DoD Military Burn, Patient-Centered Research Award

The DoD Military Burn, Patient-Centered Research Award is a forecasted federal funding opportunity administered by the Department of Defense through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity under the Military Burn Research Program. The opportunity is intended to support clinically relevant burn research that improves the delivery of care to military personnel and other patients suffering burn injuries in operational and austere environments. The award is aligned with the broader mission of the Military Burn Research Program, which seeks to close capability gaps in combat casualty care and improve outcomes for burn patients treated across distributed military operational settings. The opportunity specifically addresses the challenge of translating discoveries in burn care research into practical implementation within clinical practice, military medicine policy, and operational healthcare systems. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to support patient-centered research that generates clinically useful evidence regarding interventions, clinical practices, treatment guidelines, tools, and healthcare policies applicable to burn care. The funding announcement emphasizes operational military environments that are resource constrained or austere, including battlefield or deployed medical settings. The program seeks proposals capable of bridging the gap between scientific discovery and implementation in practice by evaluating methods that can realistically be deployed in operational care settings. The announcement specifically requires clinical research or clinical trials and explicitly prohibits preclinical or animal research. Applicants may propose either prospective or retrospective studies involving human subjects or human subject data, provided the research addresses significant clinical questions relevant to military burn care. A notable feature introduced for fiscal year 2026 is the Mentorship Option, which provides a higher funding level to encourage collaboration between experienced investigators and junior researchers. Under this structure, one mentor may collaborate with one or two mentees in a coordinated research effort. The mentorship track is intended not only to produce meaningful burn care research outcomes but also to cultivate future leaders in military burn research. The opportunity highlights the importance of workforce development and knowledge transfer within the military medical research community. By supporting mentorship relationships alongside the primary research objectives, the program aims to strengthen long-term institutional expertise in combat-relevant burn care. The funding opportunity is categorized as discretionary assistance and may be awarded through either cooperative agreements or grants. The estimated total program funding is $3,400,000 with an anticipated two awards to be issued. No award ceiling or floor has yet been published in the forecast notice. Cost sharing and matching are not required for this opportunity. The opportunity falls under Assistance Listing 12.420, Military Medical Research and Development, which supports defense-related medical innovation and research activities. Because this is a forecasted announcement, additional details concerning funding tiers, indirect cost limitations, allowable budget categories, and period of performance are expected to be released when the full solicitation is posted. The eligibility language states that the opportunity is unrestricted and open to any type of entity, subject to any additional clarifications included in the future solicitation text. This broad eligibility framework suggests that applicants may include nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, private companies, governmental entities, and other research-performing organizations capable of conducting clinical burn research. The opportunity does not currently list geographic limitations, indicating national eligibility for U.S.-based applicants. Additional requirements concerning institutional capabilities, human subjects protections, clinical trial oversight, military relevance, or partnership expectations may be described in the complete funding announcement upon release. The application timeline reflects that the opportunity is currently forecasted rather than open for submission. The forecast notice was posted on May 5, 2026, with an estimated full posting date of June 1, 2026. Applications are expected to be due on October 22, 2026. The estimated award date and project start date are both September 30, 2027. No letter of intent, concept paper, or other pre-application requirement is currently identified in the forecast notice. Because the opportunity is issued through Grants.gov and the Department of Defense medical research infrastructure, applicants will likely need to complete federal registrations and submit materials through the designated federal application systems once the full announcement is released. Interested applicants are directed to monitor the official Military Burn Research Program announcement page and related materials for future guidance and submission instructions. Technical assistance for applicants is currently available through the eBRAP Help Desk, which serves as the primary contact resource for the opportunity. The help desk can be reached by telephone at 301-682-5507 or by email at help@eBRAP.org. Additional program information is available through the Military Burn Research Program pre-announcement webpage hosted by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs platform. Because the current listing is only a forecasted opportunity, many details regarding evaluation criteria, required proposal components, review methodology, reporting requirements, and submission mechanics are expected to be released in the formal funding announcement once published. Applicants interested in military clinical burn research should monitor the official posting closely in preparation for the anticipated June 2026 release.

Focus on clinically useful findings that improve implementation of burn care practices in austere military operational environments. Applications should demonstrate operational relevance and translational impact for combat burn care delivery.