DoD Prostate Cancer Early Investigator Research Award

The summary for the DoD Prostate Cancer Early Investigator Research Award grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Dept of the Army USAMRAA, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

DoD Prostate Cancer Early Investigator Research Award: The PCRP Early Investigator Research Award mechanism was first offered in FY16. Since then, 97 Early Investigator Research Award applications have been received, and 21 have been recommended for funding. In FY16, the Early Investigator Research Award supported both predoctoral and postdoctoral investigators. In FY17, this award will fund only postdoctoral investigators. The anticipated direct costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an FY17 PCRP EIRA award will not exceed $200,000. Refer to Section II.D.5, Funding Restrictions, for detailed funding information. The Early Investigator Research Award supports prostate cancer-focused research opportunities for individuals in the early stages of their careers, under the guidance of a designated Mentor. This opportunity allows for young investigators to develop a research project, investigate a problem or question in prostate cancer research, and further their intellectual development as a prostate cancer researcher of the future. The postdoctoral investigator is considered the Principal Investigator (PI) of the application and must exhibit strong potential for, and commitment to, pursuing a career as an investigator at the forefront of prostate cancer research; however, the PI is not required to have previous prostate cancer research experience. Applications must include at least one Mentor, appropriate to the proposed research project, who has experience in prostate cancer research and mentoring as demonstrated by a record of active funding, recent publications, and successful mentorship. The primary Mentor can be a junior faculty member, in which case the PI is encouraged to include a secondary Mentor with a more robust track record in prostate cancer research and mentorship. The selected Mentor(s) should also demonstrate a clear commitment to the development of the PI toward independence as a prostate cancer researcher. The PI must outline an individualized, prostate cancer-focused researcher development plan. The researcher development plan should include a clearly articulated strategy for acquiring the necessary skills, competence, and expertise that will enable the PI to successfully complete the proposed research project and foster the PI's development as an independent prostate cancer researcher. An environment appropriate to the proposed mentoring and research project must be clearly described, although any deficiencies of resources and/or mentorship at the PI's institution can be mitigated through collaboration(s) with other institutions. If the PI will be utilizing resources at another institution to successfully complete the proposed project, then the PI is strongly encouraged to designate a co-Mentor at the collaborating institution. All application components for the Early Investigator Research Award are to be written by the PI, with appropriate direction from the Mentor(s). The PCRP seeks applications from investigators from a wide spectrum of disciplines including, but not limited to, basic science, engineering, bioinformatics, population science, translational research, and clinical research. Multidisciplinary projects are encouraged. In addition, applicants are expected to address at least one of the PCRP Focus Areas and are highly encouraged to address one or more of the PCRP Overarching Challenges. If the proposed project does not address any of the Overarching Challenges, the application should include a description to justify how the project will nevertheless address a critical need in the field of prostate cancer research and/or patient care. The inclusion of preliminary data relevant to prostate cancer and the proposed project is encouraged but not required. Any preliminary data provided should be from the PI, Mentor(s), or member(s) of the collaborating team. Investigators are strongly encouraged to incorporate the following components into their study design, where appropriate, to maximize the potential impact of the proposed research project: authentication of proposed cell lines; statistical rigor of preclinical animal experiments; incorporation of experiments to assess clinical relevance and translatability of findings. As such, the PCRP-funded Prostate Cancer Biorepository Network (PCBN) (http://www.prostatebiorepository.org) and/or the North Carolina – Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP) (https://www.ncla-pcap.org) are important resources to consider if retrospectively collected human anatomical substances or correlated data are critical to the proposed studies. Studies utilizing data derived from large patient studies that include long-term health records, biospecimen repositories, and pre-existing research and that apply state-of-the-art genomic and/or proteomic analysis, bioinformatics, and/or mathematical models to such data are also encouraged. Research Involving Human Anatomical Substances, Human Subjects, or Human Cadavers: All Department of Defense (DoD)-funded research involving new and ongoing research with human anatomical substances, human subjects, or human cadavers must be reviewed and approved by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) Office of Research Protections (ORP), Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) prior to research implementation. This administrative review requirement is in addition to the local Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee (EC) review. Local IRB/EC approval at the time of submission is not required. The HRPO is mandated to comply with specific laws and requirements governing all research involving human anatomical substances, human subjects, or human cadavers that is supported by the DoD. These laws and requirements will necessitate information in addition to that supplied to the IRB/EC. Allow a minimum of 2 to 3 months for HRPO regulatory review and approval processes. When possible, protocols should be written for research with human subjects and/or human anatomical substances that are specific to the DoD-supported effort outlined in the submitted application. Submission to HRPO of protocols covering more than the scope of work in the DoD-funded award will require HRPO review of the entire protocol as DoD-supported research and may include extensive modifications to meet DoD human subjects protection requirements. Refer to the General Application Instructions, Appendix 1, and the Human Subject Resource Document available on the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) “Funding Opportunities & Forms” web page (https://ebrap.org/eBRAP/public/Program.htm) for additional information. Clinical trials are not allowed. A clinical trial is defined as a prospective accrual of patients where an intervention (e.g., device, drug, biologic, surgical procedure, rehabilitative modality, behavioral intervention, or other) is tested on a human subject for a measurable outcome with respect to safety, effectiveness, and/or efficacy. PIs may participate in clinical trials as part of their research project or researcher development plan, but funding for such clinical trials must come from sources other than this award. Research Involving Animals: All DoD-funded research involving new and ongoing research with animals must be reviewed and approved by the USAMRMC ORP Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO), in addition to the local Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of record. IACUC approval at the time of submission is not required. Specific documents relating to the use of animals in the proposed research will be requested if the application is selected for funding. The ACURO must review and approve all animal use prior to the start of working with animals, including amendments to ongoing projects. PIs must submit the institutional animal use protocol, IACUC approval of that protocol, and a version of the animal use appendix titled “Research Involving Animals.” Allow at least 2 to 3 months for ACURO regulatory review and approval processes for animal studies. Refer to the General Application Instructions, Appendix 1, for additional information. All projects should adhere to a core set of standards for rigorous study design and reporting to maximize the reproducibility and translational potential of preclinical research. The standards are described in Landis, S.C., et al., A call for transparent reporting to optimize the predictive value of preclinical research. Nature 2012, 490:187-191 (www.nature.com/nature/journal/v490/n7419/ full/nature11556.html). While these standards are written for preclinical studies, the basic principles of randomization, blinding, sample-size estimation, and data handling derive from well-established best practices in clinical studies. Applicants should consult the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) guidelines to ensure relevant aspects of rigorous animal research are adequately planned for and, ultimately, reported. The ARRIVE guidelines can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/__data/promis_misc/622936arrive_guidelines.pdf. The CDMRP intends that information, data, and research resources generated under awards funded by this Program Announcement be made available to the research community (which includes both scientific and consumer advocacy communities) and to the public at large. For additional guidance, refer to the General Application Instructions, Appendix 2, Section K. Awards will be made no later than September 30, 2018. For additional information refer to Section II.F.1, Federal Award Notices.