Coordinating and Data Management Center for Acquired Resistance to Therapy Network (ARTNet; U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA CA 21 053

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 21 053

This funding opportunity (RFA-CA-21-053) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) cooperative agreement (U24) to establish a Coordinating and Data Management Center for the Acquired Resistance to Therapy Network (ARTNet). ARTNet itself is a broader NCI-supported effort made up of research hubs funded under a companion announcement (U54 awards under RFA-CA-21-052). The big picture goal of ARTNet is to connect basic, preclinical, and translational work across the tumor and tumor microenvironment continuum so the field can better understand and ultimately overcome acquired resistance to cancer therapies. In other words, the network is designed to help explain why cancers that initially respond to treatment later stop responding, and to turn those insights into strategies that are more likely to translate into effective approaches for patients.

The U24 Coordinating Center is not meant to be another standalone science project; it is meant to be the operational backbone of the ARTNet network. The Center is expected to build and run the infrastructure that allows multiple ARTNet research sites to function as a single, coordinated program rather than a collection of separate projects. That includes administrative coordination (organizing governance, meetings, schedules, reporting, and day-to-day network logistics), collaborative support (making it easier for participating groups to work together consistently and efficiently), outreach and communication (helping disseminate network activities and findings, and supporting engagement among stakeholders), and, critically, data management (creating the systems and processes to collect, standardize, curate, share, and manage data generated across ARTNet). Because the announcement is “Clinical Trial Not Allowed,” applicants should plan for coordination and data-focused activities rather than proposing a clinical trial as part of the Center’s work.

The mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which signals substantial involvement by NIH/NCI program staff compared with a typical research grant. Practically, that usually means the awardee will be expected to collaborate closely with NCI and ARTNet awardees on network policies, timelines, data standards, and shared deliverables. The program sits within NIH’s health-related funding space (CFDA numbers 93.353, 93.394, 93.395), and is categorized under discretionary funding with an education/health activity focus, reflecting its role in enabling and coordinating research efforts rather than directly funding independent investigator-driven science.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), independent school districts, public and state-controlled universities, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. Nonprofit organizations are eligible whether or not they have 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those categories), and for-profit entities are eligible as well (including small businesses and other for-profit organizations). The FOA explicitly calls out additional eligible institution types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations, certain eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, foreign participation is tightly restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components (as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. Taken together, this means the coordinating and data management functions must be proposed and carried out entirely within eligible U.S.-based organizational structures.

Key administrative details provided in the source information include the original closing date of November 1, 2021, and the posting/creation date of August 3, 2021. The announcement lists an award ceiling as expected but does not provide a numeric cap in the excerpt, and the expected number of awards is not specified in the provided text. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at teams that can demonstrate strong program management, cross-site coordination experience, and robust data management capability, because the Coordinating Center’s success will largely determine how effectively ARTNet can integrate diverse data types and collaborative research outputs into coherent, reusable knowledge about therapy resistance.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Coordinating and Data Management Center for Acquired Resistance to Therapy Network (ARTNet; U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.353, 93.394, 93.395.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-08-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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 21 053

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