Academic-Industrial Partnerships for Translation of Technologies for Diagnosis and Treatment (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 25 338

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 338

Academic-Industrial Partnerships for Translation of Technologies for Diagnosis and Treatment (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is an NIH funding opportunity led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that focuses on moving promising discoveries and engineering advances out of the lab and into practical technologies that can be used in research and care settings. The intent is explicitly translational: projects should convert scientific or technical innovation into methods, tools, or technology platforms that solve real problems in basic research (such as improving how disease is studied and understood) or applied research (such as assessing risk, enabling earlier detection, improving prevention strategies, strengthening diagnostic approaches, advancing treatment-related tools, or improving disease management). The overarching idea is to deliver new, usable capabilities that match evolving needs in pre-clinical, clinical, and non-clinical environments, whether domestic or international, as long as the work aligns with the missions of the participating NIH institutes and centers.

A defining feature of this program is the emphasis on partnerships between academia and industry to help bridge the gap between invention and practical adoption. While the NOFO title highlights academic-industrial partnerships, the broader purpose is to encourage development efforts that are more likely to translate because they incorporate engineering rigor, product-minded development, and a clear understanding of real-world constraints like usability, robustness, and deployment context. The opportunity supports technology translation in areas tied to diagnosis and treatment, but it is not limited to a single disease site; rather, it aims at tools and methods relevant to diseases and conditions within the scope of the participating institutes, with NCI as the lead.

The award mechanism is an R01 research project grant, and clinical trials are not allowed under this specific announcement. That restriction matters for project design: applicants should propose development and validation activities that do not meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial. In practical terms, projects can still involve human specimens, data, or observational studies depending on the protocol details and NIH definitions, but they must avoid interventional, prospective assignment designs intended to evaluate the effects of an intervention on health-related outcomes. The safest fit is typically technology development and pre-clinical or non-interventional clinical validation work that stops short of testing an intervention in a clinical trial framework.

Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types across government, academia, nonprofit, and private sectors. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also 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 agencies, non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations), regional organizations, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. This breadth signals an intention to attract a wide range of partnership structures and to support capacity across diverse institutional settings.

From the administrative details provided, the opportunity number is PAR-25-338 and it falls under the discretionary grant category within the Education and Health activity area. The associated CFDA numbers are 93.121, 93.313, 93.394, 93.395, and 93.867, which correspond to NIH program areas that can include cancer and related biomedical research and training or infrastructure elements depending on the specific code. The agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with NCI as the named institute in the description. The source data lists an award ceiling of 499,000, which suggests an upper bound on award size as captured in the dataset (applicants should still verify budget guidance in the full NOFO text, since NIH budgets often depend on scope, modular vs non-modular formats, and institute-specific policies). The original closing date shown is 2028-01-07, indicating a multi-year window during which applications may be accepted on specified receipt dates, again subject to the detailed schedule and rules in the full announcement.

Overall, this NOFO is designed for teams that can clearly articulate a translational technology need, propose a credible development and validation plan, and show how an academic-industrial partnership will increase the odds that the resulting diagnostic or treatment-related technology becomes genuinely usable by researchers or clinicians. The strongest alignment is typically achieved when the proposed work is grounded in a concrete use case, demonstrates a path to technical maturation (such as performance benchmarks, reproducibility, robustness testing, and workflow integration), and stays firmly within the "clinical trial not allowed" boundary while still producing evidence that the technology is ready for the next stage of translation.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Academic-Industrial Partnerships for Translation of Technologies for Diagnosis and Treatment (R01 - 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): 93.121, 93.313, 93.394, 93.395, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2028-01-07.
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $499,000.00 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 25 338

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