DoW Pancreatic Cancer Research Program, Focused Pilot Award

The FY26 Pancreatic Cancer Research Program Focused Pilot Award is offered through the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity as part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Pancreatic Cancer Research Program. The program was created by Congress to support innovative pancreatic cancer research with high scientific merit and meaningful patient impact. Since its establishment in 2020, the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program has received substantial congressional appropriations to advance prevention, earlier diagnosis, improved therapeutic tools, survivorship outcomes, and supportive care for individuals affected by pancreatic cancer. The program vision is to reduce the burden of pancreatic cancer among Service Members, Veterans, their Families, and the American public. The Focused Pilot Award specifically supports exploratory and innovative research concepts designed to generate strong preliminary data that can serve as the basis for future clinical or real-world research applications. The Focused Pilot Award emphasizes patient-centered pancreatic cancer research within the focus area of supportive care, quality of life, and survivorship research. The funding opportunity encourages projects that may improve outcomes and quality of life for individuals living with pancreatic cancer and their caregivers. Examples of projects appropriate for this mechanism include behavioral studies examining quality of life and cognitive function, studies evaluating correlations between mental health and cancer-related outcomes, and pilot studies exploring educational strategies, nutritional interventions, and symptom management methods. The award mechanism supports clinical research studies that are observational in nature, including studies analyzing data from previously completed clinical trials, but it does not permit clinical trials evaluating interventions or preclinical animal research. The program also encourages multidisciplinary collaborations involving academia, industry, the Department of War, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other federal agencies. Applications are expected to demonstrate strong scientific rationale, innovation, feasibility, and potential impact. Preliminary data are permitted but not required. Investigators must provide a clearly stated hypothesis and well-developed research strategy supported by rigorous methodology and reproducible study design principles. Applications are evaluated on research strategy and feasibility, innovation, and impact. Reviewers assess the strength of the scientific rationale, quality of the statistical analysis plan, feasibility of recruitment and sample access if human subjects are involved, inclusion of women and minorities where appropriate, consideration of sex as a biological variable, and the adequacy of plans for data and research resource sharing. Innovation must extend beyond incremental advances and should challenge existing paradigms or introduce novel technologies or applications. Impact evaluation focuses on how well the proposed project addresses supportive care, survivorship, and quality of life needs in pancreatic cancer. The funding opportunity anticipates awarding approximately four grants using a total program allocation of approximately 1.2 million dollars. Each award may request up to 300000 dollars in total costs for a maximum performance period of two years. Indirect costs may be included according to negotiated organizational rates. Allowable costs include collaboration-related travel, attendance at one scientific meeting annually for dissemination of project results, and participant support expenses such as travel reimbursement and caregiving support related to study participation. The award specifically prohibits tuition costs, clinical trial expenses, and preclinical animal study expenses. Cost sharing is not required for this funding opportunity. Eligibility is broad and includes extramural and intramural Department of War organizations, domestic and foreign organizations, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, and public or private entities. Investigators at any career stage may serve as Principal Investigator, including postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows. However, each investigator may only serve as Principal Investigator on one FY26 Pancreatic Cancer Research Program Focused Pilot Award application. Awards are made to organizations rather than individuals. Applications involving collaboration with Department of War entities or Veterans Affairs facilities must include appropriate letters confirming access to facilities, resources, patient populations, or military databases where applicable. The submission process consists of two required steps. Applicants must first submit a pre-application Letter of Intent through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal. After submission of the pre-application, applicants submit the full application either through Grants.gov for extramural organizations or through eBRAP for intramural Department of War organizations. Full application materials include a project narrative, supporting documentation, technical abstract, lay abstract, statement of work, innovation statement, impact statement, budget materials, biosketches, current and pending support documents, and additional forms depending on organizational status. Applications must comply with formatting and page limitations outlined in the General Application Instructions. Registrations with SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eBRAP are required before submission and may take several weeks to complete. Key dates for the FY26 competition include a pre-application Letter of Intent deadline of September 16, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time and a full application deadline of October 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The application verification period ends October 13, 2026. Peer review is scheduled for December 2026, followed by programmatic review in January 2027. Funding recommendations are generally posted within approximately six weeks after programmatic review, and awards are expected to be issued no later than September 30, 2027. Annual technical progress reports and final reports are required for funded projects. Questions regarding eBRAP submission and funding opportunity requirements may be directed to the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507, while Grants.gov technical assistance is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726.

Emphasize innovative patient-centered pancreatic cancer research that is more than an incremental advance; clearly demonstrate impact on survivorship and quality of life; provide rigorous methodology and statistical planning; avoid proposing clinical trials or preclinical animal studies; clearly address supportive care and survivorship priorities