CANCER EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Release Date:  February 17, 2000 (see replacement PAR-03-148)

PA NUMBER:  PAR-00-064

National Cancer Institute

This Program Announcement (PA) replaces PAR-99-095, “Cancer Education and 
Career Development Program”, which was published in the NIH Guide on May 4, 
1999.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this specialized Cancer Education Program (R25) is to support 
the development and implementation of curriculum-dependent programs to train  
predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates in cancer research settings that are 
highly inter-disciplinary and collaborative.  This Cancer Education and 
Career Development Program (R25) is particularly applicable to cancer 
prevention and control, epidemiology, nutrition, and the behavioral and 
population sciences; but should also be considered by other highly 
interdisciplinary areas of research such as imaging and molecular diagnosis 
that will require sustained leadership, dedicated faculty time, specialized 
curriculum development and implementation, interdisciplinary research 
environments, and more than one mentor per program participant to achieve 
their education and research career development objectives.  Applicants whose 
programs cannot meet the Special Requirements stated in these guidelines 
should refer to the traditional National Research Service Award (NRSA) 
Institutional Training Grant (T32) as an alternative source of support.

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000

The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health 
promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a 
PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas.  This PA, “Cancer 
Education and Career Development Program,” is related to the priority areas 
of cancer and human resource development.  Potential applicants may obtain a 
copy of "Healthy People 2000" at (http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/pubs/hp2000). 

ELIGIBILITY

Institution:  Applications may be submitted on behalf of the principal 
investigator by domestic, non-Federal organizations, public or private, such 
as medical, dental, or nursing schools or other institutions of higher 
education.  Applications may include more than one institution to create a 
Program through consortium agreements (refer to the following URL for 
guidelines on these agreements: 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps/part_iii_5.htm#Consortium) that 
includes all of the disciplines, research environments and mentors needed to 
accomplish the proposed educational and training objectives.  However, only 
one of the participating institutions can be the recipient of an award.  More 
than one application may be submitted by an institution to support programs 
in different areas of research.  Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, 
and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as principal 
investigators.

Program Leader/Principal Investigator: The Program Leader/Principal 
Investigator must be an established investigator in a field relevant to the 
objectives and purpose of the Program and able to provide both administrative 
and scientific leadership to the Program.

Predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates: Candidates may be at the predoctoral 
or postdoctoral stages of their career.  They usually  must be (see exception 
below) citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or must have 
been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., in 
possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or 
other legal verification of such status).  Non-citizen nationals are 
generally persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (i.e., 
American Samoa and Swains Island).  Individuals on temporary visas normally 
are not eligible.

Unlike other NCI grants that support career development and training, this 
grant does allow for the training of foreign nationals, who do not have the 
above residency certifications, under exceptional circumstances.  These 
exceptions would require NCI approval of individuals on a case-by-case basis 
and would always depend upon the special international, collaborative nature 
of the research areas that the training and career development Program 
emphasizes. 

Individuals NOT eligible for appointment to the R25 program include former 
principal investigators on NIH research project (R01), FIRST Awards (R29), 
sub-projects of program project (P01) or center grants (P50), and the 
equivalent.  Former principal investigators of NIH Small Grants (R03) or 
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21) remain eligible.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

This PA will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R25 mechanism.  
Planning, direction and execution of the Program is the responsibility of the 
Program leader and the Advisory Committee on behalf of the institution(s).  
The total project period for an application submitted in response to this PA 
may not exceed five years.  Awards are renewable.

Awards will be administered under NIH grants policy as stated in the National 
Institutes of Health Grants Polity Statement, NIH Publication No. 99-8, 
October 1998.  However, this specialized form of the R25 award, as 
administered by the National Cancer Institute, is not subject to “Just-in-
time” application procedures or to the Streamlined Noncompeting Application 
Process (SNAP).  The R25 remains under “Expanded Authorities” except that 
carryover of funds from one fiscal year to the next requires approval by the 
NCI.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

A.  Background:  In many developing and emerging fields of cancer research 
today, scientists must function within interdisciplinary teams rather than as 
isolated investigators or in simple collaborative settings.  Preparing junior 
and more experienced basic research scientists and clinicians for this new 
type of research environment will require education and career development 
experiences in highly inter-disciplinary and collaborative cancer research 
settings that are integrated with a specialized curriculum.  These education 
and career development experiences will have to provide wide access to 
multiple scientific disciplines and methodologies, involve mentors from more 
than one discipline, and will have to be tailored to the individual education 
and training needs of the investigator.  Due to the likely breadth of the 
science involved, these experiences will frequently have to be facilitated 
and coordinated across departments, schools, centers and institutions.  
Management of programs with this kind of complexity and diversity will 
require concerted leadership and dedicated time of interdisciplinary faculty 
in order to sustain effective interactions within and coordination of the 
program.  Furthermore, for clinicians lacking any prior research training, 
these experiences may have to include the completion of requirements for an 
additional degree, viz. M.P.H., and a number of years of research experience 
beyond the degree to prepare for conducting highly interdisciplinary 
collaborative research as an independent investigator.  Prior NCI experience 
with other NIH training and career development funding mechanisms has shown 
that it takes a least 5 years of didactic and research training for 
clinicians to become competitive independent investigators, particularly in 
the highly interdisciplinary disciplines that are the focus of this grant 
mechanism.

