DOD Pancreatic Cancer, Focused Pilot Award | HT942524PCARPFPTA

Opportunity Information: Apply for HT942524PCARPFPTA

The DOD Pancreatic Cancer, Focused Pilot Award (Funding Opportunity Number: HT942524PCARPFPTA) is a discretionary grant program run through the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), under CFDA 12.420. It is designed to jump-start patient-centered pancreatic cancer research by funding early, focused projects that test impactful and genuinely innovative ideas aimed at improving patients overall quality of life. Rather than supporting basic biology or animal model work, this mechanism prioritizes practical, human-centered research questions that can generate strong preliminary evidence and set up larger clinical or real-world studies later.

The program specifically targets two patient-centered Focus Areas in pancreatic cancer research and encourages studies that address lived experience, care access, and supportive needs. Examples of projects that fit well include research on behaviors that affect access to health care, studies linking mental health factors to cancer outcomes and quality of life, and strategies to address psychosocial barriers patients and families face. It also welcomes behavioral and patient-experience research examining quality of life, decision-making, and cognitive function, as well as the development and pilot testing of nutritional approaches, educational interventions, and symptom management strategies. In short, the emphasis is on interventions or approaches that could meaningfully change how patients feel, function, and navigate care, even if the work is at an early stage.

A key feature of this award is that preliminary data is allowed but not required, which makes it suitable for exploratory projects in understudied areas, as long as the proposal is still scientifically rigorous. Applicants are expected to present a well-formulated, testable hypothesis grounded in strong rationale, and to design the work so it produces robust preliminary data that can serve as the foundation for future, larger-scale research or implementation efforts. Clinical research is permitted, but interventional clinical trials are explicitly out of scope and will not be funded under this mechanism.

The opportunity places heavy weight on impact and innovation. From an impact standpoint, the application should clearly explain how the project will contribute to better outcomes and improved quality of life for people with pancreatic cancer, and how it could influence patient-centered research and care over time, even if immediate clinical practice changes are not expected. From an innovation standpoint, the work should do more than extend prior studies in a small way; it should introduce a fresh concept, challenge existing assumptions, apply new methods or technology, or adapt existing approaches in a creative way. Incremental advances on already published work are not considered innovative for this award.

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, and the agency anticipates making about four awards. The original closing date for applications is October 3, 2024. The award ceiling is not provided in the source text, so applicants would need to confirm budget limits and related constraints in the full funding announcement and application instructions.

• The Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DOD Pancreatic Cancer, Focused Pilot 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 2024-04-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-03. (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 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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