DOD Prostate Cancer, Early Investigator Research Award | W81XWH 19 PCRP EIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 PCRP EIRA

The DOD Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) Early Investigator Research Award (EIRA) is designed to help postdoctoral researchers launch an independent career path in prostate cancer research while still working under close, structured mentorship. The postdoctoral scientist serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) and is expected to take primary responsibility for the application and the proposed research plan, with guidance from one or more Mentors. A key point is that the PI does not need prior prostate cancer experience, but must show strong promise and commitment to building a research career at the leading edge of the field. Eligibility is limited to investigators with 3 years or less of postdoctoral research experience (not counting clinical residency or clinical fellowship training) as of March 31, 2020, and the program explicitly encourages applicants aiming to build a career focused on prostate cancer health disparities.

Mentorship is a required and central part of the mechanism. Each application must name at least one Mentor with demonstrated prostate cancer research expertise and a strong mentorship record, typically evidenced by active funding, recent publications, and prior successful trainee outcomes. The primary Mentor may be a junior faculty member, but in that case adding a secondary Mentor with a deeper track record is encouraged. For projects centered on health disparities, the application is expected to include at least one Mentor with direct experience in prostate cancer health disparity research. Across the mentoring team, reviewers are looking for a clear commitment to helping the PI build the skills and track record needed to transition toward independence.

On the science side, proposed projects must address at least one of the FY19 PCRP Overarching Challenges, with particular encouragement for work targeting the challenge of reducing lethal prostate cancer in African Americans, Veterans, and other high-risk populations. The research plan is expected to show a strong scientific rationale, thoughtful experimental design, and a realistic path to completing the work. Preliminary data can be included and may strengthen the application, but it is not required; any preliminary data that are provided should come from the PI, Mentor(s), or collaborators. Applicants also need to show that critical resources are available, typically supported through documentation. The opportunity emphasizes rigorous, credible study design practices such as authenticating cell lines, applying statistical rigor in animal studies, and including experiments that speak to clinical relevance and translatability where appropriate. Applicants are encouraged to consider established resources like the PCRP-funded Prostate Cancer Biorepository Network (PCBN) and the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP) when retrospective human specimens or linked datasets are essential, and the program also welcomes analyses of large, well-annotated patient datasets using modern genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, or mathematical modeling approaches. While clinical relevance is valued, clinical trials are not permitted under this award, using the FY19 definition in which a clinical trial involves prospectively assigning human subjects to interventions to evaluate health-related outcomes.

A major deliverable of the EIRA is an individualized Researcher Development Plan. The PI must lay out a prostate cancer-focused training and career development strategy that explains how they will gain the technical, analytical, and professional skills needed to complete the project and move toward independence. The application should describe a supportive research and mentoring environment; if the home institution lacks specific resources or expertise, collaborations with other institutions can fill those gaps. When the PI will rely heavily on another institution's resources to execute the project, naming a co-Mentor at the collaborating institution is strongly encouraged, signaling that the mentoring structure matches the practical realities of where the work will be done.

The funding and administrative framework is also clearly defined. The anticipated maximum direct costs for the full performance period are capped at $200,000. The program planned to allocate about $7.68 million total to fund roughly 24 awards, with funding dependent on federal budget availability and the outcome of scientific and programmatic review. Awards were expected to be made by September 30, 2020, and FY19 funds were noted as expiring for use on September 30, 2025. Award instruments may be either grants or cooperative agreements, depending on whether the Department of Defense anticipates substantial involvement during project execution; cooperative agreements are used when the agency expects active collaboration, participation, or intervention during performance.

Several compliance requirements are emphasized for projects involving regulated research activities. For studies involving human anatomical substances, human subjects, or human cadavers, DoD requires review and approval by the USAMRMC Office of Research Protections, Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) before research can begin, in addition to local IRB or ethics review. Local IRB approval is not required at submission, but applicants should plan for HRPO review timelines of at least 2 to 3 months, potentially longer for international clinical research contexts (even though clinical trials are not allowed, other human-subjects research may still occur). If the project involves recruiting human subjects, the application must include quarterly enrollment targets and, after award, the team will be expected to meet recruitment milestones established with the grants management office. For animal studies, DoD similarly requires approval by the Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO) in addition to the institution's IACUC; IACUC approval is not required at submission, but animal work cannot start until ACURO has approved the protocol, and the review process commonly takes 2 to 3 months. The announcement also stresses reproducibility and transparent reporting expectations for preclinical work, pointing applicants toward recognized best practices such as randomization, blinding, sample-size estimation, careful data handling, and alignment with ARRIVE guidelines.

Finally, the opportunity highlights relevance to Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the broader American public as a required consideration. If a project depends on access to Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs populations, resources, or databases, the application must explain how access will be obtained and maintained and should include appropriate letters of support from authorized officials. The announcement also cautions that some DoD or VA resources may be restricted and only accessible through collaboration with qualified DoD or VA investigators; if access is not adequately confirmed, the government may delay, withdraw, or revoke funding until access is demonstrated. Overall, the EIRA is structured to fund a well-mentored, methodologically rigorous, prostate cancer-focused research project while intentionally building the PI's capabilities and trajectory toward becoming an independent investigator, with added emphasis on addressing high-impact challenges and, where possible, reducing disparities in lethal disease outcomes.

• 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, Early Investigator 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 Apr 05, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 27, 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 24 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 PCRP EIRA

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