Promoting Partnerships To Improve Veterans’ Health

The FY19 Defense Appropriation provides $5 million (M) to the Department of Defense Tick-Borne Disease Research Program (TBDRP)to support innovative, high-impact tick-borne disease research. 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).

FY19 TBDRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.

Applications submitted to the FY19 TBDRP must address at least one of the following specific Focus Areas in Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases:

• Diagnosis

• o   Accurate diagnostics and biomarkers for Lyme disease and co-infections and/or other tick-borne diseases
• o   Diagnostic biomarkers for Lyme disease that distinguish between active infection and previous exposure, and/or monitor response to treatment

• Pathogenesis

• o   Pathogenic mechanisms, including immune protection, for Lyme disease, other tick-borne diseases, and/or co-infections
• o   Complex biology of Lyme borrelia in the host (beyond in vitro studies), including its survival, evasion of the host immune system, and subversion of the effectiveness of antibiotics
• o   Underlying mechanisms of persistent symptoms associated with Lyme disease

• Prevention

• o        Safe and effective human vaccines for tick-borne diseases
• o        Identification, validation, and/or improvement of tick-targeted prevention and control interventions
• o        Ecology of understudied tick-borne disease vectors and reservoirs with emphasis on how it relates to human risk.

• Treatment

• o   Antibiotic combinations and/or therapeutic options for treating acute and persistent illness
• o  

https://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/tbdrp

Investigator-Initiated Research Award – Preproposal; due May 22, 2017

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

• ·       To fund highly rigorous, high-impact studies that have the potential to make important contributions to Lyme disease and other tick-borne disease research, patient care, and/or quality of life.
• ·       Applications should articulate both the short- and long-term impact of the proposed research, as well as the public health burden of the disease being addressed.
• ·       Preliminary or published data to support feasibility are required.
• ·       Promotes any phase of research from basic through translational, including preclinical studies in animal models or human subjects, as well as correlative studies associated with an existing clinical trial to establish proof-of-principle for further development in future studies; however, clinical trials are not allowed.
• ·       Maximum funding of $650K for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

• Maximum period of performance is 3 years

Idea Award – Preproposal due May 22, 2019

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

• ·       To fund conceptually innovative, high-risk/potentially high-reward research in the early stages of development that could lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate progress in improving outcomes for individuals affected by Lyme disease and/or other tick-borne illnesses.
• ·       Applications should articulate the qualities that make the research innovative (not merely an incremental advance), as well as the public health burden of the disease being addressed.
• ·       Preliminary data that are relevant to the proposed research project are encouraged, but not required.
• ·       Clinical trials are not allowed.
• ·       Maximum funding of $300K for direct costs (plus indirect costs)

• Maximum period of performance is 2 years

Career Development Award – Letter of Intent due May 22, 2019

• Principal Investigator (PI): 
• Early-career research scientist or physician scientist within 10 years of completing terminal degree (excluding time in residency or on family medical leave) at the time of submission, working to become independent investigators who exhibit a strong desire to pursue careers in tick-borne disease research; time spent as a postdoctoral fellow is not excluded
• Mentor:  Independent investigators at or above the level of Associate Professor (or equivalent); must have a proven funding and publication record in tick-borne disease research
• The PI and Mentor do not need to be located at the same organization.
• To fund early-career investigators to conduct impactful research under the mentorship of an experienced tick-borne disease researcher.
• Career Development Plan is required.  Plan should be prepared with appropriate guidance from the Mentor, should clearly articulate a strategy for acquiring the necessary skills, competence, and expertise to establish a career at the forefront of tick-borne disease research, and should outline how the PI will gain experience in tick-borne disease research.  PI’s institution must demonstrate a commitment to the PI through a minimum of 75% protected time for tick-borne disease research.

• ·       Preliminary data are not; however, logical reasoning and a sound scientific rationale for the proposed research must be demonstrated.

• Clinical trials are not allowed.

• ·       Maximum funding of $250K for direct costs (plus indirect 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 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.

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

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Help Hesk
301-682-5507
help@eBrap.org