National Cancer Institute

NCI distributes funding primarily through an extramural grant and contract mechanism — the majority of its budget supports investigator-initiated research at universities, medical schools, and independent research organizations across the United States and internationally. A smaller but significant portion funds the intramural research program on the NIH campus in Bethesda, where government-employed scientists conduct laboratory, clinical, and population research. The institute also provides competitive infrastructure support for its network of 71 NCI-designated cancer centers.

The National Cancer Institute is the largest of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health, which is itself an agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services. Its director is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and its annual budget is determined by congressional appropriation. This federal integration means NCI operates under public oversight, with strategic priorities often shaped by both scientific opportunity and legislative mandate.

NCI does both. Its extramural program supports thousands of external investigators through competitive grants, while its intramural program maintains roughly 250 principal investigators who conduct government-operated research on-site at NIH facilities and at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. This dual model allows NCI to carry out long-term, high-risk projects that may not fit traditional grant cycles, alongside its role as a national funder.

NCI-designated cancer centers are institutions that meet rigorous standards for cancer research, transdisciplinary science, and community engagement as determined by peer review. As of 2024, there are 71 designated centers across the United States, categorized as Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Clinical Cancer Centers, or Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers. Designation provides competitive access to infrastructure support grants and shapes how regional cancer research and care are organized nationally.

NCI funds research across the full translational spectrum — from fundamental bench science through early-stage clinical trials to population-level implementation studies. Its programs span drug discovery, genomic epidemiology, cancer immunotherapy development, and behavioral interventions. Unlike private investment funds, NCI does not target specific investment stages; it deploys capital through research project grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts reviewed through a peer-review process managed in part by the Center for Scientific Review.