DoD Neurofibromatosis Investigator- Initiated Research Award | W81XWH 19 NFRP IIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 NFRP IIRA

The DoD Neurofibromatosis Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) is a competitive funding opportunity under the Department of Defense Neurofibromatosis Research Program (NFRP) designed to support rigorous, high-impact research that can meaningfully advance neurofibromatosis (NF) science and/or improve patient care. The central goal of the award is to fund well-justified projects that are positioned to make an important contribution to the field, whether that contribution is a new biological insight, a validated tool or model, a clearer understanding of disease burden in populations, or a research-driven path toward better clinical management. The program emphasizes scientific strength and potential impact, with an expectation that the proposed work is grounded in credible evidence and executed with a high level of methodological rigor.

The award is “investigator-initiated,” meaning applicants are expected to propose their own research ideas rather than respond to a narrowly defined topic. Projects may address any phase of research other than clinical trials. In practical terms, this keeps the scope broad across basic, translational, and preclinical work, as well as other non-trial human research approaches that do not meet the definition of a clinical trial. The opportunity explicitly allows the rationale for the research idea to come from many sources, including laboratory discoveries, population-based or epidemiologic observations, a clinician’s direct experience caring for NF patients, or even anecdotal data that point to a potentially important unanswered question. Even with that flexibility in how ideas originate, the program expects applications to be evidence-driven and to present a coherent scientific case for why the work should be done now.

A key requirement is that applications include preliminary and/or published data relevant to NF and to the proposed project. This signals that the program is not meant for purely speculative concepts; instead, proposals should demonstrate feasibility and relevance, showing that the team has already generated or can cite concrete findings that support the hypothesis, approach, or need. In other words, reviewers should be able to see a credible foundation that reduces risk and increases confidence that the project can deliver interpretable and useful outcomes.

Administratively, this opportunity was issued by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). The funding opportunity number is W81XWH 19 NFRP IIRA, and it falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category (CFDA 12.420). Funding instruments listed include both grants and cooperative agreements, which generally indicates that some awards may involve a more collaborative or actively managed relationship with the sponsoring agency compared to a traditional grant. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of applicant entity, subject to any specific clarifications that may appear in the full announcement’s eligibility section.

The posting information indicates the opportunity was created on March 21, 2019, with an original closing date of June 6, 2019, and an anticipated number of awards of seven. The notice lists an award ceiling of “0,” which typically reflects that a specific maximum was not provided in that summary field rather than implying no funding; applicants normally need to consult the full announcement for actual budget limits, funding levels, and cost rules. Overall, the IIRA is positioned as a mechanism to fund strong, data-supported NF research ideas that are likely to move the field forward without supporting clinical trials under this particular mechanism.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Neurofibromatosis Investigator- Initiated Research Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 21, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 06, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for W81XWH 19 NFRP IIRA

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