DoW Melanoma Research Program Idea Award
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The Defense Health Agency, through the Department of the Army’s USAMRAA, is offering the FY26 Melanoma Research Program Idea Award to support innovative, exploratory research on melanoma. The award seeks high-risk, high-reward projects that can advance prevention, reduce progression, and improve survivorship, with successful work expected to establish proof of principle and generate preliminary data for follow-on funding. The program emphasizes novelty, discourages preliminary data, limits eligibility to extramural and intramural organizations with principal investigators at the postdoctoral level or higher, and does not permit clinical trials. It is a two-year effort that is expected to fund about 10 projects at roughly $0.56 million each, with specific interest in prevention and interception, rare melanomas, and survivorship. A required pre-application is due July 13, 2026, and invited full applications are due October 14, 2026 through the two-step eBRAP and Grants.gov process.