The Department of Defense's Defense Health Program, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), is offering the FY25 Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) Era of Hope Scholar Award. This opportunity is designed to support exceptionally talented early-career scientists who demonstrate outstanding innovation and leadership potential in breast cancer research. The award prioritizes individuals over projects, recognizing visionary researchers whose work challenges conventional thinking and promises significant contributions toward ending breast cancer.

The BCRP was established in 1992 and has received over $4.39 billion in congressional appropriations through fiscal year 2024. The FY25 allocation is $130 million. The Era of Hope Scholar Award is expected to fund approximately two awards with direct cost caps of $3.5 million each, over a four-year performance period. Total available funding for this award cycle is approximately $10.85 million. The intent is to fund applications by September 30, 2026, using FY25 funds, which must be expended by September 30, 2031.

Applicants must address one or more of the FY25 BCRP overarching challenges, such as preventing breast cancer, identifying risk factors, understanding metastasis, and revolutionizing treatment regimens. Applications must be submitted by organizations—either extramural or intramural—and include a Principal Investigator (PI) who is within six years of completing their last training position. The PI must commit at least 25% of their time to breast cancer research under this award. Additionally, research teams are required to include at least two consumer advocates who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and are active in advocacy organizations.

The application process involves two steps: a pre-application (Letter of Intent) and a full application. Key deadlines include June 13, 2025, for the pre-application and June 27, 2025, for the full application. Letters of recommendation are due by July 2, 2025. Review stages include peer review in September 2025, programmatic reviews in November 2025 and January 2026, and oral presentations in December 2025. Oral presentations are mandatory for selected candidates and serve as a key part of the final evaluation.

Evaluation criteria focus on the PI's qualifications, the innovativeness and relevance of proposed research goals, and the capability and integration of the research team, especially the consumer advocates. Budget appropriateness and application clarity also contribute to the overall assessment. Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov (extramural) or eBRAP (intramural), and all applicants must maintain active registrations in SAM.gov, eBRAP.org, and Grants.gov.

Technical assistance is available through the eBRAP Help Desk (301-682-5507, help@eBRAP.org) and Grants.gov Contact Center (800-518-4726, support@grants.gov). Detailed instructions for application components, submission, and post-award requirements are available in the General Application Instructions referenced in the announcement.