Fundamental Mechanisms of Affective and Decisional Processes in Cancer Control (R01) | PAR 16 380

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 16 380

The NIH grant opportunity "Fundamental Mechanisms of Affective and Decisional Processes in Cancer Control (R01)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-16-380; CFDA 93.393) supports research that digs into the basic, underlying mechanisms of emotion (affective processes) and how those emotional processes shape decisions and behaviors that matter for cancer prevention and control. The central idea is not simply to test a specific intervention or program, but to build fundamental, generalizable knowledge about how feelings, emotions, and related mental processes influence the choices people make across the cancer control continuum, from prevention and screening to treatment adherence and survivorship-related behaviors.

A key emphasis is on affective science that has clear implications for real-world cancer-related decision-making. The FOA highlights both single-event decisions, such as deciding whether to get a cancer screening test, and repeated or sustained decisions that unfold over time, such as sticking with an oral chemotherapy regimen or maintaining long-term follow-up care. In practical terms, this means the research should help explain why people sometimes avoid screening even when it is recommended, why they may delay follow-up after abnormal results, or why adherence drops during long treatment courses. The expectation is that projects will connect rigorous basic science about emotion and decision processes to outcomes that ultimately influence cancer risk, early detection, treatment effectiveness, and quality of life.

Another major goal is to broaden the scientific collaboration involved in cancer control research by encouraging partnerships between cancer control investigators and experts from disciplines that are not always tightly linked to cancer applications. Examples named in the announcement include affective and cognitive neuroscience, decision science, and consumer science. The point of these cross-disciplinary teams is to tackle stubborn or understudied questions at the intersection of emotion and decision-making, using theories and methods that may be more common in psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, or consumer behavior research, and then translating those insights into downstream relevance for cancer prevention and control. In other words, the FOA is trying to seed research that explains the "why" behind emotionally driven choices in cancer contexts, with the longer-term payoff of better-designed messages, decision supports, and behavioral strategies.

The funding mechanism is an R01 research project grant, which typically supports substantial, hypothesis-driven research programs. The opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant under NIH, within the broad activity categories of education and health. While the source text does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards, the R01 mechanism generally implies multi-year projects with enough scope to support meaningful mechanistic work, such as carefully designed behavioral experiments, longitudinal studies of decision patterns, or studies integrating behavioral measures with psychophysiological or neurocognitive methods, as long as the work remains clearly tied to cancer prevention and control relevance.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations and institutions: state, county, and local 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; Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicants 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, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. (foreign) organizations. This wide eligibility aligns with the FOA's interest in diverse scientific perspectives and populations, and it leaves room for studies that address affective and decisional mechanisms across different cultural, community, and healthcare settings.

From the administrative details provided, the opportunity was created on 2016-07-29 and listed an original closing date of 2018-02-27. The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. Overall, the FOA is best understood as a call for rigorous, mechanistic research on emotion and decision-making that can clarify how affective processes drive cancer-relevant behaviors, while also bringing in methods and theories from adjacent scientific fields to solve persistent problems that hinder effective cancer prevention and control.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fundamental Mechanisms of Affective and Decisional Processes in Cancer Control (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-07-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-02-27. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 16 380

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