Melanoma Research Program Team Science Award

The DoD Melanoma Research Program Team Science Award is a federal funding opportunity administered by the Department of Defense through the Department of the Army U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. The opportunity is part of the fiscal year Melanoma Research Program and is designed to advance the state of melanoma research and patient care through collaborative and multidisciplinary scientific efforts. The funding mechanism specifically supports team science approaches that combine expertise from multiple scientific, clinical, or therapeutic disciplines to address complex melanoma-related challenges that cannot be solved effectively through isolated research efforts. The award emphasizes research that has the potential to improve patient outcomes in the near term while also advancing scientific understanding of melanoma biology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or survivorship. This opportunity requires the participation of multiple Principal Investigators. At least two and up to three Principal Investigators are required to jointly design and execute a single coordinated research project. Multi-institutional partnerships are strongly encouraged to increase scientific breadth and translational impact. If funding is awarded, each Principal Investigator will receive a separate award through their own recipient organization. The funding mechanism is intended to support synergistic research collaborations that integrate multiple methodologies, perspectives, and technical capabilities. The program also encourages investigators to collaborate with members of the melanoma consumer community to improve the relevance, applicability, and patient-centered nature of the proposed research. Consumer collaboration is optional rather than mandatory, but applicants are encouraged to incorporate these perspectives where appropriate. The program expects to allocate approximately $18.9 million in total funding to support approximately nine awards. Each award may request up to $2.1 million in total costs. The maximum period of performance for funded projects is three years. Awards are expected to be funded using fiscal year funds that will remain available for use until September 30, 2032. The agency anticipates making awards no later than September 30, 2027, with the estimated project start date also scheduled for September 30, 2027. The announcement identifies both cooperative agreements and grants as potential funding instruments depending on the structure and oversight requirements of individual projects. Eligibility for the funding opportunity is described as unrestricted, meaning the program is open to a broad range of applicant organizations and entity types subject to any additional clarification that may later appear in the official solicitation materials. Because the opportunity is listed on Grants.gov under a federal assistance listing and contains no stated restrictions related to geography or organization type, the opportunity is considered nationally available across the United States. The opportunity does not require cost sharing or matching contributions. Applicants are therefore not expected to provide institutional matching funds, in-kind support, or other mandatory financial contributions as a condition of eligibility. The submission process includes a mandatory pre-application phase. Only the Initiating Principal Investigator may submit the required pre-application. After review of the pre-application, selected teams will receive an invitation to submit full applications. Submission of a pre-application alone does not guarantee advancement to the full application stage. All participating Principal Investigators are required to submit full applications if invited. The Partnering Principal Investigators submit abbreviated application packages that are specific to their portion of the collaborative research effort. The estimated application due date for the full application phase is October 14, 2026. The forecasted opportunity was posted on May 5, 2026, with an estimated official posting date of June 1, 2026. The opportunity falls under the federal category of Science and Technology and other Research and Development and is associated with Assistance Listing 12.420 Military Medical Research and Development. The funding announcement highlights hypothesis-driven multidisciplinary studies that are capable of producing measurable advances in melanoma science or patient care. Although the current posting is a forecast notice and not yet the complete solicitation package, the opportunity references an official Department of Defense pre-announcement webpage for additional information. Questions regarding the program and submission systems may be directed to the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or by phone at 301-682-5507. The opportunity appears to be part of a recurring annual research funding cycle associated with congressional medical research appropriations.

Emphasize multidisciplinary collaboration translational impact and integrated team science approaches that improve melanoma patient outcomes; demonstrate synergy across participating investigators and institutions