DoD Breast Cancer, Innovator Award | W81XWH 19 BCRP INNOV

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 BCRP INNOV

The Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Innovator Award is designed to back exceptionally creative, established leaders whose work has already shown the ability to challenge prevailing assumptions and shift how a field thinks or operates. Rather than being a typical project-centered research grant, this mechanism is explicitly centered on the Principal Investigator (PI) as an innovator. The goal is to give that kind of visionary individual both funding and latitude to pursue bold, high-risk, potentially high-reward ideas that could meaningfully accelerate progress toward ending breast cancer, especially ideas that may not fit comfortably within conventional funding frameworks.

A defining expectation of this opportunity is that the PI can clearly articulate a forward-looking, paradigm-challenging vision for ending breast cancer. Review emphasis is placed on the PI's track record of creativity and leadership, including evidence that they have previously changed a research direction, introduced a new approach to patient care, or otherwise moved a field beyond standard dogma. The program is seeking rare investigators who can look beyond tradition and convention, build compelling new conceptual frameworks, and marshal teams and partnerships capable of pursuing ambitious goals. In that sense, the award is as much about investing in a proven innovative mind as it is about any single set of experiments.

Applicants do not need prior experience specifically in breast cancer research, as long as the proposed work is clearly focused on breast cancer. This is an intentional feature meant to attract experts from other disciplines who can bring novel concepts, methods, or technologies into breast cancer research. At the same time, the PI must commit substantial effort to the breast cancer focus during the award period, maintaining 50 percent of full-time professional effort devoted to breast cancer research. That required effort can be supported through a combination of this award and other active funding, but the commitment level itself is a firm expectation.

Team composition and collaboration are also core components. The PI is expected to assemble a research team that collectively provides the expertise needed to pursue the proposed goals, reflecting the reality that transformative advances typically require multidisciplinary capability and strong coordination. In addition, applications must include mentoring of promising junior investigators, reinforcing the program's aim to cultivate the next generation of innovative thinkers while the PI pursues unconventional, visionary research directions.

A distinctive requirement is formal inclusion of breast cancer consumer advocates as part of the research team. The application must include two or more consumer advocates who are breast cancer survivors (individuals who have been diagnosed with breast cancer) and who are actively involved in a breast cancer advocacy organization. These advocates serve as lay representatives providing independent, objective input about the research direction and its potential impact for people with, or at risk for, breast cancer. To preserve independence, they cannot be employees of any of the organizations participating in the application, and their advocacy role must be separate from their employment. The opportunity also expects these advocates to have a strong working knowledge of current breast cancer issues and enough background or training in breast cancer research to contribute meaningfully, not just symbolically.

The proposed work must also demonstrate relevance to military health. That means the application needs to clearly connect the anticipated outcomes or benefits to the healthcare needs of military Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the broader American public. This relevance requirement reflects the DoD mission and is a key framing element for how applicants should position the significance and real-world impact of their ideas.

Administratively, this opportunity was issued by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). The funding opportunity number is W81XWH-19-BCRP-INNOV, and the program listed allowable funding instruments as grants and cooperative agreements under the Science and Technology / Research and Development activity category (CFDA 12.420). Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to applicant organization types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications included in the full announcement. The posting dates in the source indicate a creation date of January 22, 2019, with an original closing date of June 13, 2019, and an expectation of a single award; the award ceiling is listed as 0 in the source data, which typically signals that the maximum funding level may be specified elsewhere in the full solicitation rather than captured in the summary 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 Breast Cancer, Innovator 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 Jan 22, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 13, 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 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 19 BCRP INNOV

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