The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) under the title “Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET)” using the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism. While this is a forecasted opportunity and applications are not yet being accepted, the NCI is providing early notice to enable interested applicants to plan, form collaborations, and develop competitive proposals in advance of the official release.
CISNET is a long-running initiative focused on applying comparative simulation modeling to extend the insights derived from epidemiologic, surveillance, and clinical trial data to guide public health strategies related to cancer control. The ultimate objective is to inform decision-making and optimize cancer interventions across the cancer continuum—including prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship. This upcoming funding opportunity will not allow clinical trials and is expected to prioritize projects with robust quantitative modeling methodologies.
The program encourages applications from multidisciplinary teams combining expertise in health economics, epidemiology, decision modeling, computer science, statistics, medicine, and public health. These collaborations should aim to enhance the utility and scope of simulation models to address key questions of national importance in cancer control, particularly with regard to evaluating health outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and policy impacts.
Although the official application instructions are pending, it is expected that standard NIH procedures will apply, including submission through Grants.gov and the use of required forms. The NOFO is forecasted for release on July 31, 2025, with an estimated application deadline of November 7, 2025. Selected projects are anticipated to receive awards by August 1, 2026, with project start dates aligning with the same day. There is no stated cost-sharing requirement, and eligibility spans a wide range of organizations including nonprofits, academic institutions, governmental entities, and for-profit organizations.
This NOFO is listed under Assistance Listing Number 93.399 (Cancer Control). For more information, applicants may contact Dr. Natasha Stout at the National Cancer Institute via phone at 240-478-8909 or by email at natasha.stout@nih.gov. Prospective applicants are encouraged to monitor Grants.gov for the full NOFO release and any additional updates from NCI.
