DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
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NEWS RELEASE

Released: March 6, 2009

Department of Defense Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP)
Funding for Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09)

The Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) Defense Appropriations Act provides $8 million to the Department of Defense Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) to find and fund the best research to improve the lives of veterans with Gulf War Illness. This program is administered by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command through the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

The FY09 GWIRP encourages proposals that specifically address critical needs of ill Gulf War veterans in the following areas (Revised for FY09):

  • Research focusing on the complex of symptoms known as Gulf War Illness, improving its diagnosis, developing effective treatments for it, and better understanding its pathobiology.
  • Research focusing on identification of objective measures to distinguish ill from healthy veterans (e.g. biomarkers), or potential treatment targets for GWI. Studies that characterize chronic effects of neurotoxic exposures encountered during the Gulf War (at comparable dosages) are also acceptable.

FY09 GWIRP program announcements and application instructions, including deadlines, for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted and available on Grants.gov in March 2009.

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Clinical Trial Award Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Fund Phase 0, I, or II clinical trials relevant to Gulf War Illness; combinations of phases are permitted
  • Preclinical data required for all clinical trial proposals
  • Preproposal is required; proposal submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $750,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance should not exceed 4 years
  • Anticipate 1 award
Investigator Initiated Research Award Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Supports basic and clinical research relevant to GWI
  • Research Strategy and Impact are the most important review criteria
  • Preliminary data is required, though not necessarily from the field of GWI. Clinical trials are not permitted.
  • Pre-proposal is required; proposal submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $600,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance should not exceed 3 years
  • Anticipate 3 awards

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the CDMRP eReceipt website (http://cdmrp.org) prior to proposal submission. Proposals must be submitted through the federal government's single-entry portal, Grants.gov. Individual program announcements and required forms will also be found on the Grants.gov website.

Information in this pre-announcement is being provided to allow investigators time to plan and develop proposals. All proposals submitted must conform to the final program announcements, which will be posted on Grants.gov at a later date. The number of awards anticipated in each mechanism is based on available funds, average cost of proposals, and quality of proposals received. The GWIRP reserves the right to make awards in greater or lesser numbers than anticipated. Each program announcement will be available electronically for downloading from the Grants.gov website. The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism will also be found on Grants.gov.

Requests for email notification of the Program Announcements release may be sent to help@cdmrp.org. For more information about the GWIRP or other CDMRP-sponsored programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

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