Epidemiology and Genomics Research
CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY MATTERS E-NEWS
JUNE 2017

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JUNE 2017 Features
Announcements
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Selection of Dr. Norman "Ned" Sharpless as Director of the National Cancer Institute
Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
FOAsFunding
 Opportunity Announcements


Notice Announcing Funding Opportunity Issued for the NIH Data Commons Pilot Phase
Letter of Intent Due: June 30, 2017 Applications Due: July 12, 2017

PA-17-308
  (Admin Supp)
Exposure Analysis Services for the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program
Applications Due: August 1, 2017
 
(Parent SBIR [R43/R44]) 
PHS 2017-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications
Applications Due: Standard Dates Apply
Expiration Date: January 6, 2018

PA-17-303 
(Parent STTR [R41/R42])
PHS 2017-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications
Applications Due: Standard Dates Apply
Expiration Date: January 6, 2018

PA-17-307  (Admin Supp)
Administrative Supplements for Research on Dietary Supplements 
Applications Due: October 15, 2017; January 15, 2018; or April 15, 2018
Expiration Date: April 16, 2018

PAR-15-297  (U01)
Utilizing the PLCO Biospecimens Resource to Bridge Gaps in Cancer Etiology and Early Detection Research 
Applications Due: August 15, 2017; February 15, 2018; August 15, 2018
Expiration Date: August 16, 2018

PAR-17-304  (U54)
Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR)
Applications Due: October 2, 2017; October 2, 2018; October 2, 2019
Expiration Date: October 3, 2019

PA-17-298   (R01)
PA-17-295  (R21)
Integration of Individual Residential Histories into Cancer Research
Applications Due: Standard dates apply
Expiration Date: September 8, 2020

PAR-17-321  (R01)
PAR-17-320 (R21)
Multidisciplinary Studies of HIV/AIDS and Aging
Applications Due: Standard dates apply
Expiration Date: September 8, 2020
PolicyGrants Policy Announcements
 
Revision: Notice of Extension of Effective Date for Final NIH Policy on the Use of Single Institution Review Board for Multi-Site Research

NOT-OD-17-066
Additional Change to the NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Policy on Post-Submission Materials

NOT-OD-17-077
(LRP-CR)
Extramural Loan Repayment Programs for Clinical Researchers

NOT-OD-17-078
(LRP-PR)
Extramural Loan Repayment for Pediatric Research

NOT-OD-17-079
(LRP-CIR)
Extramural Loan Repayment for
Contraception and Infertility Research

NOT-OD-17-080
(LRP-HDR)
Extramural Loan Repayment for 
Health Disparities Research

NOT-OD-17-081
(LRP-IDB)
Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds 
Request for Proposals for Genome-Wide Investigation of Late-Effects Using the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) Cohort

Etiologic and Early Marker Studies using Biospecimens from NCI Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial
Applications accepted
July 3 - August 15, 2017
JobJob Opportunities
Program Director, Environmental Epidemiology

Fellow, Clinical Epidemiology
EventsUpcoming Webinars & Workshops
ENRICH Forum:
Broad Consent for Research on Biospecimens: The Views and Experiences of Actual Donors

July 26, 2017

ENRICH Forum:
Diverse Patient Values About a 'Library of Medical Information': EHRs and Biospecimens in Research

July 27, 2017

Workshop:
Understanding the Role of Muscle and Body Composition in Studies of Cancer Risk and Prognosis in Cancer Survivors

September 25-26, 2017
Rockville, MD

SeqSPACE Webinar Series:Analyzing Large Scale Sequencing-Based Epidemiological Studies
September 27, 2017

Understudied Populations Webinar Series:
Cancer in Homeless Populations

October 18, 2017

SeqSPACE Webinar Series: Informatics Tools for Analysis of Next Generation Sequencing Studies Supported by the NCI ITCR Program
November 14, 2017

SAVE THE DATE:
November 13-14, 2017
Rockville, MD
BlogsBlog Posts
NIH Staff
Open Mike Blog

Launching the Next Generation Researchers Initiative to Strengthen the Biomedical Research Enterprise
Dr. Francis S. Collins
NIH Director's Blog

Dr. Michael Lauer
Open Mike Blog
AboutAbout EGRP
The Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP) in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) funds research in human populations to understand the causes of cancer and related outcomes.

