Co-infection and Cancer (R01 and R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

A list of agency contacts by research area may be found in the application instructions.

• R21 project agency contacts
• R01 project agency contacts

The Co-infection and Cancer program provides grants for research on the roles of co-infection and cancer to inform prevention and treatment strategies for infection-related cancers. Applicants are encouraged to investigate co-infection and its relation to causes of risk among racially/ethnically diverse populations and those from urban and rural areas who are poor and medically underserved, and populations who may have a disproportionate burden of infection-related cancers.

Examples of research questions include:

• Why do some infected individuals progress to cancer while others do not?
• How can high-risk individuals be identified?
• Do co-infections contribute to cancer disparities?
• Are there differences between mono and co-infected tumors and individuals that increase cancer risk?

A detailed list of specific areas of research focus is available in the application instructions. There are two funding opportunities under this program:

1. R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant for the development of new research activities in the early and conceptual stages
2. R01 Research Project Grant that supports a discrete project to be performed by an investigator in an area representing the investigator's specific interest and competencies

Eligible applicants include:

• Higher education institutions
  • Public/state controlled institutions
  • Private institutions
• Nonprofit organizations
  • With 501(c)(3) status
  • Without 501(c)(3) status
  • Native American tribal organizations
  • Faith-based or community-based organizations
  • Regional organizations
• Governments
  • State
  • County
  • City or township
  • Special districts
  • Federally recognized Indian/Native American tribal governments
  • Indian/Native American tribal governments (other than federally recognized)
  • Eligible agencies of the federal government
  • U.S. territory or possession
• Other
  • Independent school districts
  • Public housing authorities
  • Indian housing authorities
  • Non-domestic entities and non-domestic components of U.S. entities
  • Small businesses
  • For-profit organizations

R21: The combined budget for direct costs for the 2 year project period may not exceed $275,000. No more than $200,000 in direct costs may be requested in any single year.

R01: Project budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is 5 years.

Links to the full announcement and online application procedures are available on grants.gov.

• R21 project application
• R01 project application

While not required, potential applicants are encouraged to email a letter of intent to Tram Kim Lam, Ph.D., MPH at least 30 days before application submission.

The R01 opportunity expires on Nov 05, 2025 and the R21 opportunity expires on Nov 16, 2025.