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Prostate Cancer

NEWS RELEASE

Released: March 2, 2023

Department of Defense
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Prostate Cancer Research Program
Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23)

The FY23 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) to support innovative, high-impact prostate cancer research. The managing agent for the anticipated funding opportunities is the CDMRP at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

The PCRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY23 funding opportunities. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government. The FY23 PCRP funding opportunity announcements for the following award mechanisms will be posted on the Grants.gov website. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the announcements are released.

The mission of the FY23 PCRP is to fund research that will lead to the elimination of death and suffering from prostate cancer and enhance the well-being of Service Members, Veterans, and all the men and their families experiencing the impact of the disease. Within this context, the PCRP is interested in supporting research that addresses specific gaps in prostate cancer research and clinical care; therefore, applications are required to address one or more of the following FY23 PCRP Overarching Challenges:

  • Improve quality of life to enhance outcomes and overall health and wellness for those impacted by prostate cancer
    • Applications should aim to understand the impact of prostate cancer on the quality of life of the cancer survivor, their family, their caregivers, and their community with the goal of improving and enhancing quality of life and overall health and wellness. Studies should consider both short- and long-term quality of life outcomes. Areas of particular interest include:
    • The mental and emotional health of patients and their families/caregivers
    • Impact of quality-of-life considerations on decision-making after diagnosis and/or treatment
    • Identification of vulnerable groups of men and their families at great risk of quality-of-life detriments
    • Translation of factors or interventions that improve quality-of-life outcomes and overall health and wellness

  • Develop new treatments or improve upon existing therapies to improve outcomes for men with lethal prostate cancer
    • Applications must be directly related to prostate cancer with a high risk of death, including high-risk and very high-risk localized disease and metastatic prostate cancer. Treatments may address any stage in the continuum of care, including local therapies such as surgery or radiation designed to treat men with a high risk of death from the disease. Proposed treatments are highly encouraged to consider preserving patient quality of life and not focus only on survival outcomes.

    Applications should not focus on active surveillance, low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, and/or biochemical recurrence. Refer to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for risk assessment definitions (https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/content/PDF/prostate-advanced-patient.pdf).

  • Advance health equity and reduce disparities in prostate cancer
    • Applications must be directly relevant to better understanding and/or reduction of inequities and disparities that impact a person, their family, or their caregiver's ability to prevent, detect, manage, and survive prostate cancer.

    Inequities may arise from socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, geography, environment, lifestyle, sexual and/or gender identification, access to care (in rural or urban settings), or other factors.

    Health inequities may include physical, mental, or emotional health differences, as well as social and financial differences experienced primarily in high-risk or underserved prostate cancer patients.

    High-risk populations include, but are not limited to, people of African descent (including Caribbean), genetically predisposed populations, Service Members, and Veterans.

    Underserved populations include, but are not limited to, men with limited access to clinical care and resources (in rural or urban settings) and sexual and/or gender minorities.

  • Define the biology of prostate cancer progression to lethal prostate cancer to reduce death
    • Applications must be directly related to high-risk, very high-risk, and metastatic prostate cancer. Refer to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for risk assessment definitions (https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/content/PDF/prostate-advanced-patient.pdf).

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Data Science Award

 Independent investigators at all levels
  • Supports research where quantitative and analytical approaches, processes, and/or systems are developed and/or used to obtain knowledge and insight from large and/or complex sets of prostate cancer data.
  • Applications may propose development of a new data-science driven tool or apply an existing tool or method to gather and analyze information from large data sets with the intent of advancing prostate cancer research and patient care relative to the FY23 PCRP Overarching Challenges.
  • Research efforts must be built upon the logic, concepts, and methods of one or more of the following research areas as they pertain to prostate cancer:
    • Analysis of clinically annotated datasets
    • Analysis of -omics data
    • Artificial intelligence and machine learning
    • Bioinformatics
    • Computational biology
    • Digital pathology
    • Epidemiology
    • Medical imaging
  • Clinical research is allowed, but must be retrospective; prospective recruitment of human subjects and/or clinical trials is not allowed.
  • Presentation of preliminary data is strongly encouraged, but not required.
  • Each investigator may be named as Principal Investigator (PI) on only one application.
  • Partnering PI Option: Allows two PIs, termed Initiating and Partnering PIs, to collaborate on a single project. Collaborations between data scientists and clinicians are highly encouraged. At least one of the submitting or partnering PIs must have expertise in prostate cancer basic and/or clinical research.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $1,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Early Investigator Research Award By March 31, 2024,
Postdoctoral PIs:
  • Must possess a doctoral degree (or equivalent)
  • Have 3 or fewer years of postdoctoral research experience (excluding clinical residency or clinical fellowship training)
  • Supports research opportunities focused on prostate cancer for individuals in the early stages of their careers.
  • PIs must have a designated mentor who is an experienced prostate cancer researcher.
  • Applications must include a Researcher Development Plan articulating an individualized strategy for acquiring necessary skills, competence, and expertise to complete the project and foster the PI’s career development.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $300,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 2 years.
Exploration – Hypothesis Development Award

 Investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (or equivalent)
  • Supports the exploration of highly innovative, untested, potentially groundbreaking concepts in prostate cancer.
  • Emphasis is on innovation; the potential impact may be difficult to predict.
  • Presentation of preliminary data is strongly discouraged.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $100,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 2 years.
Health Disparity Research Award Established Investigators:
Independent investigators at all levels

New Investigators: 
Investigators that meet the following criteria at the application submission deadline date:
  • Have the freedom to pursue individual aims without formal mentorship
  • Have not previously received a PCRP Health Disparity Research Award and/or Idea Development Award
  • Have either completed at least 3 years of postdoctoral training or fellowship or are within 10 years after completion of a terminal degree (excluding residency or family medical leave)
  • Supports research ideas that have the potential to make an important contribution to reducing and ultimately eliminating disparities in prostate cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality.
  • Proposed projects must address one of the following health disparity focus areas: (1) biological contributors, (2) environmental factors, (3) social and cultural factors, or (4) access to healthcare.
  • Proposed projects may include basic, translational, or clinical research, including clinical trials.
  • Primary emphasis will be placed on the potential impact of the proposed work.
  • Preliminary data are encouraged, but not required.
  • Each investigator may be named as PI on only one application.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $900,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Idea Development Award Established Investigators:
Independent investigators at all levels

New Investigators: 
Investigators that meet the following criteria at the application submission deadline date:
  • Have the freedom to pursue individual aims without formal mentorship
  • Have not previously received a PCRP Idea Development Award and/or Health Disparity Research Award
  • Have either completed at least 3 years of postdoctoral training or fellowship or are within 10 years after completion of terminal degree (excluding residency or family medical leave)
  • Supports new ideas that represent innovative, high-risk/high-gain approaches to prostate cancer research and have the potential to make an important contribution to one or more of the FY23 PCRP Overarching Challenges.
  • Emphasis is equally placed on Innovation and Impact.
  • Preliminary data are encouraged, but not required.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Each investigator may be named as PI on only one application.
  • Multidisciplinary projects are encouraged, and multi-institutional projects are allowed.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $900,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Physician Research Award At the time of application submission, the PI must be either:
  • In the last year of an accredited medical residency or medical fellowship program
    • Or
  • Within 5 years of having initiated a faculty appointment (including Instructor positions)
  • Supports a mentored research experience to prepare physicians with clinical duties for careers in prostate cancer research.
  • PIs must demonstrate a commitment to a career at the forefront of prostate cancer research and clinical practice.
  • PIs must have a designated mentor with an established research program in prostate cancer.
  • Applications are strongly encouraged to demonstrate protection of at least 40% of the PI’s time for prostate cancer research (not required to be exclusive to this award).
  • Applications must include a Researcher Development Plan articulating an individualized strategy for acquiring necessary skills, competence, and expertise to complete the project and foster the PI’s career development.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $750,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 4 years.
Translational Science Award Independent investigators at all levels
  • Supports advanced translational research that will foster transformation of promising ideas in prostate cancer into clinical applications, ultimately providing a solution to one or more of the FY23 PCRP Overarching Challenges.
  • Translational research may be defined as an integration of basic science and clinical observations, including a reciprocal flow of ideas and information from bench to bedside and/or bedside to bench.
  • Supports a broad range of translational studies such as:
    • Advanced translation of results from animal studies to applications with human samples/cohorts
    • Late-stage preclinical work leading to/preparing for a clinical trial, e.g., Investigational New Drug application submission
    • Correlative studies that are associated with an open/ongoing or completed clinical trial, e.g., projects that utilize biospecimens from clinical trial to improve clinical management of prostate cancer and/or define new areas of research
    • Projects that develop endpoints for clinical trials
    • Development and/or evaluation of methods and strategies to overcome barriers to the adoption, adaptation, integration, scale-up and sustainability of evidence-based interventions, tools, policies, and guidelines
  • Preliminary data to support the scientific rationale and feasibility of the research approaches are required. The inclusion of additional preliminary data to support the clinical relevance of the idea is strongly encouraged.
  • Each investigator may be named as PI on only one application.
  • Partnering PI Option: Allows two PIs, termed Initiating and Partnering PIs, to collaborate on a single project. Collaborations between basic science and clinical researchers are highly encouraged.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $900,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 3 years.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) prior to the pre-application deadline. All applications must conform to the final funding opportunity announcements that will be available for 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 USAMRDC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using Assistance Listing Number (ALN, formerly CFDA) 12.420.

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


Point of Contact:

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


Last updated Thursday, March 2, 2023