DoD Multiple Sclerosis Exploration-Hypothesis Development Award

The Multiple Sclerosis Research Program Exploration - Hypothesis Development Award is a federal research funding opportunity administered through the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity and managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs as part of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program. The program was originally established by Congress in 2009 to support high-impact and scientifically rigorous research focused on multiple sclerosis. The Exploration - Hypothesis Development Award mechanism is designed to encourage innovative, high-risk and potentially groundbreaking research concepts that can establish the foundation for future scientific investigations. The funding opportunity specifically supports exploratory studies with strong scientific rationale and clearly defined hypotheses, even when preliminary data are not yet available. The vision of the program is to prevent, cure, reverse or slow the progression of multiple sclerosis while reducing its impact on patients, military personnel, veterans and families. The funding opportunity supports projects aligned with one or more designated focus areas. These include central nervous system repair and regeneration in multiple sclerosis, correlates of disease activity and progression, biology and measurement of multiple sclerosis symptoms, and mechanisms contributing to multiple sclerosis etiology and disease progression. Examples of responsive studies include investigations into remyelination, axonal protection, innate immune signaling, imaging biomarkers, symptom measurement tools, environmental exposures, viral triggers, genetics, epigenetics and demographic factors affecting disease progression. Certain research activities are specifically excluded. The program will not support clinical trials, studies focused solely on developmental myelination or peripheral immunomodulatory therapies, or the collection of new specimens for applications focused on disease correlates and progression. Research involving painful studies in domestic cats or dogs is also prohibited except in narrow military or service animal circumstances. Approximately $2 million in total federal funding is expected to be allocated to support about eight awards. Each award may request up to $250,000 in total costs for a maximum two-year period of performance. The funding mechanism is a grant under federal assistance regulations. Indirect costs are allowable according to federally negotiated rates, and all direct and indirect subaward costs must be included within the direct cost structure of the primary award. The funding opportunity allows limited travel expenses for collaboration activities and one scientific meeting per year for project dissemination purposes. Cost sharing or matching contributions are not required. Awards are anticipated to be made no later than September 30, 2027, using fiscal year 2026 appropriated funds. The program contains two investigator tracks. The Established Investigator option is open to independent investigators at all career levels. The New Investigator option is restricted to investigators within five years of the start of their first independent non-mentored faculty position who have not received more than $300,000 in total direct costs for previous or concurrent non-mentored, peer-reviewed multiple sclerosis research grants. Only one application may be submitted per investigator under this funding mechanism. Eligibility extends to foreign and domestic organizations, nonprofit and for-profit entities, public and private institutions, and intramural and extramural Department of War organizations. Applications involving collaborations among academic institutions, industry, Veterans Affairs entities and Department of War organizations are encouraged. Applicants addressing the correlates of disease activity and progression focus area must demonstrate access to existing cohort specimens or data through formal institutional confirmation letters. The application process requires both a pre-application and a full application. A Letter of Intent must first be submitted through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal. Full applications are then submitted either through Grants.gov for extramural applicants or through eBRAP for intramural Department of War organizations. Required application components include a project narrative, technical abstract, lay abstract, statement of work, impact statement, innovation statement, supporting documentation, biosketches, current and pending support forms, budget materials and several conditional attachments depending on the nature of the research. Applications involving animal studies require an animal research plan, while New Investigator applicants must submit an eligibility verification letter. Projects using existing cohort data for disease progression studies must provide institutional confirmation of access to specimens or data. Applications are evaluated through a two-tier review process consisting of peer review and programmatic review. The primary scored review criteria include innovation, research strategy and feasibility, and overall impact on multiple sclerosis research and patient outcomes. Reviewers evaluate whether the proposed work introduces new paradigms or perspectives, whether the experimental design and statistical methods are rigorous and feasible, and whether the anticipated short-term and long-term outcomes could advance multiple sclerosis prevention, treatment or quality of life. Additional unscored considerations include the qualifications of personnel, appropriateness of the budget, quality of the research environment and adequacy of data and resource sharing plans. Programmatic reviewers additionally consider alignment with program priorities and portfolio composition before funding recommendations are finalized. The pre-application deadline for the current funding cycle is July 30, 2026, and the full application deadline is August 13, 2026. The application verification period closes on August 20, 2026. Peer review is scheduled for December 2026 and programmatic review is expected in February 2027. Applicants are encouraged to begin registrations with SAM.gov, Grants.gov and eBRAP early because account setup may take several weeks. Technical support for eBRAP is available at help@eBRAP.org and 301-682-5507, while Grants.gov support is available at support@grants.gov and 800-518-4726. The funding opportunity appears to be part of an annual federal research cycle, and future solicitations are likely to follow a similar timeline.

Emphasize highly innovative and non-incremental MS research concepts. Clearly align the project with one or more MSRP focus areas and explain the scientific rationale in detail. Strong statistical analysis plans, rigorous study design and clearly articulated impact on MS research and patient outcomes are heavily prioritized during peer review.