US Department of Defense Opening FA Research to Grant Awards
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is offering grant awards to researchers working to improve care for Friedreich’s ataxia.
The DoD’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) is a funding organization whose goal is to further the development of new approaches to address specific areas of biomedical research as specified by Congress.
This year, Friedreich’s ataxia is among the areas eligible for a share of the $370 million in funding within the CDMRP’s Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Programs, the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA) reported in a press release.
Several different grant programs are available, each with a different focus. These grants are open to organizations and institutions within the U.S. and globally.
The Discovery Award supports research projects that will test new, unproven ideas in a disease space. “Studies supported by this award are expected to lay the groundwork for future avenues of scientific investigation,” the award information states. Letters of intent are due at 5 p.m. ET on April 22.
While the Investigator-Initiated Research Award is intended for projects that will improve research or patient care for an area of interest, the Technology/Therapeutic Development Award aims to support research to move preclinical study findings into the development of a product (a device, a therapy, etc.) that can be used in the clinic — to prevent or treat a disease, improve detection and diagnosis, and/or give patients a better quality of life. Letters of intend for both of these awards are due at 5 p.m. ET on April 29.
The Clinical Trial Award, as its name implies, will give support to clinical studies testing investigational therapies or other interventions that may improve care for Friedreich’s ataxia or the other specified conditions of interest. Pre-proposals for this award are due by 5 p.m. ET on May 6.
The Focused Program Award aims to support four or more separate, distinct research projects that together can help to address an overarching challenge in the area of interest. “While individual projects must be capable of standing on their own high scientific merits, they must also be interrelated and synergistic with the other proposed projects and advance a solution beyond what would be possible through individual efforts. The exploration of multiple hypotheses or viewpoints of the same line of questioning is encouraged,” this award’s information states.
The deadline for pre-proposals for the Focused Program Award is 5 p.m. ET on May 6.
More information on applying for each of these awards is available here.
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