The FY19 Defense Appropriations Act provides $15 million (M) to the Department of Defense Neurofibromatosis Research Program (NFRP) to support innovative, high-impact NF research.  Applications to the FY19 NFRP are being solicited by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA).  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 NFRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications.  FY19 NFRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are anticipated to be posted on the Grants.gov website in March 2019.  Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the Program Announcements are released.  This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government.

Areas of Emphasis: The NFRP encourages applications that specifically address the critical needs of the NF community in one or more of the FY19 Areas of Emphasis.  Not all Areas of Emphasis are applicable to each award mechanism offered by the FY19 NFRP.  If the proposed research project does not address one of the FY19 Areas of Emphasis, justification that the proposed research project addresses an important problem related to NF research and/or patient care should be provided.

• ·        Health services research
• –       Evidence-based best clinical practices
• §  Outcomes of specific therapies, including surgery and radiation therapy
• –       Implementation and access to NF-specific healthcare
• –       Utilization of technology and informatics

• Heterogeneity of NF-related tumors
• Non-tumor manifestations

• Cognitive, behavior, sleep, pain, hypotonia, communication, etc., including quality of life measures, and self-reported and underreported manifestations

• ·        Novel disease and treatment response markers using genomics, epigenetics, systems biology, metabolomics, or similar approaches

• Transition from benign to malignant

• ·        Nutritional, environmental, and other modifiers of NF
• ·        Preclinical efficacy studies
• ·        Target identification, drug discovery
• ·        Targeted immunotherapies

Clinical Trial Award

Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent).

·        Funds Phase 0, I, or II clinical trials relevant to NF and/or schwannomatosis; combinations of phases are permitted.

·        Funding must support a clinical trial and may not be used for preclinical studies.

·        Scientific rationale and preliminary data required for Phase I, II clinical trial applications.

·      Maximum funding of $800,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

·      Maximum funding of $1,000,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including a Collaborator

• ·      Maximum period of performance is 4 years

Exploration – Hypothesis Development Award

All academic levels (or equivalent)

·        Funds the initial exploration of innovative, high-risk, high-gain and potentially groundbreaking concepts in NF research.

·        Projects involving human subjects or human biological substances must be exempt under 32 CFR 219.104(d) or eligible for expedited review under 32 CFR 219.110 or 21 CFR 56.110.

·        Preliminary and/or published data is encouraged but not required.

·        Clinical trials not allowed.

·      Maximum funding of $100,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

• ·      Maximum period of performance is 2 years

Investigator-Initiated Research Award

Independent investigators at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) and must plan to commit at least a 10% level of effort for each budget period throughout the entirety of the award.

·       Funds highly rigorous, high-impact research projects that have the potential to make an important contribution to NF research and/or patient care.

·       Optional Features: Applications meeting criteria identified in the announcement may apply for a higher level of funding for the following options: Qualified Collaborator and/or NF Open Science Initiative (NF-OSI).

·       Preliminary and/or published data is required.

·       Clinical trials not allowed.

·     Maximum funding of $525,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

·     Maximum funding of $575,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including either an Optional Qualified Collaborator or NF-OSI option

·     Maximum funding of $625,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including both, an Optional Qualified Collaborator and the NF-OSI

·     Maximum period of performance is 3 years

New Investigator Award

Independent investigators at or below the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or an established investigator at or above the level of Assistant Professor seeking to transition into a career in NF research.

·      Supports the continued development of promising independent investigators and/or the transition of established investigators into a career in the field of NF research.

·      Experience in NF research is allowed, but not required.

·      Preliminary and/or published data is required.

·      Clinical trials not allowed

·     Maximum funding of $450,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

·     Maximum period of performance is 3 years

Early Investigator Research Award

Postdoctoral Ph.D. or M.D. PIs:

·   Must have successfully defended a doctoral thesis or possess an M.D. degree, and Have at least 3 years and up to 6 years of consecutive postdoctoral fellowship

·     Supports research opportunities focused on NF for individuals in the early stages of their careers.

·     PIs must have a designated mentor who is an experienced NF researcher.

·     Maximum funding of $200,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

·     Maximum period of performance is 2 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. 

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 NFRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

Point of Contact:

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