DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
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Vision

NEWS RELEASE

Released: April 26, 2018

Defense Health Program
Department of Defense Vision Research Program
Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18)

The FY18 Defense Appropriation provides $15 million (M) to the Department of Defense Vision Research Program (VRP) to support innovative, high-impact vision research. As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency, J9 Research and Development 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) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).

The VRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications. FY18 VRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted on the Grants.gov website in July 2018. 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.


Award Mechanism PI Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Focused Translational Team Science Award (FTTSA)
  • PIs must be independent investigators at or above the level of Associate Professor (or equivalent) with experience in developing and running large-scale initiatives.
  • Co-investigators may be independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent).
 Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports highly collaborative and translational team initiatives that would fundamentally advance the understanding and treatment of military-relevant vision trauma.
  • Proposed research must focus on eye injury or visual dysfunction as related to a traumatic event. Examples of trauma include, but are not limited to:
    • Blast, blunt, thermal or chemical trauma;
    • Trauma caused by directed energy weapons such as laser, microwaves and particle beams;
    • Ionizing radiation
  • Supports a multifaceted, multidisciplinary and highly coherent investigation with 3-5 teams addressing complementary and synergistic questions that center around a specific trauma. Examples of questions include, but are not limited to:
    • Elucidation of molecular, cellular, and biophysical mechanisms;
    • Identification of biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets;
    • Development and validation of therapeutic agents and/or devices;
    • Development and validation of drug delivery platforms appropriate for said trauma;
    • Development or improvement of clinically relevant models for said trauma;
    • Design of protection to mitigate the impact of said trauma on eye and vision.
  • Preliminary data required.
  • May include, as a portion of the proposed research, a pilot clinical trial component that collects preliminary data to support the feasibility, rationale and design of subsequent clinical trials.
  • Emphasis is on synergy, translational potential, and strategy to transition findings into products.
  • Maximum funding of $5,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
Investigator Initiated Research Award (IIRA) Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent). Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports basic and applied research addressing key challenges to advancing understanding and treatment of military-relevant vision trauma.
  • Must focus on eye injury or visual dysfunction as related to a traumatic event. Examples of trauma include, but are not limited to:
    • Blast, blunt, thermal or chemical trauma;
    • Trauma caused by directed energy weapons such as laser, microwaves and particle beams;
    • Ionizing radiation
  • Preliminary data required.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Emphasis is on impact and innovation.
  • Maximum funding of�$500K�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 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 CDMRP and other USAMRMC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420.

Submission deadlines are not available until the Program Announcements are released. For email notification when Program Announcements are released, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under "Email Subscriptions" on the eBRAP homepage at https://eBRAP.org. For more information about the VRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (httpcdmrp.health.mil.mil).

Point of Contact:

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


Last updated Monday, December 16, 2024