DoW Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2

The Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2 is a federal research funding opportunity 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 with the mission of 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 innovation and creativity, and facilitate productive collaborations. For this opportunity, approximately 10.6 million dollars is expected to support approximately six Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2 applications. The Breakthrough Award supports promising research with high potential to lead to or make breakthroughs in breast cancer. Applications must address at least one Breast Cancer Research Program overarching challenge or provide adequate justification for an exception, and the research must address the challenge in a manner capable of producing a major impact rather than an incremental advance. Challenges include preventing breast cancer; identifying determinants of initiation, risk, or susceptibility; distinguishing deadly from non-deadly cancers; addressing overdiagnosis and overtreatment; understanding and stopping breast cancer growth, metastasis, dormancy, and lethal recurrence; revolutionizing treatment regimens to improve survival, effectiveness, and toxicity; and eliminating mortality associated with metastatic breast cancer. Proposed research must also be relevant to Service Members, Veterans, their Families, and/or the American public. Funding Level 1 supports innovative, high-risk/high-reward research at the earliest stages of idea development or involving an untested theory addressing an important problem. Preliminary data are not required, and proof of concept is the anticipated outcome. Funding Level 2 supports research backed by substantial preliminary or published breast cancer data and intended to strongly validate clinical translation in a well-defined context. The Funding Level 2 Population Science Studies option focuses on analysis of human data and biospecimens and may, with compelling justification, receive higher funding and an additional year. Clinical research involving human data, human anatomical substances, and/or interaction with human subjects is permitted, but clinical trials are prohibited. Direct costs may include travel for one investigator to one scientific or technical meeting per year for presentation or dissemination of project information or results, while clinical trial costs may not be requested. Funding Level 1 provides total cost caps of 750000 dollars for a single PI or 1.25 million dollars under the Partnering PI Option, with a maximum three-year period of performance. Funding Level 2 provides caps of 1.65 million dollars for a single PI or 2.5 million dollars under the Partnering PI Option, also for up to three years. Funding Level 2 Population Science Studies provides caps of 2.5 million dollars for a single PI or 3.35 million dollars under the Partnering PI Option, with a maximum four-year period. Indirect costs should be budgeted according to negotiated organizational rates. All direct and indirect costs of subawards or contracts must be included within the direct costs of the primary award. Cost sharing is not an eligibility requirement. Eligible applicants include extramural and intramural Department of War organizations and foreign and domestic organizations, including for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, and public or private entities. Investigators affiliated with eligible organizations may serve as PI, Initiating PI, or Partnering PI regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship. Postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to apply as PIs, although applications with a postdoctoral fellow PI require a Mentorship Statement and supporting recommendation. Awards are made to eligible organizations rather than individuals. An investigator may be named on only one application as PI or Initiating PI and on one additional application as Partnering PI under this mechanism. The Partnering PI Option requires two PIs to make distinct and meaningful contributions with equal intellectual input and similar effort. Mentor and current postdoctoral fellow or junior investigator pairings do not meet the intended partnership structure. Submission is a two-step process. The PI or Initiating PI must first submit a one-page Letter of Intent through eBRAP by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 4, 2026. The Letter of Intent briefly describes the proposed research and identifies the applicable overarching challenges. Pre-applications are used for program planning and are not screened, and applicants do not need an invitation to proceed to the full application. Extramural organizations submit full applications through Grants.gov, while intramural Department of War organizations submit through eBRAP. Full applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 18, 2026, with the verification period ending November 25, 2026. Required materials vary by funding level and applicant configuration but can include the Project Narrative, Supporting Documentation, Technical Abstract, Lay Abstract, Statement of Work, Impact Statement, Partnership Statement, Mentorship Statement, Innovation Statement, representations, budget materials, biographical sketches, current and pending support, and project site information. Active SAM.gov, eBRAP, and Grants.gov registrations, as applicable, are required for submission. Applications undergo peer review followed by programmatic review. The principal scored peer review criteria are Impact and Research Strategy and Feasibility, which are equally important, followed by Personnel and Partnership when applicable. Additional unscored considerations include the Research Sharing Plan, Environment, Innovation for Funding Level 1, Budget, and Application Presentation. Programmatic review considers peer review evaluations, adherence to the opportunity's intent, program portfolio composition, relative impact, and relative innovation for Funding Level 1. Peer review is scheduled for January 2027 and programmatic review for March 2027. Funding recommendations are typically posted within six weeks after programmatic review, and awards supported with fiscal year 2026 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027. For submission assistance, the eBRAP Help Desk can be reached at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507. Grants.gov registration and Workspace support is available at support@grants.gov, 800-518-4726, or 1-606-545-5035 internationally.

Select the funding level based on research scope rather than budget size. Demonstrate potential for major impact substantially beyond an incremental advance and clearly connect the project to at least one overarching challenge or provide adequate justification for an exception. Identify the breast cancer patients or at-risk individuals who would ultimately benefit. Present a rigorous and feasible research strategy with appropriate controls, statistical planning, pitfalls, and alternatives. Funding Level 2 requires substantial preliminary or published breast cancer data, while Level 1 does not require preliminary data and must demonstrate innovation. PPIO applications should demonstrate distinct contributions, equal intellectual input, similar effort, and appropriately balanced funding. Submit the mandatory pre-application before the full application and ensure all associated PPIO applications are submitted by the deadline.