Pancreatic Cancer Detection Consortium: Research Units (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 21 334

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 334

This opportunity, titled "Pancreatic Cancer Detection Consortium: Research Units (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (PAR-21-334), is a National Institutes of Health funding announcement that uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (U01). Its core goal is to fund Research Units (RUs) within the Pancreatic Cancer Detection Consortium (PCDC) to advance the early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and to better understand and characterize PDAC precursor lesions. A major emphasis is identifying which individuals are most likely to progress to cancer, especially people already considered high risk due to inherited genetic factors or the presence of precursor conditions such as pancreatic cystic lesions. The work aligns with research priorities laid out in the National Cancer Institute's 2014 Scientific Framework for PDAC and is geared toward enabling earlier intervention, when treatment has a better chance of improving outcomes.

The funded Research Units are expected to be multidisciplinary teams that can tackle biomarker and screening problems from multiple angles. The FOA highlights several example activities: discovering and testing biomarkers that can be measured in bodily fluids (for example, blood-based, urine-based, or other minimally invasive sample types) for early PDAC detection and/or detection of precursor lesions; determining which pancreatic cysts are most likely to progress to malignancy; developing molecular and/or imaging approaches to screen populations at elevated PDAC risk; applying machine learning and other computational approaches to help discover, refine, or validate biomarkers; and conducting biomarker validation studies. A key practical deliverable is the collection of longitudinal biospecimens, meaning repeated samples over time from participants, to help build a biorepository that can support both current consortium projects and future discovery and validation efforts.

Collaboration is built into the structure of the program. Each Research Unit is expected to participate actively in consortium-wide activities, share ideas, and contribute biospecimens and data so that findings can be compared, harmonized, and validated across sites rather than remaining isolated within one institution. The PCDC is organized around two scientific components: these Research Units, and a separate Management and Data Coordination Unit (MDCU). While applicants to this FOA are for the Research Units, the announcement clarifies that the MDCU will provide cross-consortium infrastructure support such as study design input, protocol development support, statistical analysis, coordination across projects, harmonization of methods, and data management and stewardship for collaborative efforts, including the biorepository-building work.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary federal funding opportunity in the health and education activity area (CFDA 93.394). The agency is the National Institutes of Health. The listed award ceiling is $600,000. The original closing date shown in the source information is 2024-06-11, and the FOA creation date is 2021-09-16. The funding instrument is explicitly cooperative, which typically means NIH staff will have substantial programmatic involvement compared with a standard research project grant, reflecting the consortium and coordination-heavy nature of the work.

Eligibility is broad across many U.S.-based organization types. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also calls out other eligible applicant categories such as Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, though foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are allowed, which can matter for collaborations, specialized assays, or access to particular cohorts or expertise.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to push the field toward practical, validated ways to detect PDAC earlier and to sort high-risk precursor states from lower-risk ones, using integrated biomarker science, imaging, advanced computation, and coordinated multi-site validation. The consortium model, with required sharing of specimens and data and centralized coordination through the MDCU, is intended to speed progress and improve reproducibility by ensuring that promising signals can be tested and confirmed across multiple settings rather than relying on single-site results.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pancreatic Cancer Detection Consortium: Research Units (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.394.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-09-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-11. (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 $600,000.00 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.

Apply for PAR 21 334

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