The FY20 Defense Appropriations Bill has not been signed into law. Although FY20 funds have not been appropriated for the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program (PRARP), the PRARP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY20 funding opportunities. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the Government.
The FY20 Defense Appropriations Act is providing funding to the Department of Defense PRARP to support research which addresses the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as they pertain to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) for Service members, Veterans, and the general public. 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).
FY20 PRARP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.
Applications submitted to the FY20 PRARP Program Announcements must address at least one of the following FY20 Overarching Challenges. The FY20 Overarching Challenges will be award mechanism-specific:
PRARP FY20 Overarching Challenges |
Basic Research: Fundamental research to examine the interrelationship between TBI and subsequent AD/ADRD for the military, Veteran, and civilian communities and to translate these findings |
Paucity of Clinical Studies: The paucity of clinical studies to examine the interrelationship between TBI and subsequent AD/ADRD for the military, Veteran, and civilian communities |
Diagnostics and Prognostics: The need for technologies, tests, surveys, questionnaires, devices, biomarkers, or analyses to detect TBI and sequelae to include AD/ADRD utilizing new and/or pre-existing datasets |
Epidemiology: The paucity of epidemiological research to examine the interrelationship between TBI, risk and resiliency factors, and subsequent AD/ADRD for the military, Veteran, and civilian communities |
Quality of Life: The need for technologies, assessments, interventions, or devices to benefit individuals living with the common symptoms of TBI and/or AD/ADRD |
Family and Care Support: The need for technologies, assessments, interventions, or devices that enhance the lives of those providing care and families of individuals living with the common symptoms of TBI and/or AD/ADRD |
In addition to addressing one or more of the specified FY20 Overarching Challenges, applications should also address at least one of the following FY20 Focus Areas in support of the FY20 Overarching Challenges. An application that proposes research outside of the FY20 Focus Areas is acceptable, as long as the applicant provides a strong rationale. The Focus Areas will be award mechanism-specific.
The PRARP FY20 Focus Areas are listed below.
PRARP FY20 Focus Areas |
Mechanisms of Pathogenesis: Identification of contributing mechanisms, including circuit dysfunction, associated with TBI and subsequent AD/ADRD |
Biomarkers: Development of methods to diagnose, prognose, or characterize neurological changes or risk/resiliency factors associated with TBI and subsequent AD/ADRD |
Quality of Life: Research intended to alleviate, stabilize, or characterize the symptoms, or deficits, common to TBI and AD/ADRD |
Family and Caregiver Support: Research intended to reduce the burden of care on the caregivers or families of individuals living with the common symptoms or deficits of TBI and AD/ADRD |
Epidemiology: Utilize new and existing studies and datasets to examine the relationships between risk and resiliency factors for TBI and subsequent AD/ADRD |
Novel Target Identification: Basic research (non-human) directly leading to identification of new targets for the development of existing or new investigational medicines, drugs, or agents for TBI and subsequent AD/ADRD |
Nonpharmacological Interventions and Devices: Research into non-pharmaceutical-based interventions and devices to improve quality of life or caregiving for those living with the common symptoms of TBI and AD/ADRD |
Bioinformatics: Tools, including machine learning, to access, annotate, curate, store, and visualize large existing or novel datasets, e.g., multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), other imaging techniques, surveys, questionnaires, and diagnostics for TBI and subsequent AD/ADRD |
The following is a summary of the FY20 PRARP Program Announcements. Five award mechanisms will be offered for FY20.
https://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/prarp
Convergence Science Research Award (CSRA) – Letter of Intent due June 22, 2020
Level I: Investigators at the postdoctoral level (e.g., research associates, fellows, medical residents, or equivalent) but below the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) at the time of the application submission deadline.
Mentor Required.
Level II: The Principal Investigator (PI) must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
Intent: To support innovative or novel efforts to generate research resources, tools, and new avenues of investigation for researchers and/or practitioners in health sciences.
- Funding Level I Applicant can be from any field or discipline and must write the project narrative and other application components, with appropriate guidance from the Mentor(s). The Mentor(s) must possess qualifications, background, and experience in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or Alzheimer’s disease (AD)/AD-related dementia (ADRD) research.
- Level II is intended to support PIs from any field or discipline at or above the level of assistant professor (or equivalent) from any field of discipline.
Applications must address one or more of the following FY20 PRARP Overarching Challenges:
- Foundational Research
- Paucity of Clinical Studies
- Diagnostics and Prognostics
Applications should address at least one of the following FY20 PRARP Focus Areas:
- Mechanisms of Pathogenesis
- Biomarkers
- Epidemiology
- Novel Target Identification
Pharmacologic interventions is specifically discouraged.
While not required, applications together Funding Level 1 or II are encouraged to provide relevant preliminary data.
Level I:
- Maximum funding of $225,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
- Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Level II:
- Maximum funding of $500,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
- Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
For Both Levels: Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution's rate agreement.
Innovation in Care and Support Award (InCASA) – Letter of Intent due June 22, 200
Level I: Investigators at the postdoctoral level (e.g., research associates, fellows, medical residents, or equivalent) but below the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) at the time of the application deadline.
Mentor Required.
Level II: The PI must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
Intent: To support innovative and impactful research that improves the quality of life and care for individuals, families, and care providers living with the common symptoms of TBI and/or AD/ADRD.
- Level I: Applicant can be from any field or discipline and must write the project narrative and other application components, with appropriate guidance from the Mentor(s). The Mentor(s) must possess qualifications, background, and experience in TBI and/or AD/ADRD research.
- Level II is intended to support PIs from any field or discipline at or above the level of assistant professor (or equivalent) from any field or discipline.
