DoW Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2

The FY26 Breast Cancer Research Program Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2 funding opportunity is administered through the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity and managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs under the Department of War. The Breast Cancer Research Program was established to support innovative and high-impact breast cancer research with the long-term mission of ending breast cancer for Service Members, Veterans, their Families, and the broader public. Since its establishment in FY92, the program has received more than $4.52 billion in appropriations, and the FY26 appropriation totals $145 million. This specific announcement supports research that has strong potential to create major breakthroughs in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, metastasis reduction, recurrence prevention, and survivorship outcomes. Applications must address at least one of the FY26 Breast Cancer Research Program overarching challenges unless a strong justification for an alternative challenge is provided. The funding opportunity supports three major project structures under the Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2 mechanism. Funding Level 1 supports innovative, high-risk and high-reward projects in the earliest stages of idea development and does not require preliminary data. Funding Level 2 supports projects with substantial preliminary or published breast cancer data that strongly support clinical translation. Funding Level 2 Population Science Studies supports projects analyzing human data and biospecimens and may receive additional funding and an extended performance period when strongly justified. The funding mechanism also permits either a single Principal Investigator structure or a Partnering Principal Investigator Option where two investigators contribute equally to the project. Applications involving mentor and postdoctoral fellow pairings as Initiating and Partnering Principal Investigators do not meet the intent of the Partnering PI Option. Approximately $31.8 million is expected to support around 18 awards. Funding Level 1 projects may request up to $750,000 total costs for a single Principal Investigator or up to $1.25 million for Partnering PI applications. Funding Level 2 projects may request up to $1.65 million for single PI projects or up to $2.5 million for Partnering PI projects. Population Science Studies under Level 2 may request up to $2.5 million for single PI projects or up to $3.35 million for Partnering PI projects. Standard Level 1 and Level 2 awards may have periods of performance up to three years, while Population Science Studies may extend to four years. Indirect costs are permitted according to negotiated institutional rates. Clinical research involving human data, biospecimens, and subjects is permitted, but clinical trials are explicitly prohibited. Cost sharing is not required. Eligibility is broad and includes domestic and foreign organizations, intramural and extramural organizations, nonprofit and for-profit entities, public and private institutions, and government organizations. Investigators of any nationality or citizenship status affiliated with eligible organizations may serve as Principal Investigators. Postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to apply, although a mentorship statement and recommendation materials are required for such applications. An investigator may only serve as PI or Initiating PI on one application and may additionally serve as Partnering PI on one other application under this mechanism. The funding announcement encourages collaborations with Department of War and Veterans Affairs research programs and emphasizes relevance to military health populations. The submission process requires both a pre-application and a full application. The pre-application consists of a one-page Letter of Intent submitted through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal. Full applications are submitted either through Grants.gov for extramural applicants or through eBRAP for intramural Department of War organizations. Required application components include a project narrative, supporting documentation, technical abstract, lay abstract, statement of work, impact statement, and multiple conditional attachments such as innovation statements, partnership statements, mentorship statements, and inclusion enrollment reports when applicable. Applications are evaluated through a two-tier review system consisting of peer review and programmatic review. Major review criteria include impact, research strategy and feasibility, personnel qualifications, partnership quality for collaborative applications, innovation for Level 1 projects, and appropriateness of the research sharing plan and budget. The funding timeline includes a pre-application Letter of Intent deadline of June 24, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time and a full application deadline of July 8, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The application verification period ends July 13, 2026. Peer review is anticipated in September 2026, followed by programmatic review in November 2026. Awards are expected to be made no later than September 30, 2027. The announcement identifies the eBRAP Help Desk and Grants.gov Support Center as the primary applicant support contacts for submission assistance and registration issues. The opportunity is recurring as part of the annual Breast Cancer Research Program funding cycle and strongly emphasizes projects capable of producing transformative advances beyond incremental progress in breast cancer research.

Applications should clearly address at least one FY26 Breast Cancer Research Program overarching challenge and demonstrate potential for a major breakthrough beyond incremental advancement. Strong translational rationale, rigorous study design, military relevance, and clearly defined impact on breast cancer outcomes are heavily emphasized in peer review.