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Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trial Academy – Early-Career Investigator Award

U.S Department of Defense

Summary: Created in FY23, the Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trial Academy (OCCTA) supports the next generation of Early-Career Investigators (ECIs) in clinical trial research to produce effective treatments and cures for ovarian cancer. The OCCTA, through its Leadership, provides for professional and leadership development of the ECIs to include skills and competencies needed to execute clinical trials, providing intensive mentoring, national networking, collaborations, and a peer group for junior clinical trialists. The OCCTA will bring together established investigators (the Academy Dean and Assistant Dean), established Career Guides (mentors), and a group of ECIs/Scholars to conduct successful, highly productive clinical trials in ovarian cancer.

Distinctive Features: Research funded under this FY26 funding opportunity will support translational research and small-scale, early-phase clinical trials in ovarian cancer. Preliminary data are required, however, these data do not necessarily need to be derived from the ovarian cancer research field. The ECI must be within 12 years of their last postdoctoral research position (Ph.D.), clinical fellowship (M.D.), or equivalent at the time of full application submission deadline. The ECI must commit no less than 25% effort to this award and/or OCCTA activities for the first two years. The Designated Mentor must be a clinical trialist with a strong record of mentoring and training early-career investigators.

Funding Details: The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) expects to allot roughly $4.2M to fund approximately three Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trial Academy – Early-Career Investigator Award applications with total cost caps of $1.4M per award. The maximum period of performance is 4 years. It is anticipated that awards made from this fiscal year 2026 (FY26) funding opportunity will be funded with FY26 funds, which will expire for use on September 30, 2032. Awards supported with FY26 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Alignment with the specific Program Announcement (PA) (Highest Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

This is consistently the most important predictor.

Every CDMRP mechanism has unique:

Research priorities
Funding intent
Award level
Eligibility
Innovation expectations
Translational expectations

Successful applicants carefully tailor their proposal to the exact mechanism, not merely the disease area.

Applications that fail to address the mechanism's stated objectives are frequently eliminated regardless of scientific quality.

2. Impact (Highest Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Unlike many agencies where scientific excellence dominates, CDMRP places exceptional emphasis on potential impact.

Reviewers ask:

Will this improve patient outcomes?
Will it solve an important clinical problem?
Will it transform current practice?
Will patients benefit?

Impact is frequently weighted as heavily as scientific merit.

Projects with only incremental advances rarely score well.

3. Innovation (Highest Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Innovation is one of the defining characteristics of CDMRP.

Highly competitive proposals usually include:

Novel biological concepts
First-in-field technologies
High-risk/high-reward science
AI applications
Precision medicine
Regenerative medicine
Cell therapy
Gene therapy
Novel biomarkers
New therapeutic platforms

Incremental projects are less competitive unless they provide exceptional impact.

4. Scientific Merit (Very High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Reviewers carefully evaluate:

Scientific rationale
Importance of hypothesis
Experimental design
Statistical methods
Preliminary rationale (when appropriate)
Technical rigor

Weak methodology can prevent funding even for highly innovative ideas.

5. Translational Potential (Very High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

CDMRP strongly favors research that can move discoveries toward patient care.

Highly competitive proposals include a clear pathway toward:

Diagnostics
Medical devices
Drug development
Biomarkers
Clinical trials
Precision medicine
Clinical implementation

Applications should explain how the research will ultimately improve healthcare.

6. Consumer/Patient Relevance (Very High & Distinctive Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

This is one of CDMRP's most distinctive features.

Many review panels include:

Patients
Survivors
Caregivers
Consumer advocates

Strong proposals demonstrate:

Patient-centered outcomes
Consumer engagement
Relevance to unmet patient needs
Meaningful improvements in quality of life

Consumer reviewers participate directly in many CDMRP peer-review panels.

7. Military and Veteran Relevance (when applicable) (Very High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

Although many CDMRP programs serve the general population, reviewers often consider relevance to:

Active-duty personnel
Veterans
Military families
Military readiness
Combat-related conditions

For some programs (e.g., traumatic brain injury, orthopedic trauma, rehabilitation), this relevance is particularly important.

8. Strong Multidisciplinary Team (High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

Successful applications often include:

Clinicians
Basic scientists
Engineers
Statisticians
Bioinformaticians
Industry collaborators
Patient advocates

Large Team Science awards especially require complementary expertise and integrated collaboration.

9. Feasibility and Project Management (High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

Competitive applications demonstrate:

Realistic milestones
Risk mitigation
Timeline
Budget justification
Available infrastructure
Institutional resources

Even ambitious projects need credible execution plans.

10. Investigator and Institutional Strength (High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

Reviewers assess:

Publication record
Previous grant success
Leadership
Relevant expertise
Institutional resources
Available facilities

For Career Development Awards, leadership potential and mentorship are additional strengths.

11. Programmatic Portfolio Fit (Unique CDMRP Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

Unlike NIH, CDMRP conducts a Programmatic Review after peer review.

Programmatic reviewers consider:

Balance across disease areas
Balance across research topics
Funding mechanism priorities
Military needs
Consumer priorities
Existing funded portfolio

A proposal with an excellent scientific score may still not be funded if it duplicates already-funded work or does not fit the current portfolio.

Specialties

Cancer

Gynecology

Clinical Trials

Oncology

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Extramural and intramural U.S. Department of War (DOW) organizations are eligible to apply, including foreign and domestic organizations, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and public or private entities.

Principal Investigator Individuals affiliated with an eligible organization are eligible to be named Principal Investigator (PI) on the application, regardless of ethnicity, nationality or citizenship status.

• Early-Career Investigator

Must have completed their last postdoctoral research position (Ph.D.), clinical fellowship (M.D.) or equivalent within 12 years of the full application submission deadline.

Individuals in a postdoctoral research position (Ph.D.), clinical fellowship (M.D.) or equivalent at the time of full application submission are not eligible.

A Statement of Eligibility is required with the submission of the full application.

For industry, investigators at or above an independent scientist level may be named by the company as the PI on the application, provided they meet the criteria listed above.

Must commit no less than 25% effort to this award and/or OCCTA activities for the first two years.

• Designated Mentor

Must be an independent, established clinical trialist and have a balanced portfolio of successful clinical trial experience.

Must have an active clinical trial at the time of application.

May be at the same institution as the ECI. If not at the same institution, another mentor (“Other Mentor,” see below) at the ECI’s institution must also be included in the application submission.

Must have experience in ovarian cancer research if the ECI’s experience is not in ovarian cancer research.

Must demonstrate a commitment to develop and sustain the ECI’s independent career in ovarian cancer research; it is recommended that the Designated Mentor demonstrate a 5% effort for mentoring and participating in OCCTA activities such as offsite meetings and webinars. Mentor responsibilities include mentoring the ECI (i.e., the PI of this award) and an additional ECI within the OCCTA. Offsite OCCTA activities include annual in-person workshops and monthly web-based meetings.

A current OCCTA Designated Mentor can only be a Designated Mentor to one Ovarian Cancer Academy – Early-Career Investigator at a time; thus, current OCCTA Designated Mentors cannot be named as a Designated Mentor in an FY26 application unless the period of performance of the current Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trial Academy – Early- Career Investigator Award mechanism ends no later than July 2027. The current OCCTA Dean and/or Assistant Dean cannot be listed as a Designated Mentor.

• Other Mentor (if applicable)

Must be at the same institution as the ECI if the Designated Mentor is not from the same institution as the ECI.

Must be an independent cancer clinical trialist or an independent researcher in ovarian cancer.

The Designated Mentor or Other Mentor must have experience in ovarian cancer research if the ECI’s experience is not in ovarian cancer research. Must have research funding (past and present).

Cost Sharing Cost sharing is not an eligibility requirement.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: U.S Department of Defense

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: The Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301

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