NIH PAR · NCI · P50

PAR-28-022: Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) in Human Cancers for Years 2027, 2028, and 2029 (P50 Clinical Trial Required)

Reviewed by Dr. Meng ZhaoLast reviewed October 16, 2026Data refreshed October 16, 2026Editorial standards

Opens Dec 25, 2026Next due date: Jan 25, 2027Expires Sep 26, 2029

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) invites applications for P50 Research Center Grants for Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs). Based on the proposed research, applications may be jointly funded with the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). This is a re-issuance of PAR-23-284 . The program will fund P50 SPORE grants to support state-of-the-art investigator-initiated translational research that will contribute to improved prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of an organ-specific cancer or a highly related group of cancers. The research supported through this program must be…

Full NOFO in the NIH Guide Apply on Grants.gov

NOFO number: PAR-28-022
Type: PAR
Activity code: P50
Primary institute: NCI · National Cancer Institute
Clinical trials: Required
Posted: Oct 14, 2026
Opens: Dec 25, 2026
Expires: Sep 26, 2029

PAR-28-022 due dates

9 application due dates remain before the NOFO expires. Dates marked * are NIH standard due dates. Check the related notices below for changes NIH made after posting.

Application due dates and review cycles for PAR-28-022
New	Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed)	AIDS - New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision, as allowed	Scientific Merit Review	Advisory Council Review	Earliest Start Date
January 25, 2027 *	January 25, 2027 *	Not Applicable	July 2027	October 2027	December 2027
May 25, 2027 *	May 25, 2027 *	Not Applicable	November 2027	January 2028	April 2028
September 25, 2027 *	September 25, 2027 *	Not Applicable	March 2028	May 2028	July 2028
January 25, 2028 *	January 25, 2028 *	Not Applicable	July 2028	October 2028	December 2028
May 25, 2028 *	May 25, 2028 *	Not Applicable	November 2028	January 2029	April 2029
September 25, 2028 *	September 25, 2028 *	Not Applicable	March 2029	May 2029	July 2029
January 25, 2029 *	January 25, 2029 *	Not Applicable	July 2029	October 2029	December 2029
May 25, 2029 *	May 25, 2029 *	Not Applicable	November 2029	January 2030	April 2030
September 25, 2029 *	September 25, 2029 *	Not Applicable	March 2030	May 2030	July 2030

What its predecessor PAR-23-284 funded

PAR-28-022 reissues PAR-23-284. Until awards appear under the new number, its funding history is the best guide to who wins under this program: 19 projects and $62.8M in FY2022–FY2026.

Projects funded

Distinct projects, FY2022–FY2026

New awards

Type 1 (new project) award records

NIH funding

$62.8M

Award dollars under PAR-23-284, FY2022–FY2026

Funding by fiscal year

$18.6M

$44.1M

Award records, new awards, and funding by fiscal year under PAR-23-284
Fiscal year	Award records	New awards	Funding
FY2022	0	0	$0
FY2023	0	0	$0
FY2024	0	0	$0
FY2025	8	3	$18.6M
FY2026	19	4	$44.1M

Institutions with the most funding

Dana-Farber Cancer Inst$7.6M · 2 projects
Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research$7.3M · 3 projects
Yale University$7.1M · 2 projects
UT Southwestern Medical Center$5.0M · 1 project
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center$4.9M · 1 project
Vanderbilt University Medical Center$4.7M · 1 project
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor$4.6M · 1 project
Mayo Clinic Rochester$4.5M · 2 projects

Funding institutes

NCI$61.0M · 26
NIDCR$1.8M · 1

Activity codes funded

P5026 records
U541 record

Most recent new awards

SPORE in Bladder Cancer (opens NIH RePORTER)
Sloan-Kettering Inst Can Research · 1P50CA310825-01 · NCI · Notice Sep 17, 2026
$2.5MP50
Mayo Clinic / University of Minnesota Prostate SPORE (opens NIH RePORTER)
Mayo Clinic Rochester · 1P50CA298941-01A1 · NCI · Notice Sep 17, 2026
$2.2MP50
Emory University Lung Cancer SPORE (opens NIH RePORTER)
Emory University · 1P50CA302567-01A1 · NCI · Notice Aug 18, 2026
$2.2MP50
SPORE in Leukemia (opens NIH RePORTER)
Dana-Farber Cancer Inst · 1P50CA298970-01A1 · NCI · Notice Aug 12, 2026
$2.4MP50
UT Southwestern Liver Cancer SPORE (opens NIH RePORTER)
UT Southwestern Medical Center · 1P50CA295495-01A1 · NCI · Notice Sep 4, 2025
$2.5MP50
Neuroendocrine Tumor Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Human Cancer (opens NIH RePORTER)
University of Iowa · 1P50CA302572-01 · NCI · Notice Aug 27, 2025
$2.2MP50

FY2026 closed on September 30, 2026, but NIH keeps posting that year's awards to RePORTER for several weeks. FY2026 figures reflect records available on October 16, 2026 and may rise slightly at the next refresh.

Participating institutes

2 NIH institutes and offices take applications under PAR-28-022. Contact the program officer at the institute that fits your research before applying.

NCI · National Cancer Institute
NIDCR · National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

Related notices

Jan 23, 2026 · NOT-OD-26-031
NIH Pause on New Submissions to the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry and Request for Information on Reducing Reliance on Human Embryonic Stem Cells in NIH-Supported Research.

Award terms

Application types allowed: New Renewal Resubmission Revision The OER Glossary and the How to Apply - Application Guide provides details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this NOFO.
Award budget: Applicants may request a maximum of 1,400,000 in direct costs per year, which excludes third-party indirect costs.Applications that include one or more qualified Early Detection, Prevention, or Population Science qualified EPPS) Research Project(s) may request up to an additional 120,000 in direct costs per year to support this project(s) and supporting cores, if appropriate. Only one request for…
Project period: The maximum project period is 5 years. NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this NOFO.
Funds available and number of awards: The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Approximately six to ten SPORE awards per year are anticipated.

Summarized from the NOFO text; the full NOFO governs eligibility, budget, and review.

Related NOFOs

Reissue of PAR-23-284.

Other open NOFOs for P50

Browse all open NIH NOFOs

About this page

GotGrant gathers the NOFO, its participation and change notices, and its NOSIs from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, and counts funded projects from NIH RePORTER by the opportunity number each award was made under. Data refreshed October 16, 2026; the NIH Guide is the authoritative source. See our data methodology.

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Where award dollars are growing fastest

NIH award dollars by fiscal year, FY2021–FY2025, for the 4 fastest-growing of the fields GotGrant tracks. Dashed bar: FY2026 to date.

Long COVID
+332%
GLP-1
+74%
Gene therapy
+45%
Immunotherapy
+42%

Source: NIH RePORTER snapshot refreshed September 5, 2026. Matching award records per field, not all NIH funding.

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