The Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) challenges the scientific community to design research that will address the urgency of ending breast cancer and seeks to accelerate high-impact research with clinical relevance, encourage innovation and stimulate creativity, and facilitate productive collaborations.

Objective: Specifically, the The Era of Hope Scholar Award supports individuals who are early in their careers and have demonstrated significant potential for innovation in breast cancer research. The PI should articulate a vision that challenges current dogma and demonstrates an ability to look beyond tradition and convention.

General eligibility requirements:

- The PI must be an independent investigator within 6 years of his/her last training position (e.g., postdoctoral fellowship; medical residency; clinical fellowship) as of the application submission deadline.

- Postdoctoral or clinical fellows (including residents and interns), and other researchers currently in training positions are not eligible for this award.

- Cost sharing/matching is not an eligibility requirement.

- Eligible investigators must apply through an organization. Organizations eligible to apply include national, international, for-profit, non-profit, public, and private organizations.

- Experience in breast cancer research is not required; individuals from other disciplines who will apply novel concepts to breast cancer are encouraged to submit. However, the application must focus on breast cancer, and the PI must maintain a 50% dedication of his/her full-time professional effort during the award period to breast cancer research. This professional effort in breast cancer research can be through a combination of this award and other current support.

- The PI is expected to assemble a research team that will provide the necessary expertise and collaborative efforts toward accomplishing the research goals. The PI’s research team must include two or more breast cancer consumer advocates from outside the applicant institution/s.

Budget and duration: The maximum period of performance is 5 years with a maximum allowable direct costs for the entire period of $2.5M, plus indirect costs.

- Direct costs must cover: travel expenses for attendance each year at a DoD-required meeting in Years 1 and 3.

- Direct costs may cover: Salary, Research Supplies and Equipment, Training and Workshops, Clinical research costs and Support for multidisciplinary collaborations and travel expenses.

Deadlines:

- Pre-Application (LoI) Deadline:  August 1, 2014

- Confidential Letters of Recommendation Submission Deadline: August 15, 2014

- Application Deadline: August 15, 2014

- Invitation for Oral Presentation: December 2014

- Awards made no later than September 30, 2015

More information: HERE

Application instructions: HERE