines, or medicine-related health technologies, including the incorporation of patient reported outcomes.
Stream 4 (Targeted Call for Research): Develop approaches to generating and/or incorporating patient reported outcomes into the assessment of the long-term safety and efficacy and/or the material safety and biocompatibility of implantable devices.

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose research that addresses one of the four Streams of research. An application may only be submitted to one of the above four Streams. Applicants must specify the Stream to which they are applying in their application.

This grant opportunity is being administered by NHMRC on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

Further information on the Medical Research Future Fund is available from the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website.

A list of Eligible Organisations can be found on the NHMRC List of MRFF Eligible Organisations webpage.

MRFF – Early to Mid-Career Researchers Initiative – 2025 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant Opportunity – GO7553

Open Date

17 February 2025

Closing Date

23 July 2025

Grant amount

$4,000,000 AUD (Total amount available $44,800,000 AUD)

Application website

MRFF – Early to Mid-Career Researchers Initiative – 2025 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant Opportunity

About

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Stream 1 (Incubator): Conduct early stage, small scale research, led by early career researchers, that seeks to assess the potential and feasibility of novel strategies to address a critical or intractable health issue in one or more Priority Populations.

Stream 2 (Accelerator): Establish a large-scale interdisciplinary research program, led by mid-career researchers, that drives implementation of substantial improvements to health care and/or health system effectiveness for one or more Priority Populations.

Stream 3 (Targeted Call for Research): Utilise co-funding to accelerate the translation of research led by early to mid-career researchers into policy and practice.

This grant opportunity is being administered by NHMRC on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

Further information on the Medical Research Future Fund is available from the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website.

A list of Eligible Organisations can be found on the NHMRC List of MRFF Eligible Organistions webpage.

Cancer Patient Care Program – GO6736

Open Date

2 April 2024

Closing Date

1 August 2025

Grant amount

$1,000,000 AUD (Total amount available $16,500,000 AUD)

Application website

Cancer Patient Care Program

About

This grant opportunity seeks to ensure that all Australian’s living with cancer have access to high-quality and culturally safe support throughout their cancer experience. Acknowledging the existing national cancer screening programs and funding provided for more commonly diagnosed cancers, this grant opportunity will prioritise activities that focus on increasing equity across tumour types and/or priority populations.

The Cancer Patient Support Program (the Program) will support, one-off, time-limited activities that provide national leadership on emerging priorities across the cancer control continuum.

Cancer Research Fellowships Victoria

Open Date

5 May 2025

Closing Date

2 September 2025

Grant amount

Early-Career Fellowships: $150,000 per year (total $450,000)
Mid-Career Fellowships: $175,000 per year (total $700,000)

Application website

Cancer Research Fellowships Victoria

About

Cancer Council Victoria and the Victorian Government acting through the Victorian Department of Health, are working together to deliver Cancer Research Fellowships Victoria. By combining resources, this collaboration strengthens Victoria’s cancer research landscape, fosters innovation, and accelerates the translation of research into improved outcomes for people with cancer.

Cancer Research Fellowships Victoria supports early-career and mid-career researchers to undertake high-quality translational cancer research that will improve the prevention, detection, treatment and care for people affected by cancer. Fellowships are available to researchers who have not previously received significant research funding, helping to establish them as future leaders in cancer research.

There are two Fellowship streams available for both Early-Career Research Fellowships and Mid-Career Research Fellowships: biomedical research and non-biomedical research.

Key dates:
EOI open: 5/5/2025
EOI close: 3/6/2025 17:00 (AEST)

Full Application open (via invitation only): 4/8/2025
Full Application close: 2/9/2025 17:00 (AEST)
Notification of outcome: October/ November 2025

Cancer Council Victoria Grants-in-Aid Program

Open Date

23 May 2025

Closing Date

7 October 2025

Grant amount

$120,000 AUD per year

Application website

Grants-in-Aid

About

Grants-in-Aid funds high quality research focused on discovering and improving prevention, detection, treatment, and care for people affected by cancer. We are committed to funding research projects tackling all cancer types to achieve our vision for a cancer-free future.