Recognizing these special issues and needs, in 1991 the NCI piloted its first 
"Education Programs in Cancer Prevention and Control", supported by the NIH 
Education Grant (R25) mechanism and based on the concept of interdisciplinary 
education and career development. These programs afforded institutions the 
flexibility needed in both program design and cost structure to allow for the 
development of complex, multi-disciplinary education and career development 
programs.  These pilot programs proved to be extremely successful.  In 1998, 
the NCI completed major external reviews of its cancer prevention and cancer 
control sciences.  The scientific experts conducting these reviews noted a 
national shortage of cancer prevention and control researchers, and a 
pressing need for researchers educated in the new scientific paradigms that 
require collaborations with researchers in disparate disciplines (e.g., the 
quantitative sciences, cancer biology, genetics, molecular biology, 
nutrition, the social and behavioral sciences).  These groups identified the 
need for a new approach to the training of prevention and control scientists 
requiring multi-disciplinary experiences with an interdisciplinary theme and 
including laboratory experiences. These groups recommended increasing the 
availability of support mechanisms, such as the R25 mechanism, to the cancer 
prevention, control and population sciences to address this need.  More 
recently, the NCI Tobacco Research Implementation Group encouraged the 
increased development of training programs using interdisciplinary groups of 
researchers as trainers; and involving a special linkage between faculty 
leadership, curriculum development and training.

The NCI Review Groups made a number of specific training recommendations that 
reflect the complexity of the cancer research tracks that will be needed in 
the future.  For example, the NCI Cancer Control Review Group identified a 
need for Cancer Control researchers to understand the "vocabulary and 
utility" of cancer biology, quantitative methods, and social and behavioral 
science; and for basic and clinical scientists to obtain training in the 
basic behavioral sciences, epidemiology, health services and outcomes 
research, cost-effectiveness research, survivorship and Quality of Life 
research, screening and treatment, and adherence.  Additionally, behavioral 
scientists interested in cancer control research should be trained in 
biomedical fields such as nutrition, pharmacology, genetics, and health 
services research. The NCI Cancer Prevention Review Group identified a need 
for cancer prevention researchers to acquire actual laboratory experience and 
for training in areas such as cancer biology, cancer genetics, molecular 
biology, carcinogenesis, pharmacologic interventions in prevention, 
biostatistics, epidemiology, health behavior, health policy, and the 
behavioral sciences.  This same group also recommended that behavioral 
scientists should be trained to function in the new scientific paradigms 
including genetics, chemoprevention, and diet/nutrition.

All of the above recommendations will facilitate the connectivity of and 
communication among disparate disciplines, and facilitate the preparation of 
investigators for effective participation in team research settings.

Recent reports from other external NCI advisory groups have made similar 
recommendations regarding training needs.  Breast Cancer scientists 
identified a need for new funding mechanisms for multidisciplinary training 
of individuals so that "they can participate effectively in multidisciplinary 
collaborations"  in translational research.  In the area of imaging sciences, 
advisors identified a need for postdoctoral training in molecular imaging; 
for interdisciplinary cross-training of senior investigators in diverse 
disciplines such as molecular genetics, molecular and cell biology, chemistry 
and clinical oncology; and for the development of multidisciplinary centers " 
providing the means for bringing researchers and teams with diverse 
backgrounds together".

Similar needs for interdisciplinary training have been identified in the 
principal recommendations of a number of the latest national studies on 
science education and training and for emerging fields in the biomedical 
sciences (1-4).  One report (4) pertaining to the emerging field of Modeling 
Biological Function notes the lack of programs for addressing training in the 
integration of molecular data to predict biological behavior, and points to 
the absence of training mechanisms and institutional environment for bringing 
together critical masses of interdisciplinary researchers in disparate fields 
(viz., biology and the computer sciences).  Finally, a report from the NCI 
Imaging Sciences Working Group (5) notes that it is only at those few 
institutions where (imaging) programs "are conceived with an 
interdisciplinary goal in mind" that the communication gap between 
researchers in widely diverse areas of science can be successfully bridged.

B.  Program:  The award provides support to institutions for up to 5 years 
for the principal investigator and an Advisory Committee to manage, 
coordinate and evaluate the program; for faculty to design, develop, 
implement and continually refine the program curriculum; for the salaries of 
predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees; and for other Program-related research 
costs.  These Programs should provide curriculum-based, multi-disciplinary 
AND interdisciplinary didactic and cancer-related collaborative research 
training experiences for predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers.  They 
should also provide the trainees with the research and communication skills 
to conduct cancer research in an inter-disciplinary and highly collaborative 
team research setting.

