DoD Prostate Cancer, Data Science Award | W81XWH 22 PCRP DSA

FAQs: DoD Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) FY22 Data Science Award

1) What is the goal of the FY22 PCRP Data Science Award?

The award supports data-science-driven prostate cancer research that uses modern quantitative, computational, and analytical methods to extract new knowledge from large and/or complex existing datasets. Projects are expected to meaningfully move the field forward and address one or more of the FY22 PCRP Overarching Challenges.

2) What types of outputs are expected from funded projects?

Projects are expected to generate practical, reusable outputs such as tools, computational workflows, pipelines, models, decision-support methods, or other resources. A strong emphasis is placed on making these outputs available for public use to benefit the broader prostate cancer research, clinical, and patient communities.

3) What research areas and methods are considered responsive to this award?

Responsive projects are grounded in data-intensive disciplines applied to prostate cancer, including computational biology, bioinformatics, AI and machine learning, epidemiology, analysis of -omics data, medical imaging, digital pathology, and analysis of other clinically annotated datasets.

4) Are integrative or multi-modal projects encouraged?

Yes. Applications are encouraged to combine multiple data types (for example, linking clinical outcomes with genomics, imaging, pathology, and longitudinal health record data) to produce more informative and higher-impact insights. Single-modality projects are also allowed.

5) Can applicants use this mechanism to create new datasets?

No. Applicants are not allowed to use this award mechanism to create new datasets. Studies must be based on established, retrospective databases.

6) What dataset expectations should applicants be prepared to meet?

Applicants must show that chosen datasets are large and well-annotated enough to support appropriate analytical and statistical power. Applications are expected to document access to the needed datasets and/or patient samples in sufficient numbers to produce robust results and reduce feasibility risk.

7) Can a project focus on developing a new tool, or must it apply existing methods?

Either approach is allowed. Applicants may develop a new data-science tool or apply and adapt existing tools and methods to prostate cancer questions.

8) What does the program expect for validation and evaluation?

Applications are encouraged to include rigorous validation and evaluation plans, such as benchmarking, comparisons against current methods, and clear performance metrics that demonstrate utility, reliability, and improvement over the state of the art.

9) Are clinical trials allowed under this award?

No. Clinical trials are explicitly prohibited.

10) Is prospective recruitment of human subjects allowed?

No. Because the award is meant to leverage existing data, prospective recruitment of human subjects is not permitted.

11) Can projects still involve human data or specimens?

Yes. Projects may involve human data, specimens, or anatomical substances when derived from existing sources. However, DoD-funded work involving human subjects materials requires review by the USAMRDC Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) in addition to local IRB or ethics review.

12) Is local IRB approval required at the time of application submission?

No. Local IRB approval is not required at submission. Applicants should plan for regulatory timelines because HRPO approval is required before research implementation.

13) How long can HRPO review take?

HRPO review can take up to about three months after submission of complete documentation, so applicants are expected to plan project timelines accordingly.

14) What are the expectations for multi-institution studies related to IRB?

Multi-institution studies must include a plan for single IRB arrangements when applicable.

15) What is the role of "impact" in the review and award expectations?

Impact is a central requirement. Proposals must clearly explain how the approach will solve or materially address one or more FY22 PCRP Overarching Challenges and why the outcomes matter in both the short and long term. Competitive applications typically specify what will be delivered at the end of the award and why it is likely to outperform current approaches or enable new capabilities.

16) Does the program encourage use of specific kinds of retrospective resources?

Yes. The program highlights interest in leveraging large patient studies with long-term health records and repositories that include well-annotated, high-quality biospecimens, because they can support more clinically meaningful inference and stronger translational relevance.

17) What is the Data and Resource Sharing Plan, and is it required?

A Data and Resource Sharing Plan is a required component of the application. The expectation is that resources, tools, and computational processes created under the award will be openly shared rather than kept proprietary or limited to the proposing team.

18) Do applicants need to address how the resulting tools/resources will be maintained or updated?

Yes. Applicants need to describe how the tool or resource can be updated over time as additional data become available from future studies so the output remains useful and improves rather than becoming a static, one-off deliverable.

19) What is the Partnering Principal Investigator (PI) option?

The Partnering PI option supports genuine collaborations, especially between data scientists and clinicians. Two PIs can apply together with distinct roles and contributions.

20) In a Partnering PI application, what are the responsibilities of the Initiating PI vs. the Partnering PI?

The Initiating PI leads most submission and administrative tasks. The Partnering PI plays a substantive role in shaping the project narrative, statement of work, and overall scientific plan.

21) If selected under the Partnering PI option, how are awards issued?

Each PI is named on an individual award within the recipient organization, reflecting the collaborative structure described in the opportunity.

22) What kind of DoD award instrument is used (grant vs. cooperative agreement)?

Awards are issued as assistance agreements, meaning they will be either a grant or a cooperative agreement. If the DoD anticipates no substantial involvement, the award is typically a grant; if active participation by the agency is anticipated, it may be structured as a cooperative agreement, with details specified during negotiation.

23) Who should the research be relevant to?

The research must be relevant to active-duty Service Members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the American public.

24) Are collaborations between military/Veteran institutions and non-military institutions encouraged?

Yes. The DoD strongly encourages such collaborations to leverage unique populations, infrastructure, and clinical resources.

25) Does the opportunity mention alignment with broader federal recommendations?

Yes. Applicants are encouraged to consider recommendations of the congressionally mandated Metastatic Cancer Task Force, particularly ideas that could accelerate progress for advanced or recurrent disease, as long as they fit within the boundaries of this data science mechanism.

26) What is the maximum funding amount allowed per award?

The anticipated direct costs for the full period of performance cannot exceed $1 million per award.

27) How many awards and how much total funding were planned under this announcement?

The program planned to allocate about $6.04 million total to fund approximately four awards.

28) When were awards expected to be made?

Awards were expected to be made no later than September 30, 2023.

29) How long are FY22 funds available for use?

Projects funded with FY22 dollars have spending availability tied to the fiscal lifecycle of those funds, with FY22 funds expiring for use on September 30, 2028.

30) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to many entity types), subject to any additional clarifications in the announcement.

31) If a project relies on DoD or VA resources or databases, what must the application include?

The application must explain how access to DoD or VA resources or databases will be obtained and maintained throughout the project period.