Gulf War Illness, New Investigator Award | W81XWH 18 GWIRP NIA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 GWIRP NIA

The Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) New Investigator Award (NIA), offered by the Department of Defense through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), is intended to bring new people and new ideas into Gulf War Illness (GWI) research. The central goal is to support investigators who are new to this specific field so they can compete in a funding lane separate from long-established GWI research teams. Prior work in GWI is allowed but not required, and the program is structured to accommodate different career stages. To be eligible, the Principal Investigator (PI) must fit into one of three defined categories: a Transitioning Postdoctoral Fellow, an Early-Career Investigator, or a New GWI Researcher. When a PI has limited direct experience in GWI, the program strongly encourages meaningful collaborations with investigators who do have GWI expertise or other highly relevant scientific or clinical experience, and the application is expected to explain clearly how those collaborators strengthen the team and improve the project’s ability to answer the proposed research question.

The award is designed to help generate proof-of-principle results that can serve as a foundation for larger, follow-on studies. A broad range of research approaches is allowed, spanning basic science through clinical research, as long as the work is clearly centered on Gulf War Veterans affected by GWI and the application explicