U.S. CDMRP – Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program | Research Funding

Through the Congressionally Directed Alzheimer’s Research Program (CDMRP), the Department of Defense is announcing the 2024 Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program (PRARP) Awards. The PRARP prioritizes efforts aimed at improving diagnosis and prognosis now – including methods, technologies, patient access and education, and accuracy.

Several award programs are available:

The intent of the Transforming Care Award (TrCA) is to support research that provides answers and solutions in critical areas to improve quality of life, reduce caregiver burden and stress, reduce health disparities, and increase support for the individual with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), their care partner/caregiver, and/or both, as well as the impact on families and/or communities. For this mechanism, “family” is broadly defined as the family of choice and/or the family of origin. Additionally, the TrCA definition of “care” does not include medical care (such as medical interventions administered by a physician), as the care landscape extends beyond that of medical interventions to be inclusive of research into integration, education, and support.

The Transforming Diagnosis Award (TrDA) is intended to improve diagnosis now. Proposed projects must build knowledge, capacity, technology, and/or research to reduce or overcome important barriers to obtaining a diagnosis, meaningful disease monitoring, and accurate prognosis. Barriers could include, but are not limited to, technologies, cost, equitable patient access, applicability, structural and social determinants of health, clinical implementation, relationship to clinical outcome measures, biomarker validation, lack of longitudinal data to inform prediction/prognosis, and more. The investigator must clearly attune their project to provide true benefit to people living with AD/ADRD diagnoses and their families.

• The Transforming Research Award (TrRA): To meet the intent of the funding opportunity, applications must robustly address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in prevention and risk reduction. The proposed research may include, but is not limited to, exploring questions in the following areas:
  • Identification of risk factors (environmental, genetic, epigenetic, lifestyle, etc.).
  • Identification and implementation of strategies to reduce AD/ADRD risk and prevent cognitive problems following TBI and/or military service.
  • Understanding the role of social determinants of health in risk reduction.
  • Informational (not descriptive) epidemiology to understand environmental and other factors that contribute to development of AD/ADRD.

• Transforming Care Award: $1.4 M – $1.6M
• Transforming Diagnosis Award: max. $2.0 M
• Transforming Research Award: max. $1.0M                                             

• Transforming Care Award: max 4 years
• Transforming Diagnosis Award: max 4 years
• Transforming Research Award : max 3 years

• Single Principal Investigator (PI) Option:  Independent investigators at all career levels (or equivalent).
• Career Initiation or Transition Partnering PI Option (CIT):
  • Initiation investigators must have at least 3 years research experience beyond a terminal degree but no more than 7 years within their first independent research position
  • Transition investigators may be at any level, but new to either the Alzheimer’s disease/Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (AD/ADRD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI) fields

• Transforming Care Award: HT942524PRARPTrCA
• Transforming Diagnosis Award: HT942524PRARPTRDA
• Transforming Research Award: HT942524PRARPTrRA

• Pre-Application (Letter of Intent): 22 May 2024, 5:00 p.m. Eastern time
• Full Application Deadline: 20 June 2024, 11:59 p.m. Eastern time

• To find the full program announcements and to start your pre-application, see here
• A useful summary table of each call is available here
• Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Numbers:
  • Transforming Care Award: HT942524PRARPTrCA
  • Transforming Diagnosis Award: HT942524PRARPTRDA
  • Transforming Research Award: HT942524PRARPTrRA