NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (R35 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 21 333

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 333

The NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA), offered under PAR-21-333, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant mechanism (R35) designed to provide long-term, stable support for highly accomplished investigators in any area of cancer research. The core idea is to back established Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) who have strong track records of productivity and who propose exceptional, high-impact research programs. Unlike many project-specific awards that tightly define aims and near-term deliverables, this opportunity is meant to give investigators breathing room to pursue bolder, more creative science, including higher-risk directions, more adventurous lines of inquiry, and the development of new techniques that may take time to mature. Research supported through this award is expected to break new ground or push previous discoveries into new directions or applications, with the aim of enabling breakthroughs that advance biomedical, behavioral, or clinical cancer research. Clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA, which signals that the research must be non-clinical-trial in nature even when the overall area relates to clinical cancer questions.

A key structural feature of the OIA is that applications are submitted by institutions nominating qualified, established investigators, rather than being framed purely as investigator-initiated proposals without an explicit institutional nomination context. The program is intended to create funding stability over a longer horizon, which NCI expects will encourage investigators to take on projects with unusual potential that might be difficult to sustain under shorter, more restrictive grant cycles. In practice, that means the proposed research program should read as an integrated, ambitious agenda rather than a narrow, incremental extension of prior work, while still being grounded in a proven ability to deliver meaningful cancer research outputs.

Eligibility is broad across many types of U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments, and special district governments, as well as independent school districts. Higher education institutions are eligible in both public/state-controlled and private categories. The opportunity is also open to federally recognized Native American tribal governments, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments. Nonprofits are eligible whether or not they hold 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories), and for-profit organizations are eligible as well (other than small businesses), alongside small businesses and other eligible entity types listed in the FOA. The announcement also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal government agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it draws a firm line on foreign applicants: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which means a U.S. applicant organization may include certain qualifying foreign elements within the overall project structure under NIH rules.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the Education and Health activity category. It is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.393 through 93.399), reflecting its placement within NCI/NIH assistance listings. The award ceiling listed is $600,000, indicating the maximum funding level expected under the opportunity as provided in the source data. The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. The original closing date shown in the source information is 2021-11-04, and the record creation date is 2021-09-20, which is important for applicants to verify in case the FOA has been reissued, updated, or replaced by a newer cycle or related announcement.

In plain terms, this opportunity is best understood as NCI putting long-term confidence behind proven cancer researchers and giving them flexibility to pursue big, potentially transformative research programs without the constraints that often discourage risk-taking. The strongest fit is an established investigator with a documented history of impactful cancer research who can credibly argue that additional stability and flexibility will translate into more ambitious work, faster innovation, and research directions that could meaningfully move the field forward, all while staying within the non-clinical-trial boundary required by this FOA.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NCI Outstanding Investigator Award (R35 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): 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.397, 93.398, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-09-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-04. (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 $600,000.00 in funding.
• 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 PAR 21 333

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