Funding Opportunities

Several new opportunities for funding of hepatitis B and liver cancer/ hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) research are currently available.  Below you will find summaries of recently announced opportunities from the United States (US) National Institutes of Health (NIH).  

Note that the NIH can only support grants for HBV and HCC research if people submit them.  To address this obstacle, we are encouraging them to establish dedicated funding for HBV and HCC to stimulate more applications.  We encourage researchers to pass this information to colleagues, submit your own applications, and help with advocacy for HBV and HCC whenever possible.  It is also important to note that most NIH grants can involve or be from non-US sources.  Check eligibility requirements.  

Please be sure to review the key dates, especially the expiration date as some of these announcements are set to renew.

 

*UPCOMING SBIR Contract in FY2020- Antiviral Drugs To Cure Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection. NIAID topic for NIH SBIR contract solicitation. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/january-2019-dmid-council-approved-concepts?utm_campaign=+36681533&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=

 

*NIH/NIAID- Research to Advance HBV Cure: HIV/HBV Co-Infection and HBV Mono-Infection (RO1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed: The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to invite applications for support of innovative basic, translational, and clinical research to identify and address the challenges to achieving hepatitis B virus (HBV) cure in the presence or absence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-19-097.html

 

*NIH/NIAID- HIV and Hepatitis B Co-Infection: Advancing HBV Functional Cure through Clinical Research (R21): The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to fill scientific gaps needed to (a) inform HBV functional cure strategies by furthering our understanding of unique challenges impacting HBV and HIV co-infected hosts and (b) advance the discovery and development of novel HBV interventions that are safe and achieve a functional cure in HIV and HBV co-infected individuals. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/pa-17-278.html

 

*NIH/NCI- Epidemiologic Research on Emerging Risk Factors and Liver Cancer Susceptibility (R21 and R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed):The purpose of this concept initiative is to promote etiologic research investigating novel and innovative hypotheses on emerging risk factors (biological, environmental, and social) and their interplay with established risk factors (e.g., viral hepatitis) associated with the development of liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma and other histological subtypes) in the United States. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/pa-18-677.html

 

NIH/NIDA/NIAAA- Pilot and Feasibility Studies in Preparation for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Trials (R34 Clinical Trial Optional): This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for R34 applications seeks to support: (a) pilot and/or feasibility testing of innovative new, revised, or adapted prevention intervention approaches to prevent or delay the initiation and onset of drug and alcohol use, the progression to misuse or problem use or alcohol and other substance use disorder, reduce drinking and driving and deaths related to impaired driving, and the drug- or alcohol-related acquisition or transmission of HIV infection and viral hepatitis  among diverse populations and settings; and, (b) pre-trial feasibility and acceptability testing for prevention services and systems research. It is expected that research conducted via this R34 mechanism will consist of studies that are a pre-requisite for preparing and submitting subsequent applications for larger scale drug or alcohol abuse prevention and/or drug- or alcohol-related HIV prevention intervention studies. This R34 FOA does not support applications for which the sole focus is development of intervention protocols, manuals, or the standardization of protocols. Any intervention development work must be embedded within a pilot/feasibility study. Of particular interest is prevention research that addresses current public health priorities and priority settings and systems. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/pa-18-775.html

 

NIH/-NICHD- Advancing Understanding, Prevention, and Management of Infections Transmitted from Women to their Infants (R01 Clinical Trial Optional): The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to stimulate investigations including translational, epidemiologic and clinical studies and trials that improve the understanding, prevention and clinical outcomes of non-HIV infections transmitted from women to their offspring during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and breastfeeding. NICHD is committed to supporting research that will increase scientific understanding of and treatments for high-priority perinatal infections. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-18-031.html

 

*NIH/NIMHD/NIAAA/NCI- Mechanisms of Disparities in Chronic Liver Diseases and Cancer (R21)- The purpose of the initiative is to support multidisciplinary innovative exploratory and developmental research to understand the underlying etiologic factors and the mechanisms that result in disparities in chronic liver diseases and cancer in the US. This FOA utilizes the Research Project Grant (R21) mechanism, and is suitable for early phase, pilot, or exploratory/developmental projects.  Investigators who are interested in proposing larger scale, later phase projects based upon substantial preliminary data should submit applications to the companion FOA PAR-17-151 of identical scientific scope which uses the NIH (R01) grant mechanism.  https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-17-150.html