Key dates:
EOI open: 23/06/2025
EOI close: 15/07/2025

Full application open: 15/09/2025
Full application close: 7/10/2025
Notification of outcome: November/ December 2025

NHMRC Partnership Projects 2025 – GO7440

Open Date

8 January 2025

Closing Date

26 November 2025

Grant amount

$1,500,000 (Total amount available $31,600,000 AUD)

Application website

NHMRC Partnership Projects 2025

About

Partnership Projects will support collaborations, within the Australian context, that translate research evidence into health policy and health practice, to improve health services and processes.

The objectives of the Partnership Project scheme are to:

Meet the need for more effective integration of research evidence into health policy and service delivery
Create partnerships among policy makers, managers, service providers and researchers
Provide support to answer often complex and difficult questions that policy makers, managers and service providers face when making decisions and implementing policies that affect Australians health and health care
Be highly responsive to the priorities of government, the community and health professionals
Enable applicants to apply for funding at any time during the year to allow researchers and Partner Organisations to develop timely collaborations.

MRFF – Clinical Trials Activity Initiative – 2025 International Clinical Trial Collaborations Grant Opportunity – GO7555

Open Date

20 February 2025

Closing Date

4 February 2026

Grant amount

$3,000,000 AUD (Total amount: $13,000,000 AUD)

Application website

MRFF – Clinical Trials Activity Initiative – 2025 International Clinical Trial Collaborations Grant Opportunity

About

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Clinical Trials Activity Initiative (the Initiative) aims to increase clinical trial activity in Australia in order to improve the evidence base supporting clinical care and to help patients access trials relevant to their health circumstances, and enable researchers to bring international trials to Australian patients.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Promote Australian involvement in international collaborative investigator-initiated clinical trials research through the establishment and co-ordination of clinical trial site/s in Australia.
Provide high-quality evidence of the effectiveness of novel health treatments, drugs or devices in ‘usual care’ settings, which will support a decision on whether to deliver the intervention in an Australian setting.

The intended outcome of the research is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians by investing in new clinical trials that support increased access to high-quality, evidence-based and effective health care.

Applications must propose a clinical trial in Australia in collaboration with international counterparts. The clinical trial should not have commenced recruitment at the Australian trial site/s.

This grant opportunity is being administered by NHMRC on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

Further information on the Medical Research Future Fund is available from the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website.

A list of Eligible Organisations can be found on the NHMRC List of MRFF Eligible Organisations webpage.

Other Instructions:
Minimum Data closes at 5:00pm (ACT Local Time) on:

Round 1: 2 July 2025

Round 2: 10 December 2025

Questions should be submitted no later than 1:00pm (ACT Local Time) on:

Round 1: 23 July 2025

Round 2: 28 January 2026

MRFF 2022 Frontier Health and Medical Research Grant Opportunity – GO5855

Open Date

13 February 2023

Closing Date

31 March 2026

Grant amount

$25,000,000 AUD (Total amount: $400,000,000 AUD)

Application website

MRFF 2022 Frontier Health and Medical Research Grant Opportunity

About

This grant opportunity offers funding to support medical research and medical innovation programs of research that deliver a ‘moonshot’ by creating a treatment for a currently serious and incurable health condition, through a series of linked projects. The program of research can propose to develop novel health technologies and/or re-purpose existing health technologies in a novel way.

International Grant Opportunities:

FY25 Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP) – Concept Award (CA)

Open Date

22 July 2025

Closing Date

26 August 2025

Grant amount

The total funds available is up to: $140,000 USD

Application website

Concept Award (CA)

About

The FY25 RCRP Concept Award supports highly innovative, untested, potentially groundbreaking novel concepts in rare cancers. The Concept Award is not intended to support an incremental progression of an already established research project; instead, it allows PIs the opportunity to pursue serendipitous observations. Preliminary data are not required. This award mechanism supports high-risk studies that have the potential to reveal entirely new avenues for investigation. Applications must describe how the new idea will enhance the existing knowledge of rare cancers or develop an innovative and novel course of investigation.

