NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (R35 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 19 349

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 349

The NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) is a National Cancer Institute grant mechanism (R35) designed to provide long-term, stable support to highly accomplished cancer researchers with strong, demonstrated records of productivity and impact. Rather than focusing on a narrow, pre-packaged project plan, this opportunity is meant to back investigators who have already shown they can drive important discoveries and who are proposing an exceptional, forward-looking research vision in any area of cancer research. A central idea behind the award is to give established investigators enough runway and flexibility to pursue bolder scientific questions, explore less conventional ideas, develop new methods or technologies, and follow promising leads that may be difficult to fund through more traditional, tightly scoped grants.

In practical terms, the OIA is structured so that institutions nominate established Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs). The expectation is that multi-year funding stability will reduce the constant cycle of short-term grant writing and allow investigators to invest sustained effort into ambitious programs of research. NCI is looking for work that breaks new ground or meaningfully extends previous discoveries into new directions or applications, with the potential to produce breakthroughs that advance biomedical, behavioral, or clinical cancer research. Even though the research can be relevant to clinical cancer questions, the specific FOA version referenced here is "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning applicants should not propose clinical trials under this award.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes many government and non-government entity types. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education where relevant); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) as well as tribal organizations that are not federally recognized. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, there are clear restrictions related to foreign participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, "foreign components" are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which generally means a U.S. applicant organization can include certain international elements in the project when they are well-justified and meet NIH policy requirements.

From the source data provided, the opportunity is administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically NCI, and is categorized as a discretionary grant in the education and health activity area. The Funding Opportunity Number is PAR-19-349, and the original closing date listed is 2019-11-06 (so applicants should verify whether the FOA is archived, reissued, or replaced by a newer announcement if they are looking to apply now). The award ceiling shown is $600,000, indicating the maximum level of support per award as presented in the listing. Multiple CFDA program numbers are associated with this opportunity (93.393 through 93.399), reflecting the NCI program areas that can align with the supported cancer research.

Overall, this grant is best understood as a high-prestige, investigator-centered funding mechanism aimed at enabling established cancer researchers to pursue exceptional, potentially high-risk/high-reward research agendas with longer-term financial stability, while explicitly excluding clinical trials under this particular FOA.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (R35 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, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.397, 93.398, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-08-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-11-06. (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 $600,000.00 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 19 349

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