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Grants / Department of Health and Human Services / National Institutes of Health

PAR-22-086: Microbial-based Cancer Imaging and Therapy - Bugs as Drugs (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Closed Closed November 8, 2024 Opportunity PAR-22-086

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of National Institutes of Health notices from 2022.

National Institutes of Health offered grants of up to $200,000 to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses. Applications closed on November 8, 2024.

From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed November 8, 2024. Checked November 7, 2026.

About this NIH notice

Projects funded under PAR-22-086 were run by National Cancer Institute (NCI, 8 projects) and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR, 3 projects). Contact the program officer at the institute that fits your project before you apply; the notice lists them.

Application due dates, page limits and budget limits are set in the notice. Read PAR-22-086 in the NIH Guide.

Other notices with this title

National Institutes of Health has posted this title under other numbers: earlier or later rounds, or the same competition for another area. Each has its own dates and may change its rules.

NoticePostedDeadlineStatus
PAR-25-108November 12, 2024Closed May 7, 2025Closed

Key dates

PostedFebruary 18, 2022
DeadlineNovember 8, 2024
Archived by Grants.govDecember 8, 2024

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses.

All 15 applicant types the notice lists

Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government; Faith-based or Community-based Organizations; Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations); Regional Organizations; Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) ; U.S. Territory or Possession.

More grants for nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses, businesses.

Is this a realistic fit?

What the grant funds

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits grant applications proposing to utilize bacteria, archaebacteria, bacteriophages, or other non-oncolytic viruses and their natural products to study the underlying mechanisms of the complex interactions between microorganisms, tumors, and the immune system, and to explore their clinical potential for cancer imaging, therapeutics or diagnostics. Projects can focus on using microorganisms as anti-tumor agents, as activators of anti-tumor immunity, or as delivery vehicles for treatment, diagnosis, or imaging, complementing or synergizing with existing tools and approaches. This FOA will support basic mechanistic and preclinical studies in cell culture and animal models. Applicants are encouraged to address both the microbial and tumor aspects of microbial tumor interactions relevant to microbial-based cancer therapy (including therapies for oral cancer), tumor imaging, tumor detection, or diagnosis. The R21 FOA is intended to encourage exploratory projects that are at an early conceptual stage feasibility study (inception through preliminary development) to demonstrate the core functional capabilities of the proposed approach. The proposed projects may involve considerable risk and should be aimed at producing breakthroughs in microbial-based cancer therapy, imaging, or diagnosis. This funding opportunity is part of broader NCI-sponsored research on microbial-based cancer therapy.

Category: Education, Health.

Funded under PAR-22-086 so far

NIH funded 11 projects under PAR-22-086 in fiscal 2023 to 2026, at 11 institutions. The median yearly award was $245,625.

Recently funded projects
ProjectInstitutionFiscal yearAward
Salmonella derived nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy R21Johns Hopkins University2026$245,625
Roles of gut-breast axis in breast pathophysiology R21Case Western Reserve University2025$188,169
Engineering diverse commensal skin bacteria for targeted immunotherapy R21Broad Institute, Inc.2025$443,564
A novel gene-based immunotherapy inducing melanoma destruction R21University of Texas El Paso2025$208,281
Engineered bacterial in situ vaccines against oral cancer. R21University of Texas HLTH Sci Ctr Houston2024$434,170
Optimization of CAR-Bacteria for Oral Cancer R21University of California, San Diego2024$175,429
An engineered bacterial reporter gene fusion for radiotheranostics R21Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ2024$434,903
Modulating Intratumoral Immune Composition to Enhance Immunotherapy R21Beckman Research Institute/City of Hope2024$457,683

From NIH RePORTER, which lists each project once per fiscal year it was funded. Amounts are the yearly award.

Who has won Cancer Treatment Research grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Cancer Treatment Research (93.395) awarded $5.6 billion across 3,622 grant awards, an average of $1.5 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Univeristy of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer CenterTexas144$188 million
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc.Massachusetts68$185 million
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew York35$179 million
Public Health InstituteCalifornia4$168 million
Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterWashington57$156 million

Top states: California ($843 million), New York ($604 million), Massachusetts ($568 million), Texas ($444 million), Pennsylvania ($417 million).

Who has won Cancer Biology Research grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Cancer Biology Research (93.396) awarded $4.3 billion across 3,142 grant awards, an average of $1.4 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York70$151 million
The Univeristy of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer CenterTexas109$144 million
Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer ResearchNew York66$136 million
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc.Massachusetts47$107 million
The Regents of the University of California, San FranciscoCalifornia64$95.5 million

Top states: New York ($712 million), California ($608 million), Massachusetts ($409 million), Texas ($373 million), Pennsylvania ($286 million).

Who has won Oral Diseases and Disorders Research grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Oral Diseases and Disorders Research (93.121) awarded $1.9 billion across 2,263 grant awards, an average of $818,037 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
Regents of the University of MichiganMichigan76$89.2 million
The Regents of the University of California, San FranciscoCalifornia84$80.5 million
University of Southern CaliforniaCalifornia41$78.6 million
University of Pittsburgh - of the Commonwealth System of Higher EducationPennsylvania58$55.9 million
The Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania66$51.5 million

Top states: California ($330 million), Massachusetts ($159 million), Pennsylvania ($147 million), Texas ($137 million), New York ($136 million).

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.

Questions people ask

Is PAR-22-086 still open?

No. It closed on November 8, 2024.

Who can apply for Microbial-based Cancer Imaging and Therapy - Bugs as Drugs (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)?

National Institutes of Health accepted applications from nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

What is the deadline for Microbial-based Cancer Imaging and Therapy - Bugs as Drugs (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)?

Closed November 8, 2024. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $200,000 each.

Who has been funded under PAR-22-086?

NIH RePORTER lists 11 projects funded under PAR-22-086 in fiscal 2023 to 2026, at 11 institutions. The most were at Johns Hopkins University, Case Western Reserve University, Broad Institute, Inc.

Who has won Oral Diseases and Disorders Research grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Regents of the University of Michigan, The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco, University of Southern California. The program made 2,263 awards worth $1.9 billion in that time.

Similar open grants