Research completed through a Concept Award may generate sufficient preliminary data to
enable the PI to prepare an application for future research.

Focus Areas for the CA:
To meet the intent of the funding opportunity, applications for the FY25 RCRP Concept Award must address at least one of the three focus areas:

Biology: Identify disease-defining molecular pathways, cell context, and microenvironment.
Pre-Clinical Research Model: Develop and validate rare tumour-specific models that can support clinical trial readiness.
Therapy: Identify novel therapeutic strategies, including drug repurposing, to eliminate rare cancers.

Other Important Considerations for this grant: Clinical trials are not allowed

Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research

Open Date

1 April 2025

Closing Date

3 September 2025

Grant amount

This amount is allocated across two phases:
Feasibility Phase: $2,000,000 USD
Full-Scale Study Phase: $20,000,000 USD
Total per award: $22,000,000 USD
The total funds available (all awards combined) is up to: $120,000,000 USD

Application website

Phased Large Awards for Comparative Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement — Cycle 2 2025

About

This funding opportunity anticipates that proposed research projects will require two phases of funding. The initial phase of funding supports a distinct feasibility phase intended for purposes of study refinement, infrastructure establishment, patient and stakeholder engagement, and feasibility testing of study operations, including the ability to recruit, enroll, and randomize participants successfully. Using the feasibility phase to establish evidence of an intervention’s efficacy or effect size is not permitted. Approval to proceed to the second phase will be contingent on achieving specific milestones and deliverables established for the feasibility phase.

This funding opportunity seeks applications addressing one or more of three of PCORI’s National Priorities for Health as shown below. To be considered responsive, applications must propose research meeting the distinctive requirements of this PFA and address at least one of the following National Priorities for Health:

Increase Evidence for Existing Interventions and Emerging Innovations in Health*
- Goal: Strengthen and expand ongoing comparative clinical effectiveness research focused on both existing interventions and emerging innovations to improve healthcare practice, health outcomes and health equity.
Achieve Health Equity
- Goal: Expand stakeholder engagement, research and dissemination approaches that lead to continued progress toward achieving health equity in the United States.
Accelerate Progress Toward an Integrated Learning Health System
- Goal: Foster actionable, timely, place-based and transformative improvements in patient-centered experiences, care provision and ultimately improved health outcomes through collaborative, multisectoral research to support a health system that understands and serves the needs and preferences of individuals.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Deadline: 13 May 2025 @ 5:00pm ET (14 May 2025 @ 7:00am AEST)

Broad Pragmatic Studies

Open Date

1 April 2025

Closing Date

3 September 2025

Grant amount

This amount is allocated across the categories below:
Category 1: ≤ $5,000,000 USD
Category 2: $5,000,000 USD and up to $12,000,000 USD
Category 3: Up to $12,000,000 USD
The total funds available (for all categories) is up to: $120,000,000 USD

Application website

Broad Pragmatic Studies PCORI Funding Announcement — Cycle 2 2025

About

Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose individual or cluster randomized controlled trials; however, well-specified natural experiments and well-designed observational studies will also be considered. Proposed studies should include an overall sample size that will allow precision in the estimation of hypothesized effect sizes and, as appropriate, analysis of heterogeneity of treatment effect. Applicants are encouraged to pay special attention to issues of intervention implementation with an aim of facilitating widespread uptake of findings after completion of the study by utilising hybrid effectiveness-implementation approaches. However, strict implementation or dissemination studies will not be considered responsive, nor will studies focused on the development of research methods. Applicants should propose well-justified and validated outcomes that are clinically meaningful and considered important by patients, and that can be impacted by the proposed interventions within the study duration.

