EGRP Cancer Epidemiology News

January 2023

• Message from Associate Director, Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program
  • Leadership Changes
  • Supporting Research
  • Scientific Meetings and Webinars
  • Updated Research Resources
• Additional Funding Opportunities
• Request for Information
• Grants Policy Announcements
• Career and Training Opportunities
• NIH/NCI News and Blog Posts

2022: Year in Review

Message from Associate Director, Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program

Greetings,

2022 was a celebratory year with the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) marking its 25th anniversary. We’ve spent the past year reflecting on DCCPS’s progress as well as identifying new areas of opportunity – health equity, data strategies, modifiable risk factors, digital health, evidence-based policy research, and climate change. The 2022 Overview and Highlights Report outlines these priorities in more detail.

Along with reflecting on DCCPS’s progress, we have also been considering EGRP’s progress. In this newsletter, we highlight leadership changes in EGRP, new funding opportunities our scientific staff have developed this past year, and some of our virtual scientific workshops and webinars, many of which were recorded for those who were not able to participate in the live events. Additionally, we invite you to explore some of EGRP’s research resources that were updated this year.

On behalf of all my colleagues in the Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP), we wish you all peace, health, and happiness throughout the New Year.

Warmest regards,
Kathy J. Helzlsouer, MD, MHS

Leadership Changes

Gary L. Ellison, PhD, MPH

In September 2022, Dr. Gary Ellison became the new deputy director for DCCPS. Dr. Ellison served as Chief of the Environmental Epidemiology Branch (EEB) in EGRP for the past six years and has been a member of the DCCPS community for more than 14 years.

NIH has recognized Dr. Ellison multiple times for his work in building and sustaining scientific collaborations over the years, including the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Response, NIH Working Group for the US-China Biomedical Research Cooperation Program, and his work on the Global Environmental and Occupational Health Program. Dr. Ellison also received an NIH Award of Merit for his leadership and programmatic management of the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program. Last year, he served as Acting Director of the Division of Extramural Research and Training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) where he also served as Executive Secretary of the National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences (NAEHS) council.

EGRP thanks Dr. Ellison for his many years of service to EGRP and looks forward to working with him in his new DCCPS role. Congratulations, Dr. Ellison!

Tram Kim Lam, PhD, MPH

In January 2023, Dr. Tram Kim Lam was appointed Chief of Environmental Epidemiology Branch (EEB). As Branch Chief, Dr. Lam leads a group of Program Directors who have expertise that spans all domains of the exposome, including the general external (e.g., broader social context), specific external (e.g., lifestyle factors, environmental pollutants, chemical, physical and infectious agents), and internal environments (e.g., biomarkers of effect, early damage).

Dr. Lam is involved in numerous cross-agency efforts and trans-NIH/NCI scientific initiatives. She has led several trans-NIH and NCI initiatives, including the Building the Next Generation of Research Cohorts (PAR-22-161), the Metabolic Dysregulation and Cancer Risk Program, Epidemiologic Research on Emerging Risk Factors and Liver Cancer Susceptibility (R01 and R21), Co-infection and Cancer (R01 and R21), and the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program. She is a scientific contact on multiple Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) across several scientific areas, including disparities in Asian Americans (NOT-HL-23-001) and investigating the biology of bladder cancer (R01 and R21). In recognition of her leadership, mentorship, and programmatic management, she is a recipient of the NIH Director’s Award, the NCI Director’s Award of Merit, the NCI Director’s Award for NCI Champions, and the NIAID Merit Award.

Dr. Lam joined EGRP in 2012 and oversees a research grant portfolio that focused on exposures (environmental, lifestyle, and modifiable factors) and the interplay between determinants of cancer and how they influence susceptibility to cancer nationally and globally.

