Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNEs) (U54) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNEs) (U54) funding opportunity (RFA-CA-14-013) is a National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI) cooperative agreement designed to create large, multi-project research centers that serve as the backbone of the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer. In practical terms, NCI is looking to fund tightly integrated centers that bring together expertise from nanoscale physical sciences and engineering with cancer biology and clinical oncology, with the clear intent of moving nanotechnology-enabled ideas beyond basic research and toward usable cancer care applications. CCNEs are positioned as the core “hub” awards within the broader Alliance, which also includes smaller Innovative Research in Cancer Nanotechnology (IRCN) awards and related T32 training programs, meaning applicants should expect to operate in an ecosystem where collaboration, sharing, and coordination across the Alliance are part of the larger program design.

The scientific focus is explicitly translational and problem-driven. Proposed CCNEs are expected to identify an overarching challenge in cancer biology or oncology that genuinely benefits from a multi-project center structure and from nanotechnology as an enabling approach. The FOA emphasizes that teams should not simply assemble parallel projects under one umbrella; rather, they should collectively demonstrate the breadth of capability needed to tackle a major cancer problem using coordinated projects that reinforce each other and can plausibly produce advances that matter for diagnosis, prevention, or treatment. NCI highlights several high-priority application areas, including tools and techniques for early disease detection (both in vitro assays and devices, and in vivo imaging approaches), multifunctional therapeutic strategies, nanoparticle-driven immunotherapies, and methods supporting cancer prevention and control. The throughline across these areas is development plus translation: designing nanoscale technologies, validating them rigorously, and showing a credible pathway toward clinical or real-world use.

Because the award mechanism is a U54 cooperative agreement, applicants should read this as more than standard grant support. Cooperative agreements typically involve substantial programmatic involvement by the funding agency compared to traditional investigator-initiated grants. In the CCNE context, that usually translates into expectations around active participation in Alliance activities, alignment with program goals, and coordinated progress toward deliverables that fit the Alliance’s mission of accelerating nanotechnology-based cancer solutions. The FOA’s stated overall goal is rapid advancement of novel cancer care applications based on nanotechnology, so reviewers and program staff are likely to look closely at whether the center’s structure, milestones, and collaborative plan are built for speed, integration, and translation rather than isolated discovery.

Eligibility is broad and includes many domestic organization types across academia, government, nonprofit, and industry. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations), small businesses, and other for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), as well as state, county, city/township, special district governments, independent school districts, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and tribal entities. The FOA also specifies eligibility for a range of mission-serving institutions and community-based categories, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based and community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies. At the same time, there are clear limits on foreign participation: non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, although foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are allowed, which typically means specific, justified elements of the work may be performed abroad under the umbrella of an otherwise eligible U.S.-based applicant.

Administratively, the FOA was posted July 17, 2014, with an original and current closing date of November 3, 2014, and an archive date of December 4, 2014. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity is cataloged under multiple CFDA numbers spanning major segments of NCI’s research mission: cancer cause and prevention research (93.393), detection and diagnosis (93.394), treatment (93.395), and cancer biology (93.396). NCI also planned a pre-application informational webinar, with details to be posted on the Alliance website, signaling that NCI expected complex applications and wanted to encourage well-aligned center concepts before submission.

Taken together, this FOA is best understood as a call for ambitious, integrated center proposals that can unify engineers and physical scientists working at the nanoscale with cancer researchers and clinicians around a single, compelling cancer problem. Successful CCNE applications would be expected to show not only scientific novelty, but also strong cross-disciplinary integration, a coherent multi-project strategy, and a realistic translational trajectory toward tools and approaches that could improve how cancer is detected, prevented, monitored, or treated.

Browse more business programs for Technology Service Providers, Nanotechnology Companies

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: National Institutes of Health

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Education Health

Next opportunity: BLM Utah Establishment of Utah Air Quality Modeling Center

Previous opportunity: Lower Delaware RIver and White Clay Creek National Wild and Scenic Conservation

USGrants.org Applicant Portal:

Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.

Apply for RFA CA 14 013

 

[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?

Applicants also applied for:

Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (RFA CA 14 013) also looked into and applied for these:

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

Apply for Grants

 

 

Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers

Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.

If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.

Subscribe to Leads

 

Request more information:

Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "RFA CA 14 013", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:

Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.