DoD Kidney Cancer, Physician Research Award | W81XWH 18 KCRP PRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 KCRP PRA

The DoD Kidney Cancer, Physician Research Award (Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-18-KCRP-PRA) is a Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Program mechanism designed to help early-career physicians build the skills, experience, and track record needed to become independent investigators in kidney cancer. The award is built around a mentored research experience, where the physician applicant is the Principal Investigator (PI) and is expected to take primary responsibility for developing and writing the application, with guidance from one or more established mentor(s). A defining feature of this opportunity is that it weighs two things equally: the strength and potential impact of the proposed kidney cancer research project, and the quality and realism of the PI's career development plan to transition into a productive, long-term kidney cancer research career.

Eligibility is focused on physicians who are still early in their faculty trajectory and who often have significant clinical responsibilities. Specifically, applicants should be within three years of starting an appointment as an Instructor, Assistant Professor, or an equivalent position by the application deadline. The program expects applicants to show a serious commitment to combining clinical practice with kidney cancer investigation, but it does not require prior experience in kidney cancer research. A practical intent behind the award is to protect research time for the physician PI, aiming to ensure that at least 25 percent of the PI's effort is reserved for kidney cancer research activities during the project period.

Mentorship is not optional in this mechanism and is treated as a core part of the proposal. At least one mentor is required, and that mentor must have an established kidney cancer research program demonstrated through recent publications, current research funding, and a record of successful mentorship. Beyond credentials, the mentor team must show a clear commitment to advancing the PI's development, including hands-on guidance, appropriate training opportunities, and a supportive plan for progression toward independence. The announcement also recognizes that not every institution has all needed expertise or infrastructure in-house; collaboration with other institutions is acceptable and, when substantial external resources are needed, the PI is strongly encouraged to name a co-mentor at the collaborating organization.

On the science side, the proposed research is expected to tackle a critical area in kidney cancer biology, treatment, outcomes, or patient care, spanning basic, translational, clinical, or population science. Reviewers will be looking for a well-argued scientific rationale and a rigorous, clearly described methodology that shows the applicant understands the problem deeply and has a feasible plan to achieve specific goals. Importantly for physician investigators who may be transitioning from clinical duties into research, preliminary data are not required. If preliminary results are included, they should come from the PI, the mentor(s), or members of the collaborating team and should directly support feasibility or key assumptions.

A major deliverable of the application is an individualized career development plan created with mentor input. This plan should lay out, in concrete terms, how the PI will gain the technical, analytical, and professional skills needed to complete the project and to grow into an independent kidney cancer researcher. Strong plans typically describe targeted training, structured mentorship activities, milestones, and how the research environment will support progress. The application must describe the mentoring and research setting clearly, and it can address gaps in resources or mentorship at the PI's home institution through partnerships with other organizations.

Impact is a central review theme. The DoD is looking for projects that address a key question or bottleneck in kidney cancer research or clinical care and that could meaningfully shift current concepts or practices if successful. To maximize rigor and downstream usefulness, applicants are encouraged, where appropriate, to incorporate best practices such as authentication of cell lines, strong statistical design and reporting for animal studies, and experiments that explicitly probe clinical relevance and translatability. The program also highlights interest in studies that leverage large patient cohorts with long-term health records and linked resources like biospecimen repositories, especially when paired with modern genomic and proteomic methods, bioinformatics, or mathematical modeling.

As with other DoD medical research opportunities, the work must be relevant to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the broader American public. Funding is provided through either a grant or cooperative agreement, and for the FY18 cycle the anticipated maximum in direct costs for the entire period of performance is capped at $200,000. The posting lists an expectation of approximately two awards. The opportunity was administered by the Department of Defense (Department of the Army, USAMRAA) under CFDA 12.420, with an original closing date of September 26, 2018.

• 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 Kidney Cancer, Physician Research 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 Jun 08, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 26, 2018. (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 2 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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