Supporting Research

Nutrition for Precision Health

EGRP leadership and staff are involved in NIH Common Fund’s Nutrition for Precision Health (NPH), powered by the All of Us Research Program. In January of 2022, NIH awarded $170 million over five years to clinics and centers across the country for a new study that will develop algorithms to predict individual responses to food and dietary patterns. NPH will recruit a diverse pool of 10,000 participants who are part of the NIH’s All of Us Research Program to inform more personalized nutrition recommendations and improve novel diet assessment methods.

Metabolic Dysregulation

In the fall, EGRP funded five cancer research projects and a coordinating center for the Metabolic Dysregulation and Cancer Risk Program. The purpose of the program is to enhance knowledge of the dynamics and underlying mechanisms that link obesity, metabolic dysregulation, and increased cancer risk in individuals and identify mechanisms that will enhance cancer risk prediction, screening for high-risk individuals in clinical settings, and potential targets for preventive and therapeutic interventions.

EGRP’s Grants Portfolio and Funding Opportunity Announcements

EGRP joins with other divisions, offices, and centers at NCI and other NIH institutes to fund investigator-initiated research and applications submitted in response to funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). EGRP supports projects in the United States and globally. We are happy to report that the overall number of funded projects that EGRP oversees increased in fiscal year 2022 to 292 grants valued at $206 million, including funding of 49 early-stage investigators.

Learn more about active cancer epidemiology projects.

EGRP staff served as scientific contacts for more than 35 new and re-issued FOAs in 2022.

The following FOAs that are still accepting applications include

• RFA-PM-23-001, Enhancing the Use of the All of Us Research Program’s Data (R21, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• RFA-PM-23-002, Small Grants to Enhance the Use of the All of Us Research Program’s Data (R03, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Cannabis and Cannabinoid Use in Adult Cancer Patients During Treatment: Assessing Benefits and Harms
  • RFA-CA-22-052 (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • RFA-CA-22-053, Coordinating Center (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
    * A pre-application webinar took place in October 2022.
• RFA-CA-22-027, Research to Understand and Address the Survivorship Needs of Individuals Living with Advanced Cancer (R01, Clinical Trial Optional)
  * A pre-application webinar took place in June 2022.
• RFA-OD-22-027, Advanced Training in Artificial Intelligence for Precision Nutrition Science Research (AIPrN) – Institutional Research Training Programs (T32)
• Co-infection and Cancer
  • PAR-23-055 (R01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PAR-23-056 (R21, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PAR-23-075, Small Research Grants for Analyses of Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Data (R03, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PAR-23-085, Genomic Community Resources (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PAR-22-233, Time-Sensitive Opportunities for Health Research (R33 & R61, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Cancer Epidemiology Cohorts
  • PAR-22-162, Research Opportunities in Established Cancer Epidemiology Cohort Studies (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PAR-22-161, Building the Next Generation of Research Cohorts (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
    * A pre-application webinar took place in April 2022.
• Epidemiologic Research on Emerging Risk Factors and Liver Cancer Susceptibility
  • PAR-22-083 (R01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PAR-22-084 (R21, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Bioengineering Research Grants
  • PAR-22-242 (R01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • PAR-22-243 (R01, Clinical Trial Optional)
• Biology of Bladder Cancer
  • PAR-22-218 (R01, Clinical Trial Optional)
  • PAR-22-219 (R21, Clinical Trial Optional)
• PAR-22-256, Pragmatic Trials across the Cancer Control Continuum (UG3 & UH3, Clinical Trial Required)
  * A pre-application webinar took place in December 2022.
• PAR-21-341, Exploratory Grants in Cancer Control (R21, Clinical Trial Optional)
• NOT-OD-23-018, Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplement for Research and Capacity Building Efforts Related to Bioethical Issues (Clinical Trial Optional)
• NOT-CA-23-037, NOSI: Technology Development for Cancer Control and Population Science Research
• NOT-CA-22-037, NOSI: Validation of Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Tools for Improved Assessment in Epidemiological, Clinical, and Intervention Research
• NOT-OD-22-135, NOSI: Stimulating Research to Understand and Address Hunger, Food and Nutrition Insecurity
• NOT-ES-22-006, NOSI: Climate Change and Health
• NOT-CA-22-001, NOSI: Improving Outcomes in Cancer Treatment-Related Cardiotoxicity
• NOT-CA-23-004, NOSI: Utilization of Cohorts and Prospective Study Designs for Liquid Biopsy Assay Validation for Early Detection of Cancers
• NOT-HL-23-001, NOSI: Epidemiologic studies in Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (Parent R01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• NOT-CA-21-108, NOSI: Dietary, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Sleep Assessment Methodologies Among Infants and Young Children (Birth to 5 years) through Adults

