The FY20 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Epilepsy Research Program (ERP) to understand the causative links between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and epilepsy so that post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) will be both preventable and treatable.  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 FY20 ERP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website. 

Applications submitted to the FY20 ERP should address one or more of the following Focus Areas.  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 mechanism-specific.

• Innovative Research:  Tools intended to better inform or improve upon how PTE research can be performed:
  • Hardware and/or software platforms that will improve seizure detection, characterization, or diagnosis
  • Bioinformatics strategies, to include machine learning, that will improve access, annotation, curation, and visualization of large and novel datasets from single or multiple sources
  • Development of new models or better characterization of existing etiologically relevant models for PTE
  • Improved characterization of the circuits involved in PTE
  • Validate targets of post-traumatic epileptogenesis or established PTE
• Markers and Mechanisms:  Identifying markers or mechanisms via preclinical models that address PTE, which may include the following:
  • Biomarkers
  • Treatment
  • Prevention
  • Diagnosis
  • Prognosis
  • Comorbidity
• Epidemiology:  Epidemiological characterization of PTE following TBI, which may include the following:
  • Risk factors such as demographics, genetics, anatomy, pathology, or type of injury
  • Outcomes including latency to epilepsy, comorbidities, and mortality
  • Pre-existing conditions including psychological and psychiatric risk factors
  • Treatment and healthcare outcomes research
  • Differentiation of PTE and psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES)
• Longitudinal Studies: Studies of the evolution of PTE, which may include the following:
  • Seizure frequency and semiology
  • Demographics, genetics, anatomy, pathology, or type of injury
  • Comorbidities (e.g., depression, functional deficits, sleep disorders, major illness)
  • Latency between type of injury and PTE
  • Mortality
  • Treatment and healthcare outcomes research
• Quality of Life: Studies focused on improving quality of life for individuals with PTE and their caregivers by addressing the following:
  • Psychosocial factors
  • Neuropsychological dysfunction (cognition and memory)
  • Behavioral health (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, impulsivity)
  • Wellness
  • Reducing stigma
  • Activities of daily living
  • Care gaps (adjunct programs, support groups, access to care)
  • Sleep disorders
  • Medication side effects
  •  

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

Idea Development Award – Letter of Intent due June 22, 2020

Level I:  Investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (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(s) required.

Level II:  The Principal Investigator (PI) must be an independent investigator at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)

Intent:  To solicit novel, innovative research to understand the magnitude and underlying mechanisms of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE).

• Applicant can be from any field of 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 PTE research.
• Level II is intended to support a more mature, hypothesis-driven research project. Applicants can be from any field or discipline.

Applicants should select one of the Focus Areas below:

• Innovative Research
• Markers and Mechanisms
• Epidemiology
• Longitudinal Studies

While not required, applications to either Funding Level I or II are encouraged to provide relevant preliminary data.

Clinical pharmacologic trials are specifically discouraged.

Level I:

• Maximum funding of $300,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement

Level II:

• Maximum funding of $500,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement

Quality of Life Award – Letter of Intent due June 22, 2020

Level I:  Investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (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 research that improves the quality of life and care for individuals living with the common symptoms of PTE.

• 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 PTE research.
• Level II is intended to support a more mature, hypothesis-driven research project.  Applicants can be from any field or discipline. 

The following Focus Area must be addressed as part of the application:

• Quality of Life

An application that proposes research outside of this Focus Area will be withdrawn.

While not required, applications to either Funding Level I or II are encouraged to provide relevant preliminary data.

Clinical pharmacologic trials are specifically discouraged.

Animal research is specifically discouraged.

Level I:

• Maximum funding of $300,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement

Level II:

• Maximum funding of $500,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement

Research Partnership Award – 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 Co-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. 

• Level I is intended to support preclinical or pre-validation research.
• Level II is intended to support research requiring access to a patient cohort for a prospective study.

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 of data among all investigators and organizations participating in the project.

Applicant should select one of the Focus Areas below:

• Markers and Mechanisms
• Epidemiology
• Longitudinal Studies

Preliminary data to support the feasibility of the research hypothesis (or hypotheses) or objectives are required.

Clinical pharmacologic trials are specifically discouraged

Level I:

• Maximum funding of $1,300,000 in total costs
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s rate agreement

Level II:

• Maximum funding of $3,100,000 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 ERP 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 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:

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.

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
  • Epidemiology

Applications should address at least one of the following FY20 PRARP Focus Areas:

• Mechanisms of Pathogenesis
• Biomarkers
• Epidemiology
• Novel Target Identification
  • Bioinformatics

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

The specific objective of this funding opportunity is:

• to facilitate multinational, collaborative research projects that will address important questions regarding ethical, philosophical, legal and socio-cultural aspects related to neuroscientific research and recent advances.

