USA Flag An official website of the United States government
Official websites use .mil
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of War organization.
Secure .mil websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Scheduled Downtime
Due to routine system maintenance the CDMRP website will be unavailable from COB 24 April - 27 April COB.
DEPARTMENT OF WAR - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
  1. Home
  2. Research Programs
  3. Neurofibromatosis
  4. Research Highlights/News
  5. 2026 Neurofibromatosis Research Program

Neurofibromatosis

NEWS RELEASE

Released: April 22, 2026

Defense Health Agency Research and Development
Medical Research and Development Command
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Neurofibromatosis Research Program
Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2026

The FY26 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the NFRP to support innovative, high-impact research with clinical relevance that will improve the understanding, diagnosis and treatment Neurofibromatosis and schwannomatosis to enhance the quality of life for persons with these disorders that impact Service Members, their Families, Veterans and the American public. As part of the DHA R&D-MRDC, the CDMRP is the program office managing these anticipated FY26 funding opportunities.

The NFRP provides the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY26 funding opportunities. Investigators should not construe this pre-announcement as an obligation or promise by the government. The CDMRP will post FY26 NFRP funding opportunity announcements on the Grants.gov website. Once released, the funding opportunity announcements will include pre-application and application deadlines.

Applications submitted to the FY26 NFRP must address one or more of the following areas of emphasis:

  • NF2 and non-NF2 schwannomatosis-related areas, e.g., hearing, balance, schwannoma, ependymoma, meningioma, LZTR1, SMARCB1
  • Endpoint validation, biomarker discovery and technological innovation for assessments
  • Application of data science
  • Non-tumor manifestations not limited to:
    • Pain
    • Cognitive manifestations
    • Sleep
  • Heterogeneity of NF-related phenotypes
  • Genetics, genomics, epigenetics, systems biology, metabolomics or similar approaches
  • Preclinical efficacy studies
  • Target identification and drug discovery
  • Nutritional, environmental and other modifiers of NF
  • Health services research

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Exploration-Hypothesis Development Award Investigators at all career levels, including postdoctoral fellows or equivalent.
  • Supports the initial exploration of innovative, high-risk, high-gain and potentially groundbreaking concepts in NF research.
  • Preliminary and/or published data encouraged but not required.
  • Clinical trials not allowed.
  • The NFRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $160,000 for total costs*
Investigator-Initiated Research Award Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor, or equivalent, who plan to commit a minimum of 10% level of effort for each budget period throughout the entirety of the award.
  • Supports 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.
    • NF Open Science Initiative.
  • Applications must include preliminary and/or published data.
  • Clinical trials not allowed.
  • The NFRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $525,000 for total costs*
    • Maximum allowable funding for applications to Qualified Collaborator or NF Open Science Initiative options is $575,000 total costs*
Neurofibromatosis Research Academy – Leadership Award Academy Director: Established NF investigators at or above the level of Associate Professor, or equivalent, at the full application submission deadline.

Academy Deputy Director: Investigators at or above the level of Associate Professor, or equivalent, at the full application deadline and affiliated with a different institution than the Academy Director.
  • Supports visionary, established neurofibromatosis investigators with a documented history of NF funding, publications, strong mentorship and commitment to leadership.
  • Supports the execution of a multi-institutional, interactive, virtual research academy that consists of scholars, who are early-career investigators, and their career guides, who serve as the scholars' primary mentors.
  • The Academy Leadership must propose one or more pilot research projects to conduct with the Academy Scholars.
  • Academy Director and Deputy Director will execute goals on the oversight of individual scholar and collaborative academy research activities and career development in the NF field.
  • Academy Director and Deputy Director will facilitate regular interactive communication and collaboration among all NF Research Academy members.
  • Develop evaluation plans to assess the research progress of the Scholars and the NF Academy towards stated goals.
  • Academy Director and Deputy Director will maintain an NF Consumer Consultant Panel to inform the academy on the needs of the NF patient community.
  • Clinical trials not allowed.
  • The NFRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $2.4 million for total costs*
Neurofibromatosis Research Academy – Scholar Award Scholar: Early-career investigators within 10 years of their last terminal degree or clinical fellowship, or equivalent, at the full application submission deadline.

Career Guide: Independent and established NF investigators at or above the level of Associate Professor or equivalent.
  • Supports NF research through the addition of early-career investigators, called scholars, to a unique, interactive, virtual academy that provides intensive mentoring, national networking and a peer group for junior faculty, including:
    • Early-career scientists and physician scientists with innovative, high-impact ideas or new technologies that will advance the field.
    • Early-career scientists and physician scientists currently working in other biomedical research areas and will shift their scientific focus to NF research.
    • Early-career scientists and physician scientists with limited ability to conduct NF research due to lack of resources or other overwhelming obstacles.
  • Applications must include a letter attesting to the scholar's eligibility.
  • Applications must identify a career guide, who is an independent, established NF investigator with a record of NF publications in peer-reviewed journals and will serve as the scholar's designated mentor. The career guide need not work or practice at the same institution as the scholar.
  • Applications must include preliminary and/or published data.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • The NFRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $1.2M for total costs*
Synergistic Idea Award Investigators 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 approaches provided there is potential for significant impact.
  • Applications must identify the synergistic components, for example, leveraging disciplines, expertise, or critical resources, that will significantly advance the project and enable rapid and efficient realization of research outcomes impossible to accomplish through the independent efforts of a single investigator.
  • Applications must include preliminary and/or published data.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • The NFRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $3.2M for total costs*
*Total costs include direct and indirect costs.

Before full application submission, the CDMRP requires submission of a pre-application through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal, eBRAP, prior to the pre-application deadline. All applications must conform to the final funding opportunity announcements available for downloading from Grants.gov. To obtain a listing of all CDMRP funding opportunities on the Grants.gov website, perform a basic search using CFDA number 12.420.

To receive email notifications upon release of funding opportunity announcements, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under "Email Subscriptions" on the eBRAP homepage. For more information about the NFRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website.

Point of Contact:
CDMRP Public Affairs
301-619-7071
dha.detrick.cdmrp.mbx.public-affairs@health.mil


Last updated Wednesday, April 22, 2026