DoD Ovarian Cancer Pilot Award | W81XWH 18 OCRP PA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 OCRP PA

The DoD Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) Pilot Award is a Department of Defense funding opportunity designed to jump-start bold, high-impact ovarian cancer research ideas that could change how the field thinks about preventing, detecting, treating, or curing the disease. The core purpose is to support early-stage, innovative concepts or theories that have the potential to lead to major advances, even if the idea is still at the proof-of-concept stage. Projects must have a clear and direct focus on ovarian cancer, which can include work using ovarian cancer tissues, established or newly generated cell lines, relevant datasets, or appropriate animal models. While preliminary data can be included if available, it is not required; reviewers are expected to weigh the application heavily on the strength of the scientific rationale, the logic behind the approach, and whether the hypothesis is testable and well-grounded.

A key expectation of this Pilot Award is that the project will generate strong preliminary data that can serve as a springboard for larger, follow-on studies and future grant applications. The program specifically emphasizes that the proposed work should act as a catalyst that expands or reshapes current thinking in ovarian cancer, rather than simply extending what is already well established. In fact, innovation is identified as the most important review criterion. The announcement even gives examples of approaches that would generally not be considered innovative enough, such as repeating a previously tested hypothesis in a different cell line or population, running standard published in vitro assay batteries simply to further characterize a model, adding already-known biomarkers into in vivo or clinical models without a truly novel angle, proposing the next incremental step from an existing project, or offering only modest extensions of published findings. In other words, the program is looking for ideas that, if proven correct, could open up new paradigms, new insights, or new technologies and applications that align with the OCRP mission and patient-centered impact.

The research also needs to be relevant to military and public health priorities. Applications must show relevance to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the American public. This does not mean the study must be conducted within the military health system, but it does mean the applicant should clearly explain why the question matters broadly and how it could translate into meaningful advances for the populations the DoD serves.

From a funding standpoint, the anticipated maximum for direct costs across the entire project period is capped at $250,000 (FY18). The specific details of what can and cannot be paid for fall under the program’s funding restrictions section, but the practical takeaway is that applicants should design a tightly scoped, high-yield project that can produce compelling preliminary results within that budget.

Clinical trials are explicitly not allowed under this mechanism. The opportunity uses a standard definition of a clinical trial as a prospective enrollment of human subjects where an intervention (such as a drug, device, biologic, surgery, behavioral program, or other intervention) is tested for measurable outcomes related to safety, effectiveness, or efficacy. Research can still involve human subjects, human specimens, and human anatomical substances, but it must not cross the line into testing an intervention prospectively in enrolled patients in a way that meets the clinical trial definition.

If the proposed work involves human subjects, human anatomical substances, or human cadavers, applicants should plan for additional Department of Defense oversight beyond their home institution’s ethics review. All such DoD-funded work must receive approval from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) Office of Research Protections, Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) before any research activities can begin. Importantly, local IRB/Ethics Committee approval is not required at the time of application submission, but it will be needed later, and HRPO review is separate and additive. The announcement advises budgeting time for this process, typically at least 2 to 3 months, and recommends writing protocols that are specific to the DoD-funded scope to avoid delays that can occur when broader protocols require full DoD compliance review.

Similarly, animal research is permitted, but it also triggers DoD-level review. Any DoD-funded animal work must be reviewed and approved by the Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO), in addition to the institution’s IACUC. As with human research oversight, IACUC approval is not required at the time of application submission, but it will be required if the project is selected for funding, and the ACURO process can also take 2 to 3 months. Investigators should be prepared to submit the animal use protocol, proof of IACUC approval, and the required supporting appendices before animal work begins.

Awards under this announcement are issued as assistance agreements, meaning they will be funded either as grants or cooperative agreements. Which one you receive depends on how much involvement the DoD anticipates having during the project; minimal agency involvement typically results in a grant, while substantial involvement (such as collaboration, participation, or intervention in the research) may lead to a cooperative agreement. The program also signals an expectation that data, results, and research resources generated with these funds should be made available to the broader research community and, where appropriate, to the public, consistent with CDMRP sharing expectations.

Administratively, this opportunity was run by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army (USAMRAA) under Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-18-OCRP-PA and CFDA 12.420. Eligibility is broadly listed as unrestricted (open to any entity type, subject to any additional eligibility notes in the full announcement). The original posting date was April 11, 2018, with an application closing date of August 22, 2018, and the program anticipated making about 9 awards, with awards expected no later than September 30, 2019.

• 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 Ovarian Cancer Pilot 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 11, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 22, 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.

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