Notice of Intent to Publish Funding Opportunity Announcement for Environmental Influences during Windows of Susceptibility in Breast Cancer Risk (U01)

Notice Number: NOT-ES-14-010

Key Dates
Release Date: September 15, 2014
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: October 2014
First Estimated Application Due Date: January 2015
Earliest Estimated Award Date: September 2015
Earliest Estimated Start Date: September 2015

Related Announcements
NOT-ES-14-011

Issued by
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Purpose

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute intend to promote a new initiative by publishing a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit applications on the influence of environmental exposures during specific windows of susceptibility on breast cancer risk.

This FOA will be published in parallel with another FOA for a Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) Coordinating Center (See NOT-ES-14-011), which together will constitute the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP) Consortium.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. 

The FOA is expected to be published in Fall 2014 with an expected application due date in Winter 2015.

The FOA will utilize the U01 activity code. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

This Notice encourages investigators with expertise and insights into this area of environmental influences on breast cancer risk to consider applying for this new FOA.

Collaborative investigations combining expertise in experimental studies (using in vivo or in vitro models), human studies (directly involving individuals or groups of individuals or using data from humans, such as information on their behavior or samples of their tissue) and community engagement will be required.

Among the areas of research encouraged in this initiative are biological, toxicological, epidemiological, social and behavioral science and community-academic research examining the mechanisms that underlie the effects of {environmental exposures on breast cancer (and other intermediate risk factors for breast cancer such as altered pubertal development, breast density and benign breast disease)}, as well as defined community engagement activities to facilitate translation of existing knowledge into strategies for the prevention of breast cancer.

Applications will need to propose transdisciplinary research aims focused on a common research theme related to the role of environmental exposures in breast cancer risk. For purposes of this FOA, transdisciplinary research is defined as research that involves scientists from multiple disciplines as well as community partners, working interactively on a common problem to develop novel cross-disciplinary methods, insights, and research approaches that would not have occurred with a traditional single-disciplinary investigation. Applicants must propose novel transdisciplinary hypotheses focused on an identified window(s) of susceptibility that can be tested in a complementary manner in both experimental studies using in vivo or in vitro models and human studies (defined as research that directly involves individuals or groups of individuals or that uses data from humans, such as information on their behavior or samples of their tissue). These aims should be designed to facilitate the integration of the laboratory (i.e., animal and in vitro) and human research to collectively increase understanding of the contribution of environmental factors to breast cancer risk, the underlying mechanisms, and the potential for prevention strategies. Applications will also need to include community-academic partnerships with defined community engagement activities.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Caroline H. Dilworth, PhD
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Telephone: 919-541-7727
Email: dilworthch@niehs.nih.gov

Gary L. Ellison, Ph.D., M.P.H.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-6783
Email: ellisong@mail.nih.gov