DoW Bone Marrow Failure, Resource Development Award

The Defense Health Agency, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, is offering the Bone Marrow Failure Research Program Resource Development Award to support the advancement of research infrastructure in bone marrow failure diseases. This program is part of a broader federal effort to fund high-impact biomedical research that benefits Service Members, Veterans, and the general public. Since its inception, the Bone Marrow Failure Research Program has invested significantly in innovative studies aimed at understanding and ultimately curing bone marrow failure conditions. The primary objective of this funding opportunity is to support the development of a comprehensive multiomic atlas derived from well-annotated human bone marrow failure samples. This atlas is intended to integrate multiple layers of biological data, including genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and epigenomic information. The resulting dataset must be developed as a durable, open-access resource that can be used broadly by the research and clinical communities to accelerate discoveries and improve understanding of disease mechanisms. Funding under this opportunity is structured as a grant with a maximum total cost of 1.25 million dollars per award and a period of performance not to exceed two years. The program anticipates making approximately one award. Funds may be used for activities such as biospecimen collection, processing, quality control, and multiomic data generation. However, certain costs are explicitly disallowed, including clinical trials and animal research. Applicants must also ensure that all resulting data are made publicly available through a robust data sharing plan. Eligibility for this opportunity is broad and inclusive. Both domestic and international organizations are eligible, including public and private entities, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and government institutions. Principal investigators at any career stage may apply, provided they are affiliated with an eligible organization. There is no cost-sharing requirement, and awards are made to institutions rather than individuals. The application process follows a two-step submission model. Applicants must first submit a pre-application in the form of a letter of intent through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal. This is followed by a full application submission through either Grants.gov or eBRAP, depending on the organization type. The application requires multiple components, including a project narrative, technical and lay abstracts, data management and sharing plans, and various supporting documents. These materials must demonstrate scientific merit, feasibility, and alignment with program objectives. Applications are evaluated through a two-tier review process consisting of peer review and programmatic review. Review criteria include project design, potential impact, data sharing plans, sustainability of the resource, and the qualifications of the research team. The program emphasizes the importance of high-quality data, multidisciplinary collaboration, and long-term accessibility of the developed resource. Key deadlines for this opportunity include a pre-application submission deadline of October 7, 2026, and a full application deadline of November 4, 2026. Peer review is expected to occur in January 2027, followed by programmatic review in March 2027. Awards are anticipated to be made by September 30, 2027. This opportunity does not explicitly state recurrence, indicating it may be a one-time or irregular offering.

Emphasize strong data sharing plans, demonstrate feasibility with preliminary data, ensure multidisciplinary expertise, and clearly align with bone marrow failure focus area