Data / Federal grants / RFA-CA-28-004
Limited Competition: Biospecimen Banks to support NCI National Clinical Trials Network Biospecimen Banks (NCTN Biobanks) and the NCI Early-Phase and Experimental Clinical Trials Biospecimen Bank (EET Biobank) (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services) is accepting applications until February 11, 2027. It lists 6 awards expected, $19 million in total.
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Key facts
- Opportunity number
- RFA-CA-28-004
- Status
- Posted, open
- Posted
- October 15, 2026
- Closes
- February 11, 2027
- Expected awards
- 6
- Total funding
- $19,000,000
- Cost sharing
- Not required
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Category
- Health
- Assistance listing
- 93.394 Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research
- Contact
- National Institutes of Health · [email protected] · 301-402-2541
Who can apply
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Eligibility is limited to an institution/entity that is the recipient of an existing NCTN biobank of human biospecimens from NCI clinical trials funded under RFA-CA-20-002 or an existing EET Biobank of human specimens under RFA-CA-20-003.Foreign Organizations/International Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.
What the agency says
This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite application(s) from eligible organization(s) to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered for funding. Through this limited competition Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits applications to support continuation of two biospecimen banking resources. The National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) Biospecimen Banks (NCTN Biobanks) support the NCI-funded NCTN and the Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), and The Early-Phase and Experimental Clinical Trials Biospecimen Bank (EET Biobank) supports the Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN) and other NCI-supported early phase and experimental clinical trials. The objective is to maintain these national resources for the collection, processing, storage, and distribution of high-quality, clinically annotated human biospecimens. The goal of these resources is to ensure the availability of biospecimens from participants in NCI-funded clinical trials focused on treatment, prevention, and cancer control studies to enable translational cancer research. The NCTN Biobanks support biomarker development and validation, secondary correlative studies, and broader scientific discovery using biospecimens collected through harmonized protocols and linked to clinical outcome data from large multi-site clinical trials. The EET Biobank supports biospecimen banking for ETCTN and other early-phase and experimental therapeutic clinical trials involving investigational agents. Biospecimens collected through these studies support biomarker assay development, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses, investigation of drug response and resistance mechanisms, patient stratification, and translational research supporting development of novel cancer therapies. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered for funding.
Other open grants from the Department of Health and Human Services
| Opportunity | Status | Closes | Award ceiling | Total funding | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term health outcomes of people living with spina bifida CDC-RFA-DD-26-0222 | Open | Oct 26 | $300,000 | $3,000,000 | grants.gov |
| GREGoRi Data Coordination and Outreach Center (U01, Clinical Trials Not Allowed) RFA-HG-27-011 | Open | Oct 30 | $1,250,000 | $2,000,000 | grants.gov |
| GREGoRi Innovation Projects (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) RFA-HG-27-013 | Open | Oct 30 | $500,000 | $7,500,000 | grants.gov |
| GREGoRi Technology Integration Center (U01, Clinical Trials Optional) RFA-HG-27-012 | Open | Oct 30 | $2,250,000 | $3,000,000 | grants.gov |
| HEAL Initiative: Whole Joint Health Program (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required) PAR-27-045 | Open | Oct 30 | grants.gov | ||
| Clinical Observational (CO) Studies in Musculoskeletal, Rheumatic, and Skin Diseases (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) PAR-24-280 | Open | Nov 2 | grants.gov |
· Everything closing in February 2027
Read from the Grants.gov API, last updated 2026-10-23. The agency's notice on Grants.gov is the official record; check it before you apply.