The FY19 Defense Appropriation provides $30 million (M) to the Department of Defense Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) to support innovative, high-impact spinal cord injury research. As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency J9, Research and Development Directorate, manages the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation. The managing agent for the anticipated Program Announcements/Funding Opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).

FY19 SCIRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.

For FY19, SCIRP encourages applications that address the critical needs of SCI research and patient care in one or more of the following FY19 Focus Areas:

• Neuroprotection
• Biomarkers
• Bladder dysfunction,  bowel dysfunction and neuropathic pain
• Psychosocial issues relevant to SCI in  individuals with SCI or their caregivers
• Rehabilitation and regeneration

Clinical Trial Award – Preproposal due May 29, 2019

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)

• Fund Phase 0, I, or II clinical trials with the potential to have a major impact on treatment or management of spinal cord injury (SCI) and its consequences.
• Applications must include at least two SCI consumer advocates as members of the research team.
• Preliminary data relevant to the proposed trial required for all clinical trial applications.
• Pre-application required; application submission is by invitation only.
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is of $3, 000,000 for direct costs.
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institutions’ negotiated rate agreement.
• The maximum period of performance is 4 years

Investigator-Initiated Research Award – Preproposal due May 29, 2019

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)

• Fund SCI-related research that has the potential to make an important contribution to SCI research and/or patient care, and/or quality of life.
• Preliminary data required.
• Clinical trials not allowed.
• Pre-application required; application submission by invitation only.
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $500,000 for direct costs.
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s negotiated rate agreement.
• The maximum period of performance is 3 years.

Translational Research Award – Preproposal due May 29, 2019

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)

• Fund studies that accelerate the movement of promising ideas in SCI research into clinical applications.
• Applications must include at least one SCI consumer advocate as a member of the research team.
• Preliminary data required
• The SCIRP TRA may include a pilot clinical trial where limited clinical testing of a novel intervention or device is necessary to inform the next step in the continuum of translational research.
• Pre-application required; application submission by invitation only.
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $1,250,000 for direct costs.
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s negotiated rate agreement.
• The maximum period of performance is 3 years

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org prior to the pre-application deadline. All applications must conform to the final Program Announcements and General Application Instructions available for electronic downloading from the Grants.gov website.  The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism is also on Grants.gov.  A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRMC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420. 

For email notification when Program Announcements are released, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under “Email Subscriptions” on the eBRAP homepage at https://eBRAP.org.  For more information about the SCIRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Help Desk

301-682-5507
help@eBrap.org

There is a rapidly approaching SBIR workshop that might be of interest to you. This one is a deep dive into SBIR opportunities from agencies that fund healthcare startups (NIH, DOD and NIH), unlike UARF’s SBIR info sessions which are far more general. Details on the workshop and how to register are below. 

SBIR Workshop:

Life Science and Health Care Technologies

When

April 18, 2019  

8:30 am – 4:00 pm 

Where

Ohio Aerospace Institute

22800 Cedar Point Rd

Cleveland, OH 44142

Cost: $40.00

(includes breakfast & lunch)

Dear Colleagues:

This day-long workshop is for small businesses seeking to understand the nuances and best strategies for successfully competing for the Nation’s largest seed fund: between the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DOD) and other agencies, approximately half of the $2.5 – billion SBIR/STTR funding is directed at health care and life science innovations. Learn from former NIH SBIR/STTR manager what reviewers are looking for and understand how to properly construct a competitive application. The focus will be on life science and health care technologies with attention to the similarities and differences between the NIH and NSF SBIR programs.

Featured Speaker will be Lenka Fedorkova, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, bioPrime, LLC, a former executive manager of the SBIR/STTR programs across the NIH, FDA and CDC.

You will also hear from Vedang Kothari, CEO and President of MuReva Phototherapy. He will share his experience and insights from the recent company launch of MuReva and their experience with SBIR and other funding in a successful start-up.

Also on the program: 

*Deborah Riley of MSM Group, Inc. who will give a basic tutorial on DCAA compliant accounting system requirements for small businesses

*Jane Stewart, Director of the Northeast Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) to discuss how companies can take advantage of their services to help companies with SBIRs and other government contracts.

LEARN MORE! 

Sincerely,

David Salay

Program Manager Ohio Aerospace Institute

Defense Health Program
Department of Defense Vision Research Program

Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19)

The FY19 Defense Appropriation provides $20 million (M) to the Department of Defense Vision Research Program (VRP) to support impactful military-relevant vision research.  As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency J9, Research and Development Directorate manages the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation.  The managing agent for the anticipated Program Announcements/Funding Opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).

The VRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications.  FY19 VRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted on the Grants.gov website in May 2019.  Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the Program Announcements are released.  This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government.

Applications submitted to the FY19 VRP must address at least one of the following Focus Areas:

• Eye injury or visual dysfunction as related to a military-relevant traumatic event.  Examples of military-relevant trauma may include, but are not limited to:
  • Blast, blunt, thermal, or chemical trauma
  • Trauma caused by directed energy weapons such as laser, microwaves, and particle beams
• Diagnosis and treatment of eye injuries in austere environments and prolonged field care settings

Focused Translational Team Science Award (FTTSA)

• Overall Lead Principal Investigator (PI) must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Associate Professor (or equivalent) with experience in developing and running large-scale initiatives.
• Leaders of individual projects may be independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent).

Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.

