DOD Ovarian Cancer Investigator-Initiated Research Award | W81XWH 22 OCRP IIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 22 OCRP IIRA

The DOD Ovarian Cancer Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) is a Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) funding opportunity designed to back investigator-driven projects that can make a meaningful, high-impact contribution to ovarian cancer research or to the care of patients and survivors. The central expectation is that the proposed work tackles a clearly defined, critical need in the field and is positioned to move understanding or practice forward in an important way, rather than offering incremental progress without a strong justification for why the work matters now.

Projects supported under this award can span a wide portion of the research pipeline, from basic laboratory studies through translational research, but clinical trials are explicitly excluded. In practice, this means applicants can propose mechanistic studies, discovery and validation efforts, preclinical development, biomarker work, model-based testing, and other translational directions, as long as the work remains short of running a clinical trial. The intent is to fund research that is grounded in strong science and can plausibly inform future advances in prevention, detection, treatment, or survivorship, while keeping the scope focused on non-trial research activities.

Competitiveness for this award depends heavily on the strength of the scientific rationale and the way the applicant builds the case for the project. Applications are expected to show clear logical reasoning supported by a critical review and analysis of existing literature, demonstrating that the investigator understands what has been done, what is still missing, and why the proposed approach is a sound way to address that gap. The program is looking for proposals where the hypothesis, aims, methods, and anticipated outcomes flow coherently from the current state of knowledge, rather than relying on broad claims or underdeveloped arguments.

A key requirement is the inclusion of preliminary data that directly relate to ovarian cancer and support the proposed project. These preliminary data can be unpublished or drawn from the published literature, but they must be relevant and should meaningfully de-risk the central idea by showing feasibility, supporting the underlying premise, or providing early evidence that the approach is viable. This requirement signals that the award is intended for research concepts that are already substantiated to some degree, not purely speculative ideas without evidence.

For proposals that involve cell lines or animal studies, the opportunity also stresses the need for a clear justification of the chosen experimental models. Applicants should explain why specific cell line(s) or animal model(s) are appropriate for the scientific question and how well they represent the ovarian cancer biology or clinical context being studied. This emphasis reflects an expectation that model selection is thoughtful and defensible, since weak model rationale can undermine translational relevance and overall impact.

Administratively, this opportunity was released by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). It is categorized as a discretionary funding opportunity in the science and technology/research and development space (CFDA 12.420), with funding provided through either grants or cooperative agreements. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to different types of applicant organizations as long as they meet any additional eligibility clarifications stated in the full announcement. The opportunity (W81XWH 22 OCRP IIRA) was created on March 18, 2022, had an original closing date of August 5, 2022, and anticipated making about 14 awards; the listed award ceiling is shown as 0 in the summary data, which typically indicates applicants should rely on the full announcement for definitive budget limits or that limits may vary by project details or funding mechanism.

• 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 Mar 18, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 05, 2022. (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 14 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 22 OCRP IIRA

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