Epidemiology and Genomics Research
CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY MATTERS E-NEWS
NOVEMBER 2016

Follow us on Twitter
NOVEMBER 2016 Features
Announcements
Contact Us
FOAsFunding
 Opportunity Announcements
  Innovative Molecular and Cellular Analysis Techniques for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research 
Applications Due: February 28, 2017; May 26, 2017; September 26, 2017
Expiration Date: September 27, 2017
 
RFA-CA-17-011  (R33)
Advanced Development and Validation of Emerging Molecular and Cellular Analysis Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research
Applications Due: February 28, 2017; May 26, 2017; September 26, 2017
Expiration Date: September 27, 2017
 
RFA-CA-17-012  (R21)
Innovative Technologies for Cancer-Relevant Biospecimen Science 
Applications Due: February 28, 2017; May 26, 2017; September 26, 2017
Expiration Date: September 27, 2017
 
RFA-CA-17-013  (R33)
Advanced Development and Validation of Emerging Biospecimen Science Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research
Applications Due: February 28, 2017; May 26, 2017; September 26, 2017
Expiration Date: September 27, 2017
 
PA-17-041 
(R01)
PA-17-042 (R21)
Addressing the Etiology of Health Disparities and Health Advantages Among Immigrant Populations
Applications Due: Standard dates apply
Expiration Date: January 8, 2020
 
PA-17-043  (R01)
PA-17-044 (R21)
Addressing Health Disparities through Effective Interventions Among Immigrant Populations
Applications Due: Standard dates apply
Expiration Date: January 8, 2020

PA-17-060  (R01)
PA-17-061 (R21)
Oral Anticancer Agents: Utilization, Adherence, and Health Care Delivery
Applications Due: Standard dates apply
Expiration Date: January 8, 2020
 
CareerAwardsCareer
 Awards
Deadline extended to December 1, 2016
PolicyGrants Policy Announcements
Publication of the Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement for FY2017

NOT-OD-17-022
NIH Implementation of Final Research Performance Progress Reports 
RFIRequests  for
Informatio n
NOT-CA-17-001
Epidemiology Research on Novel Infectious Agents and Cancer Occurrence and Outcomes
Revised response due date: December 15, 2016

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Data Access and Data Sharing Policy
Public comment period ends December 15, 2016
  
Strategies for NIH Data Management, Sharing, and Citation
Responses due December 29, 2016
JobJob Opportunities
Environmental Epidemiology Program Director

Cancer Research Training Award Fellowship in Environmental Epidemiology
  
EventsUpcoming Webinars & Workshops

December 1, 2016

December 5-7, 2016
 
December 9, 2016

December 13, 2016
 
December 14, 2016 

9th Annual Conference on Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health
December 14-15, 2016
Washington, DC

Deep Sequencing of 10,000 Human Genomes and Sequencing Quality Standards for Human Variation Discovery
January 13, 2017

Save-the-Date: 5th International Conference on Ambulatory Monitoring of Physical Activity and Movement
June 21-23, 2017
Bethesda, MD
Note: Abstracts for papers, symposia, and pre-workshops are due December 31, 2016
BlogsBlog Posts
Leveraging Open Data Science to Accelerate Innovation at NIH and Beyond
NIH Input Output Blog

NCI Cancer Currents Blog

NIH Open Mike Blog 
 
NIH Open Mike Blog
AboutAbout EGRP
The Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP) in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) funds research in human populations to understand the causes of cancer and related outcomes.

The Program fosters interdisciplinary collaborations, as well as the development and use of resources and technologies to advance cancer research and translation of this research, which serve as the basis for clinical and public health interventions.
ContactContact Us
email: nciepimatters@mail.nih.gov
website: epi.grants.cancer.gov
twitter: twitter.com/NCIEpi
Feature1 

Annual Meeting Focuses on New Technologies & Policies Influencing Cancer Epidemiology Studies
On November 1-2, 2016, approximately 180 investigators, NCI staff, and other interested individuals convened at the Natcher Conference Center on the main NIH campus in Bethesda, MD for the NCI Cohort Consortium Annual Meeting. The NCI Cohort Consortium is a collaborative network of investigators coordinated by the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP) in NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) and the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG). 

The Consortium provides a coordinated, interdisciplinary approach to tackling important scientific questions, using economies of scale and opportunities to quicken the pace of research. The Consortium's mission is to promote communication and collaboration between member cohorts, identify common problems, and recommend possible solutions. 

As of November 2016, Consortium members include 59 high-quality epidemiologic cohorts of 10,000 participants or more, representing diverse populations from more than 15 countries. In 2016, the Consortium welcomed two new member cohorts: the Polish Cohort Study and the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study.

The Annual Meeting was an opportunity for Consortium members and other interested individuals to discuss scientific progress and new opportunities for collaboration. 

