Current Funding Announcements

Defense Health Program Department of Defense Hearing Restoration Research Program (HRRP) - Anticipated Funding Opportunities for FY21

Description: The FY21 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the DoD Hearing Restoration Research Program (HRRP) to support promising, necessary research for the treatment of auditory system injury (https://cdmrp.army.mil/hrrp/default). 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 Development Command (USAMRDC). This is a pre- announcement for the anticipated FY21 funding opportunity. The FY21 HRRP program announcement and General Application Instructions will be posted on the Grants.gov website.

Applications submitted to the FY21 HRRP must address one or more of the following Focus Areas:

·         Accelerate translation of biological regeneration/repair mechanisms into therapies that treat auditory system injury and restore auditory function. For example, but not limited to:

o    Hair cell regeneration/repair/recovery

o    Neural regeneration/repair/recovery

o    Treatment for synaptopathy and hidden hearing loss

·         Diagnostic tests that help differentiate sensory, neural, synaptic, and central processing disorders, that may inform applicability and outcomes for current or future hearing restoration therapeutics.

·         Develop reliable in-vitro human models to facilitate the understanding, derivation and characterization of human auditory cells, and/or to facilitate the evaluation of hearing restoration therapies.

·         Develop and/or validate techniques/methods beyond the audiogram to diagnose acute auditory system injury in austere or remote environments. For example, but not limited to, simple and rapid assessments that are compatible with portable platforms.

Pre-application will be required through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the program announcement is released.

·         Funding Level 1 (exploratory, high-risk/high-reward): maximum period of performance 2 years, maximum funding $250,000

·         Funding Level 2 (supported by preliminary data): maximum period of performance 3 years, maximum funding $1M

·         Funding Level 2 w/pilot clinical trial: maximum period of performance 3 years, maximum funding $1.25M

 Full press release available at: https://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/press/2021/21hrrppreann

 Point of Contact: CDMRP Public Affairs, 301-619-9783, usarmy.detrick.medcom-cdmrp.mbx.cdmrp- public-affairs@mail.mil

MTEC-21-06-MPAI/W81XWH-15-9-0001: Military Prototype Advancement Initiative (MPAI)

To become a MTEC member: https://mtec-sc.org/how-to-join-2/ MTEC membership is required for submission to this RPP.

 
Description: This request for project proposals (RPP) solicits MTEC members for a broad range of medical prototype technical and knowledge solutions (medical techniques, knowledge products, medical devices, drugs, biologics) related to the following Focus Areas of interest:

       ·         Focus Area #1: Prolonged Field Care

         ·         Focus Area #2: Medical Readiness

         ·         Focus Area #3: Emerging Technologies

         ·         Focus Area #4: Maximizing Human Potential

         ·         Focus Area #5: Applied Medical Robotics and Machine Perception and Intelligence Systems

Focus areas of interest for this RPP include TBI treatment, objective diagnosis, prognosis, assessment in combat and prolonged care scenarios (FA1.7); medical criteria and brain injury-based thresholds for informing development of new tactical headborne systems and personal protection equipment against blast, ballistic, and blunt trauma threats (FA2.10); and repair, restore, preserve, mitigate, and maintain vision, hearing, balance (sensory system function) after combat-related threats including but not limited to directed energy exposure (FA4.3). FA4.3 is seeking research efforts to support the development of innovative strategies and technologies that may include medical devices, pharmaceuticals, rehabilitation strategies, and regenerative medicine-based approaches to treat, restore, and preserve spared tissue and function, and/or rehabilitate patients due to neurosensory related trauma.

Enhanced White papers must be new submissions to MTEC, with military relevance, aligned to a focus area of interest, minimum KRL/TRL 3, and fit prototype definition.

Enhanced White papers are due: June 17, 2021.

Funding amount and PlP are unspecified, with exceptions (see full announcement)  

Additional Information: https://www.mtec-sc.org/solicitations/ 

MTEC intends to host multiple Proposers Conferences that will be conducted via webinar within several weeks of the release of the RPP and may include up to six (6) separate sessions.

