The FY17 Defense Appropriations Act provides $12 million (M) to the Department of Defense Reconstructive Transplant Research Program (RTRP) to support research of exceptional scientific merit that has the potential to make a significant impact on improving the function, wellness, and overall quality of life for injured military Service members and Veterans, their caregivers and family members, and the American public.  As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) 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).

FY17 RTRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website. 

Focus Areas:  The FY17 RTRP encourages research projects that specifically address needs in the field of vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) in the following focus areas:

1. Immune system regulation as specifically applied to VCA
2. Psychosocial considerations and challenges associated with VCA
3. Develop ex vivo VCA tissue preservation techniques or technologies to extend the time between procurement and transplantation (goal: 24 hours)
4. Develop pre-habilitation or rehabilitation strategies that improve reconstructive transplant functional outcomes
5. Develop standardized quantitative functional outcome measures for VCA, especially for face transplant
6. Graft clinical monitoring – acute and chronic, as applied to VCA

Concept Award – Letter of Intent due November 15

• Investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (or equivalent)
• Pre-application (Letter of Intent) is required.
• Supports the exploration of a highly innovative new concept or untested theory that addresses an important problem relevant to reconstructive transplant. 
• Preliminary data are NOT allowed.
• Reviewers at both tiers of review will be blinded to the identity of the Principal Investigator (PI), collaborators, and their organizations.
• Applications must address at least one of the FY17 RTRP Focus Areas.
• Maximum funding of $200,000 for total costs (direct plus indirect costs)
• Maximum period of performance is 18 months

Investigator-Initiated Research Award – Preproposal due September 20

• Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
• Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
• Supports studies with potential to make an important contribution to the reconstructive transplant research field, patient care, and/or quality of life.
• Preliminary or published data required.
• Multiple PI Option supports synergistic partnerships among two to four  investigators collaborating on a single application; multi-institutional collaborations are encouraged
• Applications must address at least one of the FY17 RTRP Focus Areas.
• Individual PIs:
• Maximum funding of $1 million (M) for total costs
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years
• Multiple PI Option:
• Maximum funding of $1.5M for total costs
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years

Technology Development Award – Preproposal due September 20

• Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
• Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
• Supports research critical for the translation of promising preclinical findings into products focused on reconstructive transplantation.
• Proof of concept must be established.
• Transition plan is required.
• Applications must address at least one of the following FY17 RTRP Focus Areas:
• Develop ex vivo VCA tissue preservation techniques or technologies to extend the time between procurement and transplantation (goal: 24 hours)
• Graft clinical monitoring – acute and chronic, as applied to VCA
• Maximum funding of $1M for total costs
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years

Qualitative Research Award – Preproposal due September 20

• Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent)
• Preproposal is required; full application submission is by invitation only.
• Supports qualitative research studies that will help researchers and clinicians to better understand the experiences of individuals who are considering or have already received reconstructive transplant surgery.
• Demonstrated qualitative research experience within the research team is required.
• Theoretical perspective of qualitative research must be identified.
• Rigorous and appropriate data collection and data analyses methods are important components.
• Multiple PI Option supports synergistic partnerships among two to four investigators collaborating on a single application; multi-institutional collaborations are encouraged.
• Applications must address the following FY17 RTRP Focus Area:
• Psychosocial considerations and challenges associated with VCA
• Individual PIs:
• Maximum funding of $1M for total costs
• Maximum period of performance is 3 years
• Multiple PI Option:
• Maximum funding of $1.5M for total 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 funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420. 

Applications must be submitted through the federal government’s single-entry portal, Grants.gov.  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 RTRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (http://cdmrp.army.mil).

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Help Desk

301-682-5507
help@eBrap.org