Advanced In Vivo Imaging to Understand Cancer Systems (R01) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Advanced In Vivo Imaging to Understand Cancer Systems (R01) opportunity?

It is a discretionary NIH funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-CA-11-005) that was designed to advance cancer research by tightly integrating advanced in vivo imaging in living systems with systems biology approaches. The goal was to support collaborative projects where imaging measurements and systems-level modeling directly inform one another to explain cancer as a dynamic, interacting system.

What is the main scientific purpose of this FOA?

The FOA aimed to improve understanding of complex cancer phenomena by capturing and interpreting what happens in real time inside living organisms. It emphasized observing tumor interactions with blood vessels, immune cells, surrounding tissue, and treatment pressures, and connecting those observations to mechanistic and predictive systems biology models.

What does "advanced in vivo imaging" mean in the context of this opportunity?

Within this FOA, advanced in vivo imaging refers to cutting-edge imaging methods used in living systems to observe and measure cancer behaviors with very high spatial and temporal resolution, enabling the study of how tumors behave and interact within their native biological context.

What does "systems biology" mean in this FOA?

Systems biology, as described here, is the framework used to connect complex imaging measurements into mechanistic explanations and predictive models of cancer behavior. The FOA specifically emphasized that systems biology should not be purely computational in isolation from experimental measurements.

How is this FOA different from imaging-only or modeling-only research?

The FOA emphasized integrated projects rather than standalone imaging technology development or purely computational systems biology. The expectation was that imaging data would drive systems-level modeling, and systems-level modeling would in turn shape imaging strategies and interpretation, forming an interdependent approach.

What kinds of cancer questions or phenomena were this FOA trying to address?

The FOA focused on "complex cancer phenomena" such as tumor heterogeneity, interactions with the tumor microenvironment, invasion and metastasis, and the dynamics of therapy response. More broadly, it targeted research that treats cancer as an evolving system with interacting components.

What type of grant mechanism was used?

The funding mechanism was the NIH R01 Research Project Grant, which typically supports hypothesis-driven or problem-driven biomedical research and can accommodate multi-investigator, collaborative projects.

Which agency sponsored this funding opportunity?

The sponsoring agency was the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What was the estimated total funding amount available under this FOA?

The FOA reported an estimated total funding level of $5,000,000.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The FOA explicitly stated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants were not required to provide institutional matching funds as a condition of award.

When was the opportunity posted and what were the closing dates?

The opportunity was posted and created on December 8, 2010. The original and final closing date was February 23, 2011. The opportunity was archived on March 26, 2011, indicating it was time-limited with a specific submission window.

Is this FOA still open?

No. Based on the listed final closing date (February 23, 2011) and the archive date (March 26, 2011), this was not an open-ended program announcement and is no longer open for applications.

What was the activity category for this opportunity?

The activity category was listed under Education and Health.

Which CFDA program areas did this FOA map to?

It mapped to multiple cancer-related CFDA program areas: cancer cause and prevention research (93.393), detection and diagnosis (93.394), treatment research (93.395), and cancer biology (93.396).

Why did this FOA map to multiple cancer CFDA areas?

The FOA had broad applicability because integrated in vivo imaging and systems biology approaches can be used to study cancer initiation, progression, detection strategies, and therapeutic response, depending on the biological question being addressed.

What kinds of teams or collaborations were expected?

Applications were expected to bring together complementary expertise, typically including specialists in in vivo cancer imaging and researchers focused on cancer complexity (for example, heterogeneity, microenvironment interactions, invasion/metastasis, and therapy response dynamics). The FOA emphasized collaborations where the partnership is essential to the scientific approach rather than incidental.

What does NIH mean here by "genuinely collaborative" projects?

Based on the FOA description, a genuinely collaborative project is one where imaging innovation and systems-level modeling are interdependent. The collaboration is expected to be central to the research plan, with imaging and modeling iteratively informing experimental design, data interpretation, and mechanistic understanding.

What types of organizations were eligible to apply?

Eligibility was broad and included public, private, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. Examples listed include tribal governments and tribal organizations; state, county, and local governments (including city/township and special district governments); independent school districts; public and state-controlled higher education institutions; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (with the non-501(c)(3) category excluding institutions of higher education); small businesses; and for-profit organizations other than small businesses.

Were institutions serving specific communities explicitly included in eligibility?

Yes. The eligible entities listed included Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), as well as faith-based and community-based organizations.

Were federal agencies eligible to apply?

Yes. The eligibility list included eligible federal agencies.

Were U.S. territories or possessions eligible?

Yes. U.S. territories or possessions were included in the eligibility list.

Were foreign (non-U.S.) organizations eligible?

Yes. The eligibility list explicitly included non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations).

Does the eligibility language suggest NIH wanted to include industry participation?

The FOA allowed both small businesses and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. This broad eligibility can enable participation by industry groups that may have specialized imaging platforms or translational capabilities relevant to the integrated imaging-and-systems approach described.

Where can the full announcement be found?

The full announcement was available through the NIH Grants Guide at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-11-005.html

Who was listed as the contact for access or technical issues?

For access or technical issues, the listed contact was the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV.

What kinds of questions would this FOA be best suited for, based on its description?

It was best suited for research questions that require observing cancer behavior in living systems over time and interpreting those observations through systems-level frameworks. The FOA description suggests a strong fit for projects where high-resolution, context-rich imaging data are necessary to build and test mechanistic, predictive explanations of cancer dynamics.