Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) initiative [itcr]

NCI has an interest in spurring collaborations between ITCR investigators and PIs from a sister technology development program for new molecular and cellular analysis technology development (IMAT). For the last 3 years we have been able to secure funds for administrative supplements to support new collaborations that bring together complementary technology platforms and methodologies to enhance the respective capabilities you are pioneering in a way that advances cancer research or clinical care. 

NCI is again seeking to reserve a small budget to make administrative funds available for supplements by the end of this fiscal year and we would like to make sure that compelling new ITCR-IMAT collaborations are considered for those funds. As such, we are inviting you to consider engaging an investigative team funded by the IMAT program that might offer some intriguing complementarity to your own technology development project. Please note that supplementary award requests may not exceed $50k to each collaborator (direct cost cap) and are offered for only a single year, and are only available to investigators with sufficient time left on your award (i.e. the grant must be actively funded, and not in a period of no-cost extension, to be eligible). The process for being considered will involve the following:

1. Submission of an informal Letter of Intent (LOI) submitted by interested collaborators (i.e. a single submission for the ITCR-IMAT pair), previewing the collaboration project you wish to pursue. Collaborations must be composed of at least 2 collaborating units (at least one with a parent IMAT project and at least one with a parent ITCR project), and the LOI should offer a brief overview for how the IMAT and ITCR technologies complement each other and the general goals of the collaboration. A rough description of the intended specific aims for the supplement projects for each participating group is appreciated, but not required. LOI submissions are expected to be ~1 page in length, and should not exceed 3 pages. LOIs should be emailed directly to Tony Dickherber (dickherberaj@mail.nih.gov) before 5pm local time on June 29, 2020.
2. NCI program staff will evaluate the likelihood for budget availability and respond to selected LOI submissions by July 10, 2020 with a request for a formal Administrative Supplement application submitted to the NIH Admin Supp Parent FOA (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-18-591.html). Applications must include “IMAT-ITCR Collaboration: [Project title]” in the title of the application, and a separate application is required from each parent awardee (research sections may be identical). Full Administrative Supplement applications are due by Aug 3, 2020.
3. Any awards made will be issued before the end of the fiscal year, allowing for an anticipated start date in mid-September, 2020.

Supplements cannot be awarded during periods of No Cost Extension. Therefore, LOIs should not be submitted for grants that do not have sufficient time remaining in the funded period of the award beyond September 2020.

A listing of the IMAT grants is available here for those interested in identifying a potential collaborator. Please also note that both Tony Dickherber and Juli Klemm are happy to help identify collaboration candidates and facilitate introductions to other teams.