The FY21 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Rare Cancers Research Program (RCRP) to support research of exceptional scientific merit in the area of rare cancers research.  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 RCRP program announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.    

Vision Statement

To greatly improve outcomes for people with rare cancer through discovery and community building, and expansion of knowledge across the cancer landscape

Mission Statement

Elevate rare cancers research to enable clinically impactful discoveries for the benefit of Service Members, their families, Veterans, and the American public

Concept Award and Idea Development Award applications submitted to the FY21 RCRP must address one or more of the following Focus Areas:

• Biology and Etiology: Identify disease-defining molecular pathways, cell context, and microenvironment.

• Research Model: Develop and validate rare tumor-specific models that can support clinical trial readiness.

• Therapy: Identify novel therapeutic strategies, including drug repurposing.

Resource and Community Development Award applications submitted to the FY21 RCRP must address the Focus Areas below:

• Platform Development: Development of platforms (such as tumor tissue repository with clinical annotation, centralized databanks, patient registry with common data structure, research model and Omics database, longitudinal studies of natural history, and treatment response) for multiple rare cancers, to allow sharing of data, bio-specimens, and resources.

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

Concept Award – Letter of Intent due July 11, 2021

Investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow.

• Supports innovative, high-risk/high-reward research that is in the earliest stages of idea development or an untested theory that addresses an important problem related to rare cancers.  Proof-of-concept is the anticipated outcome.
• Reviewers will be blinded to the identity of the Principal Investigator, collaborators, and their organization(s).
• Submission must address at least one of the FY21 Focus Areas of Biology and Etiology, Research Model, and/or Therapy.
• Preliminary data are not required.
• Clinical trials are not allowed.
• Maximum funding of $100,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs) 
• Maximum period of performance is 1 year

Idea Development Award – Preapplication is due July 13, 2021

Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor.

• Preproposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
• Supports innovative, high-risk/high-reward research with the potential to yield impactful data in the rare cancer field.
• Preliminary data with disease-specific rationale (including correlatives in existing trials) to support the feasibility of the research hypotheses and research approaches are required. 
• Submission must address at least one of the FY21 Focus Areas of Biology and Etiology, Research Model, and/or Therapy.
• Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • Maximum funding of $350,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)  
  • Maximum period of performance is 3 years

Resource and Community Development Award – Preapplication due July 13, 2021

Investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor.

• Preproposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
• Emphasis on research resources development to facilitate collaboration and information sharing among stakeholders such as researchers, patients, family members, caregivers, clinicians, and other members of the rare cancers community. 
• Supports platform development or infrastructure that can be applied to multiple rare cancers.
• Preliminary data are not required but may be included (translational research and clinical studies may be included).
• Submission must address the Platform Development Focus Area.
• Clinical trials are not allowed.
  • 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 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 RCRP 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

he FY21 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Hearing Restoration Research Program (HRRP) to support promising, necessary research for the treatment of auditory system injury.  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 HRRP program announcement and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanism is posted on the Grants.gov website.   

Applications submitted to the FY21 HRRP must address one or more of the following Focus Areas:

• Accelerate translation of biological regeneration/repair mechanisms into therapies that treat auditory system injury and restore auditory function.  For example, but not limited to:
  • Hair cell regeneration/repair/recovery
  • Neural regeneration/repair/recovery
  • Treatment for synaptopathy and hidden hearing loss
• Diagnostic tests that help differentiate sensory, neural, synaptic, and central processing disorders, that may inform applicability and outcomes for current or future hearing restoration therapeutics.
• Develop reliable in-vitro human models to facilitate the understanding, derivation and characterization of human auditory cells, and/or to facilitate the evaluation of hearing restoration therapies.
• Develop and/or validate techniques/methods beyond the audiogram to diagnose acute auditory system injury in austere or remote environments.  For example, but not limited to, simple and rapid assessments that are compatible with portable platforms.

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

Focused Research Award – Preproposal due July 28, 2021

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)

Pre-application is required; application submission is by invitation only.

 Supports promising research that will accelerate drug discovery and therapeutic development for hearing restoration after military-relevant auditory system injury or accelerate advances in the assessment, diagnostics, and treatment of auditory dysfunction.

