The FY18 Defense Appropriation provides $21 million (M) to the Department of Defense Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) to support high-impact research that will identify effective treatments and accelerate their clinical application, identify objective markers for improved definition and diagnosis, and/or provide a better understanding of the pathobiology underlying the complex of Gulf War Illness symptoms. 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 Materiel Command (USAMRMC).

The GWIRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications. FY18 PRCRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted on the Grants.gov website in August 2018. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the Program Announcement is released. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government.

http://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/press/2018/18gwirppreann_nia

The following mechanism is planned for release:

New Investigator Award

• PIs may apply under one of the following three eligibility categories:
• Transitioning Postdoctoral Fellow: Senior postdoctoral fellows who have completed at least 3 years of postdoctoral training.
• Early-Career Investigator: Independent investigators within 5 years since their last training position.
• Submission of a Letter of Intent is required.
• Encourages applications from early stage and established investigators new to the field of GWI research.
• Previous experience in GWI research is not required; however, collaborations with experienced GWI researchers are encouraged.
• Preliminary data are not required, and if provided, do not necessarily have to come from the GWI research field.
• Studies that provide outcomes clearly translatable to clinical use are encouraged.
• Clinical trials are not allowed.
• Submission of a Letter of Intent is required.· New GWI Researcher: Established independent investigators who have received less than $300,000 in federally funded, non-mentored GWI research.
• The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $500,000 for direct costs.
• The maximum period of performance is 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 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.  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 GWIRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (http://cdmrp.army.mil).

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Public Affairs
301-619-9783
usarmy.detrick.medcom-cdmrp.mbx.cdmrp-public-affairs@mail.mil