DoD Lung Cancer, Translational Research Partnership Award | W81XWH 18 LCRP TRPA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 LCRP TRPA

The FY18 DoD Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP) Translational Research Partnership Award is a funding opportunity designed to push promising lung cancer discoveries closer to real-world clinical use. Its central purpose is to speed up translational progress by requiring a true, integrated partnership between two independent investigators: one must be a research scientist and the other must be a clinician. The program is looking for teams that can tackle a key lung cancer problem or question in a way that would be difficult to accomplish if each investigator worked separately. A major emphasis is that both partners contribute equally to the intellectual design and execution of the project; it is not meant for arrangements where a clinician simply provides patient access or tissue while the lab does the rest.

The mechanism encourages (but does not strictly require) multi-institution collaborations, and it strongly encourages including a partner who is an active duty Service member or a Federal employee working in a DoD military treatment facility or laboratory, or a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center or research lab. At least one member of the two-person partnership must bring relevant experience, either in lung cancer research or direct lung cancer patient care. The project itself should be clearly translational, meaning it actively connects basic science and clinical work with a two-way exchange of ideas and data, rather than treating translation as a simple one-direction path from bench to bedside. The program explicitly values research questions that can originate from many sources, including laboratory findings, population-based studies, and clinical observations from patient care.

In terms of what kinds of studies can be supported, the award is intentionally broad across the translational pipeline. Examples include efforts that move findings from in vitro systems and/or animal models into studies using human samples or patient cohorts, and late-stage preclinical work aimed at preparing for a clinical trial, such as work that positions a team for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. The award can also support pilot or proof-of-principle clinical trials, but if an IND or Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) is relevant, the application must document that one already exists. In addition, the award supports correlative studies connected to open/ongoing or completed clinical trials, as well as projects focused on developing or refining endpoints that can strengthen future clinical trials.

Applications must show that the project depends on the complementary expertise of both partners and must include specific, practical plans for how the partnership will function day to day. That includes how the investigators will communicate, coordinate responsibilities, track progress, share results, and transfer data across labs or institutions. If the team spans multiple institutions, the application must also include an intellectual property plan that addresses how potential IP and material transfer issues will be handled and how institutional barriers will be reduced so collaboration stays smooth and productive.

Feasibility matters: preliminary data are required to support the hypotheses and proposed approach, but those data do not have to come from lung cancer studies specifically, as long as they credibly support the methods and core scientific premise. Clinical trials are allowed under this mechanism; when human subjects research is proposed, the application must include the required recruitment and safety documentation (noted in the opportunity as Attachment 8, Human Subject Recruitment and Safety Procedures).

A key review consideration is military relevance. The LCRP is explicitly aligned with the healthcare needs of Service members, Veterans, and their families, and military relevance is considered during programmatic review as part of alignment with the Defense Health Program mission. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate relevance in concrete ways, such as using military or VA patient populations, biospecimens, or data resources; collaborating with DoD or VA investigators; engaging military consultants or specialty leadership connected to the Surgeons General; or explaining how resulting knowledge, products, or technologies could be deployed in a dual-use way that meets military needs while also benefiting civilians. The opportunity also highlights relevance to lung cancer factors that matter to military populations, including environmental exposures beyond tobacco. Overall, the project must be relevant to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the broader American public.

Administratively, this is a discretionary DoD opportunity (USAMRAA) offered as a grant or cooperative agreement under CFDA 12.420, with unrestricted eligibility (open to any entity type, subject to any additional eligibility text in the full announcement). For FY18, the program anticipated making about two awards. The budget guidance states that anticipated direct costs for the full period of performance should not exceed $900,000, with applicants directed to the funding restrictions section of the announcement for details. The funding opportunity number is W81XWH-18-LCRP-TRPA, originally posted May 3, 2018, with an original closing date of September 26, 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 Lung Cancer, Translational Research Partnership 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 May 03, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 26, 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 2 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.

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