DoD Vision, Translational Research Award | W81XWH 19 VRP TRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 VRP TRA

The DoD Vision Research Program (VRP) Translational Research Award (FY19) is a Department of Defense funding opportunity aimed at pushing vision-related research beyond basic discovery and into real-world clinical use for problems tied to military-relevant trauma. The program is focused on eye injuries and visual dysfunction that can result from combat or trauma scenarios, and it supports projects that can directly improve prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, or treatment. The central idea is to back work that is far enough along to credibly move toward patient impact, not early exploratory science without a defined route to clinical adoption.

A competitive project under this award is expected to lay out a concrete translational plan that turns a promising finding into something clinically actionable, such as a drug, a medical device, or a clinical practice guideline that is ready for definitive testing in clinical trials. In other words, the application should not just describe interesting lab results; it should explain what the end product will be, what steps are needed to reach that product, and why the proposed work will make it ready for clinical trial-level evaluation. A key expectation is regulatory progress: applicants should be planning to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application or an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application during the project or by the end of the performance period, signaling that the work is being driven toward FDA-regulated clinical testing rather than stopping at preclinical proof-of-concept.

Because regulatory readiness is a major emphasis, applicants are strongly encouraged to include at least one collaborator who has experience with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process. This reflects the practical nature of the program: strong teams are typically those that combine scientific and clinical expertise with regulatory strategy, quality systems thinking, and a realistic understanding of what is required to advance an intervention into trials. The opportunity also points applicants to the National Cancer Institute Translational Research Working Group (TRWG) framework as a reference for structuring translational projects. While the TRWG framework comes from oncology, it is used here as a general roadmap for translational pathways, helping investigators clarify where their project sits along development stages and what milestones are needed to reach a clinical goal.

The announcement also includes an Expansion Option. This option is meant for investigators who previously received VRP funding and want to build on a prior, highly impactful project. Using the Expansion Option is encouraged but not mandatory. If an applicant chooses it, they must submit an Outcomes Statement that summarizes the earlier VRP-funded work and clearly explains the results, accomplishments, and outcomes achieved. The application should then connect those prior outcomes to the new proposal, making the case that the earlier award generated momentum and that the expansion funding will move the program closer to a clinical deliverable.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA, under Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-19-VRP-TRA. The eligible applicant category is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many entity types as allowed by any additional eligibility language in the full announcement. The funding instruments include both cooperative agreements and grants, placing it within science and technology and other research and development activity (CFDA 12.420). The opportunity was created on May 24, 2019, with an original closing date of December 6, 2019, and it anticipated making about three awards. The award ceiling is listed as 0 in the provided record, which typically means applicants must rely on the full solicitation for actual budget limits or that ceiling information was not captured in the summary record. Overall, the award is designed for projects with a clear, milestone-driven pathway to clinical translation, especially those prepared to engage FDA-regulated development and move decisively toward clinical trials for trauma-relevant vision conditions.

• 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 Vision, Translational 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 May 24, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 06, 2019. (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 3 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.

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