The Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Tick-Borne Disease Research Program (TBDRP) this week released a pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY24 funding opportunities.
The FY24 Defense Appropriations Act is anticipated to provide funding for the TBDRP to support innovative, high-impact tick-borne disease research.
Applicants to the FY24 TBDRP funding opportunities must be relevant to at least one of the following focus areas:
Pathogenesis
- Studies to assess the interaction among tick-borne pathogens in mammals, and consequences on pathogen synergy and competition, immune responses, or disease severity, with an emphasis on Lyme disease and its associated co-infections
- Studies of immune evasion, host tolerance, or pathogen-host immunosuppression associated with Lyme disease and/or other tick-borne infections
- Studies of persistent clinical manifestations associated with Lyme disease, with studies providing insight into neurologic symptoms particularly encouraged
- Studies, including epidemiologic or animal studies, to evaluate the role of tick-borne diseases on maternal health and pregnancy outcomes, improve understanding of congenital tick-borne infections, and/or assess the impact of maternal-to-fetal transmission of tick-borne infections on children
Treatment
- Proof-of-concept studies for the development of novel therapeutics, or studies to support the repurposing of available or approved compounds for treatment of tick-borne diseases
- Target identification and/or validation and early refinement of therapeutic candidates, including but not limited to high throughput screens, lead optimization, and structure/activity relationships
Diagnosis
- Development and optimization of innovative approaches that provide diagnostic advantages for single or multiple tick-borne pathogens, with priority given to direct detection or multiplex assays
- Development and optimization of more accurate or novel approaches capable of distinguishing active Lyme disease infection from previous exposure and/or resolution of infection
- Development and optimization of approaches for the detection/diagnosis of maternal-to-fetal transmission of Lyme disease and/or other tick-borne infections, including the development of relevant animal models
Treatment
- Evaluation of novel therapeutics or repurposed compounds for treatment of tick-borne diseases
- Extensive refinement of therapeutic candidates, including but not limited to structure/activity relationships, and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and toxicologic studies
Diagnosis
- Evaluation/validation of approaches that provide diagnostic advantages for single or multiple tick-borne pathogens, with priority given to direct detection or multiplex assays
- Evaluation/validation of more accurate or novel approaches capable of distinguishing active Lyme disease infection from previous exposure and/or resolution of infection
- Evaluation/validation of approaches for the detection/diagnosis of maternal-to-fetal transmission of Lyme disease and/or other tick-borne infections
The proposed research must be focused on directly impacting human health and diseases that affect service members, veterans, their families, and the American public.
The FY24 TBDRP funding opportunity announcements for the award mechanisms will be posted on the Grants.gov website. A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) prior to the pre-application deadline. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the announcements are released. A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRDC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing by performing a basic search using Assistance Listing Number 12.420. Submission deadlines are not available until the funding opportunity announcements are released. The managing agent for the anticipated program announcements/funding opportunities is the CDMRP at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).