Forecast to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has issued a forecast for a forthcoming Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET). This initiative falls under the discretionary funding category and utilizes the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism. It is specifically designed to support research that applies simulation modeling techniques to inform cancer-related public health decision-making. The CISNET program's primary objective is to leverage simulation modeling to extend insights from clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and surveillance data. These models help assess the effectiveness and impact of various cancer control interventions across the cancer continuum. The NOFO is forecasted to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators with expertise in decision modeling, statistics, health economics, epidemiology, computer science, medicine, and public health. Such collaborations are intended to support the development of comprehensive models that address complex questions related to cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and outcomes. Although applications are not being solicited at this time, this forecasted announcement is intended to give researchers ample time to form partnerships and prepare competitive proposals. The funding opportunity will explicitly not allow clinical trials. Instead, it will focus on comparative simulation modeling projects that can aid in guiding cancer control policies and strategies at the population level. The cooperative agreement mechanism (U01) indicates substantial programmatic involvement by NIH staff during the project, which may include coordination across research teams or guidance on project goals. Eligibility for the forthcoming CISNET NOFO includes a broad range of organizations. Qualified applicants include state governments, county governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding higher education), small businesses, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, independent school districts, public housing authorities, Native American tribal governments (both federally recognized and non-federally recognized), and Native American tribal organizations. This expansive eligibility criterion is intended to encourage participation from a diverse array of institutions capable of contributing to public health modeling in cancer research. Key forecasted dates for this opportunity are as follows: the NOFO is expected to be published on July 31, 2025, with an estimated application due date of November 7, 2025. The estimated award and project start dates are both set for August 1, 2026. The opportunity is not currently accepting applications and is considered to be in the early engagement stage. Interested applicants are encouraged to begin preparatory work now in anticipation of the full funding announcement. For more information or pre-application inquiries, the grantor contact is Dr. Natasha Stout of the National Cancer Institute. She can be reached by phone at 240-478-8909 or via email at natasha.stout@nih.gov. As this is a forecasted opportunity, further details regarding application questions, required documentation, or evaluation criteria are not yet available. Interested applicants should monitor Grants.gov or NIH funding pages for the official release.