FOAs that EGRP staff were involved with in 2022 that are no longer accepting applications include

• RFA-CA-22-020, Cancer Prevention, Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment Technologies for Global Health (U01, Clinical Trial Optional)
• RFA-ES-22-003, Research Coordinating Center to Support Climate Change and Health Community of Practice (U24, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Multi-Omics for Health and Disease
  • RFA-HG-22-008 Disease Study Sites (U01, Clinical Trial Optional)
  • RFA-HG-22-009 'Omics Production Centers (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • RFA-HG-22-010, Multi-Omics for Health and Disease - Data Analysis and Coordination Center (U01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)
  • RFA-OD-22-017, Open Competition: Pregnancy Cohort Study Sites (UG3/UH3, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • RFA-OD-22-018, Limited Competition: Pregnancy and Pediatric Cohort Study Sites (UG3/UH3, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  • RFA-OD-22-019, Limited Competition: Cohort Study Sites for Pediatric Follow Up (UG3/UH3, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• NOT-PM-22-002, NOSI: Administrative Supplements to Advance Precision Medicine Using the All of Us Research Program’s Data
• NOT-CA-22-005, NOSI: Clinical Characterization and Intervention Strategies for Cancer Therapy Induced Adverse Sequelae
• NOT-CA-22-056, NOSI: Administrative Supplements to Support Germline Genome-wide Genotyping and Sequencing of Existing Samples from Minority Racial/Ethnic Populations and Sharing of Associated Epidemiologic Data

More information about FOAs sponsored or co-sponsored by DCCPS are available on the DCCPS funding opportunities web page. Visit EGRP’s funding and grants web page for links to additional NCI and NIH programs with FOAs relevant to cancer epidemiologists.

Scientific Meetings and Webinars

In collaboration with other NCI and NIH programs, EGRP staff planned several scientific meetings to bring together experts and interested individuals to collaborate on finding solutions to pressing scientific questions and research needs.

Past Events

• On May 16-17, 2022, EGRP staff helped organize the virtual workshop “Machine Learning and Health Outcomes in Cancer Care Delivery Workshop.” The goals of the workshop were to identify scientific gaps, barriers, and opportunities in this emerging area of cancer-focused healthcare research. Recordings from the workshop are available.
• On July 26-28, 2022, EGRP staff participated in a Pathways to Prevention (P2P) Program workshop entitled “Nutrition as Prevention for Improved Cancer Health Outcomes,” which aimed to assess the scientific evidence on how nutritional interventions affect cancer health outcomes. Recordings, agenda information, and panel biographies are available on the workshop website.
• EGRP staff helped organize and participated in “Optimal Instruments to Measure Diet, Physical Activity, and Sleep,” a workshop hosted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), on September 21-22, 2022. The workshop brought together multi-disciplinary experts to critically examine the tools researchers use in the field to measure what people eat, how much they exercise, and how well they sleep.
• EGRP staff participated in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on September 28, 2022. The conference catalyzed the public and private sectors around a coordinated strategy to accelerate progress and drive transformative change in the U.S. to end hunger, improve nutrition and physical activity, and close the disparities surrounding them. Watch the recorded sessions.
• EGRP staff also helped organize and participated in the NSF-NIH Smart Health Workshop 2022 on October 6-7, 2022. The meeting focused on advances in smart health research and fostered partnerships for the future of smart health.
• EGRP hosted the 2022 NCI Cohort Consortium Annual Meeting virtually on November 1-2, 2022. The meeting brought together consortium researchers to discuss session topics: data sharing; challenges and opportunities for cohort cancer survivors; data collection, access, and linkages; and project group reports. Recordings will be available in late January 2023.
• EGRP staff participated in a Workshop on Housing and Obesity: Gaps, Opportunities, and Future Directions for Advancing Health Equity on November 14-15, 2022. This multi-agency sponsored workshop explored the role of housing insecurity in obesity-related health disparities, the evidence base for housing-related interventions to address obesity disparities, and future directions to advance health equity for all.
• EGRP staff also organized and participated in more than 40 webinars in 2022. These webinars were part of ongoing series focused on the topics below.
  • Body composition and cancer outcomes research
  • Cancer and aging
  • cancer epidemiology cohorts
  • Childhood obesity
  • Environmental epidemiology
  • Ethical and regulatory issues in cancer research
  • Evidence synthesis and communications in diet and chronic disease relationships
  • Infectious agents and cancer epidemiology research
  • Research in understudied populations and cancer disparities
  • Sequencing strategies for population-based studies

