The FY24 HRRP FRA mechanism is intended to support promising research that accelerates drug discovery and therapeutic development for hearing restoration after military-relevant auditory system injury.
Applicants are encouraged to leverage resources and expertise at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to improve efficiency and accelerate the translational process. A list of NCATS programs and resources supporting preclinical innovation can be found at https://ncats.nih.gov/preclinical.
Applications from investigators within the military Services and applications involving multidisciplinary collaborations among academia, industry, the military Services, the VA, and other federal government agencies are highly encouraged. These relationships can leverage knowledge, infrastructure, and access to unique clinical populations that the collaborators bring to the research effort, ultimately advancing research that is of significance to Service Members, Veterans, and/or their Families. If the proposed research relies on access to unique resources or databases, the application must describe the access at the time of submission and include a plan for maintaining access as needed throughout the proposed research.
Deadlines:
• Required Pre-Application Deadline: July 22, 2024
• Application Submission Deadline: August 9, 2024
To meet the intent of the funding opportunity all applications to the FY24 HRRP Focused Research Award (FRA) must address research in one or more of the following Focus Areas:
• Improve and accelerate the translation of biological regeneration/repair mechanisms into clinical applications. Research addressing the damage, repair, and regeneration of the auditory system after military-relevant injuries is strongly encouraged.
• Develop diagnostic tests that 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.
Independent investigators at all academic levels (or equivalent) are eligible to be named by the recipient organization as Principal Investigator (PI) on the applications. An eligible PI, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship status, must be employed by or affiliated with an eligible organization.
The anticipated direct costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an FY24 HRRP FRA – Funding Level 1 should not exceed $250,000. The anticipated direct costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an FY24 HRRP FRA – Funding Level 2 will not exceed $750,000. The anticipated direct costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an FY24 HRRP FRA – Funding Level 3 will not exceed $1,000,000. Refer to Section II.D.5, Funding Restrictions, for detailed funding information.