DoD Prostate Cancer, Translational Science Award | HT9425 23 PCRP TSA

Opportunity Information: Apply for HT9425 23 PCRP TSA

The FY23 DoD Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) Translational Science Award (TSA) is designed to push prostate cancer research past early discovery and toward real clinical use, with the explicit goal of turning promising concepts into practical applications that address one or more of the program's FY23 Overarching Challenges. The opportunity frames translational research as a two-way exchange between basic science and clinical insight, meaning projects can move from bench to bedside, from bedside back to the lab, or in both directions. Ideas can start from lab findings, population data, or direct clinical experience, but they must be mature enough to justify an advanced translational effort rather than an initial, exploratory mechanistic study of a brand-new target.

A major FY23 update is the expanded inclusion of implementation science, reflecting the reality that even when interventions or tools work in trials, they often fail to reach patients consistently in everyday settings. Under this award, implementation science projects are meant to build usable knowledge about how evidence-based interventions, clinical guidelines, tools, and even policies can be adopted, integrated, scaled, and sustained in real clinical or community environments. The emphasis is on closing the gap between research, practice, and policy so that proven approaches actually improve outcomes for the populations that need them, at the right time and point of care.

The TSA is intentionally broad in the types of studies it will support, as long as they are clearly positioned as advanced translation. Examples include late-stage preclinical studies that translate strong animal model results into work with human samples or cohorts, and other late-stage preclinical efforts that prepare for clinical testing such as assembling the package for an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission. It also includes correlative studies tied to completed or ongoing clinical trials, such as analyses of trial biospecimens to refine patient management or identify next-step directions. Applicants may propose projects that develop or validate clinical trial endpoints, analyze existing datasets or tools to inform clinical practice and patient-relevant outcomes, or conduct comparative effectiveness research in real-world settings to clarify benefits and harms of standard-of-care or emerging strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or monitoring. For FY23, a Clinical Trial Option is included, but it is limited to small-scale clinical trials with a clear implementation science focus rather than large efficacy trials, and applicants must align their study design with the program's definition of a clinical trial (prospective assignment to an intervention to evaluate effects on health-related outcomes).

The award places strong weight on feasibility and rigor. Preliminary data are required to support the scientific rationale and feasibility, and applicants are strongly encouraged to also provide preliminary evidence supporting clinical relevance. Proposals must justify sample size and demonstrate that the planned study can support valid conclusions that meaningfully move the work toward clinical application. Applicants are expected to show they can access the necessary resources, data, biospecimens, infrastructure, or patient populations, and to explain why the sample size and statistical approach are appropriate for the study aims. For preclinical work, the announcement highlights reproducibility expectations such as randomization, blinding, sample-size estimation, and transparent data handling, and it points applicants using animal models to established reporting and design standards (including ARRIVE guidelines) and requires an Animal Research Plan attachment describing how rigor will be addressed.

Because translation is the central purpose, applications must include a detailed research transition plan that lays out what happens after the award ends if the project succeeds. This plan is expected to show a credible pathway to the next development step, which could mean advancing a product like a drug or diagnostic into clinical testing, but it can also mean moving evidence-based practices into real-world clinical workflows and patient communities. In other words, the program is not only looking for interesting results; it wants a clear line of sight to adoption, follow-on development, or implementation that increases real patient impact.

Collaboration is strongly encouraged, including a formal Partnering PI option that supports two principal investigators with distinct, meaningful contributions. One PI serves as the Initiating PI and handles most submission administration, while the Partnering PI co-leads scientifically; if funded, each PI is named on an individual award within the recipient organization. The announcement also encourages collaboration between military or Veteran institutions and non-military organizations to leverage unique infrastructure and access to populations relevant to Service members, military families, Veterans, and the broader public. Applicants are also pointed toward the congressionally mandated Metastatic Cancer Task Force recommendations and encouraged to align ideas to those recommendations when consistent with the award's scope and FY23 PCRP priorities, reflecting an interest in accelerating progress for advanced and recurrent disease.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, awards will be made as assistance agreements, either grants or cooperative agreements depending on the expected level of DoD involvement during performance. The expected direct costs for the full period of performance should not exceed $900,000. Program-wide, the CDMRP anticipated allocating about $7.2 million to fund roughly five awards. The agency indicated awards would be made no later than September 30, 2024, and that FY23 funds are expected to be used, with availability expiring on September 30, 2029, which matters for the timing of obligations and project execution.

Finally, the opportunity highlights compliance requirements for studies involving humans or animals. Any DoD-funded work involving human data, human specimens, human subjects, or cadavers must undergo DoD-level oversight review through USAMRDC OHARO/OHRO in addition to local IRB or ethics review, with applicants advised to plan for up to about three months for the DoD regulatory review once complete documentation is submitted. For multi-site, non-exempt U.S. human subjects research, a single IRB plan is required under the Common Rule single-IRB requirement. For animal research, ACURO review is required in addition to the local IACUC, and timelines of roughly three to four months for DoD animal regulatory review are noted. Applicants using DoD or VA resources or patient populations must describe access and provide a plan to maintain that access throughout the study period.

• 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 Prostate Cancer, Translational Science 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 26, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 24, 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 5 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 HT9425 23 PCRP TSA

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