Research on perception and attention is pertinent across the cancer control continuum. For example:
- If you want to communicate probabilistic information (such as risks or benefits of certain behaviors) through visual images, you need to understand how the visual system processes quantitative information.
- If you want to understand how the built environment influences people's propensity for physical activity, you need to understand spatial cognition.
- If you want to improve the accuracy of cancer screening procedures, you need to understand the attentional limitations of the human reader.
- If you want to understand how various cancer treatments may impair patients’ cognitive functioning, you need to understand not only normal cognitive function, but also how perceptual deficits may reduce the quality of the information patients are taking in from their surroundings.
The BBPSB Perception and Attention initiative aims to promote basic research in perception and attention relevant to cancer control and prevention. Such research can inform our efforts to reduce the burden of cancer.
Funding Opportunities
| Title | Announcement # | Expiration Date | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIH Research Project Grant | PA-25-301 (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | January 08, 2028 | Go to https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization to explore NCI divisions and identify program contacts by interest.
|
| Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program | PAR-25-167 (R01 Clinical Trial Required) | January 08, 2027 | Tanya Agurs-Collins 240-276-6956 collinsta@mail.nih.gov |
| Modular R01s in Cancer Control and Population Sciences | PAR-25-172 (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | January 08, 2028 | Scott Rogers 240-276-6932 rogerssc@mail.nih.gov |
| Exploratory Grants in Cancer Control | PAR-25-253 (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | September 08, 2028 | Mukesh Verma 240-276-6889 vermam@mail.nih.gov |
Related Events
2020 Virtual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society Presentation 
View Dr. Todd Horowitz’s presentation “How do we measure attention? Visual cognition meets neuropsychology”, which was recorded for the June 2020 virtual meeting of the Vision Sciences Society.
Cognition and Medical Image Perception Think Tank
The 2019 Think Tank workshop brought radiologists and pathologists together with researchers working in medical image perception and adjacent fields of cognition and perception, to identify opportunities to advance the study of medical image interpretation through constructive discourse, idea generation, and problem-solving.
Seeing the Science in Medical Imaging NCI Workshop in Vision Research
In 2014, NCI convened experts in medical imaging and vision science to discuss the current challenges in the perception of medical images by human observers, and to help advance the research agenda in cancer prevention and control. Visit the event page for recordings and transcripts of the event.
Resources
Medical Image Perception Research Studies
Explore current medical image perception studies or submit your experiment to be featured.
National Lung Screening Trial Datasets and Images
Download comprehensive datasets, CT images, and pathology images from the NCI National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) and search a database of research projects and publications.
Cancer Imaging Program
Access The Cancer Imaging Archive, a collection of medical images of cancer available for public use, through the NCI Cancer Imaging Program website.