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NEWS RELEASE

Released: April 1, 2014

Defense Health Program
Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program
Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2014

The FY14 Defense Appropriations Act provides $30 million (M) to the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program (PRORP) to support research focused on optimizing recovery and restoration of function for military personnel with orthopaedic injuries sustained in combat or combat-related duties. This program is administered by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) through the Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

Focus Areas: All applications must address at least one of the following FY14 PRORP Focus Areas. Note that Focus Areas may differ among program announcements/funding opportunities. Full details of FY14 PRORP Focus Areas will be included in the program announcements when they are released.

  • Identify and reduce the secondary health effects (e.g., joint contracture, obesity, metabolic syndrome, poor bone health) that follow reduced mobility from traumatic neuromusculoskeletal injury, excluding spinal cord injuries. The focus should be on injuries sustained prior to the age of 45 and secondary health effects that develop within 5 years of injury.
  • Physical or occupational therapy (PT/OT) interventions to establish optimal rehabilitation and examine the comparative effectiveness of different PT/OT regimes, such as studies that establish optimal strategies for weight bearing progression, gait training, strengthening, and that prevent or treat post-traumatic joint stiffness and contracture in the ankle, knee, and/or elbow.
  • Strategies to inhibit neuromas at surgical/amputation sites.
  • The application of novel and/or innovative technologies in prosthetic and orthotic device development toward the improvement or enhancement of:
    • Long-term socket performance, to include afferent and efferent user interface.
    • The fit of prosthetics, including the design and development of flexible socket suspension systems and incorporated interoperability of components to improve stability and usability.
    • Socket performance (comfort, fit, moisture management, residual limb skin integrity, and durability). Novel upper extremity prosthetic sockets, including the design and development of flexible socket suspension systems, are highly encouraged.
    • Myoelectric prosthetic durability (water resistance vs. waterproof components) to enhance the use of myoelectric prostheses in all military environments.
    Studies that propose nominal or iterative advancements are not encouraged.
  • Research toward osseointegration of upper extremity prostheses, including optimization of the skin-implant interface, prevention of infection, control strategies, and sensory feedback.
  • Clinical trials to restore function after volumetric muscle loss, including physical therapy approaches.
  • Research on treatment of non-battle orthopaedic injuries that impact unit readiness and reflect historical return-to-work rates less than 50% or longer than 6 months. Non-penetrating/non-ballistic injuries involving knee, shoulder, elbow, hip, or ankle will be considered, but funding will favor studies focusing on a single joint complex. Includes strategies for timing and effectiveness of treatment for multi-ligamentous knee injuries.
  • Outcomes Research Award: Identify, understand, and optimize functional outcomes for traumatic military or Veteran amputee or limb salvage populations.

The PRORP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications. FY14 PRORP Program Announcement and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanism are anticipated to be posted on the Grants.gov website in April 2014. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the Program Announcement is released. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government.

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Career Development Award Military active-duty researcher, physical therapist, occupational therapist, or physician-scientist with less than 8 years of postdoctoral clinical or research experience (excluding clinical residency or medical fellowship training)
  • Provides support to military (active duty) investigators at an early career stage
  • Supports a mentored research experience to prepare military investigators for productive, independent careers in orthopaedic research
  • Preliminary data are encouraged but not required
  • Maximum funding of $225,000 in total costs (direct plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance up to 3 years
Clinical Trial Award Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • Supports rapid implementation of clinical trials that will have a significant impact on military combat-related orthopaedic injuries
  • Preliminary data are required
  • Military/Veteran study population highly encouraged
  • Investigational New Drug (IND) or Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) applications, if needed, should be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration before the PRORP Grants.gov application submission deadline
  • Preproposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $4.0 million in total costs (direct plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance up to 5 years
Clinical Trial Development Award Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • Supports planning and preparations for clinical trials that will have a significant impact on military combat-related orthopaedic injuries
  • Preliminary data are required
  • Not intended to fund original research, only activities to support planning for a future clinical trial such as protocol development, regulatory filings, establishing access to study populations and/or the intervention/study agent, developing collaborations, etc
  • Funds may not be used to conduct a clinical trial
  • Preproposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $300,000 in total costs (direct plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance up to 18 months
Idea Development Award Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • Supports conceptually innovative, high-risk/high-gain research
  • Emphasis on Innovation and Military Benefit
  • Preliminary data are not required
  • Clinical trials are not allowed
  • Preproposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $750,000 in total costs (direct plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance up to 3 years
Outcomes Research Award Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • New mechanism
  • Supports studies that seek to identify, understand, and optimize functional outcomes for traumatic military or Veteran amputee or limb salvage patients
  • Studies are sought that will provide information about the advantages, disadvantages, risks, end results, and associated quality of life of health care practices and interventions
  • Clinical trials are not allowed
  • Preliminary data encouraged but not required
  • Preproposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $2.5 million in total costs (direct plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance up to 5 years
Translational Research Award Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
At least one partner must be a laboratory scientist and at least one partner must be a clinician
At least one partner must have significant experience in orthopaedic research or orthopaedic medicine
  • Supports development of multidisciplinary translational research collaboration between clinicians and laboratory scientists to accelerate movement of promising research hypotheses into clinical applications
  • Preliminary or published data are required
  • Does not support definitive clinical trials, but limited clinical testing is permissible
  • All applications must have direct relevance to orthopaedic injuries sustained during combat or combat-related activities
  • Preproposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only
  • Maximum funding of $1.125 million in total costs (direct plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance up to 3 years

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 USAMRMC funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the CDMRP electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) (https://eBRAP.org) prior to the pre-application deadline. Applications must be submitted through the federal government's single-entry portal, Grants.gov. Submission deadlines are not available until the Program Announcements are released. Requests for email notification of the Program Announcements release may be sent to help@eBRAP.org. Email notifications of funding opportunities are sent as a courtesy and should not be used as a sole source of notification; applicants should monitor Grants.gov for official postings of funding opportunities.

For more information about the PRORP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.health.mil).

Point of Contact:

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