The FY19 Defense Appropriation provides $14 million (M) to the Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program (LCRP) to support innovative, high-impact lung cancer research.  As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) J9, Research and Development Directorate, manages the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation.  The managing agent for the anticipated Program Announcements/Funding Opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).

The LCRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications.  FY19 LCRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted on Grants.gov in March 2019.  Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the Program Announcements are released.  This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government.

Applications submitted to the FY19 LCRP must address at least one of the nine Areas of Emphasis listed below:

• Identify innovative strategies for the screening and early detection of lung cancer.
• Understand the molecular mechanisms of initiation and progression to clinically significant lung cancer.
• Identify innovative strategies for prevention of the occurrence of lung cancer.
• Identify innovative strategies for the treatment of lung cancer.
• Identify innovative strategies for the prevention of recurrence of or metastases from lung cancer.
• Develop or optimize predictive markers to assist with therapeutic decision-making.
• Understand mechanisms of resistance to treatment (primary and secondary).
• Understand contributors to lung cancer development other than tobacco.
• Identify innovative strategies for lung cancer care delivery (clinical management/ surveillance/symptom management).

Military Relevance:  The LCRP seeks to support research that is relevant to the healthcare needs of military Service members, Veterans, and their families.  Military relevance will be considered in determining relevance to the mission of the DHP and FY19 LCRP during programmatic review.  Investigators are strongly encouraged to consider the following characteristics as examples of how a project may demonstrate military relevance:

• Use of military or Veteran populations, biospecimens, data/databases, or programs in the proposed research
• Collaboration with Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) investigators
• Involvement of military consultants (Army, Air Force) or specialty leaders (Navy, Marine Corps) to the Surgeons General in a relevant specialty area
• Description of how the knowledge, information, products, or technologies gained from the proposed research could be implemented in a dual-use capacity to address a military need that also benefits the civilian population
• Explanation of how the project addresses an aspect of lung cancer that has direct relevance to military Service members, Veterans, or other military health system beneficiaries, including environmental exposures other than tobacco

https://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/press/2019/19lcrppreann

Concept Award

• Investigators at all academic levels
• Supports highly innovative, untested, potentially groundbreaking concepts in lung cancer.
• Emphasis on innovation.
• Clinical trials not allowed.
• Preliminary data discouraged.
• Military relevance strongly encouraged.
• Maximum funding of $100,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• Period of performance should not exceed 1 year.

Career Development Award

• Principal Investigator:  Independent investigators at the level of Assistant Professor, Instructor, or equivalent; must be within 5 years of first faculty appointment
• Supports early-career, independent researchers to conduct research under mentorship of an experienced lung cancer researcher.
• Clinical trials not allowed.
• Preliminary data not required.
• Military relevance strongly encouraged. Mentor:  At or above the level of Associate Professor (or equivalent); have a proven publication and funding record in lung cancer research
• Maximum funding of $250,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• Period of performance should not exceed 2 years.

Idea Development Award

• Established Investigators:  Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent); or
• New Investigators:  Investigators that meet the following criteria at the application submission deadline date:
• Have not previously received a LCRP Idea Development Award or Early Investigator Synergistic Idea Award
• Are within 10 years of first faculty appointment (or equivalent)
• Supports new ideas in the early stages of development representing innovative, high-risk/high-gain research.
• Emphasis on innovation and impact.
• New Investigator category supports applicants early in their faculty appointments or in the process of developing independent research careers.
• Clinical trials not allowed.
• Preliminary data required, but may be from outside of lung cancer.
• Military relevance strongly encouraged.
• Maximum funding of $350,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• Period of performance should not exceed 2 years.

Investigator-Initiated Translational Research Award

• Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
• Supports translational research that will develop promising ideas in lung cancer into clinical applications.  Translational research may be defined as an integration of basic science and clinical observations.
• This mechanism is intended to fund a broad range of translational studies including, but not limited to, the following:
• • Studies advancing/translating in vitro and/or animal studies to applications with human samples/cohorts
  • Late-stage preclinical work leading to/preparing for a clinical trial, e.g., Investigational New Drug submission
  • Correlative studies that are associated with an ongoing or completed clinical trial and projects that develop endpoints for clinical trials
• Preliminary data required, but may be from outside of lung cancer.
• Military relevance strongly encouraged.
• Maximum funding of $400,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• Period of performance should not exceed 2 years.

Translational Research Partnership Award

• Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
• Supports partnerships between clinicians and research scientists that accelerate ideas in lung cancer into clinical applications.
• • One partner is strongly encouraged to be from either a Military Treatment Facility or a VA medical center.
• Non-Traditional Partnerships are encouraged.
• Small-scale clinical trials allowed.
• Preliminary data required, but may be from outside of lung cancer.
• Military relevance strongly encouraged.
• Maximum combined funding of $900,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org prior to the pre-application deadline.  All applications must conform to the final Program Announcements and General Application Instructions that will be available for electronic downloading from the Grants.gov website.  The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism will also be found on Grants.gov.  A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRMC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420. 

Submission deadlines are not available until the Program Announcements are released.  For email notification when Program Announcements are released, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under “Email Subscriptions” on the eBRAP homepage at https://eBRAP.org.  For more information about the LCRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Public Affairs
301-619-9783
usarmy.detrick.medcom-cdmrp.mbx.cdmrp-public-affairs@mail.mil