Metastasis Research Network (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Cancer Institute (NCI) · NIH Institute/Center · RFA-CA-27-012
Source: Grants.gov · View original posting ↗
- AwardWhat a single award can be worth — the funder's published per-award amount or floor–ceiling range.
- Up to $1.3M
- DeadlineFinal application due date.
- Sep 25, 2026
- Letter of intentDue date for the letter of intent (a short pre-application some funders require or request before the full proposal).
- —
- MechanismNIH activity code — the grant type (R01 research project, R21 exploratory, K series career development, F series fellowship, …).
- U54
- DurationMaximum project period for a single award.
- —
- Expected awardsHow many awards the funder anticipates making under this opportunity.
- 4
- Funding cycleHow often the program accepts applications (annual, multiple cycles per year, rolling, or one-time).
- One-time
- Open dateWhen applications open (or opened).
- Jun 4, 2026
- Total fundingThe overall pool the funder expects to commit across ALL awards under this opportunity — not what one project receives.
- $6.8M total
- Clinical trialWhether proposed projects must, may, or must not include a clinical trial.
- Not allowed
Research areas
Auto-classified from the title and description (keyword-based) — may be imperfect.
Description
Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits applications for research on developing a comprehensive and cohesive understanding of cancer metastasis. Towards this goal, the NCI will support U54 Specialized Centers that together will continue to serve as the hub of the Metastasis Research Network (MetNet). Each MetNet Center should propose an overarching scientific theme that will be pursued through two or three scientific inter- and multidisciplinary basic research projects. The projects should use integrative system level approaches to elucidate and integrate a mechanistic understanding of the non-linear, dynamic, and emergent processes in metastasis. Overarching themes should encompass the interplay between at least two central elements in the metastatic process such as early dissemination, cellular, soluble and/or physical microenvironment crosstalk, dormancy, or mechanisms of responses by metastatic cells to therapies. Studies on all types of cancer are welcome, including rare and pediatric metastatic cancers.Research proposed by MetNet Centers is expected to advance our understanding towards a more comprehensive appreciation of metastasis as a whole body, systems-level problem.