NCI Guidance on Studies with Animal Models
Justifying Animal Model Use in NCI Grant Applications
Applications (starting with the October 5, 2026 deadline) that include the use of animal models should include a brief, explicit justification of the use of animal models and why alternatives are inferior in the Abstract section.
A sentence or two explaining why the use of an animal is necessary and why alternatives are inferior is likely sufficient.
Planning Human Model Validation for Animal Studies
When grant proposals contain animal experiments, the proposal should also contain a plan for validation of the findings of this animal experiment in a human model (e.g., organoids, fresh tumor biopsy samples, early passage cultures, patient-derived xenografts, or other models initially derived from human patient tumor tissue).
It may be that the actual performance of the validation falls beyond the fundable scope of the proposal. It is nonetheless important that a path to validate these findings in a human model be evident. It is nonetheless important that a path to validate these findings in a human model be evident.
A brief validation plan (i.e., a sentence or two) should be included in the Abstract.
NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy Resources
New Grantee Workshop
DCB offers an annual workshop for new and early-stage investigators to familiarize them with the processes and standards of DCB, NCI and NIH. It is designed for DCB grantees who have received their first independent NIH grant within the last year.
It includes breakout sessions with DCB Program Directors and a seminar from an NCI-funded mid-career cancer researcher.
Below is the agenda and the presentations from the January 2026 Workshop:
Session 1: The NCI and Your New Investigator Grant
- Introduction to the NIH Grants System and DCB
- Communicating with Your NCI Program Director: It's a Two Way Street
- Post-Award Administration of Your NCI Grant
Session 2: Supporting Your Team and Science
- Awards to Support Mentored Early Career Cancer Researchers
- DCB/NCI Research Resources
- DCB/NCI Outreach Resources
Session 3: Sharing Responsibilities
Session 4: Review, Renew, and Other Funding Opportunities
- Peer Review at NIH
- Review, Resubmission, and Renewals - the Program Perspective
- Additional Funding Opportunities
Questions about the workshop should be directed to Dr. Joanna Watson.
DCB Presentations with Funding and Grants-Related Resources at Meetings
April 17 - 22, 2026
2026 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Meeting
Slides from NCI-Selected Sessions
- Overview: NCI Funding of Extramural Cancer Biology Research Session by Dr. Dan Gallahan.
- Introduction to the NCI Grants System by Dr. Sharmistha Ghosh-Janjigian.
- Communicating with Your NCI Program Director: It’s a Two-Way Street by Dr. Cheryl Cero.
- Considerations for a Successful NCI Grant Application by Dr. Soumya Korrapati.
- DCB Funding Opportunities and NIH Highlighted Topics by Dr. Claire McCarthy.
Slides from NCI Meet-the-Expert Talks
- Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN) Resources by Drs. Sean Hanlon and Sharmistha Ghosh-Janjigian in DCB and Dr. Indu Kohaar (a Program Director in the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention).
- The Human Cancer Models Initiative (HCMI) by Dr. Justin Benavidez.
April 27, 2025
2025 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Meeting
Slides from NCI-Selected Sessions
- Cancer Immunoprevention Network (CIP-Net) by Dr. Lillian Kuo.
- The Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN): Charting Tumor Transitions Across Space and Time by Dr. Sharmistha Ghosh-Janjigian.
- HTAN Precancer Atlas (PCA) Research Centers: A Transformational Program Charting a Course to Intercept Cancer and Drive Precision Medicine by Dr. Indu Kohaar (a Program Director in the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention).
- HTAN Data in the NCI Cancer Research Data Commons by Dr. Erin Beck (a Program Director in the NCI Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology).
- HTAN Portal for Data Access and Visualization by Dr. Adam Taylor (Director of Cancer Biology at Sage Bionetworks).
May 30, 2024
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Meet the Funders Webinar with NCI
Slides from a Virtual Presentation
- Funding Opportunities at the NCI Division of Cancer Biology by Dr. Lillian Kuo.
April 5 - 10, 2024
2024 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Meeting
Slides from NCI-Selected Sessions
- Overview of NCI Grants Process and Policy Updates by Dr. Shannon Hughes.
- Integrating Health Disparities Research into Immuno-Oncology by Dr. Lillian Kuo.
- Cancer Immunoprevention Network (CIP-Net) by Dr. Lillian Kuo.
Slides from NCI Meet-the-Expert Talks
- Cancer Immunology Funding Opportunities: Strategies for Early Career Scientists by Dr. Lillian Kuo.
- Investigator-Initiated Grants to Increase Viewpoints in Cancer Research by Drs. Shannon Hughes and Ruibai Luo.
- Cancer Biology Research is Advancing Progress Towards the National Cancer Plan by Dr. Claire McCarthy.
- Basic Research in Cancer Health Disparities Funding Opportunities by Dr. Anu Sharman.
- NCI AI Activities and Resources by Drs. Juli Klemm, Emily Greenspan, Jennifer Couch, and Roxanne Jensen.
"Getting a Grant from the NCI" Webinar
On April 21, 2022, Dr. Dan Gallahan (the Director of DCB) was joined by Drs. Joanna Watson (DCB Branch Chief), Amy Rubinstein (Review Branch Chief at the NIH Center for Scientific Review), and Shannon Hughes (DCB Deputy Director) for a special virtual session on NCI grant policies. It covered considerations for new and experienced applicants, as well as information about peer review.
Session Overview
- Introduction: Overview of NIH and NCI (slides)
- Program: Oversight and Grantsmanship (slides)
- Peer Review at NIH (slides)
- Q&A Panel Discussion
Meet the Experts: Getting a Grant from the NCI