DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
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NEWS RELEASE

Released: January 4, 2010

Department of Defense Autism Research Program
Funding for Fiscal Year 2010

The Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) Defense Appropriations Act provides $8 million to the Department of Defense Autism Research Program (ARP) to find and fund the best research to improve the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders now. 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 FY10 ARP program announcements and application instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted and available on Grants.gov in February 2010:

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Clinical Trial Award (CTA) Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • Funds clinical trials relevant to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
  • Preclinical data required for all clinical trial proposals
  • Preproposal is required; proposal submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $1,000,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
  • Anticipate 2 awards
Idea Development Award (IDA) Investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Funds the development of innovative, high-impact ideas that advance the understanding of ASD and lead to improved outcomes
  • Applicants are encouraged to address one or more of the ARP FY10 Areas of Encouragement (outlined below)
  • Preliminary data is required but does not have to be from the ASD research field
  • Clinical trials are not allowed under this award mechanism
  • May have up to three investigators collaborating on a single proposal, each of whom will be recognized as a Principal Investigator and receive a separate award
  • Preproposal is required; proposal submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $375,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • If collaborating, total maximum combined funding for all collaborating PIs is $375,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years
  • Anticipate 5 awards
Resource Development Award (RDA) Investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Funds product-driven research aimed at developing tools for use by the ASD research and clinical community
  • Clinical trials are not allowed under this award mechanism
  • Preproposal is required; proposal submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $150,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years
  • Anticipate 2 awards

The FY10 ARP program announcement and application instructions for the following award mechanism are anticipated to be posted and available on Grants.gov in March 2010:

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Exploration -Hypothesis Development Award (EHDA) Investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Funds the initial exploration of innovative, untested questions or ideas that advance the understanding of ASD and lead to improved outcomes
  • Applicants are encouraged to address one or more of the ARP FY10 Areas of Encouragement (outlined below)
  • Preliminary data is not allowed
  • Clinical trials are not allowed under this award mechanism
  • Projects involving human subjects or human biological substances must be either exempt under Title 32, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 219, Section 101(b) (32 CFR 219.101(b)) or eligible for expedited review (32 CFR 219.110 or 21 CFR 56.110)
  • Maximum funding of $100,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years
  • Anticipate 3 awards

For the Idea Development Award and Exploration - Hypothesis Development Award, the FY10 ARP encourages proposals that specifically address the critical needs of the ASD community in any of the following areas (Revised for FY10):

  • Biological, infectious, or environmental risk factors
  • Identifying therapeutic targets

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 are anticipated to be posted on Grants.gov in February 2010 (CTA, IDA, RDA) and March 2010 (EHDA). Pre-application and application deadlines will not be available until these program announcements are released.

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. A listing of all USAMRMC funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420. The number of awards anticipated in each mechanism is based on available funds, average cost of proposals, and quality of proposals received. The ARP 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 Announcement release may be sent to Help@cdmrp.org. For more information about the PRMRP or other CDMRP-sponsored programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://CDMRP.HEALTH.MIL).

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