Cancer Moonshot: NCI Funding & Research Grants

The Cancer Moonshot is a federal scientific research initiative dedicated to accelerating the discovery, translation, and nationwide delivery of cancer prevention, detection, and therapeutic interventions. Administered primarily by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the initiative coordinates targeted federal funding lines, multi-institutional research networks, and shared data infrastructures across the United States. Within oncology, the initiative directs resources toward overcoming treatment resistance, establishing cellular tumor atlases, improving pediatric cancer immunotherapies, and validating multi-cancer detection technologies.

What it is and who runs it

The Cancer Moonshot was authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act, enacted in December 2016. As detailed in the official NCI Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Fact Book, the statute authorized $1.8 billion in funding across a seven-year period from fiscal years 2017 through 2023: $300 million annually in FY 2017 and FY 2018, $400 million in FY 2019, $195 million annually in FY 2020 and FY 2021, $194 million in FY 2022, and $216 million in FY 2023. In February 2022, the initiative was reestablished by the White House with a 25-year goal to reduce age-adjusted cancer death rates by at least 50%. As described on the official NCI budget portal in 2026, the initiative continues supporting multi-year projects using annual appropriations alongside $113 million in carryover funding.

Executive governance is led by the NCI Director and division leaders coordinating with NIH leadership. Unlike standard investigator-initiated mechanisms in broader cancer research funding, Moonshot investments follow recommendations from a 12-member scientific Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) to accelerate progress across targeted priority areas.

Eligibility

Eligibility is governed by specific Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. Academic medical centers, universities, research institutes, healthcare systems, and qualified commercial entities in the United States are generally eligible to apply as prime institutions. Foreign institutions may participate as collaborators or consortium sub-awardees when explicitly authorized.

Principal Investigators must demonstrate scientific leadership, appropriate laboratory capacity, and clinical trial infrastructure. Under the Cancer Moonshot Scholars program, eligibility is tailored to early-stage investigators (ESIs) who completed their terminal degrees or medical residencies within the preceding ten years. This initiative uses R01 grant mechanisms to diversify the research workforce while supporting emerging scientists working on core Moonshot priorities.

What it funds or requires

Cancer Moonshot appropriations fund cooperative agreements (U01, U24), specialized research centers, and investigator-led R01 grants. Rather than funding isolated projects, the initiative prioritizes collaborative networks designed to generate community resources. As documented on the official NCI Cancer Moonshot progress portal, major funded consortia include:

Immuno-Oncology Translational Network (IOTN): Multi-center consortia developing immune-based therapies and prevention for adult cancers.
Pediatric Immunotherapy Discovery and Development Network: Programs developing novel immunotherapies for pediatric cancers driven by fusion oncoproteins.
Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN): Collaborative teams building 3D cellular and molecular atlases of human tumors as they evolve from precancerous lesions to advanced disease.
Cancer Research Data Commons (CRDC): A cloud-based data ecosystem integrating genomic, proteomic, imaging, and clinical repositories for secondary analysis.
Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN): A clinical network conducting the Vanguard Study, evaluating multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests across up to 24,000 participants.
Telehealth Research Centers of Excellence (TRACE): Centers studying digital health interventions across cancer prevention and survivorship.

Recipients face strict requirements for rapid, open data sharing. Awardees must deposit sequence data, spatial profiles, imaging sets, and clinical metadata into NCI-designated commons repositories ahead of publication, complying with the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy.

Application or compliance steps

Navigating the application process requires adherence to federal protocols and consortium alignment:

Identify Targeted Moonshot Announcements: Review the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts for RFAs tagged with Cancer Moonshot initiative headers.
Confirm Programmatic Fit: Contact the designated NCI Scientific Contact in Section VII of the announcement to verify alignment with consortium scope.
Submit a Letter of Intent: File an LOI by the pre-application deadline to assist NCI in planning peer review panels.
Assemble Core Application Packages: Complete standard federal forms via ASSIST, ensuring detailed completion of the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information Form for clinical studies.
Formulate a Data Sharing Plan: Draft a data governance plan specifying repositories, standard ontologies, deposition timelines, and public access terms.
Define Concrete Project Milestones: Cooperative agreements (U-series) require explicit annual quantitative milestones that govern continuation funding.
Undergo Dual-Tier Review: Applications undergo scientific peer review by specialized NCI study sections followed by National Cancer Advisory Board review.

