DoD Parkinson's, Early Investigator Research Award | W81XWH 18 PRP EIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 PRP EIRA

The DoD Parkinson's Early Investigator Research Award (EIRA) is a Department of Defense funding opportunity under the Parkinson's Research Program (PRP) designed to help launch the careers of early-stage investigators who want to build a long-term research path in Parkinson's disease (PD). The early investigator serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) and is expected to take primary ownership of the application, writing it themselves with guidance from their Mentor(s). Importantly, the PI does not need prior Parkinson's-specific research experience, but they must show clear promise and a serious commitment to becoming an independent investigator working at the leading edge of Parkinson's disease research.

A central requirement of the EIRA is structured mentorship. Every application must include at least one Mentor who is well established in Parkinson's disease research and has a demonstrated track record of both productivity and mentorship, typically evidenced by active research funding, recent peer-reviewed publications, and prior successful mentoring outcomes. The Mentor is not just a formal adviser; they are expected to actively support the PI's growth toward independence. If the project depends on resources, facilities, data, patient populations, or specialized expertise housed at another institution, the program strongly encourages naming a co-Mentor at that collaborating site to ensure the PI receives hands-on guidance and access to what is needed to execute the work.

Beyond the research itself, the application must include a Parkinson's disease-focused Researcher Development Plan tailored to the PI. This plan is meant to be more than a generic training statement; it should lay out a clear, individualized strategy for how the PI will gain the skills, knowledge, and competencies necessary to complete the proposed project and transition toward research independence in PD. Applicants are expected to describe the mentoring and research environment at their home institution and explain how that environment will support both the project and the PI's professional development. Collaborations are allowed and can be used to fill gaps in expertise or infrastructure, as long as the mentoring and resource plan is coherent and well justified.

For this specific fiscal year announcement (FY18), the scientific topic is narrowly targeted: proposed projects must address the focus area "mechanisms of cognitive and psychiatric symptoms of Parkinson's disease." In practice, that means applications should be centered on understanding why and how PD causes cognitive impairment and/or psychiatric symptoms, and should aim to advance knowledge that could ultimately improve prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of these aspects of the disease. The program is open to a wide range of disciplines and approaches, including basic science, engineering, bioinformatics, population science, translational research, and clinical research, as long as the work clearly ties back to the required focus area.

In terms of scientific expectations, the program allows flexibility in how applicants build their case. The research strategy can be highly innovative, including new technologies or high-risk/high-reward ideas, or it can build from existing evidence and established rationales drawn from published studies, literature review, or preliminary data. Preliminary data are not required, which lowers the barrier for early investigators proposing novel directions. However, the application must still make a convincing feasibility argument with well-defined methods, a realistic plan to accomplish the aims, and a clear explanation of how the project goals will be achieved. If unpublished preliminary data are included, they must come from the PI, the Mentor(s), or collaborating team members and should directly support feasibility.

A major review consideration is impact. Proposals must clearly explain why the work matters for Parkinson's disease and how the outcomes could meaningfully improve understanding or clinical management, including potential relevance to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The opportunity also has a strong public service and defense-related relevance requirement: the proposed research must be pertinent to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the broader American public, and it should be framed in a way that makes that relevance explicit.

On funding mechanics, awards under this announcement are issued as assistance agreements, meaning they may be funded as either grants or cooperative agreements. The deciding factor is the anticipated level of Department of Defense involvement during project performance, with cooperative agreements generally implying more substantial agency participation or coordination. The anticipated total cost for the full period of performance is capped at $340,000. The opportunity was administered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA, listed under CFDA 12.420. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement). For the FY18 cycle reflected in the source information, the opportunity number is W81XWH-18-PRP-EIRA, it was posted June 20, 2018, and it had an original closing date of October 3, 2018, with an expectation of roughly four awards.

• 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 Parkinson's, Early Investigator 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 Jun 20, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 03, 2018. (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 4 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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