DoD Ovarian Cancer, Omics Consortium Development Award | W81XWH 18 OCRP OMCDA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 OCRP OMCDA

The DoD Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) Omics Consortium Development Award (FY18) is a planning-and-pilot funding opportunity designed to launch a coordinated, multi-institutional consortium focused on understanding the origin of ovarian cancer using large-scale "omics" datasets. The central idea is that by pooling and analyzing big datasets (such as genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and other omics platforms), the consortium can generate stronger evidence about how ovarian cancer begins and evolves, which is viewed as a necessary step toward better early detection and screening. While the long-term payoff is improved screening and earlier detection, the program also expects nearer-term benefits in better initial diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making.

This award is explicitly the first stage of a two-stage strategy. In FY18, teams compete for the Omics Consortium Development Award to build the consortium and run a proof-of-concept pilot. Only teams funded in this first stage are intended to be eligible to compete for a second-stage FY20 Omics Consortium Award that would fund the full execution of the consortium research plan. The FY20 follow-on is described up front so applicants can design the FY18 effort in a way that sets them up for the larger implementation award, but the DoD also notes that FY20 funding is dependent on future appropriations and therefore not guaranteed.

Research under the Development Award must be centered on large datasets and must address ovarian cancer disease origin, with a clear line of sight to early detection and screening. Applicants are encouraged to be ambitious and inclusive in the types of cases and samples represented, including rare ovarian cancer subsets and suspected pre-malignant lesions, because those groups may be especially informative for identifying early biological signals. The opportunity also encourages linkages to relevant interventional clinical trials when appropriate, so that discoveries can connect to actionable clinical contexts rather than remaining purely descriptive.

A major emphasis of the FY18 Development Award is consortium setup and governance, not just bench or computational work. Funded teams are expected to build the infrastructure needed to operate as a high-functioning multi-site enterprise, including establishing collaborations across institutions, creating an administrative and management structure, and developing practical plans for research operations and communication. Applicants must also address intellectual property planning, which is important in a multi-institution setting where data, tools, and discoveries may be jointly produced. Alongside infrastructure, teams are expected to acquire the key research resources they will need (for example, datasets, biospecimens, data platforms, and related enabling resources).

The program places strong requirements on planning for data stewardship and broader community benefit. Applicants must develop a dissemination plan that explains how information about the procurement and distribution of data and/or biospecimens will be shared, including access pathways for researchers outside the consortium. This aligns with the CDMRP’s broader intent that data and resources generated with DoD funds should be made available to the wider research community, including both scientific and consumer advocacy communities, and ultimately to the public.

Methodological rigor is also a core requirement. Applicants must provide a detailed statistical plan that includes a preliminary power analysis tied to the project’s hypotheses and objectives, with realistic sample size projections. The Development Award includes support for a preliminary/pilot research project specifically to demonstrate proof of concept. Data from this pilot is expected to demonstrate feasibility and inform refinement of the research plan, statistics, and power analysis for the later FY20 Consortium Award application.

The consortium’s leadership and team composition are prescribed in a way that reflects both scientific demands and stakeholder engagement. The Principal Investigator serves as the Consortium Director and is expected to have demonstrated experience leading and managing complex multi-institution research programs. The Director is expected to foster an environment with intensive, consistent interaction across sites and disciplines, encouraging innovation and ensuring that all members are meaningfully engaged in planning and implementation. Research sites should include investigators with significant ovarian cancer contributions or specialized expertise directly relevant to the proposed work, and the award is intended to catalyze new collaborations. If an application builds on an already-existing consortium, it must clearly show what is new about the collaborations rather than simply continuing business as usual.

Three specific roles must be integrated into the consortium in a substantive, ongoing way. First, the team must include at least one Early-Career Investigator who is within five years of their last postdoctoral position, clinical fellowship, or equivalent. Second, the team must include at least one ovarian cancer consumer advocate who has personally been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is affiliated with an ovarian cancer advocacy organization. These advocates are expected to participate beyond symbolic involvement, contributing to project design, recruitment, evaluation, and other major activities, with interactions that are continuous rather than limited to occasional meetings. If additional training is needed to ensure the advocate can engage effectively with the research issues, the application should include a plan for that training. Third, the team must include at least one Epidemiologist/Public Health Expert, reflecting the program’s focus on disease origin, population-level inference, and the practical realities of early detection and screening.

From an eligibility and administration standpoint, the opportunity is broadly open to applicants (unrestricted by entity type, subject to any clarifications in the announcement) and is administered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), under CFDA 12.420. Awards may be issued as grants or cooperative agreements, depending on the anticipated level of DoD involvement during performance. If substantial federal involvement is expected (such as collaboration or participation by the agency), a cooperative agreement may be used; if not, a standard grant may be issued.

Projects involving human subjects, human anatomical substances, or human cadavers face additional DoD-specific compliance steps. Beyond local IRB or ethics review, DoD-funded human research must be reviewed and approved by the USAMRMC Office of Research Protections, Human Research Protection Office (HRPO), before research can begin. Local IRB approval is not required at the time of application submission, but applicants are warned to plan for HRPO review timelines, typically at least two to three months, and to ensure protocols are written specifically for the DoD-supported scope to avoid expanded review burdens.

If the project requires access to active duty military populations or DoD databases/resources, the applicant must demonstrate access at submission and include letters of support signed by the appropriate approving authority. Similar documentation is expected for research involving VA populations, resources, or space, including letters from VA facility leadership (or designees such as ACOS/R&D). The announcement notes that certain DoD/VA resources may only be accessible through collaboration with investigators who have the required affiliations and roles, and funding may be withdrawn or delayed if access cannot ultimately be confirmed.

In terms of scale and funding expectations, the OCRP anticipated making about three FY18 Omics Consortium Development Awards, depending on application volume and quality. The anticipated direct costs for the full period of performance for an FY18 Development Award were capped at $400,000. The opportunity originally opened April 11, 2018, with an original closing date of August 8, 2018, and the agency indicated awards would be made no later than September 30, 2019.

Finally, the announcement previews key expectations for the potential FY20 Omics Consortium Award so applicants design the FY18 stage strategically. The FY20 award would fund the full consortium research effort, still focused specifically on using large datasets to study disease origin with an emphasis on early detection and screening, potentially spanning preclinical through clinical research. It expects the collaborations to be synergistic, to share resources and avoid duplication, and to maintain continuity of the participating sites and required team members from the FY18 award unless changes are well justified. It also introduces a sustainability expectation: the consortium should develop and carry out a plan to become financially independent from DoD funding by the end of the FY20 award period, with the OCRP Programmatic Panel and CDMRP staff serving as an external advisory board.

• 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 Ovarian Cancer, Omics Consortium Development 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 Apr 11, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 08, 2018. (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.

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