Funding Opportunities

New Broad Agency Announcements

NCI has issued two Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) soliciting projects that will enhance the state of the science of cancer treatment and CAM. The NCI Best Case Series (BCS) Program is designed to seek out alternative approaches to cancer treatment and these announcements will support the development of quality BCS submissions as well as additional research when warranted.

The BAAs will act as mechanisms to provide funding support for the joint development of BCS and prospective research projects by CAM practitioners and cancer researchers. These announcements are intended to foster collaborative activities between CAM practitioners and more traditional cancer researchers who might otherwise not be aware of the opportunity to apply their expertise to alternative cancer treatments.

The first announcement, BAA N01-CO-57034-48, supports contracts that have two distinct funding phases. Phase I of the contract will provide limited support funds to prepare a submission to NCI's BCS Program and develop partnerships between researchers and alternative medicine practitioners. This part of the contract would support travel, documentation development, and staff necessary to complete the submission process. The anticipated product of a successful Phase I would be the documentation of a series of patients that fully meet the NCI BCS Program criteria. A proposal with budget for an appropriate prospective research project (pre-clinical, clinical, or both) would also be submitted for review prior to Phase II funding. Phase II support may be released to conduct specific types of studies on a successful Phase I series that has persuasive evidence warranting further study with NCI resources.

The second announcement, BAA N01-CO-57035-48, solicits proposals for contracts to support prospective research (pre-clinical, clinical, or both) on alternative medicine approaches for which an NCI BCS has been completed and a determination made that NCI-initiated prospective research is warranted.

For more information about the Broad Agency Announcements, please send an e-mail to ncioccam-r@mail.nih.gov.

OCCAM Seeks Postdoctoral Fellow

Through the Clinical Research Training Award (CRTA) program, OCCAM seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow to work on literature review projects with regards to CAM as it applies to prevention, treatment, and the symptom management of cancer. This training opportunity is a chance to gain continuing education and experience within NCI's various organizational components under the guidance of OCCAM.

To be eligible for this fellowship, you must be a medical doctor, bachelor of medicine/bachelor of surgery, or doctor of osteopathy with oncology subspecialty training. Fellowship stipend range is commensurate with level of experience.

For more information about this opportunity, please e-mail ncioccam-r@mail.nih.gov.

Current Funding Announcements

Grant applications about cancer CAM topics may be considered responsive to many NCI and NIH funding announcements, regardless of whether the announcements specifically mention CAM. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact program staff to determine if a specific topic would be considered appropriate. Program staff members are available and can assist investigators throughout the application process.

The following is a list of several research funding opportunities in cancer CAM. Please visit http://cam.cancer.gov/research/funding_opportunities.htm for a complete list.

• Diet-Induced Changes in Inflammation as Determinants of Colon Cancer (PA-05-125)
• Quick Trials for Novel Cancer Therapies: Exploratory Grants (PA-04-155)
• Developmental Projects in Complementary Approaches to Cancer (PA-04-053)
• NCCIH Exploratory/Developmental Grant for Clinical Studies (PA-03-152)
• Basic and Preclinical Research on CAM (PA-05-141)