U.S. CDMRP – Autism Research Program | Research Funding

Through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), the Department of Defense is announcing the 2024 Autism Research Program (ARP) Awards.

Several award programs are available:

• The Idea Development Award supports the development of innovative, high-impact ideas that advance the understanding of ASD and ultimately lead to improved outcomes.
   
• The Career Development Awards supports early-career, independent investigators and/or the transition of established investigators from other research fields to conduct innovative, high-impact ideas or early-phase, proof-of-principle clinical trials with the potential to have major impact on ASD.
   
• The Clinical Trial Awards supports research with the potential to have a major impact on the treatment and/or management of ASD.
• All applications for ARP funding must specifically address at least one of the 2024 Areas of Interest as directed by Congress and have direct relevance to military health; see the end of this document for a list of these Areas.
  
  Funding:
• Idea Development Award: max. $550,000
• Career Development Award: max. $550,000
• Clinical Trial Award: $1.9M - $2.2M
• Duration:
• Idea Development Award: 3 years
• Career Development Award: 3 years
• Clinical Trial Award: 4 years
• Eligibility:
  Applicants from international organizations or institutions are eligible to apply, and there are no citizenship restrictions. Programme-specific eligibility requirements for PI seniority can be found here.
  
  How to Apply:
  Pre-applications are submitted through the eBRAP platform. They should contain contact information, a letter of intent, and a list of collaborators and key personnel as suggested on the platform. Full applications will be made via a Grants.gov workspace. Application packages can be downloaded from Grants.gov at any time.
  
  Pre-Application Deadline:
• 16 May 2024 (5:00 p.m. Eastern time)
• Full Application Deadline:
• 15 August 2024 (11:59 p.m. Eastern time)
• Further information:
• To find the full program announcements and to start your pre-application, see here
• A useful summary of each call can be found here
• For questions about the eBRAP or Grants.gov platforms, contact the Research Office
• Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Numbers:
  • Idea Development Award: HT942524ARPIDA
  • Career Development Award: HT942524ARPCDA
  • Clinical Trial Award: HT942524ARPCTA
• FY24 ARP Career Development Award Areas of Interest:
• Assessment of novel therapeutics using valid preclinical models
• (New for FY24) Community supported and participatory research interventions
• Create tools and strategies to increase the speed with which evidence-based practices are deployed in community-based settings
• Cultural, socioeconomic, and gender factors in diagnosis, treatment efficacy, delivery, and access to services
• Development of health care provider-focused training or tools to improve health care delivery for individuals with ASD across the life span and the continuum of care (i.e., primary care, urgent/emergent care, and disaster relief)
• Environmental risk factors
• (New for FY24) Factors impacting quality of life for current and former military families.
• Factors promoting success in key transitions to independence for individuals living with ASD
• (New for FY24) Gender identity and sexual health, including puberty and sexual education for autistic individuals
• Improve diagnosis and access to services across the life span
• Interventions to support ASD adults, including transition to adulthood, mid-life, and late-life needs
• Long-term treatment outcomes from previous clinical trials for ASD core symptoms or to alleviate co-occurring conditions
• Mechanisms of heterogeneous clinical expression of ASD
• Mechanisms underlying sex differences (i.e., prevalence, biological mechanisms, phenotypic expression, core and comorbid syndrome expression and outcomes, developmental trajectories, diagnosis, and treatment response)
• Mechanisms underlying conditions co-occurring with ASD (e.g., pain, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal issues, inflammation, aggression, depression, anxiety, attention deficit, and seizures)
• Mental health issues (such as grief, masking, suicide risk, trauma, etc.) or disorders in autistic individuals
• Tests of implementation strategies to increase use of evidence-based practices
• (New for FY24) Uncovering new advances using a strength-based model
• Understanding heterogeneity in treatment response, including identification of psychosocial or biological factors that (1) impact treatment outcomes or (2) can be used to prospectively identify treatments that are most likely to benefit particular subgroups of individuals
• Understanding key factors to support ASD adults, including transition to adulthood
• Understanding physical health and related issues in aging