NEWS RELEASE

Released: April 20, 2022

Defense Health Program
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Department of Defense Parkinson's Research Program (PRP)
Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22)

The FY22 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the Parkinson’s Research Program (PRP) to support research of exceptional scientific merit in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The managing agent for the anticipated program announcements/funding opportunities is the CDMRP at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

For FY22, Congress transitioned the Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment Parkinson’s (NETP) program to PRP and broadened the research from neurotoxin exposure treatment PD research to all types of PD research. Applicants with toxic exposure research are directed to the Toxic Exposure Research Program at CDMRP.

The FY22 PRP 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 PRP must address one or more of the following Focus Areas:

• Biological mechanisms and biomarkers of non-motor symptoms that could lead to the development of treatments for PD. Examples of non-motor symptoms of interest:
• Cognitive dysfunction relevant to PD
• Psychiatric dysfunction
• Sleep and circadian rhythms disruptions
• Autonomic dysfunction
• Sensory dysfunction
• Fatigue
• Biological mechanisms and biomarkers of non-pharmacological interventions for non-motor symptoms in PD.
• Exercise
• Diet
• Neuro stimulation therapy
• Neurosurgical




Award Mechanism	PI Eligibility	Key Mechanism Elements	Funding
Investigator-Initiated Research Award	Independent investigators at or above the level of assistant professor (or equivalent)	Supports highly rigorous, multidisciplinary, high-impact research projects that have the potential to make an important contribution to Parkinson’s research. This award mechanism supports the full spectrum of research from basic science through clinical research. Preliminary data to support feasibility are required. Any unpublished, preliminary data provided should originate from the laboratory of the Principal Investigator (PI) or a member(s) of the research team. Clinical trials are allowed. Applications to this award mechanism must address at least one of the two FY22 PRP Focus Areas.	Maximum funding of $1.2M in total costs Maximum period of performance is 3 years
Early Investigator Research Award	Postdoctoral or clinical fellow, instructor, or assistant professor within 10 years of advanced degree or residency training completion (or equivalent) Verification of eligibility criteria must be provided in an Eligibility Statement signed by an appropriate institutional official and the PI.	Supports Parkinson’s research opportunities for individuals in the early stages of their careers, under the guidance of a designated Mentor. The Early Investigator is considered the Principal Investigator (PI) of the application and must exhibit strong potential for, and commitment to, pursuing a career as an investigator at the forefront of Parkinson’s disease research; however, the PI is not required to have previous Parkinson’s disease research experience. Applications must include at least one Mentor, appropriate to the proposed research project, who has experience in Parkinson’s disease research and mentoring as demonstrated by a record of active funding, recent publications, and successful mentorship. The selected Mentor(s) should also demonstrate a clear commitment to the development of the PI toward independence as a Parkinson’s disease researcher. Preliminary data are not required. Clinical trials are not allowed. Applications to this award mechanism must address at least one of the two FY22 PRP Focus Areas.	Maximum funding of $400,000 in total costs Maximum period of performance is 2 years
Synergistic Idea Award	Independent investigators at or above the level of assistant professor (or equivalent)	Supports new ideas that represent synergistic approaches to Parkinson’s research involving two to four faculty-level (or equivalent) Principal Investigators (PIs). The combined efforts of the PIs should utilize their complementary and synergistic perspectives to address a central problem or question in Parkinson’s research. Designed to support both new and pre-existing partnerships, and encourages participation of PIs from other research fields. The PRP seeks applications from investigators working in a wide spectrum of disciplines including, but not limited to, basic science, engineering, bioinformatics, population science, translational research, and clinical research. Preliminary data are not required. Clinical trials are allowed. Applications to this award mechanism must address at least one of the two FY22 PRP Focus Areas.	Level 1: Maximum funding of $3M in total costs Level 2: Maximum funding of $9M in total costs Maximum period of performance is 4  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 USAMRDC 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 PRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

Point of Contact:

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