Notice Number: NOT-CA-09-024

Key Dates
Release Date:  May 12, 2009

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI) (http://www.cancer.gov/)

PURPOSE OF THE NOTICE:

The National Cancer Institute announces the forthcoming issuance of the Request for Applications (RFA) for research on “The Biology of Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer in various Racial and Ethnic Groups”. The intended funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is designed to promote the systematic study of the biology of Estrogen Receptor (ER)-negative human breast cancers, the characterization of the molecular features of these cancers, the signaling pathways, and networks that support their growth. Another important goal is to identify differences in the biology of ER-negative breast tumors among racial groups.

The new FOA is expected to be published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts in early summer 2009 (it will be RFA-CA-09-026).

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME. However, this Notice is to encourage investigators with appropriate backgrounds and capabilities to pro-actively plan to submit applications in response to this forthcoming RFA-CA-09-026.

OVERVIEW OF THE INITIATIVE
Under RFA-CA-09-026, the NCI plans to fund up to four cooperative agreement awards using the U01 mechanism. These awards will be up to a maximum of $800,000 in annual total cost per award, with project periods of up to five years.

• Goals. This initiative is designed to support collaborative and interdisciplinary research focused on characterizing the genetic, epigenetic, molecular and cellular factors that contribute to the development and progression of ER-negative human breast cancer. The knowledge to be gained through these projects is expected to provide crucial information for the development of novel early detection, prevention and intervention strategies.
• Scope. Studies to be supported must be pertinent to at least one of the following broad areas :
• The basic biology of ER-negative breast cancers and delineation of differences that exist between ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancers;
• The identification of the subtypes or heterogeneity that exist within ER-negative breast cancers; and
• The determination of whether the biology of ER-negative breast tumors differs across racial and ethnic groups.
• Beyond the Scope. Clinical trials or epidemiological studies will not be supported under the planned FOA.

Inquiries

It is essential that all prospective applicants read the complete FOA (i.e., RFA-CA-09-026), once it is published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

For any additional inquiries, please contact:

Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

	Office of Extramural Research (OER)			National Institutes of Health (NIH) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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