Mechanisms that Impact Cancer Risk after Bariatric Surgery (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
🏛 National Institutes of Health (HHS-NIH11)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 16, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for researchers investigating cancer risk mechanisms following bariatric surgery. Eligible applicants include domestic public and private nonprofit institutions, for-profit organizations, tribal governments, and foreign institutions with specific NIH partnerships.
Early-career researchers and established scientists may apply. Your institution must have an NIH Institutional Review Board (IRB) and financial management systems in place. Principal investigators need appropriate research credentials and institutional support.
This is an R21 mechanism, which means the project must be exploratory or novel. Clinical trials are not permitted. Studies examining biological, physiological, or epidemiological mechanisms are appropriate.
NIH funding prioritizes federally creditable institutions and those with demonstrated research capacity.
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Program description
Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) invites applications for support of investigator-initiated studies addressing mechanisms by which bariatric surgery impacts cancer risk, and seeks to draw in talented scientists who study bariatric surgery to investigate its effects on cancer, rather than shorter term outcomes such as weight loss and diabetes.
The goal of this NOFO is to support proof of concept studies for feasibility and exploratory development. Feasibility must not have already been developed in the literature or with preliminary data. While unpublished data are not permitted, references and data from widely available preprints that have a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) are acceptable. Investigators who have generated unpublished preliminary data should submit a proposal to companion R01.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- SF-424 (R&R) Application for Federal Assistance
- Project Narrative (excluding clinical trial components)
- Detailed Budget and Budget Justification
- Biographical Sketch (NIH format for PI and key personnel)
- Institutional Support Letter
- IRB Certification or Protocol Documentation
- Letters of Collaboration (if applicable)
Program contact
- 👤 National Institutes of Health
- 📧 grantsinfo@nih.gov
- 📞 301-402-2541
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.393 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$213,206,023
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$56,551,552
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$48,640,472
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$47,009,863
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$42,878,192
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$37,448,862
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$29,324,004
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$26,395,336
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$24,427,436
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$23,149,727
Top States by Funding
- MA 10 awards $374.4M
- CA 10 awards $260.1M
- MN 4 awards $106.9M
- NY 7 awards $99.9M
- TN 7 awards $97.7M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.393). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $754,945,159 | |
| 2025 | $834,514,512 | |
| 2026 est. | $520,096,276 |
FAQ
Who can be the Principal Investigator (PI)?
Researchers with a doctoral degree or equivalent and institutional affiliation. Early-career researchers are welcome; no experience threshold exists.
What type of research is allowed?
Exploratory or novel research investigating cancer risk mechanisms after bariatric surgery. Clinical trials are not permitted for this R21 funding.
What is the typical funding range for R21 grants?
R21 grants typically fund $275,000 total costs over two years, though amounts vary by institute.
How competitive is this grant?
R21 mechanisms are moderately competitive. Success rates typically range from 15-25% for NIH programs.
What is the application timeline?
Allow 4-6 months from project conception to submission. Budget development, preliminary data assembly, and writing take substantial time.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Use preliminary data to demonstrate feasibility. Show pilot results supporting your hypothesis about cancer risk mechanisms.
- Focus on innovation. Explain why your approach differs from existing research and addresses a knowledge gap.
- Describe mechanistic endpoints clearly. Detail how you'll measure cancer risk biological mechanisms, not just clinical outcomes.
- Follow NIH formatting requirements exactly. Use SF-424 (R&R) forms and adhere to page limits for narratives.
- Build strong institutional support. Obtain commitment letters from your institution confirming IRB access and core facility availability.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposing clinical trials when the solicitation prohibits them. Lacking preliminary data to support feasibility claims. Insufficient mechanistic focus—treating it as a clinical outcome study rather than mechanism investigation.
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