C.  Environment:  The participating institution(s) must have well-established 
research programs and faculty qualified in curriculum development, 
implementation  and program evaluation to serve as faculty for the program.  
The research environment should be team-oriented and highly collaborative 
with a strong potential for a dynamic two-way exchange of information and 
ideas within and across diverse and disparate disciplines such as the 
physical, biomedical, behavioral, population and quantitative (mathematics, 
computer sciences, etc.) sciences.  The research environment should also be 
capable of promoting rapid translation of research outcomes into reductions 
in cancer incidence, morbidity and mortality.  Finally, the institution must 
demonstrate a commitment to provide sustained leadership and dedicated 
faculty time to the development and implementation of the program; and 
commitment to the development of junior investigators as productive, 
independent investigators.

D.  Allowable costs:

NO APPLICATION MAY EXCEED $500,000 IN DIRECT COSTS PER ANNUM WITHOUT WRITTEN 
APPROVAL FROM THE NCI.  NIH Guide, March 20, 1998.

1.  Salary:  The principal investigator will be provided salary support for 
leadership, management, coordination and evaluation of the Program, in 
accordance with the percent effort commitment to the Program.  Faculty 
critical to the design, development, implementation and refinement of the 
specialized curriculum essential to the training and didactic needs of the 
Program will be provided salary support in accordance with the percent effort 
commitment to the Program.  Salary support may not be provided to program 
faculty for their service on the Advisory Committee (see SPECIAL 
REQUIREMENTS).  The principal investigator and Program faculty may derive 
additional compensation from other Federal sources or awards provided the 
additional compensation does not exceed the maximum annual salary level for 
Federal employees (see INQUIRIES) and their total percent effort on all 
awards does not exceed 100 percent.

Predoctoral appointees can be provided salaries of up to $20,000 per year 
plus fringe benefits commensurate with the institution's full-time salary 
scale for persons of equivalent qualifications, experience and rank.

Postdoctoral appointees can be provided salaries of up to $75,000 per year 
plus fringe benefits commensurate with the institution's full-time salary 
scale for persons of equivalent qualifications, experience and rank.

The institution may supplement the NIH contribution to an appointee's salary 
up to a level that is consistent with the institution's salary scale.  
Institutional supplementation of a salary must not require extra duties or 
responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the award.

2.  Other Expenses: Up to $20,000 in direct costs per year per 
candidate/trainee adjusted to the actual percent effort can be provided for 
the following types of expenses: (a) research expenses, such as supplies, 
equipment, and technical personnel; (b) tuition, fees, and books related to 
career development; (c) travel to research meetings or training; and (d) 
statistical services including personnel and computer time.  These costs must 
be specifically documented for each individual candidate and must be 
specifically and directly related to the candidate’s research activities.  

3.  Advertising and Recruitment Costs: A small proportion of the budget can 
be used for advertising and recruitment in order to attract the best possible 
candidates to the Program.  It is assumed that to effect this kind of multi-
disciplinary, multi-departmental, multi-institutional approach, a centralized 
fund for advertising and recruiting, NOT entertaining, will be needed.  
Consult INQUIRIES if there are questions about the use of funds for this 
purpose.

4.  Ancillary Personnel Support: In general, salaries for mentors, 
secretaries, administrative assistants and other ancillary personnel are not 
allowed.  

5.  Facilities and Administrative Costs:  These costs, which were formerly 
called indirect costs, will be reimbursed at 8 percent of modified total 
direct costs.

6   This specialized R25 grant, as administered by the NCI, is not subject to 
the Streamlined Non-competing Application Process (SNAP).  In general, this 
means that all reporting of budgetary information and Program progress is 
provided in greater detail.  While the R25 is subject to Expanded 
Authorities, the one exception is that carryover of funds from one fiscal 
year to the next must be approved by the NCI Grants Administration staff (see 
INQUIRIES).

E.  Special Leave:  Leave to another institution of an appointee, including a 
foreign laboratory, may be permitted if directly related to the purpose of 
the award.  Only local, institutional approval is required if such leave does 
not exceed 3 months.  For longer periods, prior written approval of the NCI 
is required.  To obtain prior approval, the trainee must submit a letter to 
the NCI describing the plan, countersigned by his or her department head and 
the appropriate institutional official.  A copy of a letter or other evidence 
from the institution where the leave is to be taken must be submitted to 
assure that satisfactory arrangements have been made.  Support from the award 
will continue during such leave.  NCI Program staff should be contacted prior 
to submitting the request for leave.

Leave without award support may not exceed 12 months.  Such leave requires 
the prior written approval of the NCI and will be granted only in unusual 
situations.  Support from other sources is permissible during the period of 
leave.  Parental leave will be granted consistent with the policies of the 
NCI and the grantee institution.

F.  Termination: When a grantee institution plans to terminate an award, the 
NCI must be notified in writing at the earliest possible time so that 
appropriate instructions can be given for termination.

G.  Change of Institution:  The Cancer Education and Career Development 
Program cannot be transferred from one institution to another.

