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DEPARTMENT OF WAR - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS
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  5. 2026 Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program

Peer Reviewed Medical

NEWS RELEASE

Released: March 5, 2026

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

The FY26 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for the PRMRP to support innovative, high-impact research of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health. As part of the DHA R&D-MRDC, the CDMRP is the program office managing these anticipated FY26 funding opportunities.

The PRMRP 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 PRMRP 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 PRMRP must address one or more of the following congressionally mandated topic areas:

  • Accelerated Aging Processes Associated with Military Service
  • Angelman Syndrome
  • Burn Pit Exposure
  • Brain Injury Impact on Cardiac Health
  • Celiac Disease
  • Congenital Cytomegalovirus
  • Dystonia
  • Eating Disorders
  • Eczema
  • Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
  • Endometriosis
  • Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
  • Fibrous Dysplasia/ McCune-Albright Syndrome
  • Food Allergies
  • Fragile X
  • Frontotemporal Degeneration
  • Gambling Addiction
  • Hepatitis B
  • Hereditary and Acquired Ataxia
  • Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia
  • Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome
  • Hydrocephalus
  • Hypertrophic Dyschromia
  • Hypoxia
  • Infertility Associated with Military Aviators and Aviation Support Personnel
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Interstitial Cystitis
  • Intranasal Ketamine Anesthetics
  • Maternal Mental Health
  • Mitochondrial Disease
  • Musculoskeletal Health
  • Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Myotonic Dystrophy
  • Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes
  • Pancreatitis
  • Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus
  • Peripheral Neuropathy
  • Polycystic Kidney Disease
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Prader-Willi Syndrome
  • Proteomics
  • Pulmonary Fibrosis
  • Respiratory Health
  • Rett Syndrome
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Scleroderma
  • Sickle-Cell Disease
  • Sleep Disorders and Restriction
  • Spinal Muscular Atrophy
  • Suicide Prevention
  • Tuberculosis
  • von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome

Award Mechanism Eligibility Key Mechanism Elements Funding
Clinical Trial Award Independent investigators at all career levels.
  • Supports the rapid implementation of clinical trials of novel interventions with the potential to significantly impact patient care in the topic area of interest.
  • Proposed projects may range from small proof-of-concept trials through large-scale, definitive trials.
  • Applications cannot support preclinical research.
  • The PRMRP requires submission of a preproposal; application submission by invitation only.
  • Planning Phase with Clinical Trial Option: Planning phase provides support to prepare and submit an Investigational New Drug or Investigational Device Exemption application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Requires FDA or other regulatory approval or exemption to proceed before commencing clinical trial option. Applications for any funding level may include this option.
  • Three funding levels offered with or without Planning Phase; each funding level describes a define clinical trial scope:
    • Funding Level 1 Clinical Trial Option: Provides support for a phase 0 or phase 1 clinical trial or non-phased trial with fewer than 100 subjects. Applications must include documentation demonstrating FDA approval for any required IND or IDE, if applicable.
    • Funding Level 2 Clinical Trial Option: Provides support for a phase 2 clinical trial or non-phased trial with fewer than 300 subjects. Applications must include documentation demonstrating FDA approval for any required IND or IDE, if applicable.
    • Funding Level 3 Clinical Trial Option: Provides support for a phase 3 clinical trial or non-phased trials with greater than 300 subjects. Applications must include documentation demonstrating FDA approval for any required IND or IDE, if applicable.
 Planning Phase with Clinical Trial Option, all funding levels:
  • Maximum period of performance is 18 months
  • Maximum allowable funding is $800,000 for total costs* for Planning Phase
Funding Level 1 Clinical Trial Only Option:
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $6 million for total costs*
Funding Level 2 Clinical Trial Only Option:
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $10M for total costs*
Funding Level 3 Clinical Trial Only Option:
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
  • Maximum allowable funding is $20M for total costs*
Discovery Award Investigators at all career levels.
  • Supports the exploration of a highly innovative new concept or untested theory.
  • Applications cannot support the logical progression of an already established line of questioning.
  • Applications must not include preliminary data.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • The PRMRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum allowable funding is $385,000 for total costs*
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years
Impact Award Independent investigators at all career levels.
  • Supports hypothesis-driven, high-impact research supported by preliminary data.
  • Applications should demonstrate the potential to make a near-term, major impact on one of the FY26 PRMRP Topic Areas.
  • Partnering Principal Investigator Option: Supports meaningful and productive partnerships between two investigators, termed the initiating PI and partnering PI, collaborating on a single application. At least one PI must be either:
    • A clinician researcher.
    • An employee of private industry.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • The PRMRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
 Single PI Option:
  • Maximum allowable funding is $2.8M for total costs*
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
Partnering PI Option:
  • Maximum allowable funding is $3.6M for total costs*
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
Lifestyle and Applied Health Research Award Independent investigators at all career levels.
  • Supports innovative research and high-reward studies that span the spectrum of applied health sciences, including quality of life, symptom management, resilience, neurocognitive deficits and psychological issues.
  • Proposed projects may target the development of evidence-based practices, applied health science interventions, and surveillance, and the identification of psychosocial patient outcomes.
  • Applications cannot support animal studies.
  • The PRMRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum allowable funding is $4.2M for total costs*
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
Platform Clinical Translation Award

New for FY26 		Independent investigators at all career levels.
  • Supports research addressing a unifying focal point, which includes development of a diagnostic or treatment platform product to potentially transform and impact a minimum of two FY26 PRMRP Topic Areas.
  • Partnering Principal Investigator Option: Supports meaningful and productive partnerships between investigators, termed the initiating PI and partnering PI(s), collaborating on a single application. Applications allow up to two partnering PIs.
  • Applications allow, but do not require, correlative clinical studies.
  • Applications allow, but do not require, phase 0 or phase 1 clinical trials.
  • The PRMRP requires submission of a preproposal; application submission by invitation only.
  • Maximum allowable funding is $15M for total costs*
    • Only $8M guaranteed with FY26 funds; additional costs supported as optional research efforts.
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
Research Advancement Award

previously Investigator-Initiated Research Award 		Independent investigators at all career levels.
  • Supports research that will make an original and important contribution to the field of research or patient care in one of the FY26 PRMRP Topic Areas.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • The PRMRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum allowable funding is $1.4M for total costs*
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
Technology/Therapeutic Development Award

previously Investigator-Initiated Research Award 		Independent investigators at all career levels.
  • Supports the translation of promising preclinical findings into clinical applications for prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment or quality of life.
  • Applications must describe product-oriented research. The proposed product(s) may be a tangible item such as a pharmacologic agent, i.e., drugs or biologics; a device; or a knowledge-based product, such as clinical guidelines.
  • Applications cannot support clinical trials.
  • The PRMRP requires submission of a letter of intent prior to full application submission.
  • Maximum allowable funding is $5.6M for total costs*
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years
*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 PRMRP 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 Thursday, March 5, 2026