Upcoming Events

• In 2022, EGRP staff began planning a virtual meeting for February 7-8, 2023, Variation to Biology: Optimizing Functional Analysis of Cancer Risk Variants, to identify and discuss how best to address scientific challenges and opportunities for understanding the path from genetic variation to cancer phenotype. This meeting is open to the public and free to attend, but registration is required.
• EGRP staff also prepared a virtual workshop, Integrating Environmental Data with Other Omics for Cancer Epidemiology, which will take place February 14-15, 2023. The workshop aims to identify the challenges and opportunities related to the integration of environmental exposure data with other omics data for human cancer population studies and to inform future supported research directions for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and NCI. Registration is now open.

More details about upcoming and past webinars are available on EGRP’s events webpage. Many, but not all, EGRP-supported events are recorded. Please look for the video camera icon on our events page as an indication that a recording is available.

Updated Research Resources

EGRP supports a number of web-based research tools and grant-writing resources. Here are three resources that were updated this year:

• The 2022 version of Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour (ASA24) Dietary Assessment Tool is now available. ASA24 is a freely available web-based software tool that enables automated and self-administered 24-hour diet recalls and food records. ASA24 can be used by researchers for epidemiologic, intervention, behavioral, or clinical research. Notable features of the 2022 version include 300 new portion size food images for some popular foods; updated nutrient, food group, and supplement databases; and a new meal option for infant feeding. Additionally, a new ASA24 researcher website was launched in 2022 to improve the overall user experience and modernize the site. The researcher website is used to manage study logistics and obtain nutrient analysis files. A webinar detailing the recent enhancements to the system took place in November 2022.
• The Cancer Epidemiology Descriptive Cohort Database (CEDCD), which contains descriptive information about cancer epidemiology cohort studies, is in the process of being updated. Investigators are encouraged to update their cohort data to provide the scientific community the most up-to-date information about their studies with the scientific community. As of the end of 2022, 29 of the 62 cohorts in the CEDCD have updated their information.
• On January 25, 2023, the Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing will come into effect for any NIH-funded research that will generate scientific data, regardless of the research grant budget size. This new policy will require investigators submitting grant applications to NIH after the effective date to submit a full plan outlining how scientific data from their research will be managed and shared. Investigators can also submit a budget to cover costs of data management and sharing, with a brief justification (half page) outlining the budget items. The new policy replaces the 2003 NIH Data Sharing Policy. The 2015 Genomic Data Sharing Policy will remain in effect; NIH recently released additional information on the implementation changes for genomic data sharing plans (see NOT-OD-22-198). Investigators are encouraged to contact an EGRP program director for questions on the new policy and obtain sample plan templates.

Additional Funding Opportunities

Request for Information

Grants Policy Announcements

Career and Training Opportunities

NIH/NCI News and Blog Posts