H.  Change of Program Director:  If the program director moves to another 
institution or resigns from the position, support of the award may be 
continued provided that the current program director or the awardee 
institution has submitted a written request for change of program director, 
countersigned by the appropriate institutional business official, to the NCI 
describing the reasons for the change.  The biosketch of the proposed new 
program director, including a complete listing of active research grant 
support, must also be provided.  The information provided must establish that 
the specific aims of the original peer reviewed research program to be 
conducted under the direction of the new program director will remain 
unchanged, and that the new program director has the appropriate research and 
administrative expertise to lead the program.  NCI Program staff must approve 
of this change and should be contacted prior to submission of the letter (see 
INQUIRIES).

I.  Changes of Program:  Awards are made to a specific institution for a 
specific program under the guidance of a particular program director.  
Changes in any of these parameters requires prior approval by NCI.

A scientific rationale must be provided for any proposed changes in the aims 
of the original peer reviewed program.  The new program will be evaluated by 
NCI staff to ensure that the program remains within the scope of the original 
peer reviewed research program.  If the new program does not satisfy this 
requirement, the award could be terminated.

J.  Progress Reports:  An Annual Progress Report for the grant is required.  
This report should provide information about changes in the Program, a 
summary report of the evaluation of the Advisory Committee, and a description 
of the research and career progress of each candidate.  These progress 
reports will be closely monitored by NCI staff to ensure that the Program is 
achieving its goals and meets the intent of the NCI for this specialized R25 
grant mechanism.

Progress report are to submitted using the Form PHS 2590, which should be 
available at most institutional offices of sponsored research or can be 
accessed directly at the following website address: 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/2590/2590.htm .  Since the Form PHS 2590 
does not easily apply to this specialized form of the R25 grant, adapt the 
application for continuation so it contains the following information:

- Appropriate Face Page

- A detailed budget page that provides all salaries and fringe benefits and 
other budgetary information (e.g., supplies, travel) specifically for each 
individual candidate by name or by position if the position is not occupied.

- A brief description of the Objectives and Goals of the Program

- A brief summary indicating which faculty, mentors and Advisory Committee 
members have left the Program and the names of the new individuals who are 
being added or taking their place.  Include for each new person their degree 
and department (or equivalent) and, if a multi-institutional consortium, 
their institution.

- Biographical Sketches of:

i. New faculty
ii. New mentors
iii. New Advisory Committee members
iv. New Trainees

- Progress of Individual Trainees: A brief paragraph for each trainee 
describing the research and didactic experiences that they are engaged in or 
have completed as well as the specific future plans for each trainee in order 
to satisfy the Core Requirements of the Program.

- List of publications for each trainee resulting from their training 
experiences in the Program.

- For each postdoctoral candidate who completes training, a copy of his/her 
mock grant application and the critique of the application with the members 
of the review panel and their areas of expertise.

- Summary Information of the Program. A sample table can be obtained from NCI 
program staff (see INQUIRIES below)

- A Report from the Advisory Committee that is separately attached and 
evaluates the following: the effectiveness of the specialized curriculum 
developed for the Program and recommended changes; the effectiveness of the 
overall performance of the Program in satisfying its training and career 
development objectives with recommendations for changes that might improve 
the Program (e.g., modifications in Core Requirements, addition of new 
mentors, improved recruitment strategies) and the effectiveness of the 
minority recruitment efforts. 

A final progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status Report are 
required upon termination of an award.

K.  Evaluation:  In carrying out its stewardship of human resource related 
programs, the NCI may request information essential to an assessment of the 
effectiveness of this program.  Accordingly, recipients are hereby notified, 
that they may be contacted after the completion of this award for periodic 
updates on various aspects of their employment history, publications, support 
from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, professional 
activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of the 
program.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

1.  The application must include a “Statement of applicability” clearly 
noting why the R25 grant mechanism, in contrast to more traditional training 
mechanisms such as the NRSA Institutional Training Grant (T32) grant 
mechanism, is essential for accomplishing the proposed educational and 
research career development needs of the program.  Applicants should refer to 
the following website address for information on T32 grants:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-109.html

2. A specialized curriculum, not otherwise available at the institution or 
other participating institutions, must be developed and linked in an 
essential manner to the training goals and objectives of the Program. 

3.  The principal investigator must assemble and chair a permanent 
multidisciplinary Advisory Committee (AC) representing all of the 
disciplines, departments, schools, institutions etc. involved in this 
education and training program.  The AC would be responsible for the 
recruitment and selection of candidates for the Program; the establishment 
and review of effectiveness of specialized curriculum; the approval of the 
education and training plans (e.g., curriculum, research experiences, 
mentors) for each candidate; interim monitoring and evaluation of each 
candidate's progress with recommendations for changes in the plan, if 
necessary, or termination of a candidate who is not making adequate progress; 
and monitoring and evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the Program.  
The AC would provide a summary report with each annual progress report that 
describes the committee's actions, and discusses progress of the program 
including evaluation of areas of strengths and weaknesses.

4.  A large majority of mentors must be involved in cancer research or 
research methodologies clearly important to the cancer focus and objectives 
of the proposed education and career development Program.

