DoD Military Burn, Discovery Award

The DoW Military Burn, Discovery Award is a forecasted federal grant opportunity offered through the Department of Defense under the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). The funding opportunity is part of the fiscal year 2026 Military Burn Research Program (MBRP), which supports research and development activities focused on combat-relevant burn care. The program is associated with Assistance Listing 12.420, Military Medical Research and Development. According to the forecast notice, the Discovery Award mechanism is intended to encourage innovative, untested, and groundbreaking scientific research that can establish the basis for future translational or clinical advances in military burn treatment and recovery. The purpose of the Discovery Award is to support exploratory research projects that provide new scientific insights into combat-related burn injuries and care. The funding announcement specifically emphasizes innovation as the defining feature of the mechanism. Projects may be hypothesis-driven or hypothesis-generating, and exploratory approaches are permitted so long as the scientific rationale and study design are well developed. The award is intended to produce robust preliminary data that can later support larger-scale translational or clinical research efforts. The opportunity encourages investigators to pursue novel concepts and high-impact ideas capable of advancing the field of burn care relevant to military operational environments. The anticipated funding structure for this opportunity includes an estimated total program funding amount of $400,000 with an expected two awards to be issued. The funding instrument type is a grant. While the notice does not provide explicit award ceiling or award floor values, the total program funding and anticipated number of awards suggest a relatively limited funding pool intended for focused exploratory studies. No cost sharing or matching requirement is associated with this opportunity. The notice does not provide detailed information regarding allowable costs, indirect cost limitations, performance periods, or restrictions on expenditures at the forecast stage. Additional budget guidance and detailed funding policies are expected to be released with the full application announcement and associated program solicitation materials. Eligibility for the opportunity is listed as unrestricted, meaning the program is open to all entity types subject to any future clarifications contained in the full funding announcement. The forecast notice does not currently identify limitations related to organization type, institution size, or geographic service area. As a federal Department of Defense funding opportunity published through Grants.gov, the program is expected to permit applications from universities, nonprofit research organizations, for-profit entities, small businesses, federal laboratories, and other eligible research institutions capable of conducting military-relevant biomedical research. No additional restrictions or exclusions are currently stated in the forecast materials. The timeline provided in the forecast notice indicates that the funding opportunity was forecasted on May 5, 2026. The estimated posting date for the complete opportunity announcement is June 1, 2026. The estimated application due date is October 22, 2026, and the estimated award date and project start date are both September 30, 2027. The notice is currently in forecast status, meaning applicants are encouraged to begin planning but may not yet submit applications until the official solicitation is released. The opportunity does not identify any required pre-application steps such as letters of intent, concept papers, or pre-proposals at this stage. There is also no indication that the program operates on a rolling basis or that it recurs annually, although Department of Defense medical research programs are often released on recurring fiscal-year cycles. The application process and evaluation criteria are not fully detailed in the forecast announcement. However, the notice states that proposed research must demonstrate novelty, strong scientific rationale, and a well-developed study design. Since innovation is identified as the primary focus of the award mechanism, applications will likely be evaluated heavily on originality, scientific merit, and potential impact on future military burn care research. Additional application components, submission instructions, evaluation criteria, and compliance requirements are expected to be published in the full opportunity announcement and associated program guidance. The notice directs applicants to additional program information through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs website at https://cdmrp.health.mil/pubs/press/2026/mbrppreann. For applicant support and technical assistance, the opportunity lists the eBRAP Help Desk as the primary contact. The help desk can be reached by telephone at 301-682-5507 and by email at help@eBRAP.org. The eBRAP system is commonly used for Department of Defense biomedical research application coordination and pre-application management. The current notice serves as an advance forecast to allow potential applicants time to prepare research concepts and institutional planning before the official release of the full funding announcement.

Emphasize innovation, novelty, and strong preliminary scientific rationale. Proposed research should generate robust preliminary data that supports future translational or clinical burn care research.