DoD Multiple Sclerosis, Investigator-Initiated Research Award | HT9425 23 MSRP IIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for HT9425 23 MSRP IIRA

The Department of Defense (DoD), through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), is offering the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program (MSRP) Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) under opportunity number HT9425 23 MSRP IIRA. This funding mechanism is meant to back highly rigorous, high-impact multiple sclerosis (MS) research that could meaningfully advance scientific understanding and/or improve patient care. While applicants can propose projects across essentially any phase of the research pipeline, the program explicitly excludes clinical trials, so proposals need to stay within preclinical, translational, mechanistic, observational, or other non-trial research designs.

A key expectation is that proposed work is not purely speculative. Applications must be grounded in preliminary and/or published data that directly relate to MS and support the feasibility and rationale of the project. The program recognizes that strong research ideas can come from many sources, including laboratory discoveries, insights gained from prior clinical trial outcomes (without proposing a new trial), population-based studies, a clinician's direct experience treating patients, or even compelling anecdotal observations that are then developed into a testable, well-supported research plan.

For applicants targeting the Focus Area titled "Correlates of Disease Activity and Progression in MS," there is an additional, very practical requirement: the application must demonstrate access to the necessary cohort specimens and/or data. In other words, it is not enough to describe an ideal dataset or biobank that would enable the work; investigators need to show they can actually obtain and use the relevant materials for the cohort they propose to study. The opportunity points applicants to specific documentation requirements (notably letters confirming access to specimens and/or data) to substantiate that access.

Projects that use animal models of MS are allowed, but the program signals careful scrutiny of model selection. Applicants are expected to choose animal model(s) thoughtfully and to clearly justify how the selected model maps onto the particular aspect of human MS being investigated. The intent is to avoid generic or poorly matched model usage and to ensure that animal work is explicitly tied to human disease relevance, whether the focus is immunology, neurodegeneration, repair mechanisms, progression, biomarkers, or other MS-related biology.

The award also includes a New Investigator option designed to build capacity among early-career researchers who are beginning to establish independent MS research programs, particularly those early in faculty appointments. Under this structure, New Investigator and Established Investigator applications are reviewed in separate peer and programmatic review groups, which can help ensure early-career proposals are evaluated in an appropriate context. Even so, New Investigators are encouraged to strengthen their submissions through collaboration with experienced MS researchers or other domain experts, ideally demonstrated through the collaborators' track record of funding and publications.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity and may be issued as either a grant or a cooperative agreement. The CFDA number listed is 12.420, and eligibility is broadly described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement text. The opportunity was created on April 14, 2023, with an original closing date of October 6, 2023. The listing notes an expected number of awards of six. The award ceiling is shown as 0 in the source data, which typically indicates that applicants should rely on the full funding announcement for the actual allowable budget limits or that the ceiling is not specified in the summary fields.

• 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 Multiple Sclerosis, 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 Apr 14, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 06, 2023. (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 6 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 HT9425 23 MSRP IIRA

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