DoD Ovarian Cancer Clinical Translational Leverage Award | Apply Online

FAQs: DoD Ovarian Cancer Clinical Translational Leverage Award (TLA)

What is the DoD Ovarian Cancer Clinical Translational Leverage Award (TLA)?

The TLA is a funding opportunity under the Department of Defense (DoD) Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) intended to accelerate translational ovarian cancer research by leveraging existing human-based datasets and specimen collections, rather than creating new clinical trials.

What is the main goal of this award mechanism?

The main goal is to generate actionable clinical and biological insights more quickly by using established human resources (data and specimens) to address important questions in ovarian cancer detection, classification, treatment selection, and outcome prediction.

Does this award fund new clinical trials?

No. While the award encourages the use of samples and data tied to clinical trials, it explicitly does not support conducting a clinical trial itself.

What does it mean to "leverage" existing human-based resources?

"Leverage" means using already-collected human specimens, datasets, and clinical information (often including trial-associated materials) to run correlative or adjunct analyses that connect lab or computational findings back to real patient materials and real clinical contexts.

What types of human-based ovarian cancer resources are considered qualifying?

The opportunity highlights a broad set of qualifying resources, including:

• Banks/biorepositories of patient specimens (for example, tumor tissue, blood, ascites, and other clinically collected materials)
• Annotated ovarian cancer cell lines linked to clinical or molecular information
• Epidemiologic cohorts and population-based resources
• Clinical databases containing treatment and outcomes information
• Large-scale omics datasets (for example, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic profiles)
• Repositories that pair clinical data with metadata (such as stage, histology, prior therapies, response criteria, and longitudinal follow-up)

What kind of research is emphasized in this award?

The emphasis is on translationally relevant research grounded in human data, especially correlative or adjunct analyses that add value to ongoing or completed clinical research efforts and that link molecular or computational findings to patient outcomes and clinical context.

What are examples of projects encouraged by the announcement?

Examples described include using clinical trial-related specimens to:

• Better define ovarian cancer tumor subtypes
• Identify or validate biomarkers that predict therapeutic response
• Develop prognostic indicators to estimate disease course and survival outcomes

Are analyses of archived or previously collected samples appropriate for this mechanism?

Yes. The opportunity specifically centers on using established specimen collections and datasets, and it provides examples such as deep molecular characterization of archived samples and validation of candidate biomarkers in well-annotated cohorts.

Can computational or integrated multi-omics approaches fit within the TLA scope?

Yes. The announcement highlights computational approaches that combine multiple data types to improve patient stratification, and it references large-scale omics datasets as qualifying resources.

How does the award connect research outputs to clinical utility?

The unifying theme is translational relevance: projects should be designed to move findings closer to clinical utility by grounding analyses in human specimens/data and interpreting results within real clinical contexts, including outcomes and treatment information.

What is the funding instrument for this opportunity?

The listed funding instrument is a cooperative agreement grant. This typically implies substantial involvement or partnership expectations with the funding agency compared to a standard grant, depending on the terms of the agreement.

Which organization administered this funding opportunity?

Administratively, the opportunity was offered as a discretionary funding program through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) within Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this announcement?

The Funding Opportunity Number is W81XWH-13-OCRP-TLA.

How many awards were anticipated, and what was the estimated total funding?

The announcement anticipated making about 4 awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $1,660,000.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. Cost sharing or matching was not required according to the posted information.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was described as unrestricted, meaning it was broadly open to different types of applicant organizations, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement.

What program or CFDA listing is associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA listing associated with the program is 12.420 (Military Medical Research and Development).

When was the opportunity posted, and what were the closing and archive dates?

The posted and creation date in the record is May 12, 2013. The original and current closing date is September 11, 2013. The archive date is October 11, 2013.

Where can applicants get help accessing the full announcement materials?

Applicants who have trouble accessing the full materials were directed to the CDMRP Help Desk at 301-682-5507 or help@cdmrp.org.

Does the opportunity prioritize use of clinical trial-associated samples and data?

It places a major emphasis on analyses connected to real patient materials and clinical contexts, especially for samples tied to clinical trials, while still making clear that the award does not fund running a clinical trial.

What kinds of clinical and metadata elements are highlighted as important for analysis?

The opportunity notes that repositories pairing clinical data with metadata are often essential for stratification and interpretation, giving examples such as stage, histology, prior therapies, response criteria, and longitudinal follow-up.