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Tick-Borne Disease

NEWS RELEASE

Released: April 25, 2016

Defense Health Program
Department of Defense Tick-Borne Disease Research Program
Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2016

The Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) Defense Appropriations Act provides $5 million (M) to the Department of Defense Tick-Borne Disease Research Program (TBDRP) to support innovative and impactful research that addresses fundamental issues and gaps in tick-borne diseases. As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency, Research, Development, and Acquisition (DHA RDA) 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).

The TBDRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications. FY16 TBDRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted on the Grants.gov website in late June/early July 2016. Pre-application 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.

The FY16 TBDRP is seeking research focused on understanding the pathogenesis of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illness and on delivering innovative solutions to prevent and better diagnose and treat their manifestations, specifically involving the following areas. Additional information regarding focus areas will be available when the Program Announcements are released.

Pathogenesis:

  • Host-pathogen interactions
  • Human immune response
  • Mechanisms of persistence of Lyme disease
  • New research tools to support studies of pathogenesis

Prevention:
  • Interrupting the natural cycle
  • Personal protection measures
  • Targeted vaccines
  • Post-exposure prophylaxis

Diagnosis:
  • Direct detection of tick-borne pathogens or their products in humans
  • Biomarkers for diagnosis

Treatment:
  • Innovative approaches to treatment
  • Basic studies aimed at safe and effective treatments for the cause of persistent symptoms in Lyme disease
  • Biomarkers of effective prognosis, therapy and cure

Applications addressing persistence and direct detection of Lyme borreliae are highly encouraged.

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Idea Award (IA) Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
  • Fund conceptually innovative, high-risk/potentially high-reward research in the early stages of development that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries and/or improvements in patient care and/or quality of life.
  • Preliminary data that are relevant to the proposed research project should be included.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Anticipated maximum funding of $250,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years.
Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
  • Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
  • Fund highly rigorous, high-impact research with the potential to make an important contribution to research and/or patient care.
  • Preliminary or published data is required.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed, however human studies/clinical research are permitted.
  • Anticipated maximum funding of $700,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 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 that will be available for electronic downloading from Grants.gov. A listing of all CDMRP 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. For email notification when Program Announcements are released, go to the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.health.mil) and select Subscribe to Funding Opportunities & Program Communications. For more information about 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


Last updated Thursday, December 5, 2024