DoD Epilepsy, Research Partnership Award | W81XWH 21 ERP RPA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 21 ERP RPA

The DoD Epilepsy Research Partnership Award (FY21 ERP RPA) is a Department of Defense funding opportunity designed to push epilepsy research forward through true, tightly integrated collaboration. The core idea is that the proposed work has to be something the investigators could not realistically accomplish if they were working separately. Applications are expected to be impact-based, meaning they should clearly explain what concrete outcomes the project will produce in the near term (results that can be directly attributed to the study) and how those outcomes set up longer-term scientific and clinical gains. The program is particularly focused on research that will meaningfully benefit military personnel, Veterans, and civilians, with an emphasis on post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in the context of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

A central feature of this opportunity is that it funds team science rather than single-lab projects. At least two investigators must partner to jointly design one unified research project, and the application must make it obvious that each partner had equal intellectual input in shaping the study. One investigator is named as the Initiating Principal Investigator and the other(s) serve as Co-PI(s). Multi-institutional partnerships are encouraged (though not required), and the project must be strengthened by the distinct expertise each partner brings. Because this is meant to accelerate progress toward clinical application, the team also needs to demonstrate experience spanning both TBI and epilepsy research, not just one or the other.

The FY21 competition is organized into two funding levels, each tied to specific focus areas and distinct rules about what kinds of studies are allowed. Funding Level I supports preclinical or pre-validation research and is limited to two focus areas. The first Level I focus area, Markers and Mechanisms, supports efforts to identify markers or mechanisms using preclinical models that address PTE, including work related to acute or chronic biomarkers, treatment concepts, prevention strategies, and relevant comorbidities. The second Level I focus area, Epidemiology, supports epidemiological characterization of PTE following TBI, including identification of risk factors (such as demographics, genetics, anatomy, pathology, and injury type), outcomes (including latency to epilepsy, comorbidities, and mortality), the role of pre-existing psychological or psychiatric conditions, treatment and healthcare outcomes research, and work that helps differentiate PTE from psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES).

Funding Level II is built around prospective, patient-centered longitudinal research and is restricted to the Longitudinal Studies focus area. Level II applications must have access to a patient cohort and must center on a prospective study that tracks the evolution of PTE over time. Topics can include seizure frequency and seizure characteristics, patient and injury-related factors (demographics, genetics, anatomy, pathology, type of injury), comorbidities such as depression or sleep disorders, latency between injury and PTE onset, mortality, and treatment and healthcare outcomes. The program explicitly encourages Level II studies that test the feasibility of combining different measures, such as neuropsychological testing, imaging, and genomics, to better assess or predict PTE. In addition, Level II proposals must clearly describe how TBI will be characterized within the cohort and how that characterization will be incorporated into the statistical plan, including appropriate statistical methods for analyzing the relationship between TBI and later PTE.

Level II also comes with strict prohibitions that reflect its prospective and human-subjects orientation. Animal research is not allowed under Funding Level II. Retrospective aims are also not allowed, and neither are studies that are primarily epidemiological analyses of pre-existing datasets, nor analyses relying on existing biorepository data or previously collected specimens. The intent is to fund forward-looking, longitudinal cohort work rather than secondary data analyses.

Across both funding levels, the program places heavy emphasis on how the partnership will function day-to-day. Applications are expected to include concrete plans for collaboration, including how partners will communicate, make decisions, allocate resources, coordinate progress, share results, and manage data sharing across investigators and institutions. If multiple institutions are involved, the application must also include an intellectual property plan that addresses potential IP and material transfer issues early, with the goal of reducing institutional friction and protecting the project’s ability to operate as a single integrated effort. Another cross-cutting requirement is preliminary data: applicants must provide evidence supporting the feasibility of the hypothesis or objectives, and that evidence can come from lab discoveries, clinical observations, population-based studies, or relevant peer-reviewed literature.

Awards under this announcement are issued as assistance agreements, meaning they will be structured either as a grant or a cooperative agreement depending on how much involvement the DoD anticipates having during performance. If substantial involvement by the DoD is expected (for example, collaboration or participation in aspects of the research), the award will be a cooperative agreement; otherwise, it will be a grant. The final instrument type and start date are determined during award negotiations.

In terms of funding, the anticipated maximum total cost for a Level I award is $1.3 million for the full period of performance, and the anticipated maximum total cost for a Level II award is $3.1 million for the full period of performance. The program expected to make roughly two awards total: about one Level I and one Level II, contingent on federal funding availability and on scientific and programmatic review outcomes. The named PI is also required to attend an annual, one-day In-Progress Review meeting starting in year 2 and continuing through the remainder of the award, to present updates and disseminate results. Key dates and administrative details from the source include an original closing date of July 21, 2021, awards planned no later than September 30, 2022, and FY21 funds anticipated to remain available for use through September 30, 2027 (reflecting the federal period of availability for those appropriated funds).

• 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 Epilepsy, Research Partnership 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 13, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 21, 2021. (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 2 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 21 ERP RPA

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