5.  Trainees are expected to have more than one mentor during the course of 
their multi-disciplinary research training.

6.  Trainees are expected to engage in multi-year, long-term research 
experiences.  This is not a
grant that should be used for short-term experiences in research.

7.  The Program must have the flexibility to accommodate multiple disciplines 
and candidates with different levels of didactic and research experience (see 
8. below on Core Requirements). 

8.  The Program should include Core Requirements that each candidate is 
expected to complete before meeting the program’s training objectives.  These 
requirements should include the following:

a.  A core didactic component (the Specialized Curriculum, and other formal 
courses such biostatistics, informed consent, lecture and seminar series).

b.  A core research component defining the different kinds of disciplinary 
research experiences each candidate must complete to meet the requirements of 
the Program.

The expectation of the NCI is that candidates entering the Program with 
different backgrounds initially will satisfy many of the Core Requirements 
and that they will be provided with additional didactic and research 
experiences over different periods of time in order to fully meet the overall 
training objectives of the Program and be able to conduct research in a 
highly collaborative research team setting.

9.  A separate plan should be included for recruiting individuals from under-
served and under-represented minority and ethnic groups in biomedical 
research.

10.  As part of the research and career development experience, each 
postdoctoral trainee who is near the end of his/her tenure must prepare a 
mock application to the NIH, following the instructions provided in the PHS 
Form 398.  The faculty must provide a mock peer review.

11. An evaluation plan must be provided for determining the performance of 
the processes and outcomes of the Program.  This plan should include the 
parameters and criteria that will be used to evaluate the Program.

INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and 
their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported biomedical and 
behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and 
compelling rationale and justification is provided that inclusion is 
inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of 
the research.  This policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 
(Section 492B of Public Law 103-43).

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
"NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical 
Research" which have been published in the Federal register of March 28, 1994 
(FR 59 14508-14513), and reprinted in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, 
Vol. 23, No. 11, March 18, 1994. It is also available electronically at URL 
address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not94-100.html.

Investigators may obtain copies from these sources or from the program staff 
listed under INQUIRIES. Program staff may also provide additional relevant 
information concerning the policy.

INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) 
must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or supported by 
NIH, unless there are clear and compelling scientific and ethical reasons not 
to include them. This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications 
submitted for receipt dates after October 1, 1998.

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
"NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in 
Research Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the NIH GUIDE FOR 
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS, March 6, 1998 and is available at the following URL 
address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 
4/98) using the modified instruction provided below, and will be accepted on 
February 1, June 1 and October 1.  Application kits are available at most 
institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of 
Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 
6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone 
301/435-0714, Email: grantsinfo@nih.gov. Application kits can be accessed 
directly at the following website address: 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/forms_toc.html.

All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within 
specified page limitations.  Unless otherwise specified in an NIH 
solicitation, internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide 
information necessary to the review because reviewers are under no obligation 
to view Internet sites.  Reviewers are cautioned that their anonymity may be 
compromised when they directly access an Internet site (see  
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-004.html).

The completed original application and three legible copies must be sent to 
or delivered to:

CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040-MSC 7710
BETHESDA, MD  20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD  20817 (for express/courier service)

At the time of submission, two additional copies must also be sent to:

Ms. Toby Friedberg
Division of Extramural Activities
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Blvd., Room 8062
MSC 8329
Bethesda, MD  20892-8329
Rockville, MD  20852 (express/courier service)

If the application submitted in response to this PA is substantially similar 
to a grant application already submitted to the NIH for review but has not 
yet been reviewed, the applicant will be asked to withdraw either the pending 
application or the new one.  Simultaneous submission of essentially identical 
applications will not be allowed, nor will essentially identical applications 
be reviewed by different review committees.  An application, therefore, 
cannot be submitted in
response to this PA which is essentially identical to one that has already 
been reviewed.  This does not preclude the submission of substantial 
revisions of applications already reviewed, but such applications must 
include an introduction addressing the previous critique.

Instructions for Preparing a Cancer Education and Career Development Program 
Grant Application:

Applications for Cancer Education and Career Development Programs(R25) should 
use the Form PHS 398 and the modified instructions below, which take into 
account all of the special features and requirements of this grant.

1.  Face Page:   Use page AA of the form PHS 398.  On Line 1 include the 
title that best represents the nature of your education and career 
development program.  On line 2, provide the 
number (i.e., PAR.....) and the title (i.e., “NCI Cancer Education and Career 
Development Program)of this NCI Program Announcement. 

2.  Description, Performance Site(s), Key Personnel: ((Page BB) of the form 
PHS 398):   Complete as directed in the form PHS 398 instruction package; 
this should include the program leader, Advisory Committee Members, Mentors 
and other faculty participating in the program.  Please make sure that you 
denote each individual’s degree and departmental affiliation (or equivalent) 
AND, if a consortia of institutions, institutional affiliation. 

