DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
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NEWS RELEASE

Released: January 31, 2014

Defense Health Program
Department of Defense Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research Program
Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14)

The FY14 Defense Appropriations Act provides $6 million (M) to the Department of Defense Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research Program (TSCRP) to support innovative, high-impact TSC research. This program is administered by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) through the Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

The TSCRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications. FY14 TSCRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted on the Grants.gov website in March 2014. Letter of intent 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. Funding is contingent on receipt of appropriations.

Focus Areas: The goal of the FY14 TSCRP is to encourage innovative research aimed at understanding the pathogenesis and manifestations of TSC and developing improved diagnostic and treatment approaches. Within this context, the TSCRP encourages applications that specifically address the critical needs of the TSC community in one or more of the FY14 Focus Areas. Not all Focus Areas are applicable to each award mechanism offered by the FY14 TSCRP. If the proposed research project does not address one of the FY14 Focus Areas, justification that the proposed research project addresses an important problem related to TSC research and/or patient care should be provided.

  • Clinical Focus Areas
    • Infantile spasms and epileptic encephalopathy, including biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment
    • Neurocognitive, sleep, and behavioral issues, e.g., TAND (TSC-associated neuropsychiatric disorders)
    • Impact of TSC manifestations in adults, including LAM and angiomyolipomas
  • Personalization of Care
    • Developmental origin of TSC manifestations
    • Phenotype/genotype studies and genetic modifiers
    • Gene dose and lesional genetics
    • Biomarkers for perinatal/newborn screening
  • Optimization of Treatments
    • Pathogenesis-based biomarkers of disease progression and response to treatment
    • Development or validation of clinical endpoints in TSC
    • Identification or development of novel pathogenesis-based treatment targets
    • Continued refinement of cell-based and preclinical models
    • Dose, timing, and duration of treatment with mTORC-1 inhibitors

Award Mechanism Eligibility Funding
Exploration - Hypothesis Development Award Investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Maximum funding of $100,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance should not exceed 2 years
Idea Development Award Independent investigators with a documented faculty appointment (or equivalent)
  • Maximum funding of $425,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum funding of $575,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including an Optional Qualified Collaborator or Nested Postdoctoral Fellow.
  • Period of performance should not exceed 3 years
Pilot Clinical Trial Award Must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • Maximum funding of $200,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Period of performance should not exceed 2 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.

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@cdmrp.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 TSCRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://CDMRP.HEALTH.MIL).

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