Participant Engagement and Cancer Genome Sequencing (PE-CGS): Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA CA 19 046

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 19 046

The Participant Engagement and Cancer Genome Sequencing (PE-CGS): Coordinating Center opportunity (RFA-CA-19-046) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) cooperative agreement (U24) that sits under the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot initiative, with the broader aim of speeding up progress in cancer research. It aligns with a Blue Ribbon Panel priority focused on establishing a network for direct patient (participant) engagement, meaning the program is designed to bring cancer patients and post-treatment survivors into the research process more directly rather than relying only on traditional clinic-based recruitment and participation models. Importantly, this specific FOA is labeled "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," so the coordinating center is not meant to run an NIH-defined clinical trial under this award mechanism.

This FOA funds one central U24 Coordinating Center that will anchor a larger PE-CGS Network. That network is intended to include several U2C Research Centers funded through a companion announcement (RFA-CA-19-045). In practice, the coordinating center is the connective tissue for the entire network, helping multiple research sites function as a single coordinated effort rather than a set of disconnected projects. The program has a two-part overall purpose: first, to promote and support research on approaches for direct participant engagement (how to effectively reach, enroll, communicate with, and retain participants, and how to involve them in meaningful ways); and second, to apply those engagement methods to rigorous cancer genome sequencing efforts that address major gaps in understanding tumor genomics.

The sequencing focus is intentionally aimed at areas where knowledge is limited or where patients have historically been underrepresented in genomic datasets. Examples called out include rare cancers or rare subsets of more common cancers, highly lethal cancers, cancers with early age of onset, cancers with major disparities in incidence or mortality, and cancers affecting understudied populations. The underlying idea is that better participant engagement strategies can help overcome barriers like geographic distance, lack of access to major cancer centers, distrust stemming from historical harms, language and cultural barriers, or the practical burden of participating in research. By pairing engagement research with real-world sequencing projects, the network is expected to produce both scientific findings (genomic characterization of tumors) and operational lessons (what engagement practices actually work at scale).

The U24 Coordinating Center has three core responsibility areas. First is Network Coordination, which generally means establishing shared structures and processes across the network, supporting collaboration among the U2C sites, helping with harmonized timelines and deliverables, and keeping the overall network aligned with NCI expectations. Second is Network Outreach and Promotion, which focuses on boosting awareness and participation and likely includes developing communication strategies, materials, and partnerships that can connect patients and survivors to the research opportunities, particularly in populations and communities that are often missed. Third is Network Best Practices, which is about identifying, developing, and disseminating effective methods for direct participant engagement and related operational practices so that what is learned in one setting can be replicated and improved across the network.

From an applicant eligibility standpoint, the FOA is broadly open across sectors, reflecting the community-facing nature of participant engagement. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), public and private institutions of higher education, independent school districts, tribal governments and tribal organizations, public housing/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses, as well as other categories. The announcement explicitly highlights additional eligible organization types that are often central to outreach and equity-focused work, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, foreign components as defined by NIH policy are allowed, meaning a U.S.-led applicant may be able to include certain foreign involvement in a compliant way if justified and permitted under NIH rules.

Administratively, this opportunity is a discretionary NIH funding program using a cooperative agreement mechanism, which typically implies substantial NIH involvement in steering, coordinating, or partnering on program activities compared with a standard grant. The FOA lists CFDA numbers 93.353, 93.393, and 93.396. The original closing date was April 9, 2020, and the listed award ceiling is $350,000. The expected number of awards is shown as one, consistent with the plan to support a single coordinating center for the whole PE-CGS Network.

Taken together, this grant opportunity is essentially about building and running the central hub for a national effort that combines two things: improving the science and practice of directly engaging cancer participants, and using those engagement methods to generate high-quality tumor genomic sequencing data in cancer types and communities where the field most needs better representation and deeper biological understanding.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Participant Engagement and Cancer Genome Sequencing (PE-CGS): Coordinating Center (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, 93.393, 93.396.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-07-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-04-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• 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.

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