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Early-Stage Innovative Technology Development for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research (R61 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

National Institutes of Health · Opportunity RFA-CA-27-001

Deadline November 10, 2026 62 days left
Award range Up to $150k
Total program funding $5.1M

≈ 20 awards expected

PostedJune 3, 2026

Who can apply

Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/International Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

About this opportunity

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits grant applications proposing to develop innovative technologies offering new capabilities for the molecular or cellular characterization of cancer or for improved handling and quality control of biospecimens for basic, clinical, or epidemiological cancer research. The NOFO solicits R61 applications for early-stage projects proposing proof-of-concept/pilot studies to test the technical feasibility of the proposed method, tool, assay, platform, or instrument. Technologies proposed for development may have potential for widespread applicability but must be focused for this program on cancer-relevant use cases. Projects proposing to apply or use existing technologies for hypothesis-driven research where the novelty resides in the biological or clinical target/question being pursued are not responsive to this solicitation and will not be reviewed.This funding opportunity is part of a broader NCI-sponsored Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) Program.

Portfolio context — this listing covers more than this opportunity

This opportunity is funded under Assistance Listing 93.394 (“Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research”), a broad federal program that made about 242 new awards per year over the last five fiscal years (median award $1.1M). Those figures describe that whole portfolio — not this specific solicitation, so we don't show them as if they were this opportunity's track record.

Applicant counts per solicitation are not published by any federal agency — no one can honestly sell you that number. NIH publishes success rates by institute and activity code — source.

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