Applicants should consider, as appropriate, the full range of clinical and patient-centered outcomes data relevant to patients and other stakeholders. PCORI’s Principles for the Consideration of the Full Range of Outcomes Data in PCORI-Funded Research inform the expectations for applicants and the corresponding evaluation of applications submitted in response to this PFA.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Deadline: 13 May 2025 @ 5:00pm ET (14 May 2025 @ 7:00am AEST)

Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centred Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research

Open Date

1 April 2025

Closing Date

3 September 2025

Grant amount

The amount allocated: $750,000 USD
The total funds available is up to: $12,000,000 USD

Application website

Improving Methods for Conducting Patient-Centered Comparative Clinical Effectiveness Research PCORI Funding Announcement — Cycle 2 2025

About

With this PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA), PCORI aims to fund studies that address high-priority methodological gaps in patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER).

For the Cycle 2 2025 Methods PFA, PCORI has identified the following areas that address important methodological gaps and lead to improvements in the strength and quality of evidence generated by CER studies:

Methods to Improve the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Clinical Research
Methods to Improve Study Design
Methods to Support Data Research Networks
Methods Related to Ethical and Human Subjects Protections Issues in patient-centered CER

Planned Methods PFA Issuances for Cycle Year 2025:
PCORI plans to offer the Methods PFA for each of its three funding cycles which launch in December 2024, April 2025, and August 2025.

The PFA, Submission Instructions, applicant templates, resources, and cycle deadlines will be posted on PCORI’s website on each cycle’s respective landing page as it is released. To maintain responsiveness to the field, PCORI may revise the Methods PFA details each cycle, address funding policy changes, and add or remove a program priority area.

For questions regarding the Cycle 2 2025 Methods funding announcement, please reach out to pfa@pcori.org.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Deadline: 13 May 2025 @ 5:00pm ET (14 May 2025 @ 7:00am AEST)

National Cancer Institute's Investigator-Initiated Early Phase Clinical Trials for Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis – Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-25-081

Open Date

5 January 2025

Closing Date

5 October 2025

Grant amount

Funds are limited to no more than $499,999 USD in direct costs per year

Application website

Investigator-Initiated Early Phase Clinical Trials for Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis

About

This NOFO is applicable to a broad range of clinical trial evaluations designed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in areas of common and unmet need. Each application should represent the applicant’s or applicants’ interest(s) and competencies, as well as the science related to diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients through well-designed and executed clinical trials. In addition, strategies to assess feasibility can include a novel area of investigation, new experimental systems, and/or existing technologies in a new area.

Although the rationale must be supported by preliminary data, the proposed clinical investigations may include study designs, methods, and interventions that are not themselves innovative but address important questions and/or unmet needs.

General Areas of Research
This NOFO is applicable to a broad range of clinical trial evaluations that improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in areas of common and unmet need. Potential areas of research may include, but are not limited to, the clinical evaluation of new or improved anticancer drugs and biologics, including immunotherapies, new or improved imaging technologies and surgical interventions, novel approaches to radiation therapy, and incorporation of complementary and alternative medicine approaches to treatment. The research component may include the development of therapeutics, diagnostics, and devices in combination with standard care therapies including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, or any combination of these modalities. Additional research aims can be proposed as part of the overall research plan provided it includes at least 1 clinical trial to be completed within the project period.

Examples of projects appropriate to this NOFO include applications with the primary intent of conducting early phase clinical trial(s) for testing the efficacy, safety, clinical management, and/or implementation of novel therapeutic or diagnostic interventions, such as drugs, biologics, vaccines, stem cells, medicinal natural products, clinical laboratory tests, imaging agents, imaging devices, or image-guided therapies.

Applicants may, for example, propose to conduct an early phase clinical trial that:

