Research Answers to NCI's Provocative Questions (R01) | RFA CA 17 017

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 17 017

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), offered this grant opportunity to fund investigator-led research projects that directly tackle a set of targeted, high-impact challenges in cancer research known as the NCI Provocative Questions. Rather than being a broad call for any cancer-related topic, the program is built around specific "problems and paradoxes" framed as questions. The goal is to push researchers to focus on areas where progress has been slow, where findings seem contradictory, or where important scientific gaps have not received enough attention despite their potential to change how cancer is understood, prevented, detected, or treated. In other words, applicants are expected to design R01-level projects that provide concrete, research-based answers to these curated questions and generate insights that could move the field forward.

This opportunity is an R01 research project grant (Funding Opportunity Title: Research Answers to NCI's Provocative Questions (R01); Funding Opportunity Number: RFA-CA-17-017). R01s generally support discrete, hypothesis-driven or problem-driven research programs with clear aims, strong rationale, and a plan that can produce meaningful results within the project period. In the context of the Provocative Questions initiative, the emphasis is on depth and clarity: proposals should be tightly aligned to one of the specific provocative questions identified by NCI and should explain how the proposed approach will resolve the underlying paradox or barrier. While the source description does not list individual questions, the framing signals that NCI wants applicants to engage with these prompts as central drivers of the research strategy, not as an afterthought or a loose thematic connection.

The announcement falls under discretionary grant funding and is categorized under education and health-related funding activities, reflecting NIH's broader mission to support biomedical research and research workforce development. The associated CFDA numbers listed (93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.399) indicate it is connected to multiple NIH/NCI assistance listings that cover different cancer research programs and mechanisms, which is common for institute-wide research initiatives.

A notable feature of this opportunity is its wide eligibility. Eligible applicants include state and county governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly highlights a range of institutions and organizations that are often underrepresented or have specialized service missions, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), U.S. territories or possessions, and regional organizations. Importantly, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations) are included as eligible applicants as well, which signals NCI's openness to supporting strong science regardless of geography when it directly addresses the provocative questions and meets NIH requirements.

Key administrative details in the source data include an original closing date of January 23, 2018, and a creation date of March 3, 2017. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided excerpt, which typically means applicants would need to consult the full FOA for budget limits, anticipated funding levels, project period expectations, and any special review considerations. The sponsoring agency is NIH, with NCI as the relevant institute leading this initiative.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a focused challenge program using the R01 mechanism: NCI selected a set of high-priority, under-addressed scientific questions in cancer research and invited the research community to propose rigorous, well-justified projects designed to produce real answers. The program is less about incremental work within well-worn areas and more about encouraging creative, methodologically strong studies that can resolve stubborn uncertainties and open up new directions in cancer biology, prevention, diagnosis, or therapy, depending on which provocative question a project targets.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Answers to NCI's Provocative Questions (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-03-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-23. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA CA 17 017

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