Applications must address one or more of the following FY20 PRARP Overarching Challenges:
- Paucity of Clinical Studies
- Quality of Life
- Family and Care Support
Applications should address at least one of the following FY20 PRARP Focus Areas:
- Biomarkers
- Quality of Life
- Family and Caregiver Support
- Nonpharmacological Interventions and Devices
- Bioinformatics
Applications are limited to the choice of one dementia category for the overall application:
- Cognitive Symptomatology
- Behavioral/Mood Symptomatology (e.g., Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Disinhibition, Aggression, and Poor Judgement)
- Social Isolation
- Autonomy and Activities of Daily Living
- Sleep Challenges and Disorders
Pharmacological interventions are specifically discouraged.
Animal research is prohibited.
While not required, applications to either Funding Level I or II are encouraged to provide relevant preliminary data.
Level I:
- Maximum funding of $225,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
- Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
Level II:
- Maximum funding of $500,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
- Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
For Both Levels: Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution's rate agreement.
Research Partnership Award (RPA) – Letter of Intent due June 22, 2020
The initiating PI must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
Each named Coo-PI must be at or above the level of assistant professor (or equivalent)
Intent: To create an avenue for collaborative research partnerships between/among investigators to address a research problem or question in a manner that would be unachievable through separate efforts.
Applications must include clearly stated plans for interactions between/among the partners. The plans must include communication, decision-making, allocation of resources, coordination of research progress and results, and sharing data among all investigators and organizations participating in the project.
Applications must address one of the following FY20 PRARP Overarching Challenges:
- Foundational Research
- Paucity of Clinical Studies
- Diagnostics and Prognostics
- Epidemiology
- Quality of Life
- Family and Care Support
Applications should address at least one of the following FY20 PRARP Focus Areas:
- Mechanisms of Pathogenesis
- Biomarkers
- Quality of Life
- Family and Caregiver Support
- Epidemiology
- Novel Target Identification
- Nonpharmacological Interventions and Devices
- Bioinformatics
Applications selecting either the “Quality of Life” or “Family and Care Support” Overarching Challenge are limited to the choice of one of the following symptomatology categories for the overall application:
- Cognitive Symptomatology
- Behavioral/Mood Symptomatology (e.g., Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Disinhibition, Aggression, and Poor Judgement)
- Social Isolation
- Autonomy and Activities of Daily Living
- Sleep Challenges and Disorders
Pharmacologic interventions are specifically discouraged.
Preliminary data to support the feasibility of the research hypothesis (or hypotheses) or objectives are required.
- Funding limit is $1.3 million (M) in total costs.
- Maximum period of performance is 3 years.
- Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement.
Accelerating Diagnostics for Traumatic Brain Injury Research Award (ADTBI) – Letter of Intent due June 22, 2020
The PI must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
Intent: Supports high-impact, human-based, development of robust diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for chronic TBI as they pertain to AD/ADRD.
Applications must address the “Diagnostics and Prognostics” Overarching Challenge and the “Biomarkers” Focus Area.
Applications are limited to the choice of one of the following biomarker categories for the overall application:
- Fluid-Based Biomarkers
- Imaging-Based Biomarkers
- Rentinal Biomarkers
- Wearable Devices
- Other
Pharmacological interventions are specifically discouraged.
Animal research is explicitly discouraged.
Preliminary data regarding the suitability of the biomarker(s) for further testing toward clinical application is required.
- Funding limit is $2.8M in total costs.
- Maximum period of performance is 4 years.
- Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement.
Leveraging Approaches for Innovation in Care and Support Award (LEAP-InCASA) – Letter of Intent due June 22, 2020
The Coordinating Center PI must each be at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).
Each named Partnering Site PI must be at or above the level of an assistant professor (or equivalent)
Intent: To support multi-institutional, harmonized, innovative and impactful research initiatives that improve the quality of life and care for individuals, families, and care providers living with the common symptoms of TBI and/or AD/ADRD.
Applications must address one of the following FY20 PRARP Overarching Challenges:
- Quality of Life
- Family and Care Support
Applications should address at least one of the following FY20 PRARP Focus Areas:
- Biomarkers
- Quality of Life
- Family and Caregiver Support
- Nonpharmacological Interventions and Devices
- Bioinformatics
Applications are limited to the choice of one of the following symptomatology categories for the overall application:
- Cognitive Symptomatology
- Behavioral/Mood Symptomatology (e.g., Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Disinhibition, Aggression, and Poor Judgement)
- Social Isolation
- Autonomy and Activities of Daily Living
- Sleep Challenges and Disorders
Requires a Coordinating Center and at least two Partnering sites.
The coordinating center provides overall leadership and infrastructure for all research initiatives.
Each Partnering Site should develop its own unique research initiative as relevant to the overall application design.
The coordinating center participates as a separate study arm for each partnering site’s study.
Coordinating and Partnering sites work together to harmonize research protocols.
Coordinating and Partnering sites work together to harmonize research protocols, participant accrual strategies, and analyze data.
Plans for interaction between/among the partners should be well detailed and must include communication, decision-making, allocation of resources, and coordination of research progress and results among the Partnering Sites.
Each Partnering Site should detail a research initiative that is unique from the other Partnering Sites.
Partnering sites must be different from the coordinating site.
The Coordinating Center applicant organization will submit and the individual named as the PI in the application will be designated as the PI; the other partner(s) will be designated as the Co=Pi(s).
The Coordinating Center must be from a different institution than the Partnering Sites.
- Funding limit is $2.8M in total costs.
- Maximum period of performance is 4 years.
- Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement.
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 PRARP 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