The FY20 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Program (KCRP) to support research of exceptional scientific merit in the area of kidney cancer.  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 FY20 KCRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website. 

Applications submitted to the FY20 KCRP Idea Development Award mechanism are encouraged to address one or more of the following Areas of Emphasis:

• Treatments/Survivorship
• Basic/Translational Science
• Diagnostics/Prognostics/Biomarkers/Surveillance
• Population-Based Studies

• Noninvasive Interventions
• Surgical Interventions
• Therapeutic Development
• Understanding and Managing Toxicity
• Survivorship and Patient Experience

• Genetics
• Chromatin and Gene Regulation
• Metabolism
• Microenvironment and Immunology
• Environmental Exposures (and/or Deployment-Related Exposures)
• New Disease Model Systems
• Rare Kidney Cancers
• Mechanism of Response and Resistance

• Prognosis
• Biomarker Development
• Novel Imaging Technologies
• Liquid Biopsy
• Microbiome
• Disease Disparities

• Screening and Early Detection
• Surveillance
• Outcome/Population-Based Studies
• Environmental Exposures (and/or Deployment-Related Exposures)
• Disease Disparities

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

Academy of Kidney Cancer Investigators – Early-Career Investigator Award – Letter of Intent due August 5, 2020

Must be within 3 years of their last postdoctoral research position (Ph.D.) or clinical fellowship (M.D.), or equivalent, as of the full application submission deadline

Letter attesting to eligibility required

• Supports addition of new Early-Career Investigators to the unique, interactive virtual academy that providing intensive mentoring, national networking, and a peer group for junior faculty.
• Early-Career Investigators whose ability to commit to conducting kidney cancer research is limited by lack of resources or other overwhelming obstacles are encouraged to apply.
• A Designated Mentor who is an experienced kidney cancer researcher with kidney cancer funding.
• The Designated Mentor not required to be at the same institution as the Early-Career Investigator.
• Preliminary data required.
• Clinical trials allowed.
  • Maximum funding of $725,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance 4 years.
  • Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s negotiated rate agreements.

Concept Award – Letter of Intent due July 15, 2020

All Investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (or equivalent) are eligible

• Supports highly innovative, untested, potentially groundbreaking concepts in kidney cancer
• Emphasis on innovation
• Clinical trials not allowed
• Preliminary data not allowed
• Blinded review
  • Maximum funding of $100,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance 1 year
  • Indirect cost may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s negotiated rate agreement.

Translational Research Partnership Award – Letter of Intent due August 5, 2020

The Initiating Principal Investigator (PI) must be at or above the level of Assistant Professor or equivalent).

The Partnering PI must be at or above the level of Assistant Professor or equivalent. 

Postdoctoral fellows are not eligible to be Partnering PIs.

• Supports partnerships between clinicians and laboratory scientists that accelerate ideas in kidney cancer into clinical applications.
• Supports translational correlative studies
• Preliminary data required
• Clinical trials not allowed
• Maximum funding of $750,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
• Maximum period of performance 3 years
• Indirect costs may be proposed in accordance with the institution’s negotiated 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 KCRP 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 FY20 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) to support innovative, high-impact prostate cancer research.  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 FY20 PCRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanism is posted on the Grants.gov website.

The mission of the FY20 PCRP is to fund research that will lead to the elimination of death from prostate cancer and enhance the well-being of Service members, Veterans, and all the men and their families who are experiencing the impact of the disease.  Within this context, the PCRP is interested in supporting research that addresses specific gaps in prostate cancer research and clinical care, with an emphasis on investing in research that will benefit patients diagnosed with lethal prostate cancer or improve quality of life for men diagnosed with this disease.  All applications are required to address one or more of the following FY20 PCRP Overarching Challenges: 

• Improve the quality of life for survivors of prostate cancer
• Develop treatments that improve outcomes for men with lethal prostate cancer

Applications must be directly relevant to lethal prostate cancer, which includes patients with metastatic disease; treatment-resistant disease; oligo-metastases; neuroendocrine disease; high-risk localized or locoregional disease, etc.

• Reduce lethal prostate cancer in people of African descent, Veterans, and high-risk or underserved populations

High-risk populations include, but are not limited to, people of African descent (including Caribbean Americans), genetically predisposed populations, Service members, and Veterans.  Underserved populations include, but are not limited to, men with limited access to clinical care and resources (in both rural and urban settings), and sexual and/or gender minorities with, or at risk for, prostate cancer.