• Supports a team initiative that leverages the strengths of investigators specializing in different fields to address an overarching scientific challenge or question and fundamentally advance the understanding and treatment of military-relevant vision trauma.
• Overarching Challenge

Investigators are encouraged to:

• Consider barrier(s) to and/or gap(s) in the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, and/or treatment of eye injury or visual dysfunction associated with a military-relevant trauma and envision what may be achievable in 10 to 15 years.
• Identify, based on the long-term vision, what should and can be achieved in the near term.
• Design projects and research teams around these considerations.
• Research Projects
• The team science proposal shall include at least three (3) but no more than five (5) distinct research projects that together form a concerted and synergistic effort that advances a solution beyond what would be possible through individual efforts.
• Preliminary data to support the feasibility of each project are required.
• May include, as a portion of the proposed research, a pilot clinical trial component that collects preliminary data to support the feasibility, rationale, and design of subsequent clinical trials.
• Research Team
• The overall lead PI must have demonstrated success in leading large collaborative research projects.
• The overall lead PI must devote a minimum of 20% effort.
• Project leader of each of the complementary and synergistic research projects must be an independent investigator with strong qualifications.

• Must have a detailed Implementation Plan for participating research groups to coordinate efforts, facilitate collaboration, and create synergy
• Maximum funding of $5,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• The maximum period of performance is 4 years.

Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA)

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent).

Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.

• Supports studies that will yield highly impactful discoveries or major advancements in research and/or patient care.
• Funding Level 1 supports exploratory, high-risk/high-reward research in the earliest stages of development.
• Research must have the potential to yield new avenues of investigation, such as new approaches, new research tools, or new paradigms.
• While no preliminary data is required, applicants must provide solid rationale of the research idea.  The investigating team must have sufficient expertise to test the idea.
• Applications in the following areas are encouraged:
• Pathobiology underlying TBI-associated visual dysfunction
• Assessment, diagnosis, or treatment in prolonged field care settings
• Mechanism of injury for visual system trauma secondary to directed energy
• Funding Level 2 supports the advancement of more mature research that has the potential to make significant advancements toward clinical translation.
• Preliminary data supporting the readiness and feasibility of the proposed research is required. 
• PI is responsible for selecting the funding level that is most appropriate for the research proposed.  The funding level should be selected based on the stage of the research project, rather than the amount of the budget.
• Clinical trials are not allowed

Funding Level 1:

• Maximum funding of $260,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• The maximum period of performance is 2 years.

Funding Level 2:

• Maximum funding of $500,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• The maximum period of performance is 3 years.

Translational Research Award (TRA)

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent).

Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.

• Supports translational research that moves promising laboratory research into clinical applications.
• It is expected that an IND or IDE application will be submitted during or by the end of the period of performance.
• Expansion of a highly impactful research project that was previously funded through a VRP funding opportunity is encouraged but not required.
• Preliminary data required.
• May include, as a portion of the proposed research, a pilot clinical trial component that collects preliminary data to support the feasibility, rationale, and design of subsequent clinical trials.
• Maximum funding of $750,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• The maximum period of performance is 3 years

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org prior to the pre-application deadline.  All applications must conform to the final Program Announcements and General Application Instructions that will be available for electronic downloading from the Grants.gov website.  The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism will also be found on Grants.gov.  A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRMC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420. 

Submission deadlines are not available until the Program Announcements are released.  For email notification when Program Announcements are released, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under “Email Subscriptions” on the eBRAP homepage at https://ebrap.org/.  For more information about the VRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Public Affairs
301-619-9783
usarmy.detrick.medcom-cdmrp.mbx.cdmrp-public-affairs@mail.mil

The biosketch provides an opportunity for each senior/key
person listed in an NIH grant application to describe why they are well-suited
for their role(s) in the project through a personal statement. Among other
things, it allows the senior/key person to:

• Cite up to four publications or research products, including interim research products such as preprints, that highlight their experience and qualifications for the project.
• Explain factors that might have affected past productivity, such as family care responsibilities, illness, military service, etc.
• Describe up to five of their most significant contributions to science. Students and postdocs with fewer notable contributions may wish to consider highlighting just the two or three contributions they consider most significant.

If you have never written a biosketch for an NIH grant
application, carefully read the instructions about what to include. Note that
there are separate instructions for fellowship
and non-fellowship
biosketches.

Find FAQs, sample biosketches, and more on our webpage for Biosketch Format
Pages, Instructions and Samples.  

The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) invites the research community to view a webinar series on clinical trial and clinical research funding. This webinar will highlight the difference between clinical research and clinical trials, key planning considerations for prospective human subject research (e.g. regulatory requirements), and application elements considered in peer and programmatic review of clinical research/trials.

Find the webinar schedule here: https://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/Webinars/webinar_series

Questions: usarmy.detrick.medcom-cdmrp.mbx.cdmrp-public-affairs@mail.mil

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Detailed descriptions of funding opportunities, evaluation criteria, and submission requirements can be found in the specific Program Announcements. The Program Announcements are available electronically for downloading from the Grants.gov website (http://www.grants.gov), the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/prgdefault) and the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) (https://eBRAP.org).

All CDMRP funding opportunities, both recently and previously released, are available on the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

A listing of all open CDMRP funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420.

Please do not respond directly to this message. To be added or removed from this email list please use the “Subscribe/unsubscribe” to program specific news and updates at https://ebrap.org.

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Follow CDMRP on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CDMRP

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