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Reconstructive Transplant

NEWS RELEASE

Released: April 3, 2024

Department of Defense
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Reconstructive Transplant Research Program (RTRP)
Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24)

The FY24 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the Reconstructive Transplant Research Program (RTRP) to support the advancement and standardization of clinical practice of vascularized composite allotransplantation. The managing agent for the anticipated program announcements/funding opportunities is the CDMRP at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

The RTRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY24 funding opportunities. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government. The FY24 RTRP 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.

The FY23 RTRP 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.

FY24 FOCUS AREAS

Applications submitted to the FY24 RTRP must address at least one of the following focus areas and sub-bullets:

Identify and/or validate reliable noninvasive prognostic or diagnostic biomarkers, methods, or tools for monitoring Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA) immunosuppression or rejection, including applications that would be suitable for point-of-care testing or home monitoring.

  • Identify and/or validate reliable noninvasive biomarkers for monitoring acute and chronic VCA graft rejection in the clinic (i.e., human clinical samples).
  • Develop assays, devices, or technology for clinical graft monitoring utilizing biomarkers; proposed devices should take into account human use factors unique to VCA recipients.
  • Identify and/or validate reliable noninvasive approaches to measuring/monitoring in vivo/clinical immunosuppression levels.

Advance tissue preservation strategies

  • Develop promising preservation strategies, active perfusion modalities, and technologies for translation to the clinic.
  • Develop mitigation strategies for immune activation or ischemia reperfusion injury in VCA.

Improve or optimize vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) immunosuppression

  • Define the unique targets and/or mechanisms of VCA immunogenicity
  • Develop novel tolerogenic agents or approaches for VCA immunosuppression
  • Develop less toxic and/or personalized regimens for maintenance immunosuppression

Validation and implementation of resources (such as information materials, websites, clinical tools, etc.) to:

  • Facilitate a patient's decision to pursue VCA
  • Increase VCA organ donation
  • Optimize VCA patient selection

FY24 RTRP Focus Areas Advanced Technology Development Award Idea Discovery Award Investigator- Initiated Research Award Qualitative Research Validation and Implementation Award
Identify and/or validate reliable noninvasive prognostic or diagnostic biomarkers, methods, or tools for monitoring VCA immunosuppression or rejection, including applications that would be suitable for point-of-care testing or home monitoring
X
X
X
Advance tissue preservation strategies.
X
X
X
Improve or optimize VCA immunosuppression.
X
X
Validation and implementation of resources (such as information materials, websites, clinical tools, etc.)
X


Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Advanced Technology Development Award Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Supports research critical for the translation of promising preclinical findings into products focused on reconstructive transplantation.
  • Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
  • Applications must address at least one of the FY24 RTRP Advanced Technology Development Award focus areas.
  • Preliminary or published data are required.
  • Proof of concept demonstrating potential utility of the proposed product must already be established.
  • Multiple Principal Investigator (PI) Option: Supports synergistic partnerships among two to four investigators collaborating on a single application; multi-institutional collaborations are encouraged.
  • Transition Plan required.
 Single PI:
  • Maximum funding of $1M for total costs (direct plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Multiple PI Option:
  • Maximum total funding of $1.5M for total costs (direct plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Idea Discovery Award Independent investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (or equivalent)
  • Supports innovative, untested, high-risk/potentially high- reward concepts, theories, paradigms, and/or methods.
  • Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
  • Applications must address at least one of the FY24 RTRP Idea Discovery Award focus areas.
  • Preliminary/published data that supports the rationale or evidence that the proposed work can be completed is required.
  • Project should include a well-formulated testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale and study design.
  • Maximum funding of $500,000 for total costs (direct plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years.
Investigator-Initiated Research Award Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Supports studies with the potential to make an important contribution to the reconstructive transplant research field, patient care, and/or quality of life.
  • Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
  • Applications must address at least one of the FY24 RTRP Investigator-Initiated Research Award focus areas.
  • Preliminary or published data are required.
  • Multiple PI Option: Supports synergistic partnerships among two to four investigators collaborating on a single application.
 Single PI:
  • Maximum funding of $1 million (M) for total costs (direct plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Multiple PI Option:
  • Maximum total funding of $1.5M for total costs (direct plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Qualitative Research Validation and Implementation Award Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
  • Supports validation and implementation research of resources developed under previous qualitative research efforts in reconstructive transplantation.
  • Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
  • Applications must address the FY24 RTRP Qualitative Research Award focus area.
  • Preliminary or published data are required.
  • Maximum total funding of $500,000 for total costs (direct 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 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 RTRP 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


Last updated Thursday, April 4, 2024