PAR-23-277
Cancer Research Education Grants Program - Research Experiences (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Summary
Cancer Research Education Grants Program – Research Experiences (R25)
Research Focus & Contribution
This National Cancer Institute (NCI) R25 program supports educational activities designed to build the cancer research workforce by providing hands-on research experiences in cancer biology, oncology, and related disciplines. The program targets individuals with limited biomedical research exposure or those who would benefit from deepened research training, aiming to stimulate interest in cancer research careers and advance participants' knowledge of cancer cause, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and continuing care. Proposed programs should offer full-time (40 hours/week) research experiences lasting 8–15 weeks, integrated into faculty mentors' research settings with direct oversight and regular in-person interaction. Complementary educational activities—such as seminars, journal clubs, grand rounds, and career development presentations—may supplement the core research experience but cannot exceed 8 hours per week. Ideally, participants will present findings at professional venues or earn co-authorship on peer-reviewed publications.
At-a-Glance
- Who can apply: Institutions eligible to receive NIH grants; applications must propose cancer-focused research experiences not available through existing NIH training mechanisms (e.g., T32, NRSA programs).
- Funding & project length: Up to $300,000 direct costs/year; maximum 5-year project period.
- Award mechanism: R25 research education grant (not clinical trials).
- Key dates: Application due dates January 25, May 25, September 25, 2024–2026 (rolling); earliest start dates December 2024–July 2026 depending on submission cycle; expires January 8, 2027.
- Best fit for: Cancer research educators designing immersive summer or semester-long programs for undergraduates, postbaccalaureate fellows, or early-career researchers from underrepresented backgrounds or non-traditional pathways into oncology research.
Key Facts
Deadline
Thu, January 7, 2027
Posted
Thu, September 21, 2023
Award / Year (direct costs)
$300,000
Max Total
$1,500,000
Max Duration
5 years
Keywords
Research Areas
Gotchas (6)
Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed for this R25 mechanism, but the FOA does not provide clear guidance on what constitutes a 'clinical trial' in this context, potentially creating ambiguity fo
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“Clinical Trial? Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trial(s). Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?”
The FOA states that research experiences must be 'completed within a 12-month period,' but it also allows projects up to 5 years, creating potential confusion about whether each cohort must fit within
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“Proposed research experiences are not completed within a 12-month period. [Non-Responsive Applications] R25 programs that propose at least 8 weeks, but fewer than 15 weeks, of full-time research experiences are allowed to request continued part-time support for some or all of the participants to continue to work on their research projects, up to the equivalent of 15 weeks of full-time participation, as long as the entire research experience is completed within a 12-month period. Award Project Pe”
The FOA requires that 'each participant will be integrated into the research setting of his/her assigned faculty mentor' with 'regular, in-person interaction,' but does not define what constitutes 're
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“It is expected that each participant will be integrated into the research setting of his/her assigned faculty mentor who will have direct oversight responsibility for the participant, which will include regular, in-person interaction.”
The FOA states that R25 programs 'cannot be used to replace or circumvent Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) programs,' but does not provide clear criteria for distinguishing b
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“Research education programs may complement ongoing research training and education occurring at the applicant institution, but the proposed educational experiences must be distinct from those training and education programs currently receiving Federal support. R25 programs may augment institutional research training programs (e.g., T32, T90) but cannot be used to replace or circumvent Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) programs.”
The FOA states that complementary educational activities 'should not exceed more than 8 hours per week (20% of the full-time effort) on average,' but does not define the averaging period (weekly, mont
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“Complementary educational activities, such as seminars, journal clubs, grand rounds, field trips, career development presentations, etc., are encouraged as part of the research experiences program, but should not exceed more than 8 hours per week (20% of the full-time effort) on average.”
Up to 20% of participants may receive support a second time if they serve as peer-to-peer mentors, but the FOA does not define what constitutes adequate peer-mentoring activity or how this should be d
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Source Text
“It is expected that most individuals will only receive support one time to participate in the R25 research experiences program. However, at the discretion of the PD(s)/PI(s), up to 20% of the participants may receive support to participate a second time, if they play a peer-to-peer mentor role for the new participants.”