Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicits applications for Human Tumor Atlas (HTA) Research Centers, one of the three scientific components of the Human Tumor Atlas Network (HTAN) (NCI Human Tumor Atlas Network).
HTAN is a collaborative research
initiative for constructing 3-dimensional(3D) and dynamic atlases of the cellular, morphological, molecular, and spatial features of human cancers and their surrounding microenvironments as they progress from precancerous lesions to advanced disease.Each HTA Research Center will construct one human precancer or advanced cancer atlas with an explicit focus on how evolving spatial relationships contribute to important transitions in cancer from tumor initiation to metastasis.The other two HTAN components are Precancer Atlas (PCA) Research Centers and a Data Coordinating Center (DCC).
Each PCA Research Center will construct one 3D precancer atlas that comprehensively characterizes a premalignant lesion with an explicit focus on understanding the transition from a precancerous lesion to malignancy.The DCC will serve the dual role of network and data coordination.
It will also be responsible for meeting coordination.Research Centers have three major areas of responsibility:
(1) biospecimen acquisition, processing, and annotation, (2) molecular, cellular, and spatial characterization, and (3) data processing, analysis, modeling, and visualization.