DoW Pancreatic Cancer Research Program, Translational Research Partnership Award

The Pancreatic Cancer Research Program Translational Research Partnership Award is administered through the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity and managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs as part of the fiscal year Pancreatic Cancer Research Program. The funding opportunity is intended to accelerate translational pancreatic cancer research by supporting partnerships between clinicians, population scientists, applied scientists, and basic scientists. Congress initiated the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program in 2020 to support high-impact pancreatic cancer research with exceptional scientific merit. The program vision is to reduce the burden of pancreatic cancer among Service Members, Veterans, their Families, and the American public through prevention, earlier diagnosis, new therapeutic tools, and improved patient outcomes. The award mechanism specifically supports collaborative translational research projects that move promising discoveries toward clinical application while encouraging reciprocal exchange between clinical and laboratory science. The funding opportunity requires a true collaborative partnership between two independent Principal Investigators identified as the Initiating PI and the Partnering PI. At least one of the investigators must possess expertise in pancreatic cancer research or pancreatic cancer patient care. The award emphasizes synergy between investigators rather than additive collaborations where one party merely provides specimens or patient access. Projects must address at least one designated focus area, including early detection research, identification and characterization of risk, supportive care and survivorship research, understanding metabolic disruptions such as diabetes and cachexia, tumor development and metastasis, biomarkers for therapeutic response, or development of new therapeutic targets and approaches. The mechanism supports translational studies, retrospective tissue analysis, correlative studies, and pilot clinical trials, but does not permit large-scale clinical trials. Preliminary data are required to support feasibility, although the data do not need to originate specifically from pancreatic cancer studies. Approximately 6.60 million dollars is expected to be allocated to fund about six awards with combined total cost caps of 1.10 million dollars per project. The maximum period of performance is three years. Separate awards are made to each participating institution associated with the Initiating PI and Partnering PI. Direct costs may include support for multidisciplinary collaboration activities, travel for scientific meetings, and reimbursement for clinical research participant expenses such as travel, lodging, parking, caregiving, and accessibility resources. Cost sharing is not required. The program strongly encourages multidisciplinary collaborations among academia, industry, federal agencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of War organizations. Projects involving access to unique populations, resources, or databases must document continued access plans for the duration of the project. Eligibility is broad and includes extramural and intramural U.S. Department of War organizations, domestic and foreign organizations, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and public or private entities. Independent investigators at any career level may serve as Principal Investigators provided they are affiliated with eligible organizations. However, postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows are not eligible to serve as Initiating or Partnering Principal Investigators. Each investigator may participate on only one application under this award mechanism as either Initiating PI or Partnering PI. Awards are made to organizations rather than individuals. The opportunity encourages convergence science partnerships and inclusion of researchers from outside the pancreatic cancer field to stimulate innovative translational approaches. The application process uses a mandatory two-step submission process beginning with a pre-application submitted through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal. Only the Initiating PI submits the pre-application, although the Partnering PI must associate with the submission in eBRAP. Pre-applications require a two-page Preproposal Narrative describing the research idea, partnership structure, scientific rationale, preliminary data, focus areas addressed, study design, and anticipated impact. Supporting materials include references, abbreviation lists, and combined biographical sketches. Following invitation, full applications are submitted either through Grants.gov for extramural applicants or eBRAP for intramural Department of War organizations. The full application requires extensive documentation including a fifteen-page Project Narrative, supporting documentation, technical and lay abstracts, statement of work, impact statement, partnership statement, and additional materials such as animal research plans or regulatory strategy documents when applicable. Applications are reviewed through a multi-stage process beginning with pre-application screening focused on research idea quality, partnership synergy, and anticipated impact. Invited applications undergo a two-tier review process consisting of peer review and programmatic review. Peer reviewers evaluate research strategy and feasibility, statistical analysis plans, impact, personnel qualifications, regulatory strategy for pilot clinical trials, and clinical trial methodology where applicable. Additional considerations include budget appropriateness, institutional environment, and application clarity. Programmatic reviewers consider alignment with Pancreatic Cancer Research Program priorities, portfolio balance, partnership synergy, and overall impact potential. Applications proposing classified research, duplicative submissions, or failure to address designated focus areas may be administratively withdrawn. Key submission deadlines include a pre-application deadline of July 7, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time and a full application deadline of October 7, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Invitations to submit full applications are anticipated by August 13, 2026. Peer review is scheduled for December 2026, followed by programmatic review in January 2027, with awards expected no later than September 30, 2027. Questions regarding eBRAP submission requirements may be directed to the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507, while Grants.gov technical support is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726. The opportunity is expected to recur annually as part of the continuing Pancreatic Cancer Research Program portfolio.

Demonstrate true scientific synergy between both Principal Investigators rather than additive collaboration; provide strong preliminary data supporting translational feasibility; clearly align the proposal with at least one FY26 PCARP Focus Area; emphasize reciprocal bench-to-bedside translation and potential impact on pancreatic cancer outcomes; include detailed coordination and communication plans across institutions