Investigators can also explore general NCI funding mechanisms to evaluate whether standard R01 parent grants or targeted Moonshot RFAs best match their study aims.

Typical timeline phases

Applying for and executing a Moonshot grant follows standard NIH extramural phases, requiring 9 to 12 months from announcement release to award obligation:

Phase 1: Announcement and Pre-Submission: RFAs are published with submission deadlines 60 to 90 days after release. Letters of intent are submitted 30 days prior to receipt dates.
Phase 2: Scientific Peer Review: Months 3 through 5 post-submission, specialized Scientific Review Groups evaluate applications based on NIH review criteria.
Phase 3: Advisory Council and Programmatic Review: In months 6 through 8, the National Cancer Advisory Board reviews scored applications for funding selection.
Phase 4: Pre-Award Negotiations: Grants management staff finalize budgets, milestones, and compliance documents, issuing formal Notices of Award.
Phase 5: Post-Award Milestone Execution: Grantees participate in consortium committees, submit annual progress reports, and deposit data into federal commons repositories.

Common mistakes

Investigators frequently encounter avoidable pitfalls when applying for Cancer Moonshot funding:

Treating Moonshot RFAs as Parent R01s: Submitting generic proposals that fail to address the specific research networks or goals established by the RFA.
Inadequate Milestone Granularity: Proposing vague or descriptive milestones on cooperative agreements rather than measurable, time-bound deliverables.
Superficial Data Sharing Commitments: Delaying data release until publication rather than complying with NCI expectations for rapid pre-publication deposit.
Overlooking Early-Career Rules: Applying for Cancer Moonshot Scholars awards without verifying Early Stage Investigator status or institutional support.
Ignoring Consortium Coordination: Designing insular studies that do not account for mandatory steering committee collaboration or shared data models.

Related programs

Researchers should compare Moonshot initiatives against adjacent extramural funding mechanisms:

Funding Program	Managing Entity	Primary Mechanism	Core Focus & Governance
Cancer Moonshot	National Cancer Institute (NIH)	Targeted RFAs (U01, U24, Scholars R01)	Network consortia, accelerated cancer endpoints, open data commons
NCI Parent R01	National Cancer Institute (NIH)	Investigator-initiated R01	Hypothesis-driven basic and clinical cancer research across disciplines
ARPA-H	Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health	Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), Contracts	High-risk health solutions, breakthrough technologies, scalable platforms
DoD CDMRP (PRCRP)	Department of Defense	Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program grants	Congressionally directed military-relevant cancer research

FAQ

How does the Cancer Moonshot differ from standard NCI funding?

Standard NCI funding largely relies on investigator-initiated parent R01 grants reviewed in standing study sections. Cancer Moonshot funding is congressionally authorized through dedicated accounts and allocated via targeted RFAs supporting cooperative research networks, centralized data ecosystems, and accelerated milestones.

What is the Cancer Moonshot Scholars program?

The Cancer Moonshot Scholars program is an NCI workforce initiative funded via R01 grants. It supports early-stage investigators from diverse backgrounds, fostering innovative cancer research aligned with Moonshot goals while promoting career retention in academic oncology.

Are Moonshot awardees required to share data publicly?

Yes. Moonshot initiatives require adherence to open science principles. Grantees must deposit genomics, imaging, proteomics, and clinical metadata into public repositories like the NCI Cancer Research Data Commons.

What happened to the 21st Century Cures Act funding after FY 2023?

The original statutory authorization under the 21st Century Cures Act expired at the end of FY 2023. As detailed in the NCI Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Fact Book, ongoing Moonshot programs continue through annual appropriations and obligated carryover balances, including $113 million in FY 2025 carryover funding.

Sources

National Cancer Institute. (2025). Cancer Moonshot Initiative Overview and Accomplishments. U.S. National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/research/progress/moonshot-cancer-initiative

National Cancer Institute. (2025). Cancer Moonshot Funding – Fiscal Year 2025 Fact Book. U.S. National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/budget/fact-book/cancer-moonshot

National Cancer Institute Division of Cancer Prevention. (2026). Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN) Vanguard Study. U.S. National Institutes of Health. https://prevention.cancer.gov/major-programs/cancer-screening-research-network-csrn/vanguard-study

National Cancer Institute Human Tumor Atlas Network Consortium. (2026). Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN) Data Release and Consortium Overview. https://humantumoratlas.org/