Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative: Enabling Biomimetic Tissue-Engineered Technologies for Cancer Research (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 25 171

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 171

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is soliciting R01 grant applications under PAR-25-171 to build and rigorously characterize next-generation biomimetic, tissue-engineered technologies that can be used as experimental cancer research models. The core idea is to bring together expertise from regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, biomaterials, and bioengineering with cancer biology so that teams can create in vitro and ex vivo systems that more faithfully reproduce how cancers behave in real human tissues. NCI is looking for platforms that do more than resemble tumors superficially; the expectation is that these engineered systems will be developed and then used to address a clear, testable cancer research hypothesis about cancer pathophysiology in a controlled and measurable way.

A defining feature of this opportunity is that funded projects will not operate in isolation. Awardees will collectively participate in the Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative (TEC) Research Program, a coordinated effort meant to accelerate progress and make the resulting technologies broadly useful to the research community. The Cancer TEC Program goals are threefold: first, to catalyze innovation and improve the quality and characterization of tissue-engineered model systems available for cancer research; second, to expand the range of these systems so they cover multiple cancer types rather than remaining limited to a narrow set of diseases; and third, to encourage researchers to use these biomimetic platforms to study specific cancer phenomena that are difficult to capture with conventional cell culture or animal models. In practice, that emphasis points toward models that incorporate key aspects of the tumor microenvironment and tissue context, and toward careful benchmarking and performance assessment so other scientists can understand what the model does well, where it has limitations, and what kinds of biological questions it is best suited to answer.

The funding mechanism is an NIH R01, with clinical trials listed as optional, meaning projects may include clinical trial components if appropriate, but they are not required. The NOFO is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the grant instrument type, with activity categories spanning education and health. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $400,000. The original closing date provided is May 7, 2025, and the NOFO creation date is November 22, 2024. Relevant CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity include 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, and 93.399.

Eligibility is broad and includes many common NIH applicant types: state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and state-controlled universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The NOFO also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal government agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). Overall, the opportunity is designed to attract multidisciplinary teams capable of engineering sophisticated cancer-relevant tissues and then using those engineered systems to generate credible, reproducible insights into cancer biology.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative: Enabling Biomimetic Tissue-Engineered Technologies for Cancer Research (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" 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, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-05-07. (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 $400,000.00 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 25 171

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