Defense Health Program Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20)

How to Apply: 

The FY20 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) to support innovative, high-impact cancer research.  As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency J9, Research and Development Directorate manages the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation.  The managing agent for the anticipated Program Announcements/Funding Opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

 

The FY20 PRCRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.

 

Congressionally Directed Topic Areas:  The PRCRP appropriation of $110,000,000 will provide funds for research into cancers not addressed in the breast, pancreatic, prostate, ovarian, kidney, lung, melanoma, and rare cancer research programs.  To be considered for funding, applications for the FY20 PRCRP must address at least one of the FY20 PRCRP Topic Areas as directed by Congress.  Research applications in the areas of breast, prostate, lung (excluding mesothelioma), kidney, melanoma, pancreatic, rare cancer, or ovarian cancer will not be accepted. The inclusion of the individual rare cancer research program shall not prohibit the PRCRP from funding the below mentioned cancers or cancer subtypes that may be rare by definition.

The FY20 PRCRP Topic Areas are:

  • Bladder cancer
  • Blood cancers
  • Brain cancer
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Esophageal cancer
  • Head and neck cancers
  • Immunotherapy
  • Liver cancer
  • Mesothelioma
  • Metastatic cancerǂ
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers (PAYAC)*
  • Pediatric brain tumors
  • Stomach cancer
  

 

As derived from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer terms (http://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms).  Immunotherapy is a type of biological therapy that uses substances to stimulate or suppress the immune system to help the body fight cancer.  Cancers studied under this Topic Area should be within the scope of the Congressional language and the intent of the Program Announcement(s).

*National Cancer Institute (NCI) definition of adolescents and young adults (https://www.cancer.gov/types/aya) is people between 15-39 years of age.  Cancers studied under this Topic Area should be within the scope of the Congressional language and the intent of the Program Announcement(s). Research should be targeted toward children (ages 0-14 years), adolescents (ages 15-24 years), and/or young adults (ages 25-39 years).

ǂMetastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from its original location to another place in the body, representing what is known as stage III and stage IV cancer diagnoses.  While recent research has revealed that there is a genetic basis for susceptibility or resistance to metastasis, more research is needed to develop a comprehensive understanding of this complex process. Applications to the metastatic cancer topic area should focus on the process of metastasis and not the cancer type (i.e.an agnostic interrogation of the process of metastasis).

 

The FY20 PRCRP Military Health Focus Areas are listed below:

It is central to the vision and mission of the PRCRP that applications address how the proposed research is related to military health, mission readiness, and the cancer health needs of both deployed and non-deployed military personnel, their dependents, Veterans, and other military beneficiaries (i.e., family members of retirees).  The FY20 PRCRP requires all applications to answer at least one of the following Military Health Focus Areas:

  • Environmental/exposure risk factors associated with cancer
  • Mission Readiness

o    Gaps in cancer prevention, early detection/diagnosis, prognosis, and/or treatment that may affect the general population but have a particularly profound impact on the health and well-being of military Service members, Veterans, and their beneficiaries

o    Gaps in quality of life and/or survivorship that may affect the general population but have a particularly profound impact on the health and well-being of military Service members, Veterans, and their beneficiaries

https://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/prcrp

 


Idea Award – Preproposal due May 14,  2020

Independent investigator with a faculty-level appointment (or equivalent).

  • Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports innovative, untested, high-risk/
    potentially high-reward concepts, theories, paradigms, and/or methods in cancer research relevant to Service members, their families, and other military beneficiaries.
  • Emphasis on innovation and military health/impact.
  • Must address at least one of the FY20 PRCRP Topic Areas.
  • Must address at least one of the FY20 PRCRP Military Health Focus Areas.
  • Preliminary data are not required.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Maximum funding for the entire period of performance is $500,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is up to 3 years.

 

Impact Award – Preproposal due May 14, 2020

Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) are eligible to submit an application.

  • Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports hypothesis-driven, high impact research.
  • Encourages applications that support research projects or ideas that specifically focus on critical scientific and clinical cancer issues, which, if successfully addressed, have the potential to make a major impact on one of the FY20 PRCRP Topic Areas.
  • Must address at least one of the FY20 PRCRP Topic Areas.
  • Must address at least one of the FY20 PRCRP Military Health Focus Areas.
  • Preliminary data are required.
  • Clinical Trials are allowed.
    • Maximum funding for the entire period of performance is $1,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
    • Maximum period of performance is 3 years.

 

External Deadline: 
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Funding Source: 
External
Funding Level: 
Research