Evaluates the dosing, safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and effectiveness of novel anticancer drugs, biologics, immunotherapeutics (e.g., adoptive cell transfer therapies), and their combinations as well as imaging agents or other interventions;
Tests approved agents and combinations for new indications;
Evaluates new or improved image-guided interventions, radiation modalities, means of delivery, or combinations with novel agents;
Tests imaging probes or quantitative approaches incorporated into commercially available imaging instrumentation (e.g., positron emission tomography [PET], single photon-emission computed tomography [SPECT], magnetic resonance [MR] imaging, computed tomography [CT], ultrasound [US], optical imaging, and photoacoustic imaging [PAI]);
Assesses tools, methods, devices, and instruments that can perform at the molecular, cellular, and organ levels;
Investigates multi-parametric imaging approaches and biomarker detection assays including radiomics, radiogenomics, genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics;
Evaluates imaging or laboratory biomarker activity, pharmacodynamic response, target engagement, dose-response trends;
Selects or ranks the best potential interventions, technologies, and/or dosing regimens to be evaluated in a subsequent trial, based on tolerability, safety data, biological activity, or preliminary clinical efficacy (e.g., a futility trial);
Conducts exploratory investigational new drug (IND) and/or investigational device exemption (IDE) studies (visit the FDA’s website to obtain guidance documents on INDs, IDEs, and Clinical Trials; and
Evaluates integrative medicine approaches such as diets, nutrients, herbs, bioactive food components, pre/probiotics, microbiota practices, and mind-body interventions (e.g., acupuncture, exercise, meditation, and sleep) to improve standard of care or investigational therapeutics.

National Cancer Institute's Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program – Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-25-167

Open Date

5 January 2025

Closing Date

5 October 2025

Grant amount

Budgets must be well-justified (no specific cap mentioned)

Application website

Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program

About

This NOFO is applicable to a broad range of research supported through the NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) and the NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS).

Examples of relevant areas of research include but are not limited to:

Cancer prevention and interception: Development and testing of interventions (including diet, nutritional compounds, drugs, small molecules, vaccine and biologics) and approaches (including physical activity, medical devices, cancer preventive surgery, risk-reducing surgery, and non-surgical ablative techniques) to block, reverse, or delay the early stages of cancer (including treatment of preneoplastic lesions and presurgical trials in early stage cancer with the intent of developing an agent/intervention for cancer prevention). This also includes studies examining mechanism and surrogate biomarkers of efficacy;
Cancer screening: Studies of operating characteristics and clinical impact (harms as well as benefits) of cancer early detection technologies and practices, such as imaging and molecular biomarker approaches;
Early detection: Studies for identification, development, and validation of biological markers for early cancer detection and cancer risk assessment;
Behavioural research in cancer prevention and control: Development and testing of interventions addressing risk behaviours such as: tobacco use, energy balance, alcohol use, or sun exposure; vaccine uptake; immune function; screening behaviour; treatment adherence; biopsychosocial processes of cancer-related behaviour; communication, decision science, environmental modifications and policy changes aimed at altering cancer-related health behaviours and/or preventing or improving cancer-related risks and outcomes;
Susceptibility to cancer and cancer-related outcomes: Strategies to translate clinical, environmental and genomic/genetic determinants of cancer occurrence and outcomes into evidence-based interventions for clinical and public health practice;
Implementation science: Strategies to promote the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based intervention into routine healthcare and public health settings or the deimplementation of ineffective interventions;
Healthcare delivery: Single and multi-level interventions addressing the organization and/or delivery of cancer care (e.g., team-based care; novel use of electronic health records; new organizational mechanisms/staffing such as patient navigation; new models of specialized services such as palliative care or survivorship programs);
Cancer survivorship: Interventions addressing the physical, psychological, social, and financial burden of cancer and its treatment among survivors of cancer and their families (e.g., mental health, social functioning, caregiver well-being and adaptation);
Supportive and palliative care: Development and testing of interventions (including diet, nutritional compounds, drugs, small molecules, vaccine and biologics) and approaches for the prevention or treatment of acute and chronic symptoms and morbidities related to cancer and its treatment including those experienced by patients with metastatic cancer; and/or
Quality of Life (QOL): Studies to improve the QOL of patients.

NIH Research Project Grant – Funding Opportunity Number: PA-25-301

Open Date

5 January 2025

Closing Date

5 October 2025

Grant amount

Budgets must be well-justified (no specific cap mentioned)

Application website

Research Project Grant

About

The NIH Research Project Grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project in areas representing the specific interests and competencies of the investigator(s). The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity does not accept applications proposing clinical trial(s).

