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US Department of Defense – Melanoma Research Program – Idea Award
Sponsor: US Department of Defense 		Closing Date: 26-Jul-2019
The Melanoma Research Program (MRP) was initiated in 2019 to provide support for research and exceptional scientific merit in the field of melanoma. The mission of the MRP is to support earlier intervention to enhance mission readiness for US military personnel, and to diminish the disease burden on Service members, veterans, and the American public.

The MRP challenges the research community to prevent melanoma earlier in the disease cycle, thus preventing metastasis. The melanoma clinical, research, and patient community traditionally view prevention as the use of sunscreen/blockers to protect the melanocyte from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The MRP recognises the usefulness of this strategy, while tasking the research community to redefine prevention to include the entire melanomagenesis process.

The FY19 MRP Idea Award supports innovative, untested, high-risk/potentially high-reward concepts, theories, paradigms, and/or methods in melanoma research. A key characteristic of this funding opportunity is innovation. Innovative research may introduce a new paradigm, challenge existing paradigms, look at existing problems from new perspectives, or exhibit other highly creative qualities.

To be considered for funding, applications for the FY19 MRP Idea Award must address at least one of the FY19 MRP Focus Areas:

• Precursor Lesions, Melanomagenesis, Host Factors and the Tumour Microenvironment (e.g., melanoma instigators, ultraviolet [UV] exposure, other instigators)
• Melanoma Primary Tumour Evolution (e.g., dormancy, heterogeneity, metabolism, epigenetic dysregulation, cell death)
• Therapeutic Prevention (e.g. interruption of disease progression, recurrence)
• Minimal Residual Disease (e.g. chemoprevention, micro-metastasis)
• Rare Melanomas (e.g., uveal, acral, leptomeningeal disease, paediatric, adolescent and young adult [AYA], mucosal)

The FY19 MRP is not requesting research into established macrometastatic disease, models of metastatic disease using established cell lines, or treatment of macrometastatic disease. Studies involving non-melanoma skin cancers are not allowed under the FY19 MRP.

Key Dates
Pre-applications due to UQ R&I: 12 July 2019
Pre-applications (mandatory) close with US Department of Defense: 26 July 2019
Invitation from US Department of Defense to submit a full application: 23 August 2019
Invited full applications close with US Department of Defense: 23 October 2019

Overview

Key Mechanism Elements
• Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only
• Supports new ideas that represent innovative, high-risk, high-gain approaches to melanoma research
• Emphasis on innovation and impact
• Preliminary data are not required
• Clinical trials are not allowed

Eligibility
To be named as the PI on the application, the investigator must have a faculty-level appointment (or equivalent).

Funding
• The maximum period of performance is 3 years
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is USD $300,000 in direct costs
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s negotiated rate agreement

How to Apply
Step 1. Completing the application
Please see the US Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) website at https://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/mrp and https://cdmrp.army.mil/mrp/default for further information. Pre-applications are submitted via the CDMRP’s Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (EBRAP) and full applications are submitted via Grants.gov. For complete instructions for pre-applications and full applications, you must refer to both the Program Announcement and General Application Instructions documents.

Step 2. UQ R&I internal review and feedback
Ahead of internal review, ensure all online components on EBRAP or Grants.gov are complete. To initiate review, email your completed Funding Application Coversheet to internationalgrants@research.uq.edu.au.

Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to make contact with the UQR&I international team (via internationalgrants@research.uq.edu.au) well in advance of the UQR&I internal deadline to discuss their application.
Website: http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/mrp

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