National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH
Org profile — federal cancer research funder
The NCI is the largest funder of cancer research in the world, with a FY2026 appropriation of about $7.35 billion, ~43% of which goes to Research Project Grants (R01, R37). It funds the entire training ladder — summer internships, F31 fellowships, T32 institutional grants, diversity supplements — and explicitly supports cancer prevention, control, behavioral, and population sciences through its Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS). Undergraduates engage through internships and diversity supplements, not investigator grants.
Who Can Apply
Award Amount
$2,026
Deadline
Varies by (2026)
Estimated
Topics
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
The NCI is the cornerstone federal funder for anyone building a cancer-research career, including in cancer prevention and population science. Understanding it as a whole helps you locate the right rung of the ladder.
Scale
- FY2026 appropriation: ~$7.35 billion (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026), up $128M over FY25 (NCI Budget).
- Research Project Grants (RPGs) — R01, R37, and similar — make up the largest share, about 43.3% of obligated funds, across ~5,739 RPGs (NCI Budget Fact Book).
What it funds across the career ladder
The NCI supports fellowships in all areas of cancer research, including cancer prevention, control, behavioral sciences, population sciences, and translational research (NCI training). Concretely:
- Undergrad / post-bacc: Summer Internship Program, Student/Postbac IRTA/CRTA, diversity supplements (see
undergrad-postbac-onramps.md,nih-diversity-supplements.md). - Predoctoral: F31 fellowships, T32 institutional slots, R36-style dissertation awards.
- Faculty/independent: R01, R37, K-series, R25 research-education grants.
Population-science home: DCCPS
The Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) runs funding for cancer-control, population-science, survivorship, and outcomes research, including implementation science (DCCPS funding). This is the part of NCI most aligned with HPV-vaccination, cancer-prevention, and behavioral research.