DoD Lung Cancer, Investigator-Initiated Translational Research Award | W81XWH 19 LCRP IITRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 LCRP IITRA

The DoD Lung Cancer, Investigator-Initiated Translational Research Award (FY19 LCRP IITRA; Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-19-LCRP-IITRA) is a Department of Defense lung cancer research funding mechanism designed to push credible, science-driven ideas closer to real-world clinical use. It sits squarely in the translational space, meaning it is meant for projects that deliberately connect basic research with clinical reality. Rather than funding purely exploratory bench science or purely clinical work in isolation, the intent is to support research that can take what is being learned in the lab, in populations, or in day-to-day patient care and convert it into something that can realistically influence diagnosis, treatment, or clinical trial design in lung cancer.

A central theme of the opportunity is that translational research should not be treated as a simple one-direction pipeline where discoveries move from “bench to bedside” in a straight line. Applicants are expected to build research plans that show a two-way exchange between laboratory and clinical domains. In practical terms, this means clinical observations should shape laboratory questions, and laboratory results should then loop back to refine clinical hypotheses, patient selection strategies, biomarkers, therapeutic targets, or trial endpoints. The program is looking for proposals where this reciprocal flow is obvious in the design, the team expertise, and the planned outputs.

The scope is intentionally broad as long as the work is convincingly translational and aimed at clinical application in lung cancer. Examples highlighted in the announcement include studies that take in vitro findings or animal model results and move them toward use in human samples or human cohorts, such as validating a candidate biomarker in patient specimens or translating a mechanistic discovery into a clinically testable assay. The opportunity also explicitly welcomes late-stage preclinical projects that are preparing for clinical trials, including work that supports steps like an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission. Another emphasized area is correlative science tied to clinical trials: projects that analyze specimens or data from an open, ongoing, or completed trial to uncover predictive or pharmacodynamic biomarkers, clarify mechanisms of response or resistance, or otherwise strengthen the clinical interpretation of trial results. Related to this, the award supports efforts to develop or refine clinical trial endpoints, which can include measurable biological or clinical readouts that improve how trials evaluate whether an intervention is working.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument types listed are Cooperative Agreement and Grant, and the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development under CFDA 12.420. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional clarifications that may appear in the full announcement text. The administering organization is the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). The opportunity was created on March 22, 2019, with an original closing date of August 21, 2019. The posting also notes an expected number of awards of four, and lists an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that applicants must rely on the full funding announcement for the actual budget limits or that the ceiling is not specified in that summary field.

Overall, this award mechanism is best understood as targeted support for lung cancer projects that are far enough along to credibly move into human-relevant testing, clinical trial readiness, or clinical trial-linked discovery, and that clearly demonstrate an iterative, bidirectional strategy connecting laboratory insight with patient-centered application.

• 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, Investigator-Initiated Translational 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 Mar 22, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 21, 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 4 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 LCRP IITRA

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