DoD Parkinson's, Investigator-Initiated Research Award | W81XWH 18 PRP IIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 PRP IIRA

The Department of Defense (DoD), through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), offered the Parkinson's Research Program (PRP) Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) to fund ambitious Parkinson's disease projects that are both scientifically rigorous and likely to produce meaningful, real-world impact. The intent of this opportunity is to support multidisciplinary research that can significantly advance understanding of Parkinson's disease and improve patient care, spanning the full pipeline from basic discovery work through translational and clinical studies. The central idea is that a well-designed project that tackles a clearly defined Parkinson's disease problem could lead to major progress in preventing the disease, improving diagnosis, developing or refining treatments, or otherwise enhancing quality of life for people living with Parkinson's disease.

A key emphasis of the IIRA is strong research strategy and demonstrated feasibility. Applications are expected to show deep understanding of Parkinson's disease biology and clinical issues, backed by a clear scientific rationale and a well thought-out experimental plan. Projects can be novel, but they must be grounded in evidence, whether that comes from published findings, a strong literature-based rationale, or preliminary results. Importantly, preliminary data are not optional for this mechanism; they are required to show that the proposed approach is workable. Any unpublished preliminary results must come from the Principal Investigator's (PI's) lab or from a member of the research team, and they must directly support feasibility rather than serving as general background.

The program also puts heavy weight on impact. Applicants must clearly spell out why the proposed work matters and what meaningful difference it could make for Parkinson's disease. The review expectation is not just that the science is interesting, but that the outcomes could influence an area of high importance to the field and ultimately benefit patients. The description specifically highlights relevance to individuals with Parkinson's disease including Service members and Veterans, reflecting the DoD mission, but the work is also framed as beneficial to military beneficiaries and the broader American public. In other words, proposals need to connect their scientific aims to tangible benefits in understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and/or treatment, rather than leaving the significance implied.

Another eligibility requirement built into the scientific scope is that the proposed research must address at least one of the two FY18 PRP IIRA Focus Areas. The opportunity makes this a hard requirement, meaning applicants needed to align their research question and approach with at least one of those designated priorities for that fiscal year, not simply propose general Parkinson's work.

The IIRA is designed to attract a wide range of scientific expertise, and it explicitly encourages participation from many disciplines. Competitive applications may come from basic scientists as well as engineers, bioinformaticians, population scientists, translational researchers, and clinical investigators, among others. Regardless of discipline, the team must be clearly positioned to execute the project successfully, and the application should make the case that the investigators' combined experience and skill sets match the scientific and technical demands of the proposed work.

A distinctive feature of this mechanism is the Partnering PI Option, which allows the project to be led by up to three PIs working together. Under this structure, one investigator is designated as the Initiating PI, responsible for most submission and administrative duties, while up to two additional investigators may serve as Partnering PIs. Even though submission requirements differ by role, the opportunity expects all PIs to contribute meaningfully to the intellectual development of the project, including core narrative elements like the Project Narrative and Statement of Work. Applications using the partnering option must include a Synergy Statement that explains why the collaboration improves the project, how the investigators' expertise fits together, and what the collaboration enables that would be difficult to accomplish with a single PI. If funded, each PI is named on an individual award within the recipient organization, and each PI is required to commit at least 15 percent of their full-time professional effort to the project during the award period, which is a concrete expectation about sustained leadership involvement.

From a funding and award structure standpoint, this opportunity was released as a discretionary research and development program (CFDA 12.420) using assistance agreements, meaning awards could be made as grants or cooperative agreements. The determining factor for whether an award becomes a grant versus a cooperative agreement is the anticipated level of DoD involvement during performance; cooperative agreements generally imply more substantial federal involvement in project execution compared to standard grants. The anticipated total costs for the entire performance period were capped at $1.5 million for a single-investigator application and $2 million for applications using the Partnering PI Option. The program anticipated making about eight awards under this announcement. The opportunity was listed as open eligibility ("unrestricted") subject to any additional clarifications in the full announcement, and it was posted June 20, 2018, with an original closing date of October 3, 2018.

In practical terms, a strong IIRA application would be expected to present a high-importance Parkinson's problem, show convincing preliminary evidence that the team can execute the plan, define clear milestones and methods, align explicitly to a required focus area, and explain exactly how the work could change what clinicians and researchers can do for Parkinson's patients, including the military-affiliated populations the DoD is mandated to serve.

• 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 Parkinson's, 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 Jun 20, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 03, 2018. (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 8 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 18 PRP IIRA

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