Inquiries:

·         Contractual/cost/pricing - MTEC Contracts Administrator, mtec-contracts@ati.org

·         Technical/membership questions – Dr. Lauren Palestrini, lauren.palestrini@mtec-sc.org

·         Other questions – Ms. Kathy Zolman, kathy.zolman@ati.org

U.S. Military Academy Broad Agency Announcement - W911NF-20-S-0008: This BAA was released April 1, 2020, and is open until March 31, 2025. It seeks proposals for cutting- edge innovative research that could produce discoveries with significant impact to enable new and improved Army technologies and related operational capabilities in the areas of socio-cultural; information technology; ballistics, weapons and protections; energy and sustainability; materials, measurements, and facilities; unmanned systems and space; human support systems; and artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum technologies. The human support systems focus includes biomechanical engineering to enhance soldier readiness (human performance optimization, injury prediction/prevention, physical and cognitive augmentation, Return-to-Duty metrics, functional influence of prosthetics/exoskeletal devices) and wearable technologies and sensors to inform performance decisions (e.g., monitoring/assessment, injury prevention, recovery times). 

              See:  Military Academy BAA

NOT-DC-20-008: NIDCD is Interested in Supporting Research on the Impact of

COVID-19 on Mission Specific Sensory and Communication Disorders

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) issued by the National Institute on Deafness and Other

Communication Disorders (NIDCD) (see: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DC20-008.html)

NIDCD invites applications for research on COVID-19 in relation to NIDCD’s scientific programs of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. Given the early stage of COVID19 research, it is critical that there is a strong premise for research proposals submitted in response to this NOSI. When appropriate, NIDCD encourages multi-disciplinary approaches to move the research beyond in vitro and animal models. Areas of research encouraged through this NOSI include, but are not limited to:

• Short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 on the auditory, vestibular, or olfactory systems
• The prevalence, onset, and resolution of acquired deficits (i.e. HBTSVSL) among patients

  with COVID-19 across the lifespan and in association with various underlying genetic predispositions and health conditions

• Potential ototoxicity from therapeutics or vaccination related to COVID-19
• Worsening of communicative function because of physical distancing, sheltering in place,

  and wearing of protective personal equipment during mitigation of this infectious pandemic

• Telehealth service delivery to individuals with communication disorders
• Multidisciplinary collaborative teams including clinicians, basic biologists, geneticists,
  quantitative scientist, epidemiologists, or other researchers to study COVID-19 related
  human conditions and behaviors, bioethical considerations, health-service delivery,
  health services in low-resource areas, and health disparities within NIDCD mission areas

This notice applies to due dates on or after October 5, 2020 and subsequent receipt dates through September 8, 2022. Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following funding opportunity announcements or any reissues of these announcement through the expiration date of this notice: PA-18-334, PA-20-185, PA-20-184, PA-20-196, PA-20-195, PA-20-194, PA-19-270, PA-19-271, PA-19-273, PA-19-272.

For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-DC-20-008” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.

Scientific/Research Contact:

Bracie Watson, Jr. Ph.D.

NIDCD/Division of Scientific Programs

Telephone: 301-402-3458

Email: watsonb@nidcd.nih.gov

NOT-DC-20-007: Improving Outcomes for Disorders of Human Communication

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) issued by the National Institute on Deafness and Other

Communication Disorders (NIDCD) (see: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOTDC-20-007.html)

This NOSI seeks to encourage effectiveness and health services research for improved

outcomes in the prevention and treatment of disorders of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice,

speech, and language.

NIDCD effectiveness research seeks to measure, evaluate, and/or improve patient-centered

outcomes following intervention for communication disorders. Effectiveness research seeks to

determine to what degree an intervention works in patients/populations in general, real-world

settings, such as in diverse populations and diverse provider and clinical practice settings.

Health Services Research examines the impact of the organization, financing, and management

of health care services on the delivery, quality, cost, access to and outcomes of such services,

including demographic, social, economic, and health system factors as they relate to providing

preventive, screening, diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitative services and patient outcomes

of care. Research may focus on any/all of the different factors that impact access, utilization,

and quality as related to outcomes of health care services.

