DoD Prostate Cancer, Health Disparity Research Award | W81XWH 18 PCRP HDRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 PCRP HDRA

The DoD Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) Health Disparity Research Award is a competitive funding opportunity aimed at supporting research with a strong chance of meaningfully reducing inequities in prostate cancer outcomes. The award is focused on eliminating disparities in incidence, morbidity, mortality, and survivorship, and it is intentionally broad about what "drives" disparities. Applicants can propose work that tackles social and structural factors (such as access to screening and treatment, systemic barriers, geography, insurance, or care delivery), cultural factors (such as beliefs, trust, communication, or health literacy), and biological contributors (including genetics, tumor biology, or differential treatment response). While the program expects projects to be innovative, the central review emphasis is on impact: the research should be positioned to move the field forward in a noticeable way rather than producing a small, incremental advance.

A defining requirement of this mechanism is that the proposal clearly explains how the work will change understanding of, or directly address, the factors that lead to different prostate cancer experiences across populations. Impact can be near-term or long-term, but it must be substantial, and the Principal Investigator is expected to spell out exactly what disparity area is being targeted and why the expected outcomes matter. Alongside the science, applicants must include a detailed transition plan describing what happens after the project ends, including how findings will be advanced into the next development phase and kept moving toward clinical relevance or clinical impact, even if a direct clinical endpoint is not achievable within the award period.

Innovation is another core pillar, and it is defined in practical terms: proposals should introduce new concepts, challenge prevailing assumptions, apply fresh perspectives to persistent problems, or use creatively integrated methods. Multidisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged, reflecting the reality that health disparities often require combined expertise (for example, linking tumor biology and genomics with population science, implementation strategies, or behavioral and psychosocial research). Preliminary data may be included but is not mandatory; if unpublished preliminary results are provided, they should come from the PI or members of the research team.

The research scope is intentionally wide. Projects may be basic, translational, or clinical, and clinical trials are permitted as long as they are small-scale, up to Phase II or an equivalent stage. Investigators proposing clinical trials are encouraged to leverage the PCRP Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium (PCCTC) to help speed trial launch and completion. The solicitation explicitly welcomes applicants from many disciplines, including basic science, engineering, bioinformatics, population science, psycho-oncology, translational research, and clinical research, as long as the application stays tightly focused on a prostate cancer health disparity question. Population science-based approaches are particularly encouraged, signaling that the program is interested not only in mechanisms, but also in real-world patterns, interventions, and outcomes at the community or health-system level.

To strengthen rigor and the likelihood that findings translate into meaningful use, the program encourages applicants to build in best practices where appropriate. That includes authenticating cell lines, applying strong statistical rigor to preclinical animal studies, and adding experiments that test clinical relevance and translatability. Applicants are also pointed toward established resources if their work depends on existing human specimens or linked datasets. Notably, the PCRP-funded Prostate Cancer Biorepository Network (PCBN) and the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP) are highlighted as potentially valuable sources of retrospectively collected human biospecimens and correlated data. The solicitation also encourages studies that use large patient datasets with long-term health records and biospecimen repositories, especially when paired with modern genomic or proteomic methods, advanced bioinformatics, or mathematical modeling.

A specific track within the opportunity is the New Investigator category, designed to help early-career researchers compete separately from established investigators. New Investigators must meet eligibility criteria (defined in the full announcement) and must include at least one collaborator with demonstrated experience in prostate cancer health disparity research, evidenced by prior funding and publications. The application needs to explain why the collaboration is likely to succeed and how it strengthens the PI's ability to answer the proposed question, making mentorship and complementary expertise an explicit part of the reviewable plan.

Administratively, the opportunity was issued by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA under Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-18-PCRP-H.D.R.A. The instrument type allows for either a grant or a cooperative agreement. The listing indicates an expected number of awards of about nine, and eligibility is described as unrestricted in general terms (open to any entity type), subject to any clarifications in the full eligibility section of the announcement. A key mission-related requirement is that the proposed research must be relevant to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the American public, keeping the program grounded in both military and broader public health impact.

• 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 Prostate Cancer, Health Disparity Research 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 Jun 19, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 11, 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 9 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 PCRP HDRA

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