DoD Kidney Cancer, Translational Research Partnership Award | W81XWH 20 KCRP TRPA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 20 KCRP TRPA

The FY20 DoD Kidney Cancer Research Program (KCRP) Translational Research Partnership Award is designed to speed up the shift of strong kidney cancer ideas from research settings into practical clinical use. The core purpose is to fund truly collaborative, translational projects that tackle a central kidney cancer problem in a way that would be difficult to accomplish if the investigators worked separately. The emphasis is not just on doing both “basic” and “clinical” work in the same project, but on building an integrated partnership where the clinic and the lab actively shape the science together and continuously inform each other as the project moves forward.

A defining requirement is that the application must be led by a two-person partnership between independent, faculty-level (or equivalent) investigators: one must be a research scientist and the other must be a clinician. The opportunity is explicit that both partners are expected to have equal intellectual input into the project design and execution. In other words, the clinician cannot simply function as a source of patient samples or a gatekeeper for patient access; that kind of limited role does not meet the intent of the award. Instead, the funded work is expected to reflect real synergy, where each investigator’s expertise is essential to the project’s success and where decisions, interpretation, and next steps are shaped by both clinical realities and mechanistic or analytical scientific insight.

The program encourages multi-institutional teams and also welcomes participation from experts outside the kidney cancer field, as long as the work remains focused on kidney cancer and strengthens the translational pathway. At least one member of the partnership must bring direct experience in kidney cancer research or kidney cancer patient care, ensuring the project is grounded in the disease context. Ideas can originate from many sources, including laboratory discoveries, population-based findings, or a clinician’s firsthand observations from treating patients, including patterns noticed in practice. Importantly, the program frames translation as a two-way process rather than a simple “bench-to-bedside” pipeline; proposals are expected to show reciprocal movement of questions, data, and interpretation between clinical and basic science throughout the project.

From an application content standpoint, feasibility and readiness matter. Preliminary data are required to support the central hypothesis and the proposed approach, but those data do not have to come specifically from kidney cancer studies as long as they credibly support the project’s rationale and methods. Applicants also need to demonstrate practical access to the key resources the work depends on, such as specimens, datasets, cohorts, or other interventions, as applicable. The award can support correlative studies tied to an ongoing or completed clinical trial, but it does not allow clinical trials under this mechanism. When a correlative study is proposed, the application must confirm access to the needed specimens and/or data at the time of submission, typically backed by documentation such as letters confirming access.

Because this mechanism is centered on partnership execution, the announcement places strong weight on a clear collaboration plan. Proposals must spell out how the Principal Investigators and any participating institutions will interact, including how they will communicate, coordinate progress, share results, and transfer data. For multi-institutional projects, applicants must also include an intellectual property plan aimed at preventing institutional barriers from undermining cooperation, and at addressing potential intellectual and material property issues proactively. The structure of leadership is also specified: the award requires more than one PI, with one designated as the Initiating PI (who handles most submission-related administration) and the other as the Partnering PI. If funded, each PI is named on an individual award within their recipient organization, reinforcing the expectation of shared responsibility and meaningful contribution from both sides.

In terms of what the program wants to achieve, reviewers are looking for projects with a credible translational arc and clear potential to make a significant difference in kidney cancer research and/or patient care. The intended impact can span prevention, diagnosis, detection, prognosis, treatment, and survivorship, but the project should be positioned to accelerate movement toward clinical application rather than stopping at a purely exploratory endpoint. The work must also be relevant to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the broader American public, reflecting the Department of Defense’s health mission. The announcement also notes alignment with broader federal priorities in metastatic cancer research by referencing recommendations from the Congressionally mandated Metastatic Cancer Task Force, encouraging applicants to consider those recommendations when crafting ideas, so long as they fit within the KCRP priorities and the award’s rules.

On funding and administrative details, awards are issued as assistance agreements, which can take the form of either a grant or a cooperative agreement depending on the anticipated level of DoD involvement during the project. If no substantial involvement is expected from the funding agency, the instrument is typically a grant; if substantial involvement is expected (such as collaboration or active participation by the agency), a cooperative agreement is used. For this FY20 opportunity, the anticipated maximum direct costs for the full period of performance are capped at $750,000. The program expected to allocate about $3.6 million total to support roughly three awards, with actual funding dependent on federal funds availability and the outcomes of scientific and programmatic review. Key timing details from the original announcement include a closing date of August 26, 2020, and an expectation that awards would be made no later than September 30, 2021, with FY20 funds anticipated to remain available for use through September 30, 2026.

• 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 Kidney Cancer, Translational Research Partnership 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 May 12, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 26, 2020. (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 3 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 W81XWH 20 KCRP TRPA

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