Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA CA 25 032

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 25 032

The Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is looking to support collaborative research projects that use simulation modeling and other advanced modeling approaches to answer high-impact questions in cancer control. The central idea is to build and refine sophisticated, evidence-based models for specific cancer types that can help decision makers understand which existing or emerging technologies and strategies are likely to deliver the most benefit, and how to deploy them efficiently. In practical terms, the program is geared toward modeling work that can inform policies and real-world choices around prevention, screening, early detection, treatment, and surveillance, especially where tradeoffs exist (for example, benefits versus harms, costs, feasibility, or equity considerations). Because the award is a U01 cooperative agreement, recipients should expect substantial programmatic involvement from NIH compared to a standard research grant, with an emphasis on coordination, collaboration, and producing tools and findings that are broadly useful to the cancer control community.

This NOFO explicitly invites applications with multiple PDs/PIs, reflecting how CISNET projects typically require interdisciplinary teams (for example, epidemiology, biostatistics, health economics, clinical expertise, and computational modeling). The expected outputs are not just academic publications, but modeling tools and analyses that can be used to evaluate different cancer control strategies under realistic conditions, including uncertainty and variation across populations. While the text references "specific cancer types (see below)," the provided excerpt does not list them; applicants would need to consult the full NOFO and CISNET program materials to confirm which cancer sites and research priorities are in scope for this cycle.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is identified as RFA-CA-25-032 and uses the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism. It falls under the NIH health research activity area (CFDA 93.399). NIH anticipates making about 8 awards, and the listed award ceiling is $1,240,000. The original application due date shown is February 12, 2026. These figures signal a relatively competitive and targeted program, designed to fund a limited number of substantial modeling groups that can contribute to a coordinated network effort rather than many small independent projects.

Eligibility is broad and includes many common applicant types: state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other than small businesses); and other eligible entities as defined in the NOFO. The summary also notes that applicants should review the formal eligibility section in the NOFO for any additional constraints or clarifications. The title includes "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," which means the proposed work should not include clinical trial activities as defined by NIH; the focus should remain on modeling, simulation, and related analytic research rather than interventional human subjects trials.

Special rules apply to participation by NIH intramural scientists. If NIH intramural researchers are involved, their funding requests are limited strictly to incremental participation costs. They cannot request salary or fringe benefits for permanent federal employees, and they cannot request administrative or facilities support comparable to F&A costs. Allowable incremental costs may include temporary staff hired specifically for the project, consultants, equipment, supplies, travel, and other typical project expenses. Even when no salary funds are requested for intramural personnel, the application should still report the level of effort in person-months. If an intramural scientist is selected for support, funding is provided through the NIH Intramural Program, and intellectual property is managed under established federal and NIH policies (including Executive Order 10096 and related regulations). Importantly, if an extramural applicant collaborates with an intramural scientist, the extramural application cannot request funds to support that intramural scientist; the intramural collaborator must pursue intramural funding separately through the process described.

The NOFO also includes notable international collaboration and foreign involvement rules. Non-U.S. (foreign) organizations are eligible to apply directly, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the Grants Policy Statement) are allowed. However, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. The most consequential restriction is the updated NIH policy effective May 1, 2025: NIH will no longer issue awards to domestic or foreign entities that include foreign subawards or subcontracts unless the application is submitted under a funding opportunity specifically designated for funded international collaborations. For this CISNET NOFO, that means any application that proposes foreign subawards/subcontracts will be considered noncompliant and will not be reviewed for funding. At the same time, the policy does not prohibit all international engagement; it still allows unfunded international collaborations, foreign components in the NIH sense, paying foreign consultants, or purchasing unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors. The practical takeaway is that international participation must be structured carefully: applicants can collaborate internationally, but they cannot route NIH award funds through foreign subawards/subcontracts under this particular NOFO.

Overall, this CISNET opportunity is aimed at strengthening a coordinated national modeling network that can produce credible, policy-relevant evidence on cancer control strategies. Competitive applications will likely be those that demonstrate strong modeling expertise, access to high-quality data sources, clear plans for collaborative work within the network, and well-justified analyses that address pressing cancer control decisions, while staying within the non-clinical-trial boundaries and complying with the tightened rules on foreign subawards/subcontracts.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) (U01 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): 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-12-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-02-12. (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 $1,240,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• 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 25 032

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