Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (P01) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the name and identifier of this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding opportunity announcement (FOA) PAR-09-147, titled "Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (P01)."

Which agency is sponsoring this FOA?

The FOA is issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the leadership of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

What is the primary purpose of PAR-09-147?

The FOA supports coordinated, multi-project research programs intended to improve scientific understanding of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and translate that understanding into better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies, with the long-term goal of reducing HCC-related morbidity and mortality.

What type of grant mechanism is used?

The mechanism is the NIH Program Project Grant (P01), which is designed for collaborative, integrated research programs rather than a single stand-alone research project.

What does a P01 application need to include under this FOA?

Each application must include at least three component research projects. These projects must be linked by a shared central theme, focus, and/or overall objective, and should function as an integrated program where the combined effort is expected to be greater than the sum of individual projects.

What disease area must the research focus on?

The research must primarily focus on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a form of liver cancer, including its basic biology, prevention, and/or treatment.

What scientific topics are highlighted as areas of interest?

The FOA emphasizes (1) etiology and etiologic mechanisms of HCC, (2) development of animal models of HCC, (3) novel preventive approaches to stop HCC development or progression, (4) diagnostic or therapeutic tools that yield reliable prognostic indicators (including biomarkers and imaging approaches), and (5) therapeutic development intended to minimize morbidity and mortality.

What does the FOA mean by "etiology and etiologic mechanisms"?

It refers to the biological causes of HCC and the mechanistic pathways that lead to liver cancer, including molecular and cellular processes driving malignant transformation and the sequence of events that can move disease from chronic injury or inflammation into cancer.

Are animal models explicitly encouraged?

Yes. The FOA specifically encourages development of animal models of HCC to test hypotheses about disease mechanisms and to evaluate preventive or therapeutic interventions in systems that mimic key features of human liver cancer.

Does the FOA support prevention research?

Yes. It encourages novel preventive approaches that could stop HCC from developing or block progression to malignancy.

Does the FOA support diagnostic and prognostic research?

Yes. The FOA supports creation of diagnostic or therapeutic tools that yield reliable prognostic indicators, which may include biomarkers, imaging approaches, or other diagnostic strategies to predict outcomes, stratify risk, or guide treatment decisions.

Does the FOA support treatment and therapeutic development?

Yes. It supports therapeutic development intended to minimize morbidity and mortality, including discovery or refinement of interventions that improve survival or reduce complications of HCC.

Are population-based or epidemiology-only studies allowed?

Applications that are exclusively population-based, epidemiologic, or otherwise centered only on observational human population studies are considered non-responsive and will not be supported under this P01 mechanism for this FOA.

Can the research still be relevant to humans?

Yes. Human relevance is important, but the FOA is aimed at mechanistic, model-based, translational, and intervention-oriented research rather than epidemiology-only approaches.

Is this FOA connected to other, related funding opportunities?

Yes. It is described as running in parallel with two related announcements of similar scientific scope that use different NIH mechanisms: PA-08-243 (R01) and PA-08-244 (R21).

How is this P01 different from the parallel R01 and R21 opportunities mentioned?

PAR-09-147 uses a P01 mechanism, which requires a coordinated multi-project structure (at least three projects). The parallel announcements use single-project (R01) or exploratory/developmental (R21) formats for similar HCC-related topics.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The FOA states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.

Is funding guaranteed, and how many awards will be made?

No. Funding and the number of awards are not guaranteed. Awards depend on the availability of funds and the receipt of sufficient high-quality, meritorious applications.

What CFDA program areas are associated with this FOA?

The FOA is listed under multiple CFDA program areas tied to cancer research: 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, and 93.396, covering cancer cause and prevention, detection and diagnosis, treatment, and biology.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (including 501(c)(3) and certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and government entities such as city/township, county, and state governments. The announcement also includes eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions as described in the FOA.

Can for-profit organizations apply?

Yes. For-profit organizations other than small businesses are listed as eligible, and small businesses are also listed as eligible.

Can government entities apply?

Yes. The FOA lists multiple government entity types as eligible applicants, including city or township governments, county governments, and state governments, along with other entities described in the announcement (such as eligible federal agencies and certain regional or territorial entities).

When was the FOA posted, and what are the listed closing and archive dates?

The FOA was posted on April 8, 2009. The original and current closing date is listed as May 27, 2011, and the FOA was archived on June 27, 2011.

What does it mean that the FOA is archived?

Based on the provided information, the FOA is marked as archived as of June 27, 2011, and the closing date is listed as May 27, 2011.

What kind of research team is this FOA designed for?

It is designed for research teams that can build a unified, multi-project program focused on mechanisms that drive HCC, robust model systems, and innovative prevention, prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies that can meaningfully advance outcomes for people with liver cancer.

What makes an application responsive to this FOA?

A responsive application primarily focuses on HCC basic biology, prevention, and/or treatment and proposes an integrated P01 program with at least three linked projects unified by a central theme or objective, emphasizing mechanistic, model-based, translational, and/or intervention-oriented research rather than population-based observational studies alone.