DoD Lung Cancer, Career Development Award | W81XWH 19 LCRP CDA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 LCRP CDA

The DoD Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP) Career Development Award (FY19) is designed to help early-career investigators build an independent research career focused on lung cancer, while working closely with an established mentor in the field. The core idea is to give rising research- or physician-scientists both the resources and the structured guidance needed to launch a productive, long-term lung cancer research program. The award emphasizes discovery-oriented projects that can meaningfully move the field forward, rather than incremental work, and it aims to position the principal investigator (PI) to become a leader at the forefront of lung cancer research.

A central eligibility feature is that the PI must be at an early stage of independence, specifically within 5 years of their first faculty appointment (or an equivalent position). The program is meant for investigators who have started to establish themselves but still need targeted support to accelerate their trajectory in lung cancer research. Importantly, applicants are not required to submit preliminary data, which lowers a common barrier for newer independent investigators. That said, the application still needs to make a convincing case through strong logical reasoning and a clear scientific rationale that the proposed approach is sound and worth pursuing.

Mentorship is a defining component of this opportunity. Applicants must identify a mentor who is an experienced lung cancer researcher with a strong track record, demonstrated by sustained funding and publications specifically in lung cancer research. Beyond credentials, the mentor is expected to show a real commitment to helping the PI develop into an independent investigator, meaning the relationship is not just nominal. The mentorship element is paired with a required Career Development Plan, which should be created with the mentor's input and lay out a concrete strategy for gaining the skills, expertise, and experiences needed for an impactful lung cancer research career. This plan should be detailed enough to show how the PI will grow scientifically and professionally during the award period, including how the research project itself will contribute to that growth.

Because the program is fundamentally about career development, the PI's institution must also demonstrate meaningful support. At minimum, the institution has to provide 40 percent protected time for the PI to focus on lung cancer research, with the announcement noting that more protected time is strongly preferred. This requirement signals that the DoD is looking for environments where the PI can genuinely concentrate on building a lung cancer research program rather than trying to fit it around unrelated obligations.

The program places strong emphasis on impact. Proposed research should have the potential to lead to major advancements and accelerate progress toward reducing deaths and suffering caused by lung cancer. In practice, that means reviewers are likely looking for projects that can shift understanding, open new avenues for prevention or treatment, or otherwise create an outsized contribution relative to the project's size. In addition, applicants must clearly explain the relevance of the work to Military Health System beneficiaries, explicitly connecting the proposed research to the needs of Service members, Veterans, and their families.

From an organizational and administrative standpoint, this opportunity was released by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA. It was offered under Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH 19 LCRP CDA and categorized as a discretionary research and development funding opportunity (CFDA 12.420). The funding instruments listed include both grants and cooperative agreements. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning applications are open broadly to many entity types, though applicants still need to follow any specific eligibility clarifications in the full announcement. The posting indicated an expected number of about three awards. The opportunity was originally posted March 22, 2019, with an original closing date of August 21, 2019, and it listed an award ceiling as 0, which typically indicates that applicants must refer to the full funding announcement for the specific budget limits or that a fixed ceiling was not stated in that summary field.

• 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 Lung 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 Mar 22, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 21, 2019. (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 3 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.

Apply for W81XWH 19 LCRP CDA

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