DoW Melanoma Research Program Focused Program Award, Rare Melanomas

About this funding opportunity

Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Melanoma Research Program (MRP) Focused Program Award, Rare Melanomas, supports a multidisciplinary research program of at least two, but not more than three, distinct but complementary research projects addressing an overarching question relevant to rare melanomas.

Distinctive Features:

· Updated for FY26 Investigators must include at least one rare melanoma survivor or patient advocate as part of the project team who will provide advice and consultation throughout planning, implementation, and results dissemination to maximize research impact.

· This is a partnering mechanism, requiring an Initiating Principal Investigator (PI) and at least one, but not more than two, Partnering PIs, see Figure 1.

Each named PI is expected to be a Project Leader for one of the proposed research projects. If recommended for funding, each PI will be named on separate awards to the recipient organization(s).

· After submitting the required pre-application, investigators must receive an invitation to submit a full application.

Only the Initiating PI will submit a pre-application. All PIs must submit full applications. The Partnering PI(s)’s application is an abbreviated package specific to their proposed research project.

· Clinical trials are allowed.

Topic areas: General and Cross-cutting R&D, Life Sciences and Health.

Funding amount

This grant provides Varies in funding.

Deadline

Applications are due Oct 14, 2026. Confirm the exact closing time on the official program page before applying.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Open to all applicant types

Eligibility

The program did not publish a separate eligibility statement. See the official opportunity page for the full eligibility criteria.

Agency

DoW Melanoma Research Program Focused Program Award, Rare Melanomas is administered by Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA (AMRAA), listed via Grants.gov.