DoD Melanoma, Idea Award

The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), has announced the FY25 Melanoma Research Program (MRP) Idea Award (Funding Opportunity Number: HT942525MRPIA). This award is administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) under the authority of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). The Melanoma Research Program, initiated by Congress in 2019, aims to support high-impact, scientifically meritorious research that addresses significant gaps in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of melanoma, with a special emphasis on innovative and exploratory projects. The FY25 MRP Idea Award supports untested, high-risk/high-reward research with the goal of establishing proof of principle and obtaining preliminary data for future funding. Projects must be novel, challenge existing paradigms, or introduce new ones. Key focus areas include prevention and interception, rare melanomas, and survivorship. Projects involving non-melanoma skin cancers or macrometastatic disease (except for rare melanomas) are not allowed. The use of military or Veteran populations, biospecimens, or collaborations with VA and DoD institutions is strongly encouraged to ensure relevance to military health. Approximately $5.04 million is allocated for FY25, with an estimated 9 awards expected. Each award may request up to $560,000 in total costs (including direct and indirect costs) for a maximum period of performance of 2 years. Preliminary data are discouraged, and the award cannot be used to fund clinical trials. Instead, clinical research involving observational studies, diagnostics, and outcomes without assessing intervention efficacy is acceptable. Eligibility extends to both extramural and intramural organizations, including domestic and foreign entities, public and private institutions, and for-profit and non-profit organizations. Principal Investigators must be at the level of Postdoctoral Fellow or higher. Cost sharing is not required, and awards are made to institutions rather than individuals. The application process involves two steps: a mandatory pre-application (due June 30, 2025, via eBRAP) and, upon invitation, a full application (due October 1, 2025, via Grants.gov or eBRAP for DOD intramural organizations). Applicants will be notified of the invitation to submit full proposals by July 31, 2025. The peer review process will take place in December 2025, followed by programmatic review in February 2026. Funding decisions will be made by September 30, 2026. The full application includes multiple required components, such as a project narrative, technical and lay abstracts, statement of work, innovation and impact statements, and support documents including biosketches and budget justifications. Evaluation criteria focus on innovation, feasibility, impact, personnel qualifications, data sharing plans, and alignment with MRP focus areas and military health relevance. Contact points for technical and administrative assistance include the eBRAP Help Desk (help@eBRAP.org, 301-682-5507) and the Grants.gov Contact Center (support@grants.gov, 800-518-4726).