DoD Lung Cancer Idea Development Award

The Lung Cancer Research Program Idea Development Award is administered by the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs as part of the fiscal year 2026 Lung Cancer Research Program. The program was established to promote innovative and competitive research aimed at reducing deaths and suffering caused by lung cancer, excluding mesothelioma-only research. The Lung Cancer Research Program was initiated in 2009 and has received substantial congressional appropriations to support research focused on prevention, diagnosis, management, treatment, and survivorship related to lung cancer. The fiscal year 2026 appropriation for the Lung Cancer Research Program is $20 million, and the Idea Development Award mechanism specifically supports conceptually innovative, high-risk, high-reward studies that are still in the early stages of development but have strong potential to produce major scientific advances. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to accelerate progress toward eradicating deaths and suffering from lung cancer by supporting new research ideas that can generate impactful data and open new avenues of investigation. Applications are required to address at least one of the fiscal year 2026 Lung Cancer Research Program Areas of Emphasis, which include biology and etiology, prevention and risk reduction, detection and surveillance, treatment and prognosis, and health outcomes and survivorship. The funding announcement emphasizes innovation and impact as central review considerations. Projects may involve basic science, translational research, biomarker development, metastasis research, survivorship studies, or other efforts that align with the stated priorities. Preliminary data supporting feasibility are required, although such data do not need to originate from lung cancer studies specifically. Clinical research is permitted, but clinical trials are explicitly prohibited under this mechanism. The program includes separate application categories for Established Investigators and New Investigators. Established Investigators may apply at any career stage, while New Investigators must be within 10 years of their first faculty appointment and must not have previously received a Lung Cancer Research Program Idea Development Award. New Investigators are encouraged to collaborate with experienced lung cancer researchers or investigators possessing complementary expertise. Eligible applicant organizations include extramural and intramural Department of War organizations, domestic and foreign institutions, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, public entities, and private entities. Awards are made to organizations rather than individuals. Cost sharing is not required. The funding mechanism strongly encourages multidisciplinary collaborations involving academia, industry, Department of War entities, Veterans Affairs investigators, and other federal agencies. The Defense Health Agency expects to allocate approximately $6.4 million to fund roughly eight awards under this announcement. Each award may request up to $800,000 in total costs for a maximum period of performance of three years. Budget requests may include travel to scientific or technical meetings and support for multi-institutional collaboration activities. However, direct costs associated with clinical trials are prohibited. Indirect costs are allowable according to negotiated institutional rates. Applications must explain how the proposed work demonstrates innovation and how it may significantly advance lung cancer research and patient care. Particular emphasis is placed on military relevance, including projects involving military or Veteran populations, military health system resources, environmental exposures relevant to service members, or collaborations with Department of War or Veterans Affairs researchers. The application process consists of two required stages. Applicants must first submit a pre-application through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal. The pre-application includes a two-page preproposal narrative describing the hypothesis, study design, innovation, impact, and alignment with Lung Cancer Research Program Areas of Emphasis. Applicants must also answer military relevance questions and provide references, abbreviations, and combined biographical sketches. Only applicants invited after pre-application screening may submit a full application. Extramural organizations submit full applications through Grants.gov, while intramural Department of War organizations submit through eBRAP. Full applications require extensive components including a project narrative, supporting documentation, technical abstract, lay abstract, statement of work, impact statement, innovation statement, military relevance statement, and additional materials depending on the nature of the proposed work. Applications are reviewed through a two-tier process consisting of peer review and programmatic review. Peer review evaluates innovation, impact, research strategy and feasibility, personnel qualifications, and scientific rigor. Programmatic review considers relevance to fiscal year 2026 Lung Cancer Research Program priorities, portfolio composition, innovation, impact, and military relevance. The pre-application deadline is June 23, 2026, and invited applicants will be notified by July 30, 2026. Full applications are due September 2, 2026, with peer review anticipated in October 2026 and programmatic review in January 2027. Awards are expected to be made no later than September 30, 2027. Questions regarding eBRAP submissions may be directed to help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507, while Grants.gov support is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726. The opportunity is expected to recur annually as part of the ongoing Lung Cancer Research Program funding portfolio.

Strong applications should clearly articulate innovation and high potential impact rather than incremental advances; applications must explicitly address at least one FY26 LCRP Area of Emphasis; military relevance should be clearly demonstrated through populations resources collaborations or health implications; preliminary feasibility data are required even if not derived from lung cancer studies; New Investigators are encouraged to collaborate with experienced lung cancer researchers