Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs -- Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program -- Transforming Diagnosis Award

Funding Agency:
Department of Defense

The PRARP TDA funding opportunity is being offered for the first time in FY23.

The TDA is intended to improve diagnosis now. Proposed projects must build knowledge, capacity, and research to reduce important barriers to obtaining a diagnosis, meaningful disease monitoring, and accurate prognosis. Barriers could include but are not limited to cost, patient access and education, clinical implementation, relationship to clinical outcome measures, biomarker validation, diagnosis technologies, lack of longitudinal data to inform prediction/prognosis, health equity barriers including structural and social determinants of health, and more. The investigator must clearly attune their project to provide true benefit to the intended end user – the person with dementia and their families.

Optimizing Research Impact Through Community Collaboration: Research funded by the FY23 PRARP should be responsive to the needs of persons with AD/ADRD lived experience, family, and care provider communities. Establishment and utilization of effective and equitable collaborations and partnerships, maximizes the near-term translational and impact potential of the proposed research. For the FY23 PRARP TDA, inclusion of collaborative community partner approaches is required for all projects.

Deadlines:

• Pre-Application Submission Deadline: May 31, 2023

• Application Submission Deadline:  July 10, 2023

Agency Website

Areas of Interest

To address the intent of the award mechanism, applications submitted to this program announcement must address the FY23 PRARP TDA Diagnostic, Environmental, and Prognostic Factors Focus Area. The proposed research may explore questions which include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

• Understanding how types of family recognized social behavioral changes factor into biomarkers and diagnosis of disease (e.g., biobehavioral makers)

• Accelerating technologies and methods for early and premortem diagnosis

• Validation and implementation of diagnostic and prognostic tests

• Diagnosis access challenges (such as availability, timing, low-cost options)

• Diagnostic/prognostic tests that can be administered at home to reduce patient burden

• Implementation of diagnostic/prognostic tests into the clinic and community

These areas are defined broadly, and the examples cited above are not intended to preclude or constrain other types of projects related to the TDA Focus Area. All projects submitted to this Focus Area must clearly demonstrate how the research will be culturally competent and inclusive.

Eligibility Requirements

The PI named by the organization on the application must be an independent investigator at any career level.

Career Initiation or Transition Partnering PI Option: Career initiation investigators must have at least 3 years research experience beyond a terminal degree but no more than 7 years within their first independent research position. Career transition investigators may be at any level, but new to either the TBI and/or AD/ADRD fields, with nominal, if any, publications and/or support. Lapses in research time or appointments as denoted in the biographical sketch should be explained in the application.

Amount

$2,500,000

Amount Description

The anticipated total (direct plus indirect) costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an FY23 PRARP TDA should not exceed $2.5M. Refer to Section II.D.5, Funding Restrictions, for detailed funding information.

Funding Type

Grant

Eligibility

Faculty
Junior Faculty
Post Doctoral Fellows

Category

Medical
Medical - Clinical Science
Medical - Translational

External Deadline

May 31, 2023