Defense Health Program Department of Defense Autism Research Program Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21)

How to Apply: 

The FY21 Defense Appropriations Act is anticipated to provide funding to the Department of Defense ARP to support research of exceptional scientific merit and innovation with high impact that focuses on autism spectrum disorders (ASD).  As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency J9, Research and Development Directorate, manages the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation.  The managing agent for the anticipated Program Announcements/Funding Opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

 

FY21 ARP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.    

 

https://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/arp

 

Clinical Trial Award – Preproposal due May 3, 2021

Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or

Nested Early-Career Investigator Partnering Principal Investigator (PI) Option: Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) may collaborate on a single application with a young investigator (at the level of postdoctoral fellow up to early-career independent faculty) that meets the following criteria at the application submission deadline date:

  • Must be in a current postdoctoral training position or have completed postdoctoral training by the application deadline
  • Is no more than 7 years from the receipt of a terminal degree
    • Has the freedom to commit at least 50% time to the project
    • Supports research with the potential to have a major impact on the treatment and/or management of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
    • Preliminary data relevant to the proposed clinical trial are required.
    • Early-Career Investigator Partnering PI Option supports the development of young investigators pursuing or wishing to pursue a career in ASD clinical trial research.
    • Pre-application is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $1,800,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 4 years.

Early-Career Investigator Partnering PI Option:

  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $2,100,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 4 years.

 

Clinical Translational Research Award – Preproposal due May 3, 2021

Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)

  • Supports early-phase, proof-of-principle translational studies with the potential to have a major impact on the treatment and/or management of ASD.
  • Preliminary data relevant to the proposed project are required.
  • Pre-application is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $600,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is 3 years.

 

Idea Development Award – Preproposal due May 3, 2021

Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)

  • Multiple PI Option:  
    Up to two investigators may collaborate on a single application, each of whom will be recognized as a PI and receive a separate award.
  • Supports the development of innovative, high-impact ideas that advance the understanding of ASD and ultimately lead to improved outcomes.
  • Preliminary data are required.
  • Multiple PI Option: Up to two investigators may collaborate on a single application, each of whom will be recognized as a PI and receive a separate award.
  • Pre-application is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $550,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • For multiple PIs, the combined funding for all PIs for the entire period of performance may not exceed $550,000 in direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The maximum period of performance is years.

 

Career Development Award – Preproposal due May 3, 2021

Independent investigators at or below the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or

Established independent investigators in an area other than ASD at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) and seeking to transition to a career in ASD, thereby bringing their expertise to the field

Investigators must not have received a Career Development Award (or equivalent) previously from any program within the CDMRP.

Investigators must not have received more than $300,000 in total direct costs for previous or concurrent ASD research as a Principal Investigator of one or more federally or privately funded, non-mentored, peer-reviewed grants.

  • Supports early-career, independent investigators and/or the transition of established investigators from other research fields to conduct:

○         Innovative, high-impact ideas or

○         Early-phase, proof-of-principle clinical trials with the potential to have a major impact on ASD.

  • Preliminary data relevant to the proposed project are required.
  • Pre-application is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $500,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • The 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 Program Announcements and General Application Instructions available for electronic 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.

 

For email notification when Program 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 ARP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

 

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Help Desk 
301-682-5507 
help@eBrap.org

 

External Deadline: 
Monday, May 3, 2021
Funding Source: 
External
Funding Level: 
Research