The National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the "Research Projects to Enhance Applicability of Mammalian Models for Translational Research" (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). This NOFO, designated as PAR-24-306, encourages research applications to advance, optimize, and verify the relevance of mammalian models—such as organoids, tumoroids, and cell-based models—for cancer translational research. The aim is to support projects that demonstrate these models as effective representations of human biology, useful in addressing clinical questions, and reliable for applications that ultimately benefit patients.

Key goals of this NOFO include: (1) improving the technical and experimental parameters for translational use of mammalian models; (2) addressing unmet translational research needs, such as the development of immune-based therapies or cancer prevention models; and (3) fostering collaboration within the Oncology Models Forum (OMF) community. Applicants are expected to attend annual OMF meetings and are encouraged to participate in OMF workshops and webinars to facilitate collaboration and sharing of resources and best practices.

The types of projects encouraged under this NOFO range from validating model relevance and defining best practices, to testing early detection and prevention approaches, and developing genetic and environmental cancer susceptibility models. Non-responsive applications, including those focused on purely mechanistic, non-clinical research or the development of models exclusively for non-clinical studies, will not be reviewed.

Application budgets are limited to $499,000 in direct costs per year, with a maximum project period of five years. Eligible applicants include higher education institutions, nonprofits, for-profit organizations, local and federal government entities, and certain foreign and tribal organizations. Cost sharing is not required.

Applications for new, resubmission, or revision projects are accepted, with deadlines on February 5, June 5, and October 5 of each year through 2026. Applications should be submitted through Grants.gov, and the NIH requires all necessary registrations (SAM, eRA Commons, Grants.gov) to be completed before submission. After submission, applications undergo a multi-stage review process focusing on scientific and technical merit, with review criteria assessing significance, innovation, rigor, feasibility, and investigator qualifications.

Award recipients are required to submit annual progress reports and follow NIH data sharing guidelines. For further information, applicants may contact designated NIH representatives or consult the full application instructions in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.