DoW Breast Cancer, Clinical Research Extension Award

The Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity is soliciting applications for the Breast Cancer Research Program Clinical Research Extension Award, managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs within Defense Health Agency Research and Development. Congress initiated the Breast Cancer Research Program in fiscal year 1992 to support innovative, high-impact research directed toward ending breast cancer for Service Members and their Families, Veterans, and the general public. The program seeks to accelerate high-impact research with clinical relevance, encourage creativity, and facilitate productive collaborations. Applications must address at least one Breast Cancer Research Program overarching challenge or provide adequate justification for an exception. The Clinical Research Extension Award supports research that extends data collection, follow-up, and analysis from breast cancer clinical studies. Its purpose is to increase the clinically relevant impact of breast cancer patient participation by addressing knowledge lost because of early trial termination, limited patient follow-up, or suboptimal sample or data collection and analysis. Supported work may include deeper molecular analysis of clinical samples, new correlative studies, biomarker validation, continued clinical follow-up of patients previously enrolled in an open, ongoing, or completed clinical trial or study, hypothesis-testing or hypothesis-generating research, and development of clinically annotated and molecularly characterized experimental platforms. Projects may not initiate a new clinical trial or study or enroll new patients in an open or ongoing clinical trial or study. Approximately $8.4 million is expected to support approximately one Clinical Research Extension Award. For a single Principal Investigator application, total costs for the entire period of performance should not exceed $7.0 million. For the Partnering Principal Investigator Option, combined total costs for the Initiating and Partnering Principal Investigators should not exceed $8.4 million. The maximum period of performance is four years. Negotiated indirect cost rates may be used. Allowable direct costs may include travel supporting multi-institutional collaborations, research subject compensation and reimbursement for study-related out-of-pocket expenses, and costs for three investigators to attend one scientific or technical meeting per year to present or disseminate project results. Cost sharing is not required. Extramural and intramural U.S. Department of War organizations are eligible, including foreign and domestic organizations, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and public or private entities. Awards are made to organizations rather than individuals. Independent investigators affiliated with eligible organizations may serve as Principal Investigator, Initiating Principal Investigator, or Partnering Principal Investigator regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship. The research team must include at least two breast cancer consumer advocates who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, are actively involved with a breast cancer advocacy organization, perform their advocacy role independently of their employment, and are not employees of an organization participating in the application. Applications must also demonstrate access to the resources, data, cohorts, populations, or samples necessary for the proposed work and include preliminary data supporting scientific rationale and feasibility. Application submission is a two-step process. The Principal Investigator or Initiating Principal Investigator first submits a one-page Letter of Intent through eBRAP that briefly describes the proposed research and identifies the applicable overarching challenge or challenges. The full application is then submitted through Grants.gov for extramural organizations or eBRAP for intramural Department of War organizations. Partnering Principal Investigator Option applications require separate full application packages for the Initiating and Partnering Principal Investigators. Required materials include the Project Narrative, Supporting Documentation, Technical Abstract, Lay Abstract, Statement of Work, Impact Statement, Research Team Statement, Inclusion of Women and Minorities attachment, Research Sharing Plan, budget materials, senior or key person information, and other applicable forms. A Partnership Statement is additionally required for the Partnering Principal Investigator Option. Active SAM.gov, eBRAP, and Grants.gov registrations, as applicable, should be established before submission. Applications undergo peer review followed by programmatic review. Equally important scored peer review criteria include Impact, Research Strategy and Feasibility, Personnel, Research Sharing Plan, and Partnership for Partnering Principal Investigator Option applications. Environment, Budget, and Application Presentation are additional unscored criteria. Programmatic review considers peer review ratings and evaluations as well as relevance to Breast Cancer Research Program priorities, including adherence to the funding opportunity intent, program portfolio composition, and relative impact. Applications should demonstrate an appropriate sample size and analysis plan, robust research expertise, meaningful integration of consumer advocates, and a plan to make applicable data and research resources available to the scientific and other affected communities. The Letter of Intent is due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 4, 2026, and the full application is due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 18, 2026. The application verification period ends at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 25, 2026. Peer review is planned for January 2027 and programmatic review for March 2027. Funding recommendations are typically posted to eBRAP within six weeks after programmatic review, and awards supported with fiscal year 2026 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027. The eBRAP Help Desk can assist with funding opportunity submission requirements and technical issues at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507. Grants.gov registration and Workspace support is available through support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726.

Address at least one BCRP overarching challenge or provide adequate justification for exception; show how the extension research increases or creates clinical impact; provide preliminary data supporting scientific rationale and feasibility; demonstrate access to required data, specimens, cohorts, and resources; use an appropriate sample size and statistical analysis plan; integrate at least two qualified consumer advocates throughout planning, design, implementation, and evaluation; provide a concrete research sharing plan; for Partnering PI Option applications, demonstrate equal intellectual input, similar effort, distinct contributions, and balanced funding unless justified; do not propose a new clinical trial or new patient enrollment; submit all required Initiating and Partnering PI packages by the deadline.