3.  Table of Contents to be organized as follows:

                                                       Page Number
a.  Face Page 
b.  Description, Performance Site(s), Key Personnel
c.  Table of Contents 
d.  Detailed Budget Page for First Year 
e.  Budget for Entire Proposed Period of Support
f.  Budgets pertaining to Consortium/Contractual Arrangements
g.  Other sources of Institutional Training, Education, and Career 
Development Support.
h.	Biographical Sketches ( not to exceed 2 pages per individual):
- Program Leader/Principal Investigator
- Advisory Committee Members
- Mentors            
- Other Participating Faculty
- Trainees (if known at the time of application)

i.  Other Research Support of the "Principal Investigator and the Mentors" 
that is specifically relevant to this Education and Career Development 
Program
j. Statement of Applicability
k.  Education and Career Development Plan (Not to exceed 25 pages, excluding 
tables)
i. (If applicable) Introduction to Revised Application (Not to exceed 3 
pages)
ii.    Purpose and Objectives
iii.   Core Requirements
-specialized curriculum
-other didactic experiences
-research experiences
iv.  Research Base/Resources and Facilities/Mentors
v.  Program Leadership/Management
- Program Leader
- Advisory Committee
- Recruitment Strategies
- for candidates in general
- for minority candidates
- Individual Candidate Training Plans
- Evaluation Plan  
vi.  (For competing renewal applications only) Progress Report**
i.  Human Subjects
j.  Vertebrate Animals
k.  Checklist
l.    Appendices
** Suggested tabular formats for presenting data on trainees can be obtained 
from NCI program staff (see INQUIRIES)

4.  Detailed Budget for the First Year: Use Form Page 4 (or DD) of the Form 
PHS 398. 

Under PERSONNEL break out the individuals as follows with percent effort, 
salary and fringe benefits:
A.  The Program Leader
B.  The Faculty being paid from the Grant
C.  Predoctoral Candidates by:
i.  Name
ii. Position (when position is not filled)
D.  Postdoctoral Candidates by:
i.  Name
ii. Position (when position is not filled)
For Research and Development Costs, maintain a separation between predoctoral 
and postdoctoral candidates and specifically identify the requested costs 
under each budget category (e.g., supplies, travel) for each trainee by name 
or position (if the position is not filled), remembering that total for each 
individual cannot exceed $20,000.

If costs are requested for Advertising and Recruitment, make sure that these 
costs are identified under each budget category.
                                
5.  Budget for the Entire Proposed Project Period of Support:  Use Form Page 
5 (or EE) of the Form PHS 398 and provide projected future year budgets as 
instructed in the Form PHS 398.

6.  In a table, list all current and pending institutional cancer-related 
training, education and career development support available to the 
participating faculty, department(s), institution(s).  Examples could include 
T32, R25 or K12 grants.  Include funding source, complete identifying number, 
title of the program, name of the program director, project period, number of 
training positions (predoctoral, postdoctoral), and the amount of the award.  
For each grant listed, name only those participating faculty members who are 
also named in this application, and indicate their percent effort in those 
programs.

7.  Biographical Sketches and Other Support: Provide biographical sketches 
using the forms provided in the PHS Form 398 package for the Program Leader,  
Advisory Committee Members, Mentors, other participating faculty, and 
trainees (for those that are available). Immediately following the 
biographical sketch for an individual, provide a listing of their OTHER 
SUPPORT, using Form Page GG and the corresponding instructions on page 14 of 
Form PHS 398.

8.  Statement of Applicability:  Provide  a clear, substantive statement 
indicating why the use of this specialized form of the R25 grant mechanism, 
in contrast to the other education/ training support mechanisms (viz., NRSA 
Institutional Training Grants) uniquely allows for the success of the 
proposed education and training program.

9.  Education and Career Development Plan:

a.  (If applicable) Introduction to Revised Application: If this is a revised 
application, in no more that three pages summarize how you have addressed the 
previous concerns of the reviewers and what new information is available that 
might be important for the reviewers to evaluate.  Additionally, highlight 
(bold, italics, etc.) in the text of the plan changes made in response to the 
concerns of the previous review of the application.

b.  Purpose and Objectives: In this section provide background, purpose and 
objectives of the Program.

c.  Core Requirements.  Describe the core requirements of this Program that 
each candidate is expected to complete based on prior experience and the 
training experiences to be provided within this Program in the following 
areas:

1. Specialized Curriculum: Describe the proposed core education curriculum. 
Explain how the development and implementation of this curriculum is 
critically linked to the purpose and objectives of the Program and to the 
research career development of individual candidates.  Explain how this 
curriculum is distinguished from other curricula within the existing 
educational infrastructure and framework of the applicant/participating 
institution(s);

2. Other Didactic Experiences: utilization of any existing curriculum within 
the institution(s).

3. Research Experiences: Outline briefly the kinds of research experiences 
each candidate should have, either from prior experience, or from the mentors 
of this Program that will prepare them as independent scientists who can 
function in complex team settings and highly multidisciplinary team research 
settings.

d.  Research Base/Resources and Facilities/Mentors:
 
Research: Generally describe the funded research activities and methodologies 
offered by the mentors participating in the Program and how the interactive 
nature of the research environment will meet and sustain the needs and 
objectives of this Program.

