DOD Ovarian Cancer, Investigator-Initiated Research Award | HT9425 23 OCRP IIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for HT9425 23 OCRP IIRA

The Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA), Funding Opportunity Number HT9425 23 OCRP IIRA, is a discretionary research funding opportunity administered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). It is designed to support high-impact, investigator-driven research projects that address a clear critical need in ovarian cancer and that could make a meaningful contribution either to understanding the disease or improving patient and survivor care. The program is intentionally broad in the types of scientific questions it will consider, as long as the work is compelling, well-justified, and positioned to move the field forward.

The scope of supported research spans virtually any non-clinical-trial phase of ovarian cancer research. This includes basic laboratory studies aimed at mechanisms of disease, discovery research, and translational work that helps bridge findings toward practical applications. However, clinical trials are explicitly excluded, so proposals need to be framed as preclinical, mechanistic, translational, or otherwise non-trial research efforts. In practical terms, a competitive project would typically explain how the work could lead to better prevention strategies, earlier detection approaches, improved therapeutic concepts, reduced toxicity, better survivorship outcomes, or other tangible advances, without actually testing an intervention in a clinical trial setting under this award.

A central expectation of the IIRA is that the application demonstrates rigorous scientific reasoning. The proposal must be built on a sound scientific rationale that is supported by a careful, critical review and analysis of existing literature. This goes beyond simply citing papers; reviewers are looking for evidence that the investigator understands what is known, what remains uncertain, where controversies or gaps exist, and why the proposed approach is the right next step. The opportunity emphasizes competitiveness through clarity of logic: the research question should be tightly defined, the approach should clearly address the question, and the anticipated outcomes should connect back to the stated critical need in ovarian cancer or patient/survivor care.

Another defining requirement is the inclusion of preliminary data that are directly relevant to ovarian cancer and that substantiate the feasibility and promise of the proposed work. These preliminary data can be unpublished (for example, pilot data generated by the applicant) or drawn from published literature, but they must be used in a way that genuinely supports the proposed research direction. The intent is to reduce speculative proposals and prioritize projects where there is already a credible foundation suggesting the study can succeed and produce informative results.

From an administrative and award-structure perspective, the funding instruments available under this opportunity include both grants and cooperative agreements, reflecting that some projects may involve more active programmatic involvement depending on the nature of the work and the government’s management approach. The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the associated CFDA number is 12.420, which is commonly used for Department of Defense medical research assistance listings. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many entity types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may appear in the full announcement text.

In terms of scale and timing as provided in the source listing, the opportunity was created on February 14, 2023, with an original closing date of July 21, 2023, and the program anticipated making around 13 awards. The listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates that the maximum funding amount is not specified in that particular summary field and would need to be confirmed in the full funding announcement or associated program guidelines. Overall, the IIRA is positioned for investigators who can propose a well-supported, literature-grounded, data-backed ovarian cancer research project with a clear line of sight to meaningful impact, while staying outside the boundaries of clinical trial execution.

• 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, Investigator-Initiated 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 Feb 14, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 21, 2023. (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 13 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 HT9425 23 OCRP IIRA

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