• Define the biology of lethal prostate cancer to reduce death

Applications must be directly relevant to lethal prostate cancer, which includes patients with metastatic disease; treatment-resistant disease; oligo-metastases; neuroendocrine disease; high-risk localized or locoregional disease; etc.  Applications should not focus on topics such as differentiation between low risk and intermediate risk prostate cancer.

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

Prostate Cancer Pathology Resource Network Award – Letter of Intent due September 10, 2020

Modified for FY20

Independent investigators with a faculty-level appointment (or equivalent) with access to the appropriate facilities

• Provides infrastructure support for the development and maintenance of a prostate cancer biorepository through a collaborative network across multiple institutions that will facilitate the collection, processing, annotation, storage, and distribution of high-quality human prostate cancer biospecimens.
• Each application must include three to five Pathology Resource Sites, one of which will also serve as the Coordinating Center.  These organizations will be jointly responsible for developing and maintaining the biorepository for prostate cancer research. 
• Major emphasis for biospecimen collection must be placed on the acquisition and distribution of biospecimens in limited supply in the prostate cancer research community.
• In addition to sample collection, the consortium is expected to be a repository for the collection and distribution of molecular data generated from the biospecimens, such as digital images and blood-based germline assessments.
• Each application must include plans for significant accrual from at least one Pathology Resource Site of patient samples from populations that are disproportionately affected (African Americans, African-descent, Veterans, etc.) and underserved (uninsured, rural communities, etc.).
• Sites must provide plans for scalable management operations, quality assurance, bioinformatics and data management, and ethical and regulatory issues.
• Applications should clearly describe benchmarks for utilization of the repository as well as mechanisms for outreach to increase use by the prostate cancer community.
• Maximum funding of $6,000,000 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 PCRP 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 purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to solicit research applications for milestone-driven projects focused on preclinical development of lead candidate therapeutics, vaccines and related countermeasures against select NIAID Emerging Infectious Diseases/Pathogens. Applications must include a Product Development Strategy attachment and demonstrate substantive investment by at least one industrial participant.

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are:

• Developing, testing, validating, scaling up and integrating innovative ICT solutions for ageing well into re-designed service delivery models aimed at maintaining long term “functional ability” (See Call rationale and WHO Healthy ageing definition);
• Contributing to the creation/strengthening/connection of healthy ageing ecosystems.

AL Call 2020 is part of the Active & Assisted Living Programme (AAL Programme) that was approved in May 2014 by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. As part of the work programme, the AAL Programme has launched a new Call for Proposals in February 2020: “Healthy Ageing with the Support of Digital Solutions.”

The aim of the Call is to support innovative, transnational and multi-disciplinary collaborative projects. Call 2020 is characterised by the following approach:

1. The AAL Call 2020 is open to developing ICT-based solutions targeting any application area(s) within the AAL domain. The solutions need to be embedded in the strategies of the participating end-user organisations, service providers and business partners.
2. The AAL Call 2020 allows for more flexibility regarding the scope, size and duration of the proposed projects (including small collaborative projects).

The AAL domains include solutions for Active Living, such as in work & training, for vitality & abilities, in leisure & culture, for information & communication, as well as for Assisted Living, such as in health & care, living & building, mobility & transport, safety & security.

The Government of Canada is pleased to announce the launch of a new rapid research funding opportunity to continue to mobilize science to fight COVID-19. This funding opportunity is a partnership between the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Alberta Innovates, the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Research Manitoba, the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation, and Research Nova Scotia, with additional potential partners to be confirmed.

Objectives

• Accelerate the availability of high-quality and real-time evidence to support Canada’s rapid response to the global pandemic in order to better prevent, detect, treat and manage COVID-19;
• Develop, test, and study the implementation of effective interventions to prevent, detect, treat, and manage COVID-19 at the individual and/or population levels by reorienting or amplifying existing research platforms, networks, and trials as well as funding new research projects within existing and established research infrastructure;
• Enable Canadian engagement and coordination in national and international large-scale trials and better enable harmonized data collection, sharing of data, quasi-experimental and observational studies, and rapid large-scale evaluation of impact;
• Provide evidence to inform clinical and health system management and public health response, and/or decision-making and planning within and across jurisdictions in Canada and internationally; and
• Enhance local, national and/or international collaborative efforts, including in low- and middle-income countries, to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19 and related negative consequences.

Funding will support clinical trials, observational studies, implementation science or other relevant study designs to scale-up promising existing projects, reorient current research, or initiate new rapid response research to address COVID-19 in the identified research areas that include understanding the safety, efficacy, effectiveness, ethics, and implementation of:

• vaccines, diagnostics, or therapeutics;
• clinical management and health system interventions; and
• social, policy, and public health responses and related indirect consequences.