DOD Toxic Exposures, Investigator-Initiated Research Award | W81XWH 22 TERP IIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 22 TERP IIRA

The DOD Toxic Exposures, Investigator-Initiated Research Award (FY22 TERP IIRA; Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH 22 TERP IIRA) is a Department of Defense research funding opportunity run through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) under CFDA 12.420. It is designed to support investigator-driven projects that can make a meaningful contribution to research and/or patient care for diseases, conditions, or symptoms tied to toxic exposures. The mechanism supports a broad range of science, from foundational laboratory work to translational efforts aimed at moving findings closer to real-world use. Projects can include basic or mechanistic studies, preclinical work in animal models, human subjects research, and correlative studies that leverage specimens or data connected to an existing clinical trial. The announcement also allows the use of New Approach Methodologies, which generally refers to newer, potentially more predictive or human-relevant approaches that can complement or, in some contexts, reduce reliance on traditional models.

A central requirement of the award is a clearly articulated impact statement that connects the proposed work to tangible improvements in toxic exposure research and/or clinical care. Applicants are expected to explain, in practical terms, how the project could transition into clinical practice or otherwise benefit Service Members, Veterans, and/or the broader American public who have been exposed, or may be exposed, to toxic substances. This means laying out both short-term and long-term impacts: for example, what the project will produce in the near term (such as validated biomarkers, an exposure-disease mechanism, a prototype assay, or a tested intervention concept) and how that output could realistically evolve into downstream products like new treatments or therapeutics, diagnostic tests, or prevention and risk-reduction strategies. The opportunity emphasizes quality-of-life improvements and encourages applicants to show a credible pathway from research results to clinical or public health relevance rather than stopping at purely descriptive findings.

The program also places strong emphasis on outcomes and alignment with program priorities. Applications are expected to demonstrate the potential for near-term and long-term outcomes or products, which can be intellectual (new knowledge that changes how the field understands or addresses a problem) and/or tangible (tools, datasets, assays, materials, or other deliverables). Just as important, the work must address at least one of the FY22 TERP Program Goals and at least one of the FY22 TERP Topic Areas, with a clear explanation of how the project tackles a critical problem or unanswered question in that priority space. While the research may overlap with diseases or symptoms that appear in other Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), the key differentiator here is that the proposal must be directly relevant to toxic exposures and responsive to TERP-specific goals and topic areas.

Preliminary data are required for this award, and the application must include relevant evidence that supports the rationale and feasibility of the proposed study. The solicitation recognizes that good ideas can originate from several sources, including laboratory discoveries, population-based or epidemiologic observations, a clinician's direct experience caring for affected patients, or even well-founded anecdotal observations. Regardless of the origin, the application needs data that substantiate why the hypothesis or approach is credible and why the team is positioned to execute the work. Those data can be unpublished or drawn from published literature, but they must be clearly tied to the proposed aims and should reduce key technical or conceptual risks.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed as discretionary funding, using either a grant or cooperative agreement instrument. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many entity types unless further limited by details in the full announcement. The funding notice was created on September 21, 2022, with an original closing date of December 1, 2022. The anticipated number of awards was 12, and the award ceiling is listed as 0 in the summary record, which usually signals that the maximum amount is not captured in that specific listing and applicants must consult the full solicitation for budget caps, period of performance, and other constraints.

• 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 Toxic Exposures, 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 Sep 21, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 01, 2022. (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 12 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 22 TERP IIRA

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