The Program fosters interdisciplinary collaborations, as well as the development and use of resources and technologies to advance cancer research and translation of this research, which serve as the basis for clinical and public health interventions.
ContactContact Us
email: nciepimatters@mail.nih.gov
website: epi.grants.cancer.gov
twitter: twitter.com/NCIEpi
Feature1
Collaboration Made Easier:  the NCIP Hub
Do you need a secure online space for collaborating with other members in your cancer epidemiology research group? If so, look no further than the NCIP Hub.

In 2014, the National Cancer Informatics Program (NCIP) at the NCI launched the NCIP Hub, an online platform for research and collaboration in cancer informatics. The goal of the project was to create a community-driven, adaptive, and collaborative environment that promotes the exchange of research ideas and resources among cancer researchers. 

So what exactly is the NCIP Hub? And what can researchers do there? 


A Scientific Repository

The NCIP Hub has a built-in content management system that allows users to publish resources for community use. These resources may include datasets, analysis tools, publications, educational materials, video presentations, and more. Users can curate items related to a specific purpose or topic by creating "collections" of resources. Although these resources are "open-source," users can get credit for their original materials via citations and digital object identifiers (DOIs) and measure impact via metrics on how often their contributions are accessed.

A Group Workspace 

Users can easily set up private workspaces within the NCIP Hub for their working group, steering committee, or other collaborative team. These group spaces can be used to share, store, or comment on uploaded materials, acting as a permanent home for content even after a project ends. The groups span a wide range of research areas; examples include geographical mapping of health disparities, using machine learning for medical imaging, and correlating EMR data with "omics" data. 

For examples of different ways that NCI staff and researchers from around the world are using the NCIP Hub to push cancer research forward, view this Hubzero webinar presentation from June 28, 2017.

EGRP is interested in piloting the use of NCIP Hub for collaboration by cancer research consortia. If interested, please contact Elizabeth Gillanders, Ph.D., Chief of the Genomic Epidemiology Branch in EGRP.

For more information about the NCIP Hub, visit https://nciphub.org/aboutus.
Feature2
Bioethics Issues for Cancer Research 
Photo of doctor talking with patient courtesy of National Cancer Institute (Photographer: Daniel Sone)

As cancer research becomes more focused on a vision of genetically informed clinical care and precision medicine, decision-making becomes both more complex and more critical. Deep sequencing and bioinformatics technologies that enable identification of molecular signatures of cancer create novel ethical and regulatory challenges. A trans-NCI group of scientists interested in these bioethical issues is focused on raising awareness of research opportunities, enhancing collaborations between cancer researchers and bioethics researchers, and connecting cancer researchers with bioethics resources to assist in conducting their work. This trans-NCI group is developing a Request for Information (RFI) to gather feedback on gaps and opportunities for bioethics research and outreach in the context of cancer research and care. Once published, a link to this RFI will be included in a future issue of this newsletter.

An example of the types of bioethics issues relevant to cancer researchers is how best to protect the autonomy and privacy of study participants while conducting important research using new technologies that accumulate increasing amounts of personal data.Other challenges include:
  • Engaging and interacting with research participants,
  • Disclosing information to research participants,
  • Determining who can access human tissue and data for research, and
  • Defining the evolving scope of individually identifiable information, and gauging the ability to re-identify individuals from tissue and pooled data sources.
Some existing research opportunities include R03, R21, and R01 funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) for ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genomic research. The ELSI FOAs are expected to be reissued in 2017. Investigator-initiated research applications are also welcome. NIH has outlined areas of high-priority research related to bioethical, legal, and societal implications of biomedical research in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts Notice, NOT-LM-17-001 , and identified possible FOAs that can be used to pursue these research activities.

There are also educational programs and occasional deliberative sessions open to both NIH staff and extramural investigators that focus on specific ELSI issues related to biomedical research. 

One example is NCI's ENRICH Forum (Ethical and Regulatory Issues in Cancer Research), sponsored by the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences and the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. In July, there will be two ENRICH Forum seminars, and both are accessible virtually via webinar:

  July 26, 2017 from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET 

 
   July 27, 2017 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET  


There are a number of other bioethics-related research resources available to the scientific community through NCI and NIH, such as:
For questions related to bioethical research and/or resources related to cancer epidemiology, contact Charlisse Caga-anan, J.D., Program Director in the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program.
Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute | 9609 Medical Center Drive | 4 East, MSC 9763 | Bethesda | MD 20892

The Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program is a part of the National Cancer Institute's
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences.
 
 
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