Department of Defense Multiple Sclerosis Research Program Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) - June 30 deadlines

How to Apply: 

The FY21 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Multiple Sclerosis Research Program (MSRP) to support innovative and impactful research that addresses fundamental issues and gaps in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). 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).

 

The FY21 MSRP program announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.    

 

Applications submitted to the FY21 MSRP must address at least one of the Focus Areas relevant to the award mechanism as described in the table below.

 

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

 

Clinical Trial Award – Preproposal due June 30, 2021

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

  • Pre-application submission required; application submission by invitation only
  • Funding Level 1: Supports small scale, early-phase, proof-of-principle clinical trials to demonstrate feasibility or inform the design of more advanced trials, or other clinical trials that are appropriate for this funding level
  • Funding Level 2: Supports larger-scale clinical trials at phase 1 or 2 to determine safety or efficacy (benefit clinical or paraclinical outcomes) in relevant patient populations
  • Funding must support a clinical trial and may not be used for preclinical studies
  • Scientific rationale and preliminary data are required
  • Must address at least one of the following Focus Areas:
    • Promoting repair, neuroprotection, and remyelination in MS

Treatment of MS symptoms

The FY21 CTA offers two funding levels:

Funding Level 1

  • Maximum funding of $1,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years

Funding Level 2

  • Maximum funding of $3,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

Maximum period of performance is 4 years

 

Exploration -Hypothesis Development Award – Preproposal due June 30, 2021

Established Investigators: Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or Established Investigators: Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)

Or New Investigators:

Independent investigators no more than 5 years from the start of their faculty position (excluding time spent in residency or on family medical leave).

Must not have received more than $300,000 in total direct costs for previous or concurrent MS research as a PI of one or more non-mentored, peer-reviewed grant(s).

  • Pre-application submission required; application submission by invitation only
  • Supports the initial exploration of innovative, high-risk, high-gain, and potentially groundbreaking concepts in the MS research field
  • Preliminary data not required
  • Clinical trials not allowed
  • New Investigator Option supports applicants early in their faculty appointments
  • Must address at least one of the following Focus Areas:
    • Central nervous system regenerative potential in demyelinating conditions
    • Correlates of disease activity and progression in MS
    • Biology and measurement of MS symptoms
    • Factors contributing to MS etiology, prodrome, onset, and disease course

Interactions between MS and COVID-19

  • Maximum funding of $150,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance is 2 years

 

Investigator-Initiated Research Award – Preproposal due Jun 30, 2021

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

  • Pre-application submission required; application submission by invitation only
  • Supports highly rigorous, high-impact research with the potential to make an important contribution to MS research and/or patient care
  • Preliminary data required
  • Clinical trials not allowed
  • Must address at least one of the following Focus Areas:
    • Central nervous system regenerative potential in demyelinating conditions
    • Correlates of disease activity and progression in MS
    • Biology and measurement of MS symptoms
    • Factors contributing to MS etiology, prodrome, onset, and disease course

Interactions between MS and COVID-19

  • Maximum funding of $600,000 for direct costs (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 program announcements and General Application Instructions that will be 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. 

 

Submission deadlines are not available until the program announcements are released.  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 MSRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

 

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Help Desk
301-6182-5507
help@eBrap.org

External Deadline: 
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Funding Source: 
External
Funding Level: 
Research