The NCI’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Development Center has released a program solicitation (PHS 2021-1) which includes a new, Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC)-inspired grant. The announcement calls for the development of high-throughput, single-cell, unbiased discovery proteomic technologies. The goal of this opportunity is to advance our knowledge of cancer development and progression, and to enable robust cancer biomarker discovery and clinical application on a micro-scale.
The NIH/NCI 420 - Single-Cell “Unbiased Discovery” Proteomic Technologies funding announcement,
released on July 29th, 2020, will award three to five qualified recipients with the opportunity to develop proteomic technologies for untargeted discovery of the proteome in a typical single-cell. The award will be implemented in two phases: recipients of Phase I will generate proof-of-concept data that allows the identification and quantification of at least 500 proteins in a single-cell. Phase II recipients will expand Phase I to develop a commercial prototype of the technology.
This grant presents an exciting opportunity to address several long-standing challenges in the field of proteomics, such as increasing proteomic sensitivity, reducing amount of tissue required for analysis, and addressing cancer tissue heterogeneity. NCI’s Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research (OCCPR) and SBIR hope this grant will not only encourage development of reliable single-cell proteomic technology in the short term, but to also generate a more complete understanding of the human cancer proteome to develop efficient precision medicine tools that connect patients to therapies. As part of the mission of OCCPR to expand the use of proteomics in research and diagnostics, we are excited for this grant and its possibilities for the future.
Grant applications must be submitted by 5:00pm EST, October 26th, 2020 through the electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) website.