Rural Research Award Program

Program Overview

The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, in partnership with the UAMS Rural Research Network, has created the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Rural Research Award Program. The goal of this program is to support investigators or teams of investigators seeking to collect data for competitive NCI/NIH R01 grant submissions. The program funds projects with a maximum budget of $100,000 each.

Planned Release

July 2026

Award Priorities

All areas of cancer research that address a healthcare problem in rural Arkansas populations are acceptable for this funding opportunity. Below are some areas of interest for the Rural Research Award Program. The following examples illustrate the types of studies appropriate for this RFA, but proposals are not limited to these topics:

• Implementation Science and Policy – Policies to improve cancer prevention and care, impact of Medicaid expansion on cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes, strategies for integrating precision medicine and targeted therapies into rural healthcare settings.
• Cancer Prevention and Screening – Barriers to cancer screening, mobile screening units, telehealth interventions, and socioeconomic and cultural factors in cancer screening adherence in rural populations.
• Cancer Health Disparities – Rural-urban disparities in cancer incidence and mortality, environmental and occupational exposures contributing to cancer risks, and impact of healthcare access on cancer treatment outcomes.
• Cancer Treatment and Outcomes – Barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment, impact of financial toxicity, remote patient monitoring and digital health tools, community hospitals versus academic cancer centers.
• Cancer Survivorship in Rural Arkansas – Unique survivorship challenges in rural Arkansas, management of long-term side effects, quality of life.
• Lifestyle, Behavioral, Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors – Impact of obesity on cancer risk and outcomes, smoking, vaping and lung cancer, dietary patterns and cancer risk, environmental exposures, and genetic and epigenetic risk factors.
• Health Communication and Education – Effective community-based interventions to improve cancer awareness, and strategies to enhance shared decision-making between rural patients and healthcare providers.

Eligibility

Applicants must be faculty members at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s/ACRI, and/or CAVHS with a rank of Assistant Professor or above.

2025 Award Winners