Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network (ROBIN) Centers (U54 Clinical Trial Required) | RFA CA 21 040

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA CA 21 040

The Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network (ROBIN) Centers funding opportunity (RFA-CA-21-040) is an NIH cooperative agreement solicitation for U54 research centers that will be linked together as a coordinated national network focused on radiation oncology and cancer biology. The core goal is to build an agile, effective infrastructure that can support and run hypothesis-driven translational research aimed at closing key knowledge gaps about why cancer patients respond differently to radiation therapy. In practical terms, the program is designed to connect radiation oncology with modern biology so the field can better understand treatment response and resistance in real patients, using coordinated approaches that can be scaled across multiple centers rather than isolated, single-institution efforts.

Because this is a U54 cooperative agreement, awardees should expect substantial NIH involvement beyond standard grant stewardship. The cooperative structure typically means the program will operate with shared governance expectations, network-wide coordination, common standards where needed, and active collaboration across sites to produce integrated outputs. The title also specifies "Clinical Trial Required," which signals that the research supported under these centers is expected to include clinical trial activity as part of the overall program scope, consistent with NIH definitions and requirements for clinical trial oversight and reporting.

The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations: state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled colleges and universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other organizations that meet NIH eligibility rules. The announcement explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the FOA draws clear boundaries around foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning U.S.-based applicants may be able to include certain foreign collaborations or elements if they meet NIH policy definitions and are justified within the proposed work.

Administratively, this opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement mechanism. The activity category is listed under education and health, and the CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.394 and 93.395. The opportunity was created on June 24, 2021, and the original closing date was November 1, 2021. The provided source data does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, so those details would normally need to be confirmed in the full FOA text or associated NIH notices.

Overall, ROBIN is framed as an infrastructure-plus-research center program: it is not only about funding individual projects, but about establishing a connected set of centers that can collectively generate clinically grounded, biologically informed evidence on radiation treatment responses in cancer patients. The emphasis on translational, hypothesis-based work and a network structure suggests an intent to standardize and accelerate discovery-to-clinic feedback loops, enabling more consistent collection of clinically relevant data and biospecimens, improved comparability across studies, and faster testing of biologically informed strategies within clinical trial frameworks.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network (ROBIN) Centers (U54 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.394, 93.395.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-06-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-11-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA CA 21 040

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