Category Archives: Announcements

Defense Health Program – Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20)

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The FY20 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) to support to support medical research projects of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health. 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 Development Command (USAMRDC).

The FY20 PRMRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.   

The vision and mission of the PRMRP is improve the health, care, and well-being of all military Service members, Veterans, and beneficiaries by encouraging, identifying, selecting, and managing medical research projects of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health.

Congressionally Directed Topic Areas: All applications submitted to the PRMRP must address at least one of the FY20 PRMRP Congressionally directed topic areas. The FY20 PRMRP Topic Areas are as follows:

Arthritis Burn Pit Exposure
Chronic Migraine Post-Traumatic Headache
Congestive Heart Disease Diabetes
Dystonia Eating Disorder
Emerging Viral Disease Endometriosis
Epidermolysia Bullosa Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Fibrous Dysplasia Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis
Food Allergies Fragile X
Frontotemporal Degeneration Hepatitis B
Guillain-Barre Syndromemorrhage Control Immunomonitoring of Intestinal Transplants
Hydrocephalus Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Interstitial Cystitis Metals Toxicology
Mitchondrial Disease Musculoskeletal Health
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Myotonic Dystrophy Nutrition Optimization
Pancreatitis Pathogen-Inactivated Blood Products
Plant Based Vaccines Polycystic Kidney Disease
Pressure Ulcers Pulmonary Fibrosis
Resilience Training Respiratory Health
Rheumatoid Arthritis Sleep Disorders and Restriction
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Sustained Release Drug Delivery
Vascular Malformations Women’s Heart Disease

Discovery Award – Letter of Intent due April 16, 2020

Postdoctoral fellow or clinical fellow (or equivalent) and above:

  • Supports the exploration of a highly innovative new concept or untested theory.
  • Not intended to support the logical progression of an already established line of questioning.
  • Clinical trials will not be funded.
  • Reviewers will be blinded to the identity of the Principal Investigator (PI), collaborators, and their organization(s).
  • Maximum of $200,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance of 2 years.

Focused Program Award – Pre-proposal due April 23, 2020

Full Professor level or above (or equivalent):

  • Pre-proposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports a synergistic, multidisciplinary research program of at least four distinct but complementary projects addressing an overarching goal.
  • Projects should work together to answer critical questions, resolve differing hypotheses, and translate laboratory findings to clinical applications.
  • Projects may range from exploratory/hypothesis-developing through small-scale clinical trials that together will address the overarching goal/question.
  • Research team of highly qualified, multidisciplinary project leaders should be led by a PI with demonstrated success in directing large, focused projects.
  • Maximum of $7.2 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance of 4 years.

Investigator-Initiated Research Award – Pre-proposal due April 23, 2020

Assistant Professor level or above (or equivalent):
  • Pre-proposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports research that will make an original and important contribution to the field of research or patient care in the topic area(s) of interest.
  • Partnering PI Option available.
  • Clinical trials will not be funded.
  • Maximum of $1.6 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum of $2 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including a Partnering PI Option.
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years.

Technology/Therapeutic Development Award – Pre-proposal due April 23, 2020

Assistant Professor level or above (or equivalent):

  • Pre-proposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports the translation of promising pre-clinical findings into clinical applications for prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, or quality of life.
  • Product-oriented (e.g., device, drug, clinical guidelines). The product(s) to be developed may be a tangible item such as a pharmacologic agent (drugs or biologics) or device, or a knowledge-based product.
  • Clinical trials will not be funded.
  • Maximum of $4 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 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 will also be found on Grants.gov. A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRDC 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 PRMRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website.

Point of Contact: CDMRP Help Desk
301-682-5507
help@eBrap.org

Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative

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This FY 2021 Air Force Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) competition is open only to, and proposals are to be submitted only by, US institutions of higher education (universities) with degree-granting programs in science and/or engineering, including DoD institutions of higher education. To the extent that it is a part of a US institution of higher education and is not designated as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) or other University Affiliated Laboratory (UAL) is eligible to submit a proposal to this MURI competition and/or receive MURI funds. Ineligible organizations (e.g., industry, DoD laboratories, FFRDCs, and foreign entities) may collaborate on the research but may not receive MURI funds directly or via sub award. When additional funding for an ineligible organization is necessary to make the proposed collaboration possible, such funds may be identified via a separate proposal from that organization. This supplemental proposal shall be attached to the primary MURI proposal and will be evaluated in accordance with the MURI review criteria by the responsible Research Topic Chief. If approved, the supplemental proposal may be funded using non-MURI or non-Government funds.