The goals are:

To foster fundamental creative discoveries, innovative research strategies, and their applications as a basis for ultimately protecting and improving health;
To develop, maintain, and renew scientific human and physical resources that will ensure the Nation’s capability to prevent disease;
To expand the knowledge base in medical and associated sciences in order to enhance the Nation’s economic well-being and ensure a continued high return on the public investment in research; and
To exemplify and promote the highest level of scientific integrity, public accountability, and social responsibility in the conduct of science.

In realising these goals, the NIH provides leadership and direction to programs designed to improve the health of the Nation by conducting and supporting research:

In the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of human diseases;
In the processes of human growth and development;
In the biological effects of environmental contaminants;
In the understanding of mental, addictive and physical disorders; and
In directing programs for the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information in medicine and health, including the development and support of medical libraries and the training of medical librarians and other health information specialists.

FY25 Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP) – Idea Development Award (IDA)

Open Date

1 July 2025

Closing Date

6 October 2025

Grant amount

The total funds available is up to: $490,000 USD

Application website

Idea Development Award (IDA)

About

The FY25 RCRP Idea Development Award promotes new ideas that are still in the early stages of development and have the potential to yield impactful data and new avenues of investigation. This award supports research supported by preliminary data that could lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate progress toward eradicating rare cancers.

Preliminary data with disease-specific rationale (may include correlative studies to ongoing clinical research) to support the feasibility of the research hypotheses and research approaches are required; however, these data do not necessarily need to be derived from studies of the proposed rare cancer type(s)/subtype(s) under study.

Applications should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale.

Focus Areas for the IDA:
To meet the intent of the funding opportunity, applications for the FY25 RCRP Idea Development Award must address at least one of the three focus areas:

Biology: Identify disease-defining molecular pathways, cell context, and microenvironment.
Pre-Clinical Research Model: Develop and validate rare tumour-specific models that can support clinical trial readiness.
Therapy: Identify novel therapeutic strategies, including drug repurposing, to eliminate rare cancers.

Other Important Considerations for this grant: Clinical trials are not allowed

FY25 Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP) – Resource and Community Development Award (RCDA)

Open Date

1 July 2025

Closing Date

6 October 2025

Grant amount

The total funds available is up to: $490,000 USD

Application website

Resource and Community Development Award (RCDA)

About

The FY25 RCRP Resource and Community Development Award supports the development of clinical or preclinical data sets and research resources that will advance the field of rare cancers research and ultimately improve outcomes for individuals with rare cancers. Major gaps in patient care for rare cancers to be addressed by this mechanism include:

Lack of research and clinical resources, including patient tissues, cell, and tumor models.
Lack of communication and dissemination strategies within scientific and patient
communities for sharing rare cancers research and clinical findings.
Lack of infrastructure for sharing data and other resources.
Lack of therapeutics and mechanistic research to inform treatment development.

The intent of this funding opportunity is to develop research platforms that can share resources and knowledge pertaining to available preclinical or clinical research models, molecular pathways, and therapeutic approaches. It is expected that these platforms will facilitate collaboration and information sharing among stakeholders such as researchers, patients, caregivers, clinicians, and other members of the rare cancers community.

Other Important Considerations for this grant: Clinical trials are not allowed

NIH Exploratory Grants in Cancer Control – Funding Opportunity Number: PA-25-253

Open Date

16 January 2025

Closing Date

16 October 2025

Grant amount

The total funds available is up to: $275,000 USD

Application website

Exploratory Grants in Cancer Control

About

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) encourages the submission of exploratory/developmental research grant (R21) applications that focus on different aspects of cancer control by modifying behavior, screening, and understanding etiologic factors contributing to the development of cancer, and developing ways to control cancer.

The overarching goal is to provide support to promote the early and conceptual stages of research efforts on novel scientific ideas that have the potential to substantially advance population-based cancer research, such as the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or applications that could have a major impact on a field of cancer research (e.g. epidemiologic, biomedical, behavioural, health care delivery or clinical).