 Must address one or more of the FY21 HRRP Focus Areas.

 Funding Level 1 supports exploratory, high-risk/high-reward research that is in the earliest stages of idea development.

 Funding Level 2 supports the advancement of more mature research toward clinical translation.

 Funding Level 2 may include a pilot clinical trial component where limited clinical testing of a novel intervention is conducted to inform the feasibility, rationale, and design of subsequent clinical trials.

 It is the responsibility of the applicant to select the funding level that is most appropriate for the research proposed. The funding level should be selected based on the stage and maturity of the research, rather than the amount of the budget.

 Tinnitus or vestibular-related research is exlcuded

Funding Level 1:

 Maximum funding of $250,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).

 Maximum period of performance is 2 years.

Funding Level 2:

 Maximum funding of $1,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).

 Maximum period of performance is 3 years.

Funding Level 2 with Pilot Clinical Trial Option:

 Maximum funding of $1,250,000 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 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 HRRP 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

The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health (IIPH), and partners have committed approximately $5M over one year to jointly fund up to 25 Proof-of-Concept Grants focused on interventions in Primary Cancer Prevention. 

The intent of this Phase 1: CCS/CIHR Action Grants program is to motivate Canadians to take “action” to avoid known modifiable risk factors for cancer and to encourage the research and end-user communities to take “action” towards harnessing new ideas, platforms and technologies from within and outside the cancer field to test out bold, novel interventions with the potential to prevent cancer. 

The goal is to stimulate the necessary multidisciplinary and multi-sector collaborations needed to test the feasibility of small-scale interventions, applying creative concepts with scalable and/or modifiable potential. The focus is strictly on interventions in primary cancer prevention, i.e. stopping cancer before it starts. Proposals related to secondary/tertiary prevention will not be considered. 

Important dates:

• Registration due date: June 23, 2021
• Full application due date: September 10, 2021
• Anticipated funding start date: January 15, 2022

More information on this funding opportunity can be found here.

The FY21 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Vision Research Program (VRP) to support impactful military-relevant vision research. 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 VRP program announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms is posted on the Grants.gov website.    

Applications submitted to the FY21 VRP must address one or more of the following Focus Areas:

• Eye injury or visual dysfunction as related to a military-relevant traumatic event. Examples of military-relevant trauma may include, but are not limited to:

o   Blast, penetrating, blunt, thermal, or chemical trauma

o   Trauma caused by directed energy weapons such as laser, high-power microwaves, and particle beams

• Diagnosis, stabilization, and treatment of eye injuries in austere environments and prolonged field care settings
• Restoration of visual function after trauma-related vision loss or severe visual impairment

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

Clinical Trial Award (CTA) – Preproposal due July 21, 2021

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)

• Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.
• Supports the rapid implementation of early-phase clinical trials (i.e., phase 0 through phase 2a) of new interventions to service-related eye injury and visual dysfunction.
• Research must address one or more of the FY21 VRP Focus Areas.
• If the intervention requires Investigational New Drug (IND) or Investigational Device Exemption (IDE):
• Documentation of IND/IDE application submission is required at the time of full application submission.
• Documentation of IND/IDE approval is required by March 1, 2022 in order for the FY21 VRP CTA application to be considered for funding.
• Must demonstrate access to the proposed intervention(s).
• Must demonstrate access to the targeted subject population(s).
• Preliminary data are required
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $1,600,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• The maximum period of performance is 3 years.

Focused Translational Team Science Award (FTTSA) – Preproposal due July 21, 2021

The overall lead Principal Investigator (PI) must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Associate Professor (or equivalent) with demonstrated success in leading large collaborative research project(s).

