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Neurofibromatosis

NEWS RELEASE

Released: March 7, 2022

Department of Defense
Neurofibromatosis Research Program (NFRP)
Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22)

The FY22 Defense Appropriations Bill has not been signed into law. Although FY22 funds have not been appropriated for the NFRP, the program is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY22 funding opportunities. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government.

The FY22 Defense Appropriations Act is anticipated to provide funding to the Department of Defense NFRP to support innovative, high-impact NF research. The managing agent for the anticipated funding opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command.

The FY22 NFRP funding opportunity announcements for the following award mechanisms will be posted on the Grants.gov website. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the announcements are released.

Applications submitted to the FY22 NFRP must address one or more of the following Areas of Emphasis:

  • Neurofibromatosis (NF) Type 2-related areas (e.g., hearing, balance, ependymoma, meningioma)
  • Biomarker discovery, utility, development, and validation
  • Non-tumor manifestations not limited to:
    • Pain
    • Cognitive Manifestations
    • Sleep
  • Heterogeneity of NF-related tumors
  • Novel disease and treatment response markers using genetics, genomics, epigenetics, systems biology, metabolomics, or similar approaches
  • Preclinical efficacy studies
  • Target identification, drug discovery
  • Nutritional, environmental, and other modifiers of NF
  • Health services research
Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Clinical Trial Award Investigators must be at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
  • Funds Phase 0, I, or II clinical trials relevant to NF and/or schwannomatosis; combinations of phases are permitted.
  • Funding must support a clinical trial and may not be used for preclinical studies.
  • Scientific rationale and preliminary data are required for phase I and II clinical trial applications.
  • Maximum funding of $800,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum funding of $1 million (M) for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including a Collaborator.
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years.
Exploration-Hypothesis Development Award Investigators may be from all academic levels (or equivalent).
  • Funds the initial exploration of innovative, high-risk, high-gain, and potentially groundbreaking concepts in NF research.
  • Projects involving human subjects or human biological substances must be exempt under Code of Federal Regulations, Title 32, Section 219, Part 104(d) (32 CFR 219.104[d]) or eligible for expedited review under 32 CFR 219.110 or 21 CFR 56.110.
  • Preliminary and/or published data are encouraged but not required.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Mentorship is highly encouraged.
  • Maximum funding of $100,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years.
Investigator-Initiated Research Award Investigators must be at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) and must plan to commit at least a 10% level of effort for each budget period throughout the entirety of the award.
  • Funds highly rigorous, high-impact research projects that have the potential to make an important contribution to NF research and/or patient care.
  • Optional Features: Applications meeting the criteria identified in the announcement may apply for a higher level of funding for the following options: Qualified Collaborator and/or NF Open Science Initiative (NF-OSI).
  • Preliminary and/or published data are required.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Maximum funding of $525,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum funding of $575,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including either an Optional Qualified Collaborator or NF-OSI option.
  • Maximum funding of $625,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including both the Optional Qualified Collaborator and NF-OSI options.
New Investigator Award Early-Stage Investigator (ESI): An independent investigator at or below the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) and commit at least 30% during each budget year of their efforts toward the proposed NF research project.

Established Investigator (EI): An independent investigator above the level of Assistant Professor and commit at least 10% during each budget year of their efforts toward the proposed NF research project.
  • ESI: Supports the continued development of promising independent investigators.
  • EI: Supports transition of established investigators from other research fields who will bring their expertise into a career in the field of NF research.
  • Experience in NF research is allowed, but not required.
  • Preliminary and/or published data are required.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Must not have received a New Investigator Award previously from any program within the CDMRP.
  • Maximum funding of $450,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Early Investigator Research Award
  • Investigators must be involved in a postdoctoral training or medical residency program and possess up to 4 years continuous postdoctoral research experience.
  • Must have successfully defended a doctoral thesis or possess an M.D. degree and commit at least 50% of his/her effort towards project.
  • Supports research opportunities focused on NF for individuals in the early stages of their careers.
  • Investigators must have a designated mentor who is an experienced NF researcher.
  • Maximum funding of $200,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years.
Synergistic Idea Award Investigators must be at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
  • Supports new or existing partnerships between two or three investigators to address a central innovative question or problem in NF that may include high risk, provided there is a potential for significant impact.
  • Investigators are expected to demonstrate within the application the synergistic components (i.e., leveraging disciplines, expertise, or critical resources) that will significantly advance the project such that the research outcomes as a whole will be realized rapidly and efficiently and could not otherwise be accomplished through the independent efforts of a single investigator.
  • Preliminary and/or published data are required.
  • Synergy, Research Strategy, Personnel, and Impact are the most important review criteria.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Maximum funding of $2M 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 funding opportunity announcements that will be available 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. A listing of all CDMRP and other U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command 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 funding opportunity announcements are released. For email notification when 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 NFRP 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