ForecastedResearch announcementOpportunity RFA-CA-28-002

Advanced Development and Validation of Emerging Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research (R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

National Institutes of Health · Department of Health and Human Services

At a glance

Advanced Development and Validation of Emerging Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research (R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a forecasted federal grant opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services). The agency's forecast estimates an application due date of June 4, 2027; forecast dates can change. Individual awards are listed as up to $300K, with about 14 awards expected and $6.6M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts and 10 more. Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 93.394 (Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Jul 14, 2026Forecast posted
Jan 15, 2027 (est.)Full notice expectednext date
Jun 4, 2027 (est.)Application deadline
Apr 1, 2028 (est.)Est. award date

Posted: Jul 14, 2026
Est. close date: Jun 4, 2027
Est. award date: Apr 1, 2028
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: $300,000
Est. total funding: $6,600,000
Expected awards: 14
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Discretionary
Fiscal year: FY2028

Who can apply

State governments
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public colleges & universities
Federally recognized tribal governments
Public & Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations
501(c)(3) nonprofits
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status
Private colleges & universities
For-profit organizations (not small businesses)
Small businesses
Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

Other Eligible ApplicantsIndian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized);Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government;U.S. Territory or Possession;Faith-based or Community-based Organizations;Regional Organizations;Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions).

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits grant applications proposing exploratory research projects focused on further development and validation of emerging technologies for cancer research or clinical care. This NOFO solicits R33 applications where major feasibility gaps for the technology or methodology have been overcome, as demonstrated with supportive preliminary data, but still requires further development, enhancements, optimizations, and rigorous technical validation to encourage adoption by the research community.

Well-suited applications must offer the potential to accelerate and/or enhance research in the areas of cancer biology, early detection and screening, clinical diagnosis, treatment, cancer control, and/or epidemiology. Projects that are in-scope include technologies with new or significantly improved technical capabilities to measure, analyze, model, or interrogate cancer-related systems. These may include, but are not limited to, advanced molecular and cellular analysis platforms, multi-omic and spatial profiling methods, imaging and sensing technologies, immuno-engineering approaches, and innovations in biospecimen processing, modeling, and quality assessment. Technologies proposed for development may have potential for widespread applicability but must be focused in this proposal on cancer applications. Projects proposing application of existing technologies where the novelty resides in the clinical target or biological question being pursued are not appropriate for this solicitation.

This funding opportunity is part of a broader NCI-sponsored Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies (IMAT) Program.

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Watch for the full noticeThe agency estimates posting it around January 15, 2027. Save this grant to track changes.
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyIMAT Program Contact · NCI-IMAT@nih.gov Open ↗
Submit before June 4, 2027Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

93.394Cancer Detection and Diagnosis ResearchProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 93.394

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$541M

FY25

$602M

FY26

$717M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 93.394. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Who was funded under ALN 93.394

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, 2,275 grant awards had funding actions under Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research, with 2,177 sub-awards passed on to other organizations. These are program-wide awards, not awards from this specific notice.

REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE$70.6M
FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER$64.7M
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$60.5M
SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RESEARCH$49.4M
THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY$49.2M

Recipients, states, recent awards and sub-awards →Source: USAspending.gov.

Agency contact (as published)

IMAT Program Contact
NCI-IMAT@nih.gov
240-255-0917

Quick answers

Is this opportunity open for applications yet?

Not yet. It is a forecast — an agency's advance notice of an expected opportunity. The agency estimates posting the full notice around January 15, 2027. Forecast details and dates can change.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments, Public & Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, Private colleges & universities and 3 more. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through this opportunity?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as up to $300k, total estimated program funding is $6,600,000 and the agency expects to make about 14 awards.

How do I apply for this opportunity?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity RFA-CA-28-002), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

ForecastedResearchALN 93.394, 93.395