DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer, Impact Award | W81XWH 19 PRCRP IPA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 PRCRP IPA

The DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) Impact Award (FY19) is a Department of Defense funding opportunity designed to push cancer research past early discovery and into work that can realistically change patient care in the near term. It is aimed at hypothesis-driven projects that are already mature and well-supported by prior findings, and that target critical scientific or clinical problems in cancer. The central idea is to fund studies that, if successful, would make a major, meaningful difference in at least one of the FY19 PRCRP Topic Areas, especially in cancers or research areas that are under-funded, under-studied, and/or particularly lethal but still relevant to the military community. The program also emphasizes cross-cutting insights, encouraging research that can reveal common mechanisms or solutions across multiple cancers, helping to reduce disparities in where cancer research dollars typically go.

A defining feature of this award is its focus on impact that is both significant and timely. Reviewers are looking for proposals that go beyond incremental progress and instead have a clear path to shifting clinical practice, improving patient outcomes, or materially accelerating translation to treatment or prevention strategies. Projects are expected to show how they will transform the field toward improved patient care, not merely add another piece of basic biological knowledge. Translational and clinical research are explicitly encouraged, including clinical trials, and applicants are expected to make a strong case that the proposed outcomes are achievable on a near-term horizon. In practical terms, this often means well-developed therapeutic strategies, diagnostics, or prevention approaches that are ready for rigorous validation, optimization, or testing in clinically relevant settings.

Another core requirement is strong preliminary data. The Impact Award is structured for investigators who can demonstrate feasibility and readiness, using results that already exist to justify the next step. Applications must include preliminary data, and any unpublished data must come from the Principal Investigator (PI) or members of the project team, reinforcing that the proposal is grounded in the group’s demonstrated capabilities rather than speculation. This requirement aligns with the award’s “leapfrog” intent: the DoD wants projects that can capitalize on solid prior work to move quickly toward translational or clinical endpoints.

Continuity of research is also emphasized. This mechanism is meant for established lines of investigation that have progressed beyond the basic research stage and are positioned to deliver a near-term clinical or clinically actionable impact. In other words, the award supports projects that are already on a trajectory toward application and need support to cross the next major milestone, such as validating a target in patient samples, refining an intervention, completing key preclinical studies that directly support clinical translation, or conducting clinical testing.

Military relevance is mandatory. Proposed studies must address at least one FY19 PRCRP Military Health Focus Area and must be clearly relevant to active duty Service members, Veterans, and their beneficiaries. This relevance requirement is not just a brief statement; the proposal needs to connect the cancer problem and the expected outcomes to the needs of the military health population, such as incidence, exposure risks, survivorship burdens, readiness impacts, or care challenges faced within the Military Health System and the VA.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-19-PRCRP-IPA) was offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA, under CFDA 12.420. Funding instruments included grants and cooperative agreements, and eligibility was broadly “unrestricted,” meaning many organization types could apply as long as they met any additional requirements in the full announcement. The opportunity was posted March 21, 2019, with an original closing date of September 11, 2019, and anticipated roughly 10 awards. Notably, the posted “award ceiling” field shows 0, which typically signals that applicants need to rely on the full program announcement for budget limits and expectations rather than the summary field alone.

Overall, the PRCRP Impact Award is best understood as a translation-focused cancer funding mechanism: it supports rigorous, robust studies that leverage existing momentum, use clinical samples and/or trials where appropriate, and are framed around concrete, high-stakes outcomes. The strongest applications are those that can convincingly show both readiness and importance: a mature project built on credible preliminary data, aimed at a clinically urgent problem, with a near-term path to improving cancer care for military-connected populations while also advancing the broader oncology field.

• 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 Peer Reviewed Cancer, Impact 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 21, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 11, 2019. (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 10 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 19 PRCRP IPA

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