USA Flag An official website of the United States government
Official websites use .mil
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of War organization.
Secure .mil websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Scheduled Downtime
Due to routine system maintenance the CDMRP website will be unavailable from COB 24 April - 27 April COB.
DEPARTMENT OF WAR - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
  1. Home
  2. Research Programs
  3. Kidney Cancer
  4. Research Highlights/News
  5. 2026 Kidney Cancer Research Program

Kidney Cancer

NEWS RELEASE

Released: April 15, 2026

Defense Health Agency Research and Development
Medical Research and Development Command
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Kidney Cancer Research Program
Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2026

The FY26 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the KCRP to support innovative, high-impact research with clinical relevance that will accelerate progress to eliminate kidney cancer for Service Members, their Families, Veterans and the American public. As part of the DHA R&D-MRDC, the CDMRP is the program office managing these anticipated FY26 funding opportunities.

The KCRP provides the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY26 funding opportunities. Investigators should not construe this pre-announcement as an obligation or promise by the government. The CDMRP will post FY26 KCRP funding opportunity announcements on the Grants.gov website. Once released, the funding opportunity announcements will include pre-application and application deadlines.

Applications submitted to FY26 KCRP must address one or more of the following focus areas:

  • Conduct basic biology research to better understand etiology and cancer progression, metastatic disease, refractory disease and therapeutic resistance, genetic and environmental risk factors, and the prevention of kidney cancer
  • Identify and develop new strategies for screening, early-stage detection, and accurate diagnosis and prognosis prediction of kidney cancers, including biomarkers and imaging and treatment of early-stage cancers
  • Define the biology of rare kidney cancers and develop treatments to improve outcomes and reduce death
  • Develop novel, less toxic therapeutic strategies for all types of kidney cancer
  • Identify and implement strategies to improve quality of life and survivorship for kidney cancer patients
  • Identify and implement strategies to enhance outcomes in high-risk kidney cancer patients, including those with exposure to environmental factors and inherent genetic or biological factors
  • Increase capacity and multi-disciplinary research to transform kidney cancer patient care

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators – Early-Career Scholar Award Investigators within 7 years of last postdoctoral research position, clinical fellowship, or equivalent by the full application submission deadline.
  • Applications must include a letter attesting to the investigator’s eligibility.
  • Investigators need not work or practice at an academic institution.
  • Supports impactful kidney cancer research and the addition of new Early-Career Scholars (ECS) to a virtual academy, providing intensive mentoring, national networking, research collaborations and a peer group for early-career kidney cancer investigators.
  • ECSs whose ability to commit to conducting kidney cancer research is limited by lack of resources or other overwhelming obstacles are encouraged to apply.
  • Applications must identify a designated mentor who is an experienced kidney cancer investigator or clinician with a record of kidney cancer publications or funding.
    • A designated mentor may only mentor one scholar.
    • The designated mentor and the scholar may work or practice at different institutions.
  • Applications must include preliminary data.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • The KCRP requires submission of a preproposal; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $1.2 million for total costs*
Concept Award Investigators at all career levels, including postdoctoral fellows, or equivalent.
  • Supports highly innovative, untested, potentially groundbreaking concepts in kidney cancer.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • Applications cannot include preliminary data.
  • The KCRP will blind reviewers to the identity of the principal investigator, collaborator(s) and their organization(s).
  • The KCRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum period of performance is 1 year
  • Maximum allowable funding is $120,000 for total costs*
Idea Development Award Investigators at or above the level of assistant professor, or equivalent.
  • Supports the development of innovative, high-impact ideas that advance the understanding of kidney cancer and ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes.
  • Applications require preliminary data.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • Partnering Principal Investigator Option: Supports meaningful and productive partnerships between two investigators, termed the initiating PI and partnering PI, collaborating on a single application.
    • Each PI should provide equal intellectual input into the design and execution of the project.
  • The KCRP requires submission of a preproposal; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years
  • Maximum allowable funding
    • Single PI: $900,000 for total costs*
    • Partnering PI Option: $1.2M for total costs*
*Total costs include direct and indirect costs.

Before full application submission, the CDMRP requires submission of a pre-application through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal, eBRAP, prior to the pre-application deadline. All applications must conform to the final funding opportunity announcements available for downloading from Grants.gov. To obtain a listing of all CDMRP funding opportunities on the Grants.gov website, perform a basic search using CFDA number 12.420.

To receive email notifications upon release of funding opportunity announcements, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under "Email Subscriptions" on the eBRAP homepage. For more information about the KCRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website.

Point of Contact:
CDMRP Public Affairs
301-619-7071
dha.detrick.cdmrp.mbx.public-affairs@health.mil


Last updated Wednesday, April 15, 2026