Audience at 2016 NCI Cohort Consortium Annual Meeting

Key topics on the agenda included:
  • Updates on a planned cohort by NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics and the All of Us Research Program (formerly the NIH Precision Medicine Initiative)
  • Metabolomics and its application to cancer epidemiology
  • MicroRNAs for biomarker discovery
  • Circulating nanovesicles to detect, monitor, and treat cancer
  • Precision prevention and cancer disparities
  • Data sharing in cancer epidemiology cohorts
  • Advances in the use of technology for recruitment, retention and follow-up of research participants
During the meeting, Susan Gapstur, Ph.D., M.P.H. of the American Cancer Society, was recognized for her leadership as Chair of the NCI Cohort Consortium's Steering Committee throughout 2016. Also recognized were Leslie Bernstein, Ph.D., of City of Hope and the Beckman Research Institute and Wei Zheng, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, both of whom have been members of the Steering Committee since 2014. The incoming Chair for 2017 will be Anthony Swerdlow, D.M., D.Sc., of the Institute of Cancer Research, University of London.

This year's agenda included interactive sessions, formal presentations, an informal session for investigators to interact with EGRP Program directors, and a poster session. Learn more about the role of our program directors.

Incoming Chair Anthony Swerdlow, D.M., D.Sc, presents awards for the poster session to Veronika Fedirko, Ph.D., M.P.H., and Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, M.D., representing Tess Clendenen, Ph.D. (not pictured).

There were 30 posters presented by meeting participants. Two awards were given by the Steering Committee: Best Overall Poster and Best Poster by a Student or Fellow. Veronika Fedirko, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Winship Cancer Center, won the Best Overall Poster award for her poster, "Prediagnostic Circulating Vitamin D and Risk of Death After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis: The Circulating Biomarkers of Breast and Colorectal Cancer Consortium (BBC3)" and Tess Clendenen, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the NYU Langone Medical Center, won the award for Best Poster by a Student or Fellow for her poster, "Biomarkers for Breast Cancer Risk Prediction Among Younger Women."  
 
The Consortium includes almost four dozen collaborative research projects and working groups. The long history of data pooling within the NCI Cohort Consortium has led to a number of high-impact publications, such as the June 2016 publication in JAMA Internal Medicine, "Association of Leisure-Time Physical Activity with Risk of 26 Types of Cancer in 1.44 Million Adults." Investigators are welcome to propose new collaborative projects, regardless of whether or not they are a member of the NCI Cohort Consortium.  
 
The Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3) and the Tumor Tissue Working Group were recognized for achieving their original goals and moving in different scientific and technical directions. 

Results of a survey conducted earlier in the year of working groups and projects were also discussed, highlighting some challenges, such as data harmonization and suggestions for how the Steering Committee could support the activities and experiences of the working groups. 

Presentation during 2016 NCI Cohort Consortium meeting
Camille Pottinger, M.P.H., a Cancer Research Training Award Fellow in EGRP, presents during the 2016 Annual Meeting.

A more detailed summary of the 2016 Annual Meeting will be posted on the NCI Cohort Consortium website in the coming months.

For questions about the NCI Cohort Consortium or Annual Meeting, contact Nonye Harvey at NCI. 
Feature2 
Play an Essential Role in Scientific Progress - Become an NIH Peer Reviewer
The  peer review process is the foundation of the NIH's extramural research enterprise, and its continued excellence depends on the ability to recruit and retain the most accomplished, broad-thinking, and creative scientists and experts to serve as peer reviewers. In a  2015 Rock Talk blog post , Dr. Richard Nakamura, the Director of NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR), described peer reviewers as "the lifeline of the scientific process," and noted that "nearly 24,000 reviewers participated in more than 2,500 peer review meetings" in 2014 alone.
 
 
The top reasons reviewers give for serving as an NIH peer reviewer, according to the Center for Scientific Review.
 
Apart from giving back to the scientific community, there are other benefits for peer reviewers: gaining experiential knowledge of the peer-review process, which is valuable for researchers' own applications, as well as for mentoring early-career scientists; gaining skills in properly evaluating grant writing and scientific proposals; building and maintaining professional networks; and keeping abreast of cutting-edge science, among others. 

There is also an Early Career Reviewer Program that may be of particular interest to researchers with at least two years experience as a full-time faculty member or researcher in a similar role with an active, independent program of research. Prior research funding is not required to participate in the Early Career Reviewer Program. One benefit of participating in this program is a greater understanding of how grant applications are evaluated.

In recognition of the service peer reviewers provide, the NIH has granted appointed members of study sections and peer reviewers who have participated in six qualifying NIH review meetings over an 18-month period the possibility to submit applications as soon as they develop them, rather than waiting for standard dates. This continuous submission policy only applies to the R01, R21, and R34 grant mechanisms.

Of course, peer review requires continuous support and willingness to serve from all members of the scientific community. Qualified individuals are needed to serve on Scientific Review Groups (a.k.a. " study sections") in the initial peer review of applications and evaluation of Research & Development (R&D) contract proposals. There are two ways to participate: the first is by committing to a full, multi-year term (typically 12 meetings) on a standing study section or Advisory Council or Board. The second is as a temporary or ad hoc member of a permanent standing study section. (See this NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts notice for more details).

EGRP encourages all scientists to serve as peer reviewers, especially those who have received funding from the NIH. Those who wish to learn more about the NIH peer review process, and possibly volunteer to become a reviewer, may visit the following links for more information:

 
Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute | 9609 Medical Center Drive | 4 East, MSC 9763 | Bethesda | MD 20892


Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Accessibility | FOIA

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
National Institutes of Health | National Cancer Institute | USA.gov