DoD Kidney Cancer, Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators - Dean Leadership Award | W81XWH 19 KCRP AKCIDA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 KCRP AKCIDA

The DoD Kidney Cancer Research Program (KCRP) Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators - Dean Leadership Award (AKCIDA) is a competitive federal funding opportunity designed to build a structured, multi-year mentoring and collaboration environment for junior faculty working in kidney cancer research. First introduced in FY19, the award is centered on creating a virtual "academy" that connects promising early-career investigators with experienced mentorship and a national peer network, with the long-term intention of accelerating their development into independent, highly productive kidney cancer researchers. Rather than funding a single research project in the traditional sense, this mechanism primarily funds the leadership, coordination, training, and evaluation infrastructure that supports four early-career investigator trajectories in parallel.

The academy model is organized around four Early-Career Investigator (ECI) and Designated Mentor pairs drawn from different institutions, plus one Academy Dean who provides overarching leadership for the entire group. The Dean is expected to function as the hub that keeps the academy cohesive and productive over a 5-year period of performance, ensuring that the ECIs benefit not only from their one-on-one mentorship relationships but also from cross-cohort learning, shared problem-solving, and collaboration opportunities. The structure is intentionally designed to be interactive and community-based, emphasizing national networking and a peer group experience that many junior faculty may not receive through standard departmental mentoring alone.

Eligibility is broadly described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement), but the practical expectations for the Dean role are stringent. The Academy Dean must be an independent, established kidney cancer researcher, with clear evidence of sustained research capability and leadership. This is demonstrated through a strong cancer research funding history, a robust publication record, and significant accomplishments in the cancer field. Equally important, the Dean must show a strong track record of mentoring and training junior investigators, an explicit commitment to leadership, and the ability to provide objective, constructive assessments of each ECI's research progress and career development.

The responsibilities of the Academy Dean are extensive and extend across both research development and professional growth. Core duties include serving as a continuing resource for all ECIs and their Designated Mentors throughout the 5-year academy term; actively facilitating communication and collaboration among academy members through periodic interactive engagements; and developing clear assessment criteria to evaluate not only scientific progress but also career progression and the likelihood that ECIs will sustain themselves as independent investigators in kidney cancer research. The Dean is also expected to provide constructive critiques that strengthen ECI research plans and professional trajectories, while also reinforcing and improving the quality of mentorship being provided by the Designated Mentors.

A major emphasis of the award is raising the professional visibility and leadership readiness of early-career participants. The Dean is tasked with creating avenues for ECIs to become more visible in kidney cancer research and advocacy communities, which can include opportunities such as peer review service, conference participation, and editorial or similar professional roles. The Dean is also expected to support practical professional development, including laboratory management skills, and to help shape the ECIs into future leaders by bringing in outside experts for invited presentations and learning sessions. This makes the academy as much about building durable career skills and networks as it is about advancing specific research activities.

The academy includes significant convening and event-planning requirements. The Dean must plan and host a biennial, multi-day workshop where all ECI/Mentor pairs come together to present research, share knowledge, improve mentoring practices, and seed collaborations within the academy. In alternating years (when the multi-day workshop is not held), the Dean must plan and host a 1-day KCRP AKCI workshop, maintaining consistent momentum and engagement across the full five years. The Dean may also assemble an Advisory Board at their discretion, providing an additional layer of guidance and perspective to strengthen academy operations and outcomes.

From a budget standpoint, the announcement specifies that anticipated direct costs for the entire period of performance will not exceed $625,000, with applicants directed to the funding restrictions section of the full announcement for detailed rules. Programmatically, the DoD indicated an expectation to allot about $1.0 million total to fund approximately one Dean Leadership Award, meaning the competition is likely intended to support a single academy cohort under one Dean during that cycle, reinforcing how selective this mechanism is.

Several administrative and review details are notable. The funding opportunity number is W81XWH-19-KCRP-AKCIDA, administered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), and categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development (CFDA 12.420). The original closing date listed is October 1, 2019, with awards anticipated to be made no later than September 30, 2020. The announcement also notes that an invited oral presentation is required as part of application review, which is a distinctive feature compared with many grant programs and suggests that finalists or applicants may need to be prepared to present and defend their leadership plan, mentoring strategy, and academy structure in a live or synchronous format.

Finally, the award may be issued as either a grant or a cooperative agreement, depending on the anticipated level of DoD involvement during performance. If the agency expects no substantial involvement, it will use a grant; if substantial involvement is anticipated (such as collaboration, participation, or intervention in the work), it will use a cooperative agreement, with the specific nature of that involvement identified in the award terms. Funding is contingent on federal fund availability, application volume, and the scientific and programmatic merit of submissions. The announcement also explains that awards from this cycle were expected to draw on FY19 and FY20 funds with limited periods of availability, expiring for use on September 30, 2025 (FY19 funds) and September 30, 2026 (FY20 funds), which matters for long-range planning and spending timelines under the agreement.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Kidney Cancer, Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators - Dean Leadership Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 18, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 01, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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