DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer, Career Development Award | HT9425 23 PRCRP CDA

Opportunity Information: Apply for HT9425 23 PRCRP CDA

The Department of Defense (DoD) Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) Career Development Award is designed to strengthen the cancer research workforce by helping early-career investigators build the skills, track record, and scientific independence needed to become successful, long-term contributors to cancer research. The central idea of this opportunity is that the early-career scientist or clinician is the Principal Investigator (PI), and the application should be written around that individual: their research direction, their development into an independent investigator, and the mentoring and environment that will help them get there. The program emphasizes discovery-oriented, impactful cancer research grounded in logical reasoning and a clear scientific rationale. Importantly, preliminary data are not required, although any preliminary findings included will still be reviewed and evaluated.

This funding announcement offers two distinct tracks based on the applicant's career stage and training path. The first is the Career Development Award - Fellow Option (CDA-FO), intended for early-career researchers or physician-scientists within 7 years of completing a terminal degree as of the application deadline. This 7-year window can exclude time spent in residency, clinical training, or family medical leave, but it does not exclude time spent as a postdoctoral fellow. In fact, postdoctoral fellows are explicitly not eligible under this mechanism, which signals that applicants should have progressed beyond traditional postdoctoral status even if they are not yet fully independent. The Fellow Option is built for investigators who may still be in relatively supported environments (for example, not on a tenure track, or sharing lab space rather than running a fully separate laboratory) and is meant to push them toward broader independence and stability. Reviewers will look at the PI's accomplishments to date, the quality and promise of the proposed research, and the likelihood that the candidate can meaningfully contribute to at least one of the FY23 PRCRP Topic Areas. The program also considers whether the applicant has already had substantial career development support outside of institutional startup resources; the Fellow Option is especially aimed at candidates who have only had nominal prior career development funding. Applications are strongly encouraged to show that the PI will have protected time to focus on cancer research.

The second track is the Career Development Award - Resident Option (CDA-RO), aimed at early-career clinicians who are currently in residency and are pursuing a path toward becoming physician-scientists. Unlike the Fellow Option, prior cancer research experience is not required, but the Resident PI must demonstrate a serious commitment to a future that combines clinical practice with research leadership in one of the FY23 PRCRP Topic Areas. The Resident Option has two funding levels tied to the length and scope of the proposed research effort. Resident Research Level 1 supports a 1-year project and is suited to earlier-stage concepts or hypotheses; it still must include a hypothesis, objectives or aims, and an experimental design. Resident Research Level 2 supports a more extensive 2-year project with hypothesis, aims, experimental design, and proposed outcomes, aligned with more developed ideas. Residents must justify the selected research level based on project complexity and must be able to commit the corresponding time within an approximate June 2024 to 2026 timeframe, with effort that matches the proposed work. As with the Fellow Option, the program strongly encourages applicants to show that time for cancer research will be protected despite clinical obligations.

A required feature across both tracks is the designation of a Career Guide, effectively a primary mentor with a strong track record. For Fellows, the Career Guide must be an experienced cancer researcher with a robust history of publications and funding. For Residents, the Career Guide must be an experienced physician-scientist with substantial cancer-related funding and publication experience. In both cases, the guide is expected to play an active role in advancing the PI's development, not simply serving as a nominal sponsor. Alongside the research plan, applicants must submit an individualized career development plan created with the Career Guide. For Fellows, this plan should lay out a concrete strategy to build skills, competence, expertise, and increasing independence to operate at the forefront of cancer research in relevant PRCRP topic areas. For Residents, the plan should focus on building the skills and expertise needed to complete the 1- or 2-year project and to support the PI's transition toward independence as a physician-scientist; applicants must also clearly describe an environment that supports both mentoring and successful completion of the research.

Impact is a core review consideration. Applicants are expected to explain how their work could move the field forward in meaningful ways, either by advancing cancer research knowledge or by improving patient care. The program frames impactful research as work that helps accelerate the translation of promising scientific ideas into clinical applications. Overall, the opportunity is structured to fund early-career investigators with strong potential, sound ideas, and a thoughtful development strategy, even if they are still building preliminary evidence, as long as the proposal is scientifically rigorous and well-justified.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is issued by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA, under Funding Opportunity Number HT9425-23-PRCRP-CDA. It supports science and technology and other research and development activities (CFDA 12.420) and uses grant and cooperative agreement instruments. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted by entity type, subject to the specific eligibility rules described in the announcement for the Fellow and Resident options. The opportunity was created April 4, 2023, had an original closing date of August 10, 2023, and anticipated approximately 12 awards. The announcement also clarifies that the Career Development Award - Virtual Cancer Center Scholar Option is not being offered in this fiscal year, so applicants must apply under either the Fellow Option or the Resident Option, choosing the one that best fits their current training status and eligibility.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer, Career Development Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 04, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 10, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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