The NCI Small Grants Program (R03) is an NIH funding mechanism that provides modest, short-duration support for pilot projects in cancer research. This omnibus program is ideal for early-stage investigators or established researchers exploring new directions. An NCI R03 grant can supply up to $50,000 per year for 2 years (maximum $100,000 total) to gather preliminary data or test proof-of-concept ideas in areas relevant to cancer biology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or survivorship . Projects should be well-defined and achievable within the limited budget/scope – for example, feasibility studies, secondary analyses, or development of research methodology. The goal is often to produce data that will lead to a larger grant (R01) or significantly advance a niche of cancer science.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Open to investigators at any career stage who are eligible to apply as NIH PI. Early-career researchers are encouraged (the R03 is a common first grant for new investigators), but senior scientists can also use it for exploratory work.
- The research scope must fall under the mission of the National Cancer Institute. This includes basic laboratory studies of cancer, translational research, clinical research (excluding large trials), population and epidemiology studies, behavioral research, health services research, etc., as long as it addresses cancer.
- Applicants can be based in the U.S. or abroad (foreign institutions are allowed with certain restrictions). There is no U.S. citizenship requirement.
- Note: An investigator may not concurrently hold another NIH small grant of similar scope. Typically, R03 projects do not involve extensive human subjects or animal work that would exceed the small scale.
Funding Details:
- Grant amount: Up to $50,000 direct costs per year for 2 years . (NCI allows requests of $50K/year; no more than $100K over the entire project). This budget can cover personnel (often partial salary for the PI or research assistant), supplies, core facility fees, small equipment, and other research expenses.
- Indirect costs can be added on top as per institution’s federally negotiated rate (so total award might be slightly higher including indirects).
- Project period: 2 years maximum. No renewal option for R03 – it is non-renewable. However, PIs can later seek an R01 or larger grant based on R03 results.
- Because of the limited scope, clinical trials are not allowed on an R03 (clinical research is okay, but not trials). The work should be completed within 2 years. Progress reporting follows standard NIH requirements.
Deadline:
- January 8, 2026 – This is the standard receipt date for NCI (and NIH) small grant applications for the January cycle . (If missed, the next standard deadlines are in spring and fall.)
- Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov by 5:00 PM local time on that date.
- The funding opportunity announcement is PAR-25-078 . Council review and earliest start date for applications submitted by Jan 8, 2026 will be later in 2026.
Where to go for further information: