DoD Breast Cancer Breakthrough Award Levels 3 and 4 | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The DoD Breast Cancer Breakthrough Award Levels 3 and 4 (Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH 15 BCRP BREAKTHROUGH FL34) is a competitive research funding opportunity run through the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), under CFDA 12.420 (Military Medical Research and Development). It is designed to back breast cancer research that is genuinely high-impact, meaning the proposed work should have a clear and compelling chance to produce a major advance rather than a modest, incremental step. A central expectation is that applicants spell out a believable pathway to clinical impact for people who have breast cancer or are at risk for it, even if the project itself is not immediately clinical. In other words, reviewers are looking for research that can accelerate real progress toward better prevention, detection, treatment, survivorship outcomes, or overall clinical management, with a strong rationale for how the work could ultimately change practice or patient outcomes.

This announcement focuses on the more advanced end of the Breakthrough Award spectrum, specifically Funding Levels 3 and 4, and it emphasizes that the level should be chosen based on the scope and maturity of the proposed research rather than simply the size of the budget. The program allows a wide range of project sizes and stages of development, from smaller efforts that are ready to move toward clinical testing to large, coordinated projects that could reshape how breast cancer is handled in the clinic. Separate program announcements exist for the lower tiers (Funding Levels 1 and 2), and it is the Principal Investigator's responsibility to select the correct track for what they are proposing.

Funding Level 3 is geared toward advanced translational research that is positioned to move into near-term clinical investigation. This includes studies that have already progressed beyond early discovery and are ready to validate findings, refine interventions, or bridge the gap between laboratory or preclinical insights and clinical evaluation. Importantly, small-scale clinical trials are allowed at this level, which signals that the program is open to supporting work that is close to patient-facing testing, provided the study is well-justified and aligned with the Breakthrough Award requirement for meaningful potential impact.

Funding Level 4 targets large-scale projects intended to transform and revolutionize breast cancer prevention and/or clinical management, with near-term clinical impact expected. This is the highest ambition category in this announcement and is meant for substantial efforts that can change standards of care, introduce practice-changing strategies, or significantly alter prevention approaches. Because these projects are expected to be complex and highly coordinated, PIs are expected to demonstrate experience successfully leading large-scale projects. A notable requirement unique to Level 4 is that an invited oral presentation is part of the application review process, meaning proposals that advance through review may require live presentation as described in the full announcement instructions.

The opportunity also strongly encourages collaboration through a formal Partnering PI Option. Under this structure, two investigators apply together as an Initiating PI and a Partnering PI, and each PI receives a separate award. While the two PIs have different submission requirements, both are expected to play major roles in shaping the science and execution plan, including shared responsibility for the Project Narrative, the Statement of Work (SOW), and other core application components. The program is flexible about whether the two investigators come from the same discipline or different ones, but it is not meant to be a superficial partnership. Applicants must explain what distinct expertise each PI contributes and why the project will be stronger as a genuinely integrated team effort rather than two parallel, loosely connected projects. New collaborations are welcomed but not mandatory, and the program discourages a single person from serving as Partnering PI on multiple submissions unless the applications clearly address different research questions. The announcement also clarifies what does not fit the intent of this option: applications pairing a mentor with their current postdoctoral fellow or junior investigator as the two PIs are specifically said to be inconsistent with the purpose of the Partnering PI mechanism.

From an administrative standpoint, this funding opportunity was posted March 3, 2015, with an original and current closing date of July 28, 2015, and it was archived August 27, 2015. It anticipated around five awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $44,000,000, and it did not require cost sharing or matching. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to applicants of many entity types, subject to any specific clarifications in the official eligibility text. Funding is provided as either a grant or a cooperative agreement under a science and technology/research and development activity category, which generally indicates support for substantial research work and, in the case of cooperative agreements, the possibility of more active involvement or oversight consistent with federal assistance rules. For technical access issues related to the full announcement, the contact listed is the CDMRP Help Desk (301-682-5507).

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: Dept. of the Army USAMRAA

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Next opportunity: DoD Breast Cancer Innovator Award

Previous opportunity: DoD Breast Cancer Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2

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