The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (CFCCC), as part of its mission as an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, is expected to identify cancer health disparities in its catchment area of Orange County, and to develop research-based programs to alleviate these disparities and the burden of cancer in the community. This effort is mediated by the Community Outreach & Engagement (COE) component of the CFCCC, which is charged with dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions, public education, health policy recommendations, influence on health policy, etc. Research in the catchment area is the responsibility of the CFCCC research programs, predominantly the Cancer Control (CC) Program, with expected contributions from the Biotechnology, Imaging and Drug Development (BIDD) and the Systems, Pathways and Targets (SPT) Programs.

It is a major ambition of the CFCCC to increase the portfolio of extramural, peer-reviewed grants addressing cancer health disparities in the catchment area. In parallel, there is a need to develop additional institutional, investigator-initiated interventional clinical trials in the same areas.

• Principal Investigators (PIs) must be UCI faculty, CHOC Hyundai Cancer Institute-affiliated physicians, or collaborators at the Long Beach VA Medical Center.  Collaborations with other NCI cancer centers are allowed.
• PIs must be CFCCC Members at the time of award.
• PIs may only be included on one application.

Applicants may request up to $200,000 per year for two years. The second year of funding is dependent on documented success during the first year. These awards are intended to support:

• Research projects that address cancer health disparities in Orange County to facilitate the submission of competitive applications for large, peer-reviewed, cancer-relevant extramural grants. It is expected that an extramural grant application will be submitted by the end of year 2 (e.g., NIH cycle 1 in 2026)
• Development and launch of institutional, investigator-initiated interventional clinical trials that address a cancer health disparity in Orange County. If the trial involves a specific cancer type, the protocol must be approved by the relevant Disease Oriented Team (DOT). The proposed budget is expected to contribute and support majority of the trial. By the end of year 2 a clinical protocol must be written, a clinical trial funding plan must be developed and approved, and the protocol must be approved by the relevant committees (e.g., DOT, IRB and PRMC) and launched by the Stern Center for Cancer Clinical Trials and Research.

Note that many extramural funding opportunities from the NCI (e.g., PAR-22-145, PAR-23-273, PAR-23-244, PAR-22-064, PAR-23-170) include the option of a clinical trial, so there is considerable overlap between these two goals.

This includes research addressing:

• Cancers with unusually high rates of incidence, prevalence, or mortality in Orange County
• Cancers disproportionately affecting racial or ethnic groups in Orange County
• Barriers to accessing appropriate cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship services, including socioeconomic factors
• Projects that address unique aspects of a specific cancer burden in Orange County
• Learn more about cancer health disparities, the CFCCC catchment area, and catchment area demographics and cancer incidence and mortality

Examples of potential projects include:

• Understanding barriers to screening for HBV and/or hepatocellular carcinoma in high-risk OC populations
• Mechanisms to increase adherence to anti-viral medications for viral hepatitis
• Overcoming barriers to HPV vaccination in OC adolescent populations
• Study of outcomes of cancer screening efforts at FQHCs participating in Advancing Cancer Care Together network
• Environmental, social and genetic factors underlying increased colorectal cancer incidence in the young Latin American and/or Asian populations
• Strategies for improving early detection of lung cancer in heavy smokers / never-smokers in the Asian population

Application Components: A complete application will include these components

• Project Detail Cover Sheet (REDCap online form)
• Research Proposal (downloadable template) 
  • Scientific Abstract
  • Community Relevance Statement 
  • Research Strategy (limited to 6 pages)
  • Leadership Plan
  • Bibliography/References Cited
  • Details Budget & Budget Justification for year 1 and year 2
• MIH-formatted Biosketches for Key Personnel 

Budgets

• Unallowable costs: PI salaries, large equipment (e.g., >$5K), travel, and indirect costs
• Funds must be fully spent within the award period
• For investigator-initiated interventional clinical trials, proposed budget expected to contribute and support majority of the trial

Review Criteria

• Applications will be peer reviewed in accordance with NIH’s scoring system with explicit emphasis placed on the near-term impact (i.e., within 1-2 years). Applicants will receive a copy of the review comments in an anonymous format
• Multi PI projects and those involving multiple CFCCC Research Programs will be reviewed more favorably
• Projects that address one or more of the priority areas will be scored more favorably
• Projects that leverage CFCCC Shared Resources, collaborate with DOTs, or involve significant new collaborations will be ranked more favorably
• Inter/intra-programmatic collaboration between Cancer Center members is strongly encouraged

Regulatory Approvals. Prior to the release of funding: 

• All projects involving human subjects must have IRB approval. If sufficient progress in obtaining regulatory approvals has not been made within 6 months after award date, the CFCCC may withdraw funding
• All projects involving animal subjects must have the appropriate IACUC approvals
• All projects involving biohazards and subject to review by the IBC must have those approvals in place

Reporting

• As a requirement of federal funding, CFCCC will track the outcomes of each award through annual progress and impact reports to determine the return on investment
  • Progress Reports: Due 12 months and 24 months from the start date of the award
  • Impact Reports: Due annually for a period of 5 years after the project end date

If you have any questions about the funding opportunity, please email cfcccpilots@hs.uci.edu.