• The overall lead PI must devote a minimum of 20%effort.
• Leaders of individual projects may be independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent).
• Each project leader, including the overall lead PI, may lead no more than one project.
• Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.
• Supports a team initiative that leverages the strengths of investigators specializing in different fields to address an overarching scientific challenge or question and fundamentally advance the understanding and treatment of military-relevant vision trauma.
• Research must address one or more of the FY21 VRP Focus Areas.
• Overarching Challenge
• Investigators are encouraged to:
• Consider barrier(s) to and/or gap(s) in the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, and/or treatment of eye injury or visual dysfunction associated with a military-relevant trauma and envision what may be achievable in 10 to 15 years.
• Identify, based on the long-term vision, what should and can be achieved in the near term.
• Design projects and research teams around these considerations.
• Research Projects
• The team science proposal shall include at least three (3) but no more than five (5) distinct research projects that together form a concerted and synergistic effort that advances a solution beyond what would be possible through individual efforts.
• Preliminary data to support the feasibility of each project are required.
• May include, as a portion of the proposed research, a pilot clinical trial component that collects preliminary data to inform the feasibility, rationale, and design of subsequent clinical trials.
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is
• $4,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• The maximum period of performance is 4 years.

Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) – Preproposal due July 21, 2021

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)

• Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only.
• Supports studies that will yield highly impactful discoveries or major advancements in research and/or patient care.
• Research must address one or more of the FY21 VRP Focus Areas.
• Funding Level 1 supports exploratory, high-
• risk/high-reward research in the earliest stages of development.
• Research must have the potential to yield new avenues of investigation, such as new approaches, new research tools, or new paradigms.
• While preliminary data are not required, applicants must provide solid rationale of the research idea.
• The investigating team must have sufficient expertise to test the idea.
• Funding Level 2 supports the advancement of more mature research that has the potential to make significant advancements toward clinical translation.
• Preliminary data supporting the readiness and feasibility of the proposed research are required.
• PI is responsible for selecting the funding level that is most appropriate for the research proposed. The funding level should be selected based on the stage of the research project, rather than the amount of the budget.
• Clinical trials are not allowed.
• Funding Level 1:
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is
• $260,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• The maximum period of performance is 2 years.
• Funding Level 2:
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is
• $750,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
• The maximum period of performance is 3 years.

Translational Research Award (TRA) – Preproposal due July 21, 2021

Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)

• Preproposal is required; application submission is by invitation only
• Supports translational research that moves promising laboratory research into clinical applications.
• Research must address one or more of the FY21 VRP Focus Areas.
• It is expected that an IND or IDE application will be submitted during or by the end of the period of performance.
• Preliminary data are required.
• May include, as a portion of the proposed research, a pilot clinical trial component that collects preliminary data to inform the feasibility, rationale, and design of subsequent clinical trials.
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is
• $1,000,000 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 that are 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 VRP 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

For your consideration: The 2021 competition of the Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research is now open (details below).

The Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research | The Royal

This annual national Prize provides funding to exceptional researchers who are affiliated with a Canadian academic or clinical research institution in the field of mental health and who are 45 years of age or younger, to encourage them to continue to pursue their research interests in Canada. It recognizes those with a demonstrated track record in research with excellence in scientific rigor, innovative thinking, imagination and originality and a clear ability to work in partnership with other disciplines and/or research teams external to the institution with which they are affiliated.

For full eligibility requirements and additional application details please refer to the Prize Guidelines.

Guidelines

Application form

The 2021 deadline date for applications is July 15, 2021.

If you are interested in being nominated for this award, please contact Dr. Batia Stolar, Associate Vice-President, Research & Graduate Studies, at avp.research@lakeheadu.ca

The FY21 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Scleroderma Research Program (SRP) to support innovative, high-impact scleroderma research. 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 SRP program announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.    

Applications submitted to the FY21 SRP Idea Development Award must address one or more of the following Focus Areas:

• Define biomarkers (‘omics and/or molecular markers, cell subsets, imaging, patient-reported outcomes) that help inform therapeutic choices (immunosuppressive/anti-fibrotic) or predict course (morbidity) and quality of life.
• Utilize systems biology, multi-omics and preclinical screening approaches (including but not limited to high-throughput screens, the development of animal models, three-dimensional [3D] tissue culture and/or organoids) with the intent to develop drug testing models in order to understand the heterogeneity of disease as well as to develop prevention and therapeutic interventions.
• Studies of diverse populations to include the development of cohorts and identification of potential measures of patient outcomes.

○       Understand the unique burden of disease in diverse populations.

• Define functional role of epigenetic changes, multiple cell types, and molecules that mediate pathogenesis and/or initiate or propagate organ-specific disease activity using preclinical models and clinical samples.
• Develop and validate short- and long-term organ-specific and composite clinical outcomes measures to determine treatment efficacy.