Applicants are encouraged to create collaborative teams which may include clinical experts not

only in the traditional NIDCD mission areas, but also in other medical specialties and health care

professions as well as experts in sociology, health services, health outcomes, economics,

biostatistics, public health, health care financing and organization, survey research,

psychometrics, epidemiology, and evaluation.

This notice applies to due dates on or after June 16, 2020 and subsequent receipt dates

through January 10 2022. Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following

funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) or any reissues of these announcement through

the expiration date of this notice: PA-18-334, PA-20-185, PA-20-184, PA-20-195, PA-20-194,

PAR-18-340, PA-19-272, PA-19-270, PA-19-273, PA-19-271.

For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-DC-20-007” (without quotation marks)

in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this

information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative. For due dates after May 25,

2020, applicants must use "FORMS-F".

Scientific/Research Contact:

Kelly King, Au.D, Ph.D.

NIDCD/Division of Scientific Programs

Telephone: 301-402-3458

Email: kingke@nidcd.nih.gov

Announcement: Funding

Title:  ARMY RESEARCH OFFICE BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH

Type/Mechanism: Grant
Funding Opportunity Number: W911NF-17-S-0002-04

Application Open:  1 April, 2017 – 31 March 2022

Notes:  (See below for additional info)

Description: ARO is focused exclusively on extramural basic research, and is responsible for the vast majority of ARL’s extramural research programs and funding. Competencies are structured to create discovery, innovation, and transition of technologies leading to Power Projection Superiority, Information Supremacy, Lethality and Protection Superiority, and Soldier Performance Augmentation for Strategic Land Power Dominance. Proposals are expected to be for cutting-edge innovative research that could produce discoveries that would have a significant impact on enabling new and improved Army operational capabilities and related technologies. Specific research areas and topics of interest should be viewed as suggestive, rather than limiting. ARO is always interested in considering new innovative research concepts of relevance to the Army. Additional information about ARO areas of interest can be found on the ARL website:

http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?page=29.

Research areas of interest include

·        Life Sciences (Neurophysiology of Cognition/Multisensory Synthesis)

·        Intelligent Systems for Improved Decision Making (sensing, perception, situation awareness)

·        Biomathematics (modeling sensory processing, disease processes)

·        International Opportunities: Human Dimension, Big Data

This Funding Opportunity Announcement is a BAA. It is continuously open for a 5-year period, from 01 April 2017 closing 31 March 2022. Proposals will be considered until and including the closing date of this announcement.

There are no specific funding restrictions associated with this BAA. The proposed duration for which support is requested should be consistent with the nature and complexity of the proposed activity.

For more information, https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=292877

Announcement: Grant
Title:  NIDCD Clinical Research Center Grant (P50/Clinical Trial Optional)
Award Organization: NICD
Type/Mechanism: Grant
Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-19-137
Award Amount: $1.5M/year 
Pre-proposals Due:  7 Jan, 2019
Full App Due: February 6, 2019; June 6, 2019; October 4, 2019; February 6, 2020; June 8, 2020; October 6, 2020; February 8, 2021; June 6, 2021; October 6, 2021


Notes: 
Description: The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) invites applications for Clinical Research Center Grants designed to advance the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and amelioration of human communication disorders.  For this announcement, Clinical Research is defined as research involving individuals with communication disorders or data/tissues from individuals with a communication disorder. Examples of such research include but are not limited to, studies of the prevention, pathogenesis, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, management or epidemiology of a disease or disorder of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, or language.

Applications may propose a clinical trial but are not required (optional).  

Proposed research must meet 4 essential criteria:

1.  Must be clinical as defined above.
2.  Must have a well-defined central unifying theme consisting of three or more research projects with 1 or more supporting cores as appropriate; one core must be an administrative core.
3.  Each project must be unambiguously related to the central unifying theme. Synergistic and substantial interactions among the projects should be evident.
4.  Must provide multidisciplinary approaches to the central theme, defined as having research projects representing different disciplines, approaches and expertise. 

Additional Information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-19-137.html