DoD Lung Cancer, Concept Award | W81XWH 21 LCRP CA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 21 LCRP CA

The Department of Defense (DoD) Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP) Concept Award (FY21; Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-21-LCRP-CA) is designed to fund bold, early-stage lung cancer ideas that could open up entirely new directions in the field. The main purpose of this opportunity is to support the exploration of a highly innovative concept or an untested theory that tackles an important lung cancer problem. Unlike many traditional research grants that favor steady, incremental advances built on an established project, this award is intentionally structured to make room for high-risk, high-reward work, including projects that arise from unexpected findings or serendipitous observations. In practical terms, reviewers are looking for applications that clearly explain what the new idea is, why it matters, and how it could meaningfully expand current lung cancer knowledge or create a genuinely novel line of investigation.

A key feature of the Concept Award is its stance on preliminary data. The program emphasizes that presenting preliminary data is not consistent with the central intent of this mechanism. While applicants are not banned from including preliminary results, the application is not supposed to depend on them for credibility. Instead, the strength of the proposal should come from the quality of the concept, the logic and creativity of the approach, and the potential for the work to reshape thinking or generate transformative insights. The expected outcome is often the production of enough early evidence, feasibility signals, or conceptual validation to position the Principal Investigator (PI) to compete for larger follow-on funding in the future.

The opportunity also places strong emphasis on relevance to military health. The LCRP’s mission includes addressing the health care needs of military Service members, Veterans, and their families, and this relevance is considered during programmatic review as part of alignment with the Defense Health Program (DHP) and the FY21 LCRP priorities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to build a clear military health connection into the proposal. Examples of what can demonstrate that relevance include using military or Veteran populations in the research, leveraging biospecimens or datasets tied to military or Veteran cohorts, or working with data resources and programs connected to the Military Health System. Another encouraged approach is collaboration with DoD or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) investigators, which can strengthen the project’s real-world linkage to military and Veteran health needs. The program also values dual-use potential, meaning the knowledge, tools, technologies, or products developed could address a military-specific need while also benefiting civilians. Additionally, proposals can be particularly relevant if they address lung cancer factors that matter directly to military beneficiaries, including environmental exposures other than tobacco, reflecting the reality that lung cancer risk and disease drivers are not limited to smoking-related causes.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary research funding opportunity offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, administered through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). The funding instrument types listed are grant and cooperative agreement, and the activity category is science and technology and other research and development. The CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 12.420. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), with the caveat that applicants should still check the full announcement text for any additional eligibility conditions or clarifications. The opportunity was created on February 9, 2021, with an original closing date of April 20, 2021, and the program anticipated making approximately 12 awards. The public listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that the ceiling is not specified in the summary record and that applicants should rely on the full funding announcement for budget constraints, limits, and other financial rules.

Overall, this Concept Award is best suited for investigators who have a genuinely new lung cancer hypothesis or conceptual breakthrough they want to test, especially one that might be too speculative for more conventional funding mechanisms. The program is effectively asking applicants to prioritize originality and potential impact, show a credible plan for exploring the idea without leaning heavily on existing datasets or preliminary results, and connect the work to military and Veteran health needs in a way that is specific, realistic, and meaningful.

• 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, Concept 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 Feb 09, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 20, 2021. (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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