DoW Tick-Borne Disease Idea Development Award

The Defense Health Agency, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Tick-Borne Disease Research Program, released the Tick-Borne Disease Research Program Idea Development Award funding opportunity under opportunity number HT942526TBDRPIDA. The program is intended to support conceptually innovative research that may accelerate progress toward reducing the burden of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and conditions while improving patient care and quality of life. The funding opportunity emphasizes projects that challenge existing paradigms, introduce new concepts or perspectives, and go beyond incremental advances on published or ongoing work. The program specifically supports basic, translational, preclinical, and clinical research activities that establish proof-of-principle for future development efforts. Clinical trials are explicitly prohibited under this mechanism. A separate Career Development Option is available for eligible early-career investigators who will conduct research under the mentorship of experienced tick-borne disease researchers. The Tick-Borne Disease Research Program was established by Congress in 2016 and is managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs within the Defense Health Agency Research and Development organization. The broader program mission is to fund innovative research that improves the prevention, detection, and treatment of Lyme disease and related tick-borne conditions affecting Service Members, Veterans, their families, and the American public. The fiscal year 2026 appropriation for the program is $7 million. The agency expects to allocate approximately $3.5 million to support about three standard Idea Development Awards and two Career Development Option awards. The standard award mechanism permits total costs up to $800,000 over a maximum three-year period of performance, while the Career Development Option permits total costs up to $550,000 over the same maximum project duration. Eligible applicants include domestic and international organizations, including nonprofit and for-profit organizations, public and private institutions, and intramural and extramural Department of War organizations. Independent investigators at all career stages may serve as Principal Investigators for the standard Idea Development Award. For the Career Development Option, the Principal Investigator must be an early-career scientist within ten years of completion of their terminal degree, excluding residency and approved family medical leave. The opportunity strongly encourages cross-disciplinary investigators who are entering the tick-borne disease field. Career Development Option applications also require a qualified mentorship team led by an experienced tick-borne disease researcher with a recent history of funding and publications in the field. Cost sharing is not required for either mechanism. Applications must address at least one specified focus area related to pathogenesis, treatment, or diagnosis of Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases. Encouraged topics include persistent Lyme disease, maternal and congenital transmission, co-infections, neurologic symptoms, innovative diagnostics, and proof-of-concept therapeutic development. The solicitation specifically excludes applications focused on human vaccine work, field work involving ticks or reservoir hosts, screening publicly available compound libraries, and clinical trials. Applications evaluating already-demonstrated therapeutic candidates or diagnostic approaches are considered outside the scope of this mechanism and are directed instead to another Tick-Borne Disease Research Program funding opportunity. The application process consists of two required stages. Investigators must first submit a pre-application through the Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal. The pre-application includes a two-page Preproposal Narrative addressing the research hypothesis, rationale, relevance, impact, innovation, and mentoring relationship when applicable. Supporting documents include references, abbreviations, and combined biographical sketches. Selected applicants will then receive invitations to submit full applications through Grants.gov for extramural applicants or eBRAP for intramural Department of War organizations. Full applications require multiple attachments including a Project Narrative, Supporting Documentation, Technical Abstract, Lay Abstract, Statement of Work, Impact Statement, Study Personnel description, and potentially animal research, human subjects, career development, and eligibility documents depending on project type. Additional forms include senior personnel profiles, current and pending support, budgets, and subaward materials. Applications are evaluated through both peer review and programmatic review. Review criteria prioritize Research Strategy and Feasibility and Impact, followed by Innovation, Statistical Plan and Data Analysis, Personnel qualifications, and Career Development Plan quality for Career Development Option applications. Reviewers assess scientific rationale, methodological rigor, innovation, statistical design, public health relevance, military relevance, long-term impact, and investigator expertise. Programmatic reviewers additionally consider relevance to fiscal year 2026 program priorities, public health burden reduction, impact on military populations, and overall program portfolio composition. The funding announcement also encourages collaborations among academia, industry, Department of War organizations, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The pre-application submission deadline is July 22, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Invitations to submit full applications are expected by September 3, 2026. Full applications are due October 22, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, followed by an application verification deadline of October 27, 2026. Peer review is anticipated in December 2026, with programmatic review expected in February 2027. Awards are expected to be made no later than September 30, 2027 using fiscal year 2026 appropriations available through September 30, 2032. Questions regarding eBRAP submissions may be directed to the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507, while Grants.gov technical assistance is available through support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726.

Emphasize conceptual innovation rather than incremental advances. Clearly demonstrate public health and military relevance. Provide rigorous statistical and experimental design. Address feasibility and alternative approaches. Align the proposal with stated focus areas including persistent Lyme disease diagnostics therapeutics or pathogenesis.