DoD Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2 | W81XWH 18 BCRP BTA12

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 BCRP BTA12

The DoD Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2 (Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-18-BCRP-BTA12) is a discretionary research funding opportunity administered by the Department of Defense through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). Its central purpose is to back breast cancer research that is genuinely poised to change the field, meaning work that can plausibly lead to major advances rather than incremental improvements. The mechanism is offered as grants and cooperative agreements under CFDA 12.420, and it is broadly open to applicants (unrestricted eligibility, subject to any specific eligibility language in the full announcement). The posting was created March 27, 2018, with an original closing date of May 30, 2018, and the program anticipated making around 47 awards.

What sets this award apart is the emphasis on impact. Projects must be framed around the idea of accelerating progress toward ending breast cancer, either in the near term or over a longer horizon, but in a way that clearly goes beyond a minor step forward. The program is looking for research that could produce a new approach that is fundamentally better than current interventions, including those already approved or even those already moving through clinical development. A practical expectation is that applications spell out who ultimately benefits: investigators are expected to identify the breast cancer patient populations or at-risk individuals their work is meant to help, rather than leaving the relevance implicit.

The opportunity is organized around two funding levels that reflect the maturity and scope of the science, not simply the size of the budget. Applicants are responsible for choosing the level that best fits the project they are proposing. Funding Level 1 is intended for innovative, high-risk/high-reward ideas that are still in early development. These projects may be exploratory and are often aimed at opening up entirely new lines of inquiry. The goal at this level is typically proof of concept, and importantly, preliminary data are not required. Funding Level 2 is designed for projects that already have preliminary data in hand and are positioned to make meaningful progress toward clinical translation. In other words, Level 2 supports work that has moved past purely speculative stages and can credibly argue a path toward patient-relevant application, even if it is not yet ready for a clinical trial.

Collaboration is explicitly encouraged through a Partnering PI Option. Under this structure, two investigators can apply together as an Initiating PI and a Partnering PI, with each PI receiving a separate award while contributing to a single, coordinated research effort. The program expects both PIs to play substantial roles in shaping the science and key application components, including the project narrative and the statement of work. The value proposition needs to be clear: applicants should explain what distinct expertise each PI brings and why the project is stronger as a true partnership rather than two parallel projects. New collaborations are welcomed but not mandatory. At the same time, the program discourages using the Partnering PI role repeatedly across multiple submissions unless the applications are clearly focused on different research questions. It also draws a firm line on mentorship pairings: applications that pair a mentor with their current postdoctoral fellow or junior investigator as the two PIs are stated as not meeting the intent of this partnering mechanism.

From a project design standpoint, the program expects PIs to assemble a capable and well-matched research team with the appropriate technical backgrounds and breast cancer-relevant expertise to deliver the work. Studies involving human subjects or human anatomical substances are allowed, which gives applicants room to incorporate patient samples, biospecimens, or other human-derived materials when scientifically justified. However, clinical trials are not permitted under this Levels 1 and 2 announcement. Investigators who want to run a clinical trial are directed instead to the separate FY18 BCRP Breakthrough Award Levels 3 and 4 announcement (W81XWH-18-BCRP-BTA34), which is designed to accommodate that kind of work.

Finally, the program places a clear relevance requirement on proposed research: it must be applicable to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the American public. Practically, this means applicants should be prepared to connect their scientific goals to real-world breast cancer needs in these populations, aligning the research rationale with broader public health and military community impact rather than presenting the work as purely academic.

• 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, Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2" 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 27, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 30, 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 47 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 18 BCRP BTA12

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