Early-Stage Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)

RFA-CA-27-020 , U24 Resource-Related Research Project (Cooperative Agreements)
RFA-CA-27-021 , U24 Resource-Related Research Project (Cooperative Agreements)

The ITCR Program

The central mission of ITCR is to promote research-driven informatics technology across the development lifecycle to address priority needs in cancer research. The program supports the development of critical tools and resources to improve the acquisition, analysis, visualization, and interpretation of data across the cancer research continuum including cancer biology, cancer treatment and diagnosis, early cancer detection, risk assessment and prevention, cancer control, and epidemiology.

ITCR provides support for informatics technology development through NOFOs aimed at distinct phases of the technology development lifecycle: 

• U01, Clinical Trial Optional (this NOFO): Supports initial tool development or the significant modification of existing tools for new applications
• U24, Clinical Trial Optional: Supports advanced tool development, including continued development of emerging informatics technologies that have passed the initial prototyping and pilot development stage, through sustainment and improvements of existing, widely-adopted informatics tools and resources

Specific Research Objectives and Scope of this NOFO

This NOFO encourages applications that involve the development of new, user-friendly informatics technologies that support a wide range of cancer research, including discovery biology, population studies, as well as clinical and translational research. The emphasis will be on uniqueness and potential impact on cancer research. In addition, all projects proposed in response to this NOFO must involve the following general attributes:

• Potential to advance driving cancer research projects and the cancer research field in general
• Novel informatics capabilities for the targeted cancer research domain
• Compelling plans and processes for engaging end users to evaluate and apply the tool or resource
• A realistic timeline and milestones for technology development

Awardees will be expected to participate in additional collaborative research activities identified post-award, to enhance the utility and/or interoperability of the informatics technology being supported through the award. These expansion activities are intended to further the impact of the technology that is the subject of the award. Collaborations with investigators outside the current ITCR network are welcome. Proposals for these expanded collaborative activities will be evaluated by processes established by the ITCR Steering Committee.

Examples of post-award collaborative research activities include, but are not limited to:

• Extension or adaptation of a tool to support the needs of a cancer research project
• Implementation of common Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to support data exchange with other systems
• Use of a common software platform or interoperability infrastructure for tool integration
• Work with the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative (CCDI), as applicable.

For details on addressing these requirements, see Section IV. Application and Submission Information.