DoW Vision, Investigator-Initiated Research Award

The Vision Research Program Investigator-Initiated Research Award is administered by the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs as part of the Vision Research Program. The funding opportunity supports basic through early translational research focused on eye injury and visual dysfunction associated with military exposure. The Vision Research Program was initiated by Congress in 2009 to improve understanding, prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, and treatment of visual injuries sustained during military operations, including ocular trauma and visual dysfunction associated with traumatic brain injury. The fiscal year appropriation for the Vision Research Program is $10 million, and the program seeks projects that can significantly advance vision trauma care for Service Members, Veterans, their Families, and the broader public. The program announcement specifically states that applications may involve preclinical studies and clinical research, but clinical trials are not permitted under this award mechanism. The funding opportunity includes two separate funding levels intended to support projects at different stages of scientific maturity. Funding Level 1 supports exploratory, high-risk and high-reward research projects in the earliest stages of idea development. Preliminary data are permitted but are not required for this level. Applicants are expected to provide a strong scientific rationale supported by literature and explain how the work could create new paradigms, tools, or avenues of investigation. Funding Level 2 supports more mature projects advancing toward clinical translation and requires preliminary data demonstrating feasibility and readiness. Funding Level 2 also includes a Partnering Principal Investigator Option that allows two investigators to collaborate under coordinated awards. Under this structure, an Initiating Principal Investigator and a Partnering Principal Investigator each receive separate awards administered through their respective organizations while jointly contributing to the proposed project. Applications must align with at least one of the program focus areas. These include understanding and treating eye injury or visual dysfunction related to military exposure, diagnosing and stabilizing eye injuries in austere or prolonged care settings, and restoring visual function after military-related vision loss or severe impairment. The program strongly encourages multidisciplinary collaboration among academia, industry, military organizations, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other federal agencies. Applicants proposing access to military populations, Veterans Affairs resources, or specialized databases must demonstrate access at the time of application and provide plans for maintaining that access during the award period. The announcement also specifies restrictions related to painful research involving domestic cats or dogs unless the work relates to military or service animals. Funding Level 1 applications may request up to $400,000 in total costs for a maximum performance period of two years. Funding Level 2 applications may request up to $1.2 million in total costs for a maximum period of performance of three years. Approximately two Funding Level 1 awards and three Funding Level 2 awards are anticipated. Indirect costs are allowed according to negotiated institutional rates, and subaward indirect costs must be included within the direct cost structure of the primary award. Funding Level 2 applicants are required to budget for travel to a Department of War-sponsored meeting, such as the Military Health System Research Symposium, during the second or third year of the award. Additional travel to scientific meetings and support for multi-institutional collaboration may also be included. Cost sharing or matching funds are not required for eligibility. Eligibility is broad and includes extramural and intramural organizations associated with the U.S. Department of War, as well as foreign and domestic organizations, nonprofit organizations, for-profit entities, and public or private institutions. Independent investigators affiliated with eligible organizations may serve as Principal Investigators regardless of citizenship or nationality. Awards are made to organizations rather than directly to individuals. The submission process requires active registrations in SAM.gov, eBRAP, and Grants.gov before application submission. The process begins with a mandatory pre-application submitted through eBRAP. Applicants invited after pre-application review may then submit a full application through Grants.gov if they are an extramural organization or through eBRAP if they are an intramural Department of War organization. The pre-application requires a one-page preproposal narrative describing the research rationale, objectives, anticipated impact, and alignment with the funding level intent. Supporting materials include references, abbreviations, and key personnel biographical sketches. Invited full applications require extensive materials including a project narrative, technical abstract, lay abstract, statement of work, impact statement, military relevance statement, budget documents, biosketches, research sharing plans, and additional supporting documentation. Applications involving animal or human subjects require detailed compliance documentation. Review criteria include research rationale, research strategy and feasibility, impact, and personnel qualifications. Additional programmatic review evaluates alignment with Vision Research Program priorities, military relevance, and contribution to the overall research portfolio. The application timeline includes a pre-application deadline of July 28, 2026, followed by invitation notifications expected in September 2026. Full applications are due November 12, 2026, with peer review scheduled for January 2027 and programmatic review anticipated in March 2027. Awards are expected to be made no later than September 30, 2027. Applicants may contact the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507 for submission assistance and the Grants.gov Support Center at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726 for technical support related to Grants.gov registration and submission. The funding opportunity is issued annually under the Vision Research Program and is expected to recur in future fiscal years.

Strong applications should clearly align with at least one FY26 VRP focus area, demonstrate military relevance, provide rigorous and reproducible study design, justify model selection, and explain anticipated impact on vision injury research or patient care. Funding Level 1 favors innovative high-risk concepts while Funding Level 2 requires strong preliminary feasibility data.