Resources and Facilities: Briefly describe the research infrastructure, 
access to patient populations, community populations etc., and facilities 
that are available and accessible to this Program.

Mentors: Describe the track record in training cancer scientists of each 
mentor participating in the Program.

e.  Program Leadership/Management:

1.  Program Leader: Describe the qualifications and role of the Program 
Leader to provide leadership and coordination of the Program.

2.  Recruitment Strategies: Within the multi-disciplinary research 
environments of this education and career development Program, describe the 
characteristics of candidates who will be selected for participation at the 
predoctoral level and placed in the existing degree awarding units of the 
institution(s) (e.g., Ph.Ds , DPHs) and how the mix of  postdoctoral  
candidates  (e.g., Ph.D.s, M.D.s and DPHs) will be prioritized to achieve the 
multi-disciplinary education and career development objectives of the 
Program. Describe any advertising strategies.  Comment on the size of the 
candidate pool expected, note any other institutional programs that might 
compete for this pool, and describe strategies for addressing this 
competition.

Separately describe the strategies for recruiting minority candidates.

3.  Advisory Committee:  Describe how the AC will function in providing 
oversight of the development, implementation and evaluation of recruitment 
strategies; recruitment and selection of candidates for the Program; 
establishment, implementation and evaluation of the core/specialized 
curriculum; approval of individual education and career development plans 	    
(e.g., curriculum, research/methodology experiences, mentors); interim 
monitoring and evaluation of each candidate’s progress, including a 
determination of when a candidate has successfully completed the program, 
with recommendations for changes in the plan and, if necessary, termination 
of a candidate not making adequate progress; review of mock grant 
applications; and monitoring of the overall effectiveness of the Program; 

4.  Individual Candidate Training Plans: Provide actual or examples of 
individual plans that the Program will employ or has been  able to achieve 
that allow it to provide a unique education and career development experience 
for candidates, preparing them to design, implement and participate in highly 
inter-disciplinary, collaborative cancer research.  Provide plans for 
conducting the required mock grant application and review process for each 
postdoctoral candidate; 

5.  Evaluation Plan: Describe the information that will be used in, the 
periods for, and criteria to be used in evaluating this Program

g. Progress Report (for competing renewal applications): Describe progress 
made toward achieving the objectives of this program and the intent of the 
NCI.

10. Human Subjects: follow instructions provided in the PHS Form 398 
application package;

11. Vertebrate Animals: follow instructions provided in the PHS Form 398 
application package;

12. Consortium/Contractual Arrangements: Refer to the following the following 
website for guidelines on these agreements:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps/part_iii_5.htm#Consortium.   

13.  Appendices: follow instructions provided in the PHS Form 398 application 
package.  

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Center 
for Scientific Review (CSR); and by the NCI program staff for adherence to 
the guidelines in two areas: 1) Eligibility criteria; 2) Special 
Requirements.  Applications not responsive to this PA WILL BE RETURNED to the 
applicant without review.

Applications that are complete and responsive to the PA will be evaluated for 
scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened 
by the Division of Extramural Activities in NCI in accordance with the 
standard NIH peer review procedures.  As part of the initial merit review, 
all applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in 
which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, 
generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed, 
assigned a priority score, and receive a second level review by the National 
Cancer Advisory Board.

All applications in response to this announcement will be evaluated for 
scientific and technical merit using the criteria noted below:

Review Criteria

1.  Adequacy of the Statement of Applicability justifying the unique use of  
this specialized R25 mechanism instead of  traditional education/training 
mechanisms such as the NRSA Institutional Training Grant, for achieving the 
education and career development objectives of the proposed program.  

2.  Adequacy of the justification provided of the need for the proposed 
Program relative to other ongoing education, and training/career development 
activities being sponsored within the institution(s).

3.  Education Career Development Plan:

a.  (If applicable) the degree to which the revisions of the Program take 
into account the weakness identified during the previous peer review 
evaluation.

b.  Purpose and Objectives:

- clarity and importance of the Program’s purpose and objectives

- adequacy in meeting the NCI’s intent of supporting education and career 
development programs that prepare candidates to participate as independent 
investigators in highly multidisciplinary, collaborative, team research.

c.  Core Requirements: 

- degree to which all of the core requirements combined satisfy the training 
and career development objectives of the Program 

- quality of the process for evaluating each candidate’s needs relative to 
the core requirements of the Program.

- adequacy of the subject matter and design of specialized curriculum; 
adequacy of the linkage of the specialized curriculum to the research 
training of the candidates; uniqueness of the specialized curriculum relative 
to other curriculum available at the institution (s); adequacy of the faculty 
responsible for the specialized curriculum  

- strength and availability of other didactic experiences available for each 
candidate’s education and career development
 
- adequacy of the breadth and depth of research experiences available to 
candidates to achieve their multidisciplinary training objectives. 

d.  Research Base/Resources and Facilities/Mentors:

- Adequacy of the funded research environments in the Program to support the 
proposed education and career development.

