DoW Peer Reviewed Cancer, Idea Award

The Defense Health Agency, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program, is offering the FY26 Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program Idea Award under Funding Opportunity Number HT942526PRCRPIA. The program is intended to support innovative, untested, high-risk and potentially high-reward cancer research concepts that may lead to transformative advances in scientific understanding, patient care or treatment options relevant to military populations. The funding opportunity is administered under delegated authority from Title 10 United States Code Section 4001, and the funding instrument used for awards will be grants. Congress initiated the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program in 2009, and appropriations from FY09 through FY25 totaled approximately $1.17 billion. The FY26 appropriation is $165 million. The program specifically emphasizes research relevance to Service Members, Veterans, military beneficiaries and mission readiness. The Idea Award is designed to support highly innovative basic cancer research rather than incremental advances or extensions of existing projects. Projects are expected to challenge current paradigms, examine existing problems from new perspectives, or introduce entirely new concepts and approaches. Preliminary data are not required, although applications must be supported by a strong scientific rationale and rigorous study design. The program explicitly excludes proposals that simply extend an existing line of research or switch model systems between cancer types. Clinical trials are not permitted under this opportunity. Research projects must address at least one congressionally directed FY26 topic area and one associated strategic goal within the designated portfolio. Eligible topic areas include bladder cancer, blood cancers, brain cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, germ cell cancers, glioblastoma, liver cancer, lymphoma, mesothelioma, metastatic cancers, myeloma, neuroblastoma, neuroendocrine tumors, pediatric and adolescent cancers, pediatric brain tumors, sarcoma, stomach cancer and thyroid cancer. Applications focused on melanoma or cancers originating in the breast, kidney, lung, pancreas, prostate or ovary are prohibited and will be administratively withdrawn. The program includes a standard Idea Award category and an Early Career Investigator option. Approximately $18 million is expected to support around 30 standard Idea Awards, while approximately $9 million is expected to support around 15 Early Career Investigator awards. Both categories permit a maximum total project cost of $600,000 and a maximum period of performance of two years. Awards are anticipated to be funded with FY26 appropriations that remain available through September 30, 2032, and all awards are expected to be issued no later than September 30, 2027. Indirect costs are allowable in accordance with negotiated organizational rates, and all subaward costs must be included within the direct cost calculations of the primary award. Funding may support travel for one investigator to attend one scientific or technical meeting annually to present project findings, but funding may not be used for clinical trial costs or excessive travel beyond stated limits. Cost sharing is not required. Eligibility is broad and includes extramural and intramural Department of Defense organizations, foreign and domestic institutions, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and public or private entities. Principal Investigators for the standard category may be independent investigators at any career stage. Applicants for the Early Career Investigator category must be independent investigators below the level of Associate Professor or equivalent, within seven years of their last postdoctoral position or clinical fellowship, and receiving less than $150,000 annually in non-mentored extramural direct research funding. Applications are accepted regardless of nationality or citizenship status provided the applicant is affiliated with an eligible organization. The program strongly encourages collaborations involving academia, industry, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies. Research involving military populations, databases or collaborations with military and Veterans Affairs laboratories is particularly encouraged. The submission process requires both a pre-application and an invited full application. All applicants must first submit a preproposal through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal, known as eBRAP. The pre-application deadline is June 26, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The preproposal narrative is limited to one page and must describe the proposed research idea, innovation, anticipated impact and military relevance. Supporting documents include references, abbreviations and combined biographical sketches. Following pre-application screening, selected applicants will receive invitations to submit full applications by August 10, 2026. Full applications are due October 5, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, with application verification concluding October 8, 2026. Extramural applicants must submit full applications through Grants.gov, while intramural Department of Defense applicants submit through eBRAP. Required full application materials include a project narrative, supporting documentation, technical and lay abstracts, statement of work, military relevance statement, innovation statement, impact statement, animal research plan if applicable, and additional forms and budget documents. Applications are reviewed through a two-tier process consisting of peer review and programmatic review. Peer review evaluates research strategy, feasibility, innovation, impact and personnel qualifications. Reviewers assess whether the project addresses strategic goals, demonstrates innovation beyond incremental research, and provides rigorous and reproducible methodology. Additional review considerations include plans for sharing research resources, incorporation of sex as a biological variable, appropriate statistical analysis, and institutional support. Programmatic review then considers military relevance, innovation, strategic alignment and overall portfolio balance. Peer review is anticipated in December 2026, followed by programmatic review in February 2027. Notification of funding recommendations is generally provided within six weeks after programmatic review through eBRAP. Successful applicants will be required to submit annual and final technical progress reports and comply with Department of Defense administrative and regulatory requirements. Contact information for applicant support includes the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org and 301-682-5507, as well as the Grants.gov Support Center at support@grants.gov and 800-518-4726. The opportunity is expected to recur annually based on congressional appropriations and recurring fiscal year program announcements.

Focus heavily on innovation and avoid proposing incremental advances or extensions of existing work. Clearly connect the research to military health relevance and one approved PRCRP strategic goal. Demonstrate strong scientific rationale even without preliminary data. Ensure the application aligns precisely with one approved portfolio topic area and military health focus area to avoid administrative withdrawal.