NCI Research Specialist (Laboratory-based Scientist) Award (R50 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 23 242

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 23 242

The NCI Research Specialist (Laboratory-based Scientist) Award (R50, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Cancer Institute funding opportunity that supports highly skilled, non-tenure-track laboratory scientists who want a long-term, stable research career without moving into an independent principal investigator role. The program is meant for exceptional researchers who plan to continue contributing to an existing NCI-funded cancer research program and who strengthen the continuity, rigor, and productivity of that program through advanced technical expertise, deep scientific knowledge, and sustained leadership in the lab environment. In practice, the award is geared toward the kind of scientist many research groups rely on to maintain sophisticated experimental platforms, develop and optimize methods, ensure high-quality data generation, and provide day-to-day scientific momentum, but who does not intend to run an independent lab as a PI.

The scope is broad in terms of scientific content: applications can align with any area of NCI-supported cancer research, including basic, translational, clinical, or population science programs, as long as the role being supported is specifically laboratory-based. The intent is to embed the awardee within an established, already NCI-funded research effort where their work directly advances the program's cancer research goals. This is not an award for launching a new independent line of research; it is designed to formalize and support a specialist career track inside an ongoing research ecosystem where the candidate's contributions are central, sustained, and clearly differentiated from typical trainee positions.

A key restriction is that clinical trials are not allowed under this FOA. That means the proposed activities must not involve conducting a clinical trial as defined under NIH policy. Applicants typically need to shape their plans around laboratory-driven research functions and deliverables rather than trial leadership, trial enrollment activities, or interventional human studies.

Eligibility is wide across U.S.-based organizations and includes many institution types that commonly receive NIH funding. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations; independent school districts; special district governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also highlights additional eligible categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the FOA is clear that foreign involvement is not permitted in several forms. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In other words, the work and the supported position must be fully based within eligible U.S. organizational structures without foreign components.

Administratively, this is an NIH discretionary grant mechanism offered under Funding Opportunity Number PAR-23-242, categorized under Education and Health, and associated with multiple CFDA numbers (93.393 through 93.399). The sponsor is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The opportunity lists an original closing date of 2025-11-03. The listing does not specify an award ceiling or an expected number of awards in the provided excerpt, which typically means applicants should consult the full FOA text for budget caps, project period limits, allowable costs, and other detailed submission requirements.

Overall, the R50 Laboratory-based Scientist award is best understood as a career-stabilizing mechanism for experienced cancer researchers whose value comes from sustained, high-level contributions inside an established NCI-funded program. It recognizes that modern cancer research depends on expert specialists who provide continuity and advanced capability in laboratories, and it funds those roles explicitly, while keeping the focus on non-independent, program-embedded scientific work and excluding clinical trial activity.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NCI Research Specialist (Laboratory-based Scientist) Award (R50 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): 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.397, 93.398, 93.399.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-08-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-11-03. (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 23 242

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