- Adequacy of the multidisciplinary interactions present in the institution 
(s) to set the appropriate example for the training of candidates expected to 
function well in highly multidisciplinary, team research settings.

- Adequacy of the availability of the research infrastructure, patients, 
populations etc. to support the Program

- Quality of the mentors’ research experience and productivity and their 
track records in training cancer scientists.

e.  Program Leadership/Management:

- Adequacy of the Program Leader’s experience and qualifications to lead and 
coordinate the Program.

- Recruitment:

- Adequacy of the pool of candidates

- Adequacy of the criteria for selecting high quality candidates.

- Adequacy of the strategies for recruiting minorities to the Program.

- Advisory Committee:

- Appropriateness and experience of the membership

- Adequacy of the AC’s involvement as a quality control in

- selecting candidates for the Program

- establishing appropriate training plans for each candidate based on their 
individual needs and the Program Core Requirements

- monitoring the progress of candidates and making midcourse corrections to 
improve the quality and effectiveness of each candidate’s experiences. 

- participation in mock reviews
 
- terminating candidates for evident lack of performance or potential

- monitoring and evaluating the overall performance and effectiveness of the 
Program

- Individual Candidate Training Plans: Quality and completeness of the 
individual training plans relative to the purpose and objectives and core 
requirements of the Program.

- Evaluation Plan: Adequacy of the criteria and process for evaluating the 
performance of the Program.

g.  Progress: Based on previous objectives and past performance, adequacy of 
the progress in achieving the objectives of this Program and meeting the 
intent of the NCI.

AWARD CRITERIA

Applications will compete for available funds with all other scored 
applications submitted in response to this PA.  Following the initial peer 
review for scientific and technical merit, the initial review must be 
concurred with by the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB).  The NCI will 
notify the applicant of the National Cancer Advisory Board's (NCAB) action.   
Final funding  decisions are made by the NCI based on the quality of the 
proposed Program, as determined by peer review, the availability of funds and 
priorities of the NCI. 

NON-COMPETING RENEWAL APPLICATIONS

The procedures for submission of a new or a competing renewal application are 
not applicable to applications for a non-competing renewal of an award.  Non-
competing renewal applications for this specialized R25 grant, as 
administered by the NCI, are not subject to the Streamlined Noncompeting 
Award Process (SNAP) and require detailed reporting of budgets and progress.  
The general requirements for reporting progress annually are outlined in this 
PA in RESEARCH OBJECTIVES under the part of section D (Allowable Costs) that 
refers to Progress Reports.

INQUIRIES

Inquiries are encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions 
from potential applicants is welcome.

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:

Dr. Brian W. Kimes
Cancer Training Branch
Office of Centers, Training and Resources
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Blvd, Suite 7001
MSC 8346
Bethesda, MD  20892-8345
FAX:  (301) 402-0181
Email: bk34t@nih.gov

For inquiries about fiscal matters, please contact:

Ms. Catherine Blount
Grants Administration Branch
National Cancer Institute
6120 Executive Blvd, Room 243
Bethesda, MD  20892-4500
FAX:  (301) 496-3179
Email:  cb136g@nih.gov

Direct inquiries regarding review issues to:

Ms. Toby Friedberg
Division of Extramural Activities
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Boulevard, Room 8062, MSC 8239
Bethesda, MD  20892-8239
Rockville, MD  20852 (for express/courier service)
Telephone (301) 496-3428
Fax: (301) 402-0275
Email:  tf12w@nih.gov

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 
93.398 Cancer Research Manpower.  Awards are made under authorization of the 
Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended ( 42 USC 241 
and 284) and administered under NIH grants policies and Federal Regulations 
42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.  This program is not subject to the 
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health 
Systems Agency review.

The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products.  In 
addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking 
in certain facilities ( or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which 
regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early 
childhood development services are provided to children.  This is consistent 
with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of 
the American people.

REFERENCES

1. National Institute for Science education. (1998).  Descriptions of 
programs and strategies for change: Strengthening graduate education in 
science and engineering.  Promising practices and strategies for 
implementation from the Graduate Education Forum Madison: University of 
Wisconsin: Madison.

2. National Research Council, Committee on Dimensions, Causes, and 
Implications of Recent Trends in the Careers of Life Scientists.  Trends in 
the Early Careers of Life Scientists. Washington, D.C.:  National Academy 
Press; 1998.

3. The Association of American Universities, Committee on Postdoctoral 
Education.  Report and Recommendations, March 31, 1998.  Washington, D.C.: 
The Association of American Universities; 1998. 8p. Available from: URL: 
http://www.aau.edu/.

4. Brent, R. "Raising the Next generation of Scientific Pioneers," J NIH 
Res., 9, 37-39 (1997).

5. The NCI Imaging Sciences Working Group, Meeting of the In Vivo 
Molecular/Functional Imaging Subgroup, February 18-19, 1998.  Available from: 
URL: http://wwwosp.nci.nih.gov/.

Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

	Office of Extramural Research (OER)			National Institutes of Health (NIH) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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