○       Develop better quantifiable and reproducible measures to assess clinical manifestations including skin, heart, Raynaud phenomenon, calcinosis cutis, or gastrointestinal tract morbidity in scleroderma.

○       Validate patient-reported outcome measurements to aid in the approval of drug and therapies.

○       Develop and validate intermediate biological/surrogate endpoints to support larger clinical proof-of-concept/proof-of-mechanism trials.

Applications submitted to the FY21 SRP Translational Partnership Research Award must address one or more of the following Focus Areas:

• Define biomarkers (‘omics and/or molecular markers, cell subsets, imaging, patient-reported outcomes) that help inform therapeutic choices (immunosuppressive/anti-fibrotic) or predict course (morbidity) and quality of life.
• Utilize systems biology, multi-omics and preclinical screening approaches (including but not limited to high-throughput screens, the development of animal models, 3D tissue culture and/or organoids) with the intent to develop drug testing models in order to understand the heterogeneity of disease as well as to develop prevention and therapeutic interventions.
• Studies of diverse populations to include the development of cohorts and identification of potential measures of patient outcomes.

○       Understand the unique burden of disease in diverse populations.

• Define functional role of epigenetic changes, multiple cell types, and molecules that mediate pathogenesis and/or initiate or propagate organ-specific disease activity using preclinical models and clinical samples.
• Conduct population-based or cohort studies to understand the prevalence, heterogeneity, and course of this disease, its manifestations, and its impact on health outcomes and activities for daily living.

○       Understanding the unique burden of disease in disease in diverse populations.

○       Understand disease heterogeneity (course of disease, prevalence, and associated factors).

○       Utilize disease registries linked to biological samples and high-quality clinical data and patient-reported outcomes.

○       Conduct fine phenotyping of clinical subsets to address heterogeneity.

• Understand and improve the impact of disease and its treatment on the patient’s experience and quality of life.

○       Develop interventions to improve coping with disease.

○       Identify main concerns of patients to inform development and validation of patient-reported outcomes.

○       Identify interventions that improve quality of life.

○       Understand the link between molecule, laboratory, and clinical measures and the patient’s quality of life.

• Develop and validate short- and long-term organ-specific and composite clinical outcomes measures to determine treatment efficacy.

○       Develop better quantifiable and reproducible measures to assess clinical manifestations including skin, heart, Raynaud phenomenon, calcinosis cutis, or gastrointestinal tract morbidity in scleroderma.

○       Validate patient-reported outcome measurements to aid in the approval of drug and therapies.

○       Develop and validate intermediate biological/surrogate endpoints to support larger clinical proof-of-concept/proof-of-mechanism trials.

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

Idea Development Award – Letter of Intent due August 11, 2021

Translational Research Partnership Award – Letter of Intent due August 11, 2021

Clinicians must be an M.D., D.O. or equivalent with clinical duties and/or responsibilities.

• At least one member of the partnership must have experience in either scleroderma research or scleroderma patient care as demonstrated by active funding and/or recent publications.

• Supports partnerships between clinicians, research scientists and/or other disciplines that accelerate the movement of promising ideas in scleroderma research into clinical applications. At least one partner must be a clinician.

•        Preliminary data are required but need not be from the scleroderma research field.

•        Clinical trials are not allowed.

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 SRP 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

Public spaces are the glue to our communities: they enable a feeling of belonging, of social cohesion and encourage our sense of collective identity. COVID-19 has seriously constrained our access and use of these spaces in communities across Canada. Impacts of the virus have also been extraordinarily uneven, underscoring inequalities across communities and disproportionately impacting those who are already experiencing vulnerability as a result of systemic inequalities. 

In the face of these challenges, communities have been extraordinarily resourceful and resilient in improvising temporary and longer-lasting solutions to the challenges of COVID-19. Many are undertaking work for immediate needs but also thinking about how to build pandemic-resilient spaces for the future. We are seeing new digital solutions, that allow people and communities to feel connected, safe and healthy all while respecting public health measures and norms such as physical distancing and mask-wearing.

The Healthy Communities Initiative will provide funding to a broad range of organizations, including local governments, charities, Indigenous communities and nonprofits, for projects, programming and services that help communities :