Active for applicants with a timely pre-application only. The Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Kidney Cancer Research Program, is administering the DoW Kidney Cancer, Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators – Early-Career Scholar Award under Funding Opportunity Number HT942526KCRPAKCIECSA, Assistance Listing 12.420. The required Letter of Intent deadline has passed, so new applicants cannot enter this FY26 competition.
Funding and deadlines
CDMRP expects to allot approximately $2.4 million to fund about two awards, with a $1.2 million total-cost cap per award and a maximum four-year period of performance. Cost sharing is not an eligibility requirement.
The pre-application Letter of Intent was due September 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Applicants that successfully submitted the required pre-application may submit the full application by September 28, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. The application-verification period ends October 5, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET.
What the program supports
The Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators is an interactive virtual academy designed to develop highly productive kidney cancer researchers through intensive mentoring, networking, collaborations, and a peer group for junior faculty. The award supports both an Early-Career Scholar’s research project and career development. Preliminary data are required. Clinical trials are not allowed.
Eligibility and submission controls
Eligible applicant organizations include domestic and foreign for-profit and nonprofit organizations and public or private entities, as well as eligible intramural Department of War organizations. The Early-Career Scholar must be less than seven years from the last postdoctoral research position, clinical fellowship, or equivalent by the full application deadline, may not still be in such a postdoctoral/fellowship position, and must have approximately 50% institutional protected time for kidney cancer research and Academy activities. A qualifying Designated Mentor with an established kidney cancer research and mentoring record is required. A Statement of Eligibility is required with the full application.
Submission is a two-step process: the pre-application is submitted through eBRAP, and the full application follows through Grants.gov for extramural organizations or eBRAP for eligible intramural organizations. The eBRAP log number from the pre-application is required in the full application. CDMRP does not issue invitations for this mechanism, but the full application may be submitted only after successful pre-application submission; a full application without the pre-application is administratively rejected.
Atlas strategy
Atlas Opportunity Score: 52/100. The mechanism is valuable for qualifying early-career kidney cancer investigators and their mentors, but the September 14 pre-application gate is already closed. Current-cycle support should therefore be limited to organizations that can establish a timely successful LOI submission.
Direct Dr. Miltie posture: for-profit organizations are structurally eligible, but direct pursuit is not viable for a new entrant after the required pre-application deadline and would in any event require an eligible Early-Career Scholar, qualifying Designated Mentor, protected institutional research time, preliminary data, and a responsive kidney cancer project.
Next action
Do not begin new applicant outreach for the current cycle. If a pre-applied organization seeks assistance, verify the eBRAP pre-application record, scholar and mentor eligibility, institutional commitments, preliminary data, kidney cancer focus, applicant-specific facts, deduplication, and all full-application components before advancing.
Controlling program announcement: FY26 Kidney Cancer Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators – Early-Career Scholar Award Program Announcement.
Official eBRAP funding page: FY26 Kidney Cancer Research Program.