Friday, February 25, 2011

Gulf War Illness Medical Research Funding Pre-Announcement

Department of Defense Gulf War Illness Research Program:  Anticipated Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11)

The Department of Defense Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) is administered by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) through the Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

Congressional funds for the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) GWIRP have not yet been appropriated. However, the GWIRP is providing information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop applications. The GWIRP anticipates offering the following award mechanisms for FY11 pending availability of congressional funds. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government.

Investigator-Initiated Research Award
Independent investigators at all academic levels are eligible to apply.

  • Supports new ideas in basic and clinical developmental research focusing on Gulf War Illness (GWI).
  • Preliminary data are not required, and if provided, do not necessarily have to come from the GWI research field.
  • Clinical trials are not allowed under this mechanism.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $600,000 for direct costs.
  • The maximum period of performance is 3 years.
  • More cost-effective studies not requesting the full funding amount are encouraged.

Innovative Treatment Evaluation Award
Independent investigators at all academic levels are eligible to apply.

  • Supports exploratory or small-scale studies evaluating potential treatments not previously studied in GWI.
  • Pilot Phase II or Phase I/II trial combinations are permitted.
  • Preliminary data are not required, though proposed studies must be supported by logical rationale.
  • Studies having substantive preliminary/preclinical data should submit to the Clinical Trial Award (see below).
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $450,000 for direct costs.
  • The maximum period of performance is 3 years.
  • More cost-effective studies not requesting the full funding amount are encouraged.

Clinical Trial Award
Independent investigators at all academic levels are eligible to apply.

  • Supports larger, more definitive Phase II or III clinical trials focusing on treatments for GWI.
  • Preliminary/preclinical data are required indicating potential substantial benefit for veterans with GWI.
  • Pilot or exploratory studies focusing on treatments lacking preclinical/preliminary data should submit to the Innovative Treatment Evaluation Award (see above).
  • The maximum period of performance is 4 years.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $1,500,000 for direct costs.
  • More cost-effective studies not requesting the full funding amount are encouraged.

Clinical Trial Development Award
Independent investigators at all academic levels are eligible to apply.

  • Supports preliminary development of a clinical trial including protocol development, regulatory approval, test article purity and formulation, recruitment strategy development, etc.
  • Awardees will be expected to apply to a future GWIRP Clinical Trial Award.
  • The Clinical Trial Development Award does not fund original research, only activities to support planning for a future clinical trial.
  • The maximum allowable funding for the entire period of performance is $100,000 for direct costs.
  • The maximum period of performance is 1 year.

All applications must conform to the final program announcements and 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 USAMRMC funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the CDMRP eReceipt website (http://cdmrp.org) prior to the pre-application deadline. Applications must be submitted through the federal government's single-entry portal, Grants.gov.

Requests for email notification of the release of CDMRP program announcements may be sent to help@cdmrp.org. For more information about the GWIRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (http://cdmrp.army.mil).

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