DOD’s MURI program addresses high-risk basic research and attempts to understand or achieve something that has never been done before. The program was initiated over 25 years ago and it has regularly produced significant scientific breakthroughs with far reaching consequences to the fields of science, economic growth, and revolutionary new military technologies. Key to the program’s success is the close management of the MURI projects by Service program officers and their active role in providing research guidance.

Detailed descriptions of the topics and the Topic Chief for each can be found in Section II. I, entitled, “SPECIFIC MURI TOPICS,” (page 39 of 79 in the FOA document). The detailed descriptions are intended to provide the applicant a frame of reference and are not meant to be restrictive to the possible approaches to achieving the goals of the topic and the program. Innovative ideas addressing these research topics are highly encouraged.

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) for Extramural Biomedical Research and Development

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This BAA is intended to solicit extramural research and development ideas using the authority provided by United States Code, Title 10, Section 2358. This BAA is issued under the provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-369), as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.102(d) (2) and 35.016 and in DoD Grant and Agreement Regulations (DoDGARs) 22.315. In accordance with FAR 6.102, projects funded under this BAA must be for basic and applied research to support scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge or understanding rather than focusing on development of a specific system or hardware solution. Research and development funding through this BAA are intended and expected to benefit and inform both military and civilian medical practice and knowledge.

This BAA provides a general description of USSOCOM’s research and development programs, including research areas of interest, evaluation and selection criteria, pre-proposal/pre-application and full proposal/application preparation instructions, and general administrative information. Submission of a pre-proposal/pre-application is required. After review, if the USSOCOM is interested in receiving a full proposal/application, the Applicant or Offeror will be invited to submit a full proposal or full application. Specific submission information and additional administrative requirements can be found in the document titled “General Submission Instructions” available in Grants.gov along with this BAA.

USSOCOM utilizes the tools and processes provided by Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The CDMRP manages the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) system and retrieval and processing of full proposal/application submissions from Grants.gov. Refer to Section II.G, Agency Contacts, for additional information.

HRSA Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program

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Announcement Number: HRSA-20-014

Bureau/Office: Bureau of Health Workforce

Date(s) to Apply: 01/21/2020 to 04/13/2020

Estimated Award Date: 09/01/2020

This program supports training programs that enhance and expand paraprofessionals knowledge, skills and expertise. It aims to increase the number of peer support specialists and other behavioral health-related paraprofessionals who work on interprofessional teams to provide services to children whose parents are impacted by opioid use disorders (OUD) and other substance use disorders (SUD), and their family members who are in guardianship roles.

There’s a special focus on demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the specific concerns for children, adolescents, and transitional aged youth in high need and high demand areas who are at risk for mental health disorders and SUDs.

Your organization is eligible if it is a state-licensed mental health nonprofit or for-profit organization. Your organization must be able to support programs for pre-service or in-service training of paraprofessional child, adolescent, and transitional aged youth mental health workers.

These training programs can include behavioral health-related paraprofessional occupations such as peer support specialist, peer support counselor, community health worker, outreach worker, behavioral health aide, social services aide, substance abuse/addictions worker, youth worker, and promotor/a (for full list of occupations see the Paraprofessional definition in section VIII of the NOFO).

For the purpose of this NOFO, organizations may include academic institutions (e.g. universities, community colleges and technical schools). They must be accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency, as specified by the U.S. Department of Education.

Domestic faith-based and community-based  organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations may apply for these funds, if otherwise eligible.

Individuals are not eligible to apply.

In addition to the 50 states, eligible entities include the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

DARPA Defense Sciences Office BAA – Habitus for Cognitive Science, Computation & Defense

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This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) constitutes a public notice of a competitive funding opportunity as described in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 as well as 2 C.F.R. § 200.203. Any resultant negotiations and/or awards will follow all laws and regulations applicable to the specific award instrument(s) available under this BAA, e.g., FAR 15.4 for procurement contracts.

The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals to create self-sustaining, adaptive,
generalizable, and scalable methods for generating causal system models based on local
knowledge to aid operational decision making. Understanding how to work with and influence local systems to support stability operations is critical for operational decision making and is most challenging in undergoverned regions in which the systems themselves are often in flux or illegible. Establishing stability in such regions requires we facilitate actions that are in line with local views, yet our current means for understanding local systems such as the political, socioeconomic, and/or those related to health and infrastructure are limited.

Humans develop causal cognitive representations – or cognitive models – of systems of which they are a part. These models include factors (or variables), relationships among factors, and contexts that affect both. The knowledge behind these models is often hyper-localized, changing dramatically with regional and/or population dependent interactions of factors such as terrain, industries, population density (urban, rural), shared history, formal and informal power structures, religion, and ethnicity. These cognitive models, though often implicit, allow one to estimate which factors are most important for a given outcome and how those factors interact to anticipate future outcomes based on history, current events, and trends.