NEWS RELEASE

Released: March 22, 2023

The FY23 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the Parkinson’s Research Program’s (PRP’s) support for Parkinson’s disease (PD) research. The managing agent for the anticipated funding opportunities is the CDMRP at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

The PRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY23 funding opportunities. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government. The FY23 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 FY23 PRP must address one or more of the following Focus Areas.

• Focus Area 1
  Biological mechanisms or biomarkers, including biologically informed clinical evaluations, of non-motor symptoms that could lead to the development of treatments for PD. Applications focused on laboratory models through to human subjects, including computational approaches, will be considered. Examples of non-motor symptoms of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Cognitive dysfunction relevant to PD
• Psychiatric dysfunction
• Sleep and circadian rhythms disruptions
• Autonomic dysfunction
• Sensory dysfunction
• Other non-motor symptoms including fatigue, apathy, and impulse control disorders


• Focus Area 2
  Biological mechanisms or biomarkers associated with non-pharmacological interventions for PD. Examples of non-pharmacological interventions of interest include:
• Exercise
• Diet
• Neuro-stimulation therapy
• Neurosurgical




Award Mechanism	PI Eligibility	Key Mechanism Elements	Funding
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 Principal Investigator (PI).	Supports neurotoxin exposure- and treatment-related PD research opportunities for individuals in the early stages of their careers under the guidance of a designated Mentor. The Early Investigator is considered the PI of the application and must exhibit strong potential for and commitment to pursuing a career as an investigator at the forefront of PD research; however, the PI is not required to have previous PD research experience. Applications must include at least one Mentor appropriate to the proposed research project who has experience in PD 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 neurotoxin exposure- and treatment-related PD researcher. Preliminary data are not required. Clinical trials are not allowed. Applications to this award mechanism must address at least one of the two FY23 PRP Focus Areas.	Maximum funding of $500,000 in total costs. Maximum period of performance is 2 years.
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 neurotoxin exposure- and treatment-related PD research. This award mechanism supports the full spectrum of research from basic science through clinical research. Preliminary data to support feasibility are encouraged. Any unpublished, preliminary data provided should originate from the laboratory of the PI or a member of the research team. Clinical trials are allowed. Applications to this award mechanism must address at least one of the two FY23 PRP Focus Areas.	Maximum funding of $1,500,000 in total costs. Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Synergistic Idea Award	Independent investigators at or above the level of assistant professor (or equivalent)	Supports new ideas that represent synergistic approaches to PD research involving two to four faculty-level (or equivalent) PIs. The combined efforts of the PIs should utilize their complementary and synergistic perspectives to address a central problem or question in neurotoxin exposure- and treatment-related PD 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 FY23 PRP Focus Areas.	Maximum funding of $3,000,000 in total costs. Maximum period of performance is 4 years.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) 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 Assistance Listing Number (ALN, formerly CFDA) 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. For more information about the PRP 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@health.mil