DoD Prostate Cancer, Data Science Award | HT942524PCRPDSA

FY24 DoD Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) Data Science Award - FAQs

What is the FY24 PCRP Data Science Award?

The FY24 DoD Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) Data Science Award is a grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) to support prostate cancer research that is driven by quantitative, computational, and analytical approaches applied to large and/or complex existing datasets.

What is the main goal of this award?

The core goal is to generate new knowledge and actionable insights from existing prostate cancer data in ways that directly advance one or more of the FY24 PCRP Overarching Challenges. A central expectation is that outputs will be broadly useful beyond a single lab or institution.

What kinds of projects are a good fit for this opportunity?

Projects must be data-science-centered and may include developing a new data-science tool or applying and extending existing analytical methods to large prostate cancer datasets to move the field forward relative to the program challenges.

What research areas does the program consider within scope?

Projects can be grounded in computational biology, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, epidemiology, -omics analyses, medical imaging, digital pathology, and analysis of other clinically annotated datasets, including integrative work combining multiple data types.

Can a project integrate multiple types of data?

Yes. The opportunity explicitly allows integrative efforts that link multiple data types such as clinical records with imaging, pathology, and genomic or transcriptomic data to deepen understanding of prostate cancer and improve research or patient-care decision making.

Is the award intended to create new datasets?

No. The award cannot be used to create new datasets. It is designed to leverage established, retrospective databases and repositories, including those associated with large patient studies, long-term health records, and well-annotated biospecimen repositories.

What types of data sources are expected to be used?

The program emphasizes using established retrospective datasets, including databases tied to large patient studies, long-term health records, and repositories that include high-quality, clinically annotated data and/or well-annotated biospecimens.

Are tools and resources developed under this award required to be shared publicly?

Yes. A central expectation is that any tools, resources, algorithms, workflows, or computational processes produced will be openly shared with the broader prostate cancer research and patient community so the impact extends beyond a single institution.

Is a Data and Resource Sharing Plan required?

Yes. Every application must include a Data and Resource Sharing Plan describing how resulting tools and computational processes will be made publicly available, consistent with CDMRP data and resource sharing expectations.

Does the Sharing Plan need to address future updates to the tool or method?

Yes. Applications must describe how the team anticipates incorporating new data generated by future studies to refine and improve the tool or method over time.

Are preliminary data required to apply?

No. Preliminary data are encouraged to strengthen feasibility and rationale, but they are not required.

If preliminary data are included, are there restrictions on where they come from?

Yes. Any preliminary data included should come from the proposing principal investigator(s) or collaborators.

What are the expectations for validation and performance assessment?

Strong applications are expected to include rigorous plans for validation and performance assessment, such as benchmarking against existing approaches, comparison studies, and careful evaluation of tool quality and utility.

How important is dataset size and statistical power?

Dataset size must be large enough to support appropriate statistical power. Applicants are expected to use sufficiently large datasets and to plan analyses in a way that supports robust results.

Do applicants need to prove they have access to the needed data?

Yes. Applicants must document access to the necessary datasets and/or samples in sufficient numbers to produce robust results.

What is a major review focus for this award?

Impact is a major review focus. Proposals must clearly explain how the approach provides a solution to at least one FY24 PCRP Overarching Challenge, why the outputs matter in the near and long term, and how the work differs from or outperforms existing efforts.

Does the program encourage team science or co-leadership?

Yes. The opportunity encourages team science through a Partnering PI option that allows two PIs with complementary expertise to apply together, including collaborations between data scientists and clinicians.

How does the Partnering PI option work administratively?

Under the Partnering PI structure, one PI serves as the Initiating PI and handles most submission administration, while the other is the Partnering PI. If funded, each PI is named on a separate award with separate reporting and administrative requirements.

Are military investigators or certain partnerships encouraged?

Yes. Applications from military investigators and multidisciplinary partnerships spanning academia, industry, the military, the VA, and other federal agencies are strongly encouraged, particularly when collaborators provide unique infrastructure or access to distinct patient populations or databases.

If a project relies on unique resources, what must be addressed in the application?

Proposals relying on unique resources must describe access at submission and provide a plan to maintain that access throughout the project.

Does the opportunity mention alignment with any broader recommendations or focus areas?

Yes. The program highlights interest in projects aligned with the Metastatic Cancer Task Force recommendations, as long as they fit the opportunity scope.

Is nuclear medicine-related research within scope?

Innovative nuclear medicine-related research is encouraged when it could support earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment, particularly in ways that improve outcomes for active-duty Service Members and their families, as long as it fits the opportunity scope.

Are clinical trials allowed under this award?

No. Prospective recruitment of human subjects and clinical trials are not allowed.

Can projects use human data or specimens at all?

Yes. The program allows observational clinical research using human data and specimens, as long as the work does not prospectively assign participants to interventions to measure intervention outcomes.

What types of observational clinical research examples are considered non-trial in this announcement?

Examples described include diagnostic studies, biomarker work, health disparity analyses, epidemiology, outcomes research, and health services research that does not evaluate interventions.

How does the program distinguish observational research from a clinical trial?

The program notes that clinical trials are defined under 45 CFR 46.102 and emphasizes that projects cannot prospectively assign participants to interventions to measure outcomes of those interventions.

Are there expectations related to rigor and reproducibility?

Yes. Projects are expected to follow rigorous research design and reporting standards aimed at reproducibility and translational value, drawing on widely recognized best practices such as blinding when relevant, sample-size estimation, and careful data handling.

What type of funding instrument will be used?

Awards are made as grants under 31 USC 6304.

What is the maximum budget allowed?

The anticipated budget is up to $1.0 million in direct costs for the entire period of performance.

How many awards does the DoD expect to fund?

The DoD expects to allocate about $11.2 million total to fund roughly seven awards under this mechanism, contingent on federal funding availability and review outcomes.

What was the original application closing date listed?

The original application closing date listed for this opportunity was August 30, 2024.

When are awards expected to be made?

Awards supported with FY24 funds are expected to be made no later than September 30, 2025.

How long are FY24 funds expected to remain available?

FY24 funds are anticipated to remain available for use until they expire on September 30, 2030.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants are listed as unrestricted, meaning the opportunity is broadly open rather than limited to a narrow applicant class.