DoD Breast Cancer, Distinguished Investigator Award | W81XWH 18 BCRP DIA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 BCRP DIA

The DoD Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Distinguished Investigator Award is designed to back a single, highly accomplished research leader with a strong, widely recognized track record of major scientific contributions and the ability to lead ambitious collaborations. The purpose is to empower an established visionary from any discipline to pursue bold, innovative work that could materially accelerate progress toward ending breast cancer. The program is explicitly looking for a Principal Investigator (PI) who is known for exceptional creativity, vision, and productivity, and who can demonstrate a history of building and directing effective partnerships. The underlying expectation is that the PI is positioned to make a unique and meaningful leap in breast cancer research because of their leadership stature and their capacity to drive new directions.

A defining requirement of this opportunity is that the proposed research must represent a fundamental conceptual departure from the PI's prior published line of work. In other words, the award is not meant to fund incremental extensions of what the investigator is already known for. The application needs to show a clear, credible shift in thinking, approach, or scientific framing, and it must directly address one or more of the BCRP overarching challenges (as identified by the program). Simply switching focus from one type of cancer to breast cancer is not automatically considered a sufficient conceptual shift; the program is looking for more than a change in disease label. While high-risk, high-reward proposals are encouraged and can be submitted with limited preliminary data, the project still must be grounded in a strong scientific rationale and include a well-formed, testable hypothesis.

The award is open to applicants from any field, and prior experience in breast cancer research is not required as long as the proposed work is clearly focused on breast cancer. This is meant to attract researchers who can bring fresh perspectives and novel concepts from other disciplines into breast cancer research. At the same time, the PI is expected to build a team with the right expertise to execute the project. If the PI is not already experienced in breast cancer research, the application is expected to include at least one collaborator who does have breast cancer expertise to ensure the project remains scientifically and clinically grounded in the realities of the disease.

A notable and mandatory component of the team structure is the inclusion of two or more breast cancer consumer advocates. These advocates must be breast cancer survivors who are actively involved in a breast cancer advocacy organization, and they must serve as independent lay representatives rather than as employees of any organization participating in the application. The intent is for advocates to provide objective input on the research direction and its practical importance for people who have breast cancer or are at risk for it. The opportunity also expects these advocates to have enough knowledge of current breast cancer issues and some level of training or background to engage meaningfully with the research effort, rather than serving as symbolic participants.

Finally, the proposed research must be relevant to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the broader American public, reflecting the Department of Defense's health mission and the program's commitment to public impact. The funding opportunity was issued by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, USAMRAA under opportunity number W81XWH-18-BCRP-DIA (CFDA 12.420). It supported funding through grants and/or cooperative agreements, was broadly open in terms of eligible applicant entities (with standard eligibility clarifications applying), and indicated an expectation of one award for the cycle referenced, with an original closing date of August 14, 2018.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Breast Cancer, Distinguished Investigator Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 27, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 14, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for W81XWH 18 BCRP DIA

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: