DoD Melanoma, Translational Research Award | W81XWH 19 MRP TRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 MRP TRA

The Department of Defense Melanoma Research Program (MRP) Translational Research Award (FY19) is a discretionary funding opportunity from the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, administered through USAMRAA. It is designed to fund hypothesis-driven, high-impact melanoma research that is far enough along to be considered mature, with a clear path toward translation into real-world clinical use. The intent is to move strong scientific findings closer to practical melanoma treatment and or prevention strategies, rather than supporting early exploratory work that is still far from clinical relevance. The funding can be made through either a grant or a cooperative agreement, depending on the nature of the project and the level of involvement expected from the government.

A central theme of this award is translational momentum: the proposed research should show continuity from prior work and demonstrate that the next steps are well supported by data, methodologically rigorous, and focused on outcomes that can reasonably be advanced toward clinical applicability. Reviewers are expected to weigh clinical relevance heavily, including whether the project is positioned to influence patient care, inform clinical decision-making, or accelerate development of interventions. Strong applications are also expected to leverage clinical samples in a meaningful way, particularly those derived from clinical trials and or established biorepositories. In other words, the program is looking for projects that can connect mechanistic or biological insight to human disease in a direct and credible way, rather than relying primarily on artificial or overly simplified laboratory systems.

The opportunity also emphasizes research that addresses important melanoma scientific or clinical problems with the potential for major impact if solved. Projects should be structured to produce clear scientific outcomes through robust experimental design, appropriate controls, and strong analytical approaches, with an emphasis on generating results that are actually usable for downstream development. Applicants are encouraged to frame their work around commonalities in melanoma research that can advance broader understanding of the field, rather than narrow or highly niche questions that would not generalize well. Overall, the program is oriented toward accelerating promising findings so they are more likely to be adopted, validated, or extended in clinical contexts.

At the same time, the solicitation is explicit about what it does not want to fund. The Translational Research Award is not intended to support studies centered on established late-stage disease models, including established macrometastatic disease, or models of metastatic disease that rely on established cell lines. It also indicates that the program is not requesting research focused on the clinical utility of PD-1 in combination with other therapeutics, implying that this particular direction is viewed as too established or not aligned with the program priorities for this cycle. More broadly, applications built primarily around established cell lines, treatment of macrometastatic disease, or late-stage model systems fall outside the scope. In addition, studies involving non-melanoma skin cancers are expressly disallowed under the FY19 MRP, so the focus must remain strictly on melanoma.

In terms of basic administrative details, the opportunity number is W81XWH 19 MRP TRA and it falls under CFDA 12.420 (military medical research and development). Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of applicant entity types may apply, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that might appear in the full announcement. The posting date is May 16, 2019, with an original closing date of October 23, 2019. The forecasted number of awards is small (expected awards: 2), signaling a competitive program with a preference for particularly compelling, high-readiness translational projects. The listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically means the ceiling is not provided in that summary field and would need to be confirmed in the full funding announcement or associated program documents.

• 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 Melanoma, Translational Research 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 16, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 23, 2019. (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 2 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 19 MRP TRA

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