Population Approaches to Reducing Alcohol-related Cancer Risk (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 23 244

FAQs: NIH PAR-23-244 - Population Approaches to Reducing Alcohol-related Cancer Risk (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

What is the main goal of this NIH funding opportunity (PAR-23-244)?

The opportunity supports research that treats alcohol use as a cancer prevention and cancer control issue. It aims to generate practical, population-level evidence on how to reduce alcohol-related cancer risk at scale, including work that can raise awareness that alcohol increases cancer risk and identify interventions and policies that reduce alcohol-related cancer burden.

What makes this opportunity "population approaches" rather than individual behavior change?

The focus is on strategies beyond one-on-one counseling or solely individual-level interventions. Projects should examine broader, population-level levers such as public knowledge and risk perceptions, social and cultural norms, the information environment (including misinformation and messaging gaps), community and peer influences, and policy or environmental conditions that shape alcohol use patterns.

Are clinical trials required for this R01?

No. Clinical trials are optional under this R01. A clinical trial can be included if it fits the proposed research, but it is not required.

What types of research topics are responsive to this NOFO?

Responsive topics include interdisciplinary studies that: (1) increase public awareness and understanding of the alcohol-cancer link, (2) examine how social norms and environments influence drinking, (3) evaluate or develop scalable communication strategies, (4) test or assess real-world interventions and policies, and (5) generate evidence that can be sustained and implemented broadly to reduce alcohol-related cancer burden.

Does the NOFO emphasize communication and public awareness about alcohol and cancer?

Yes. A major emphasis is on understanding how people learn about (or fail to learn about) alcohol-related cancer risk, how misinformation or message gaps persist, and which communication approaches actually change knowledge, understanding, and risk perceptions at the population level.

What does the NOFO say about social and cultural norms around drinking?

The NOFO encourages research on how drinking is normalized through marketing, celebrations, social life, community expectations, and peer influences, and how those social and cultural forces contribute to moderate-to-heavy drinking patterns and related cancer risk.

Can projects focus on developing new strategies, or do they need to evaluate existing programs?

Both approaches are within scope. Projects can be developmental (creating new strategies) or evaluative (testing existing strategies in real-world settings). The NOFO shows strong interest in approaches that can be scaled and sustained.

Which levels of alcohol consumption are of interest?

The NOFO is particularly interested in proposals that address more than one level of alcohol consumption and explicitly highlights moderate and heavy drinking. It encourages studies that do not focus only on the most severe end of the spectrum.

Is research on alcohol use disorder (AUD) allowed or encouraged?

Yes. The NOFO explicitly welcomes applications that examine alcohol use disorder through the lens of cancer prevention and cancer control. Examples include studying how AUD screening, treatment access, stigma, or healthcare delivery patterns affect opportunities to reduce cancer risk.

What disciplines or fields are relevant for competitive applications?

The NOFO creates room for research that bridges public health, oncology, addiction science, behavioral science, communications, implementation science, health services research, and policy research, especially where the work can inform population-level cancer prevention and control.

Are policy-focused studies eligible under this opportunity?

Yes. Policy-focused studies are encouraged. Applicants can develop and/or evaluate alcohol policy approaches that may lower population exposure and related cancer risk.

What kinds of alcohol policy levers are mentioned as examples?

Examples include studying pricing and taxation, availability and outlet density, marketing and labeling practices, warning statements, age restrictions, enforcement strategies, and other regulatory or environmental levers.

Does the NOFO care only about whether a policy reduces drinking, or also about implementation?

It is not limited to whether policies are associated with reduced consumption. The NOFO also emphasizes how policies are implemented, accepted, and maintained, and whether they reduce disparities or inadvertently widen them.

What does the NOFO say about equity and underserved or disproportionately impacted groups?

The NOFO stresses equity and encourages research focused on underrepresented minority (URM) populations and groups experiencing disproportionate cancer and alcohol-related harms. It highlights American Indian and Alaska Native communities and sexual and gender minority populations as examples, while also emphasizing disparities more broadly.

Is there interest in culturally grounded or context-specific approaches?

Yes. The NOFO encourages approaches that are culturally grounded, context-aware, and responsive to structural drivers of risk, particularly for communities experiencing disproportionate harms.

What does "filling understudied gaps" mean in this NOFO?

The NOFO prioritizes building evidence in areas that have not received enough attention. Applications that address understudied populations, settings, mechanisms of influence (such as misinformation pathways or norm formation), or policy/intervention questions that lack a strong evidence base align with this priority.

What grant mechanism is used, and what does that imply about project scope?

This is an R01, which is designed for substantial, multi-year research projects with clearly defined aims and rigorous methods. In practice, it supports work that is large enough to generate generalizable evidence and meaningful population-level insights.

Which agency administers this funding opportunity?

The opportunity is administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What are the CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity?

The listing includes CFDA numbers 93.273 and 93.396.

What is the application window or closing date mentioned?

The application window runs through at least January 7, 2027 (the original closing date provided in the summary).

Is there a stated award ceiling (maximum budget) in the provided summary?

No award ceiling is specified in the provided listing. The summary indicates budgets are typically guided by NIH R01 norms and applicable institute or center requirements rather than a single hard cap in the public summary.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes many organization types, such as state, county, city, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses; and other entities.

Are specific institution types or community organizations explicitly encouraged or listed?

Yes. The NOFO calls out additional eligible applicants and partners such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving institutions, HBCUs, TCCUs, faith-based and community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations).

Can foreign (non-U.S.) organizations apply?

Yes. The eligibility summary explicitly includes non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations).

What types of outcomes or measures are implied as important in competitive projects?

The NOFO emphasizes outcomes related to population impact, such as changes in awareness and understanding of alcohol-related cancer risk, shifts in attitudes and norms, changes in conditions that influence alcohol consumption, patterns of consumption, and the effects of interventions or policies. It also highlights the importance of rigorous methods and clearly defined aims.

What kinds of projects appear to be most competitive based on the summary?

Projects that combine strong public health relevance with rigorous methods, have a clear plan to measure outcomes tied to awareness, norms, consumption patterns, or policy/intervention effects, address understudied gaps, and thoughtfully engage populations and settings where alcohol-related harms and cancer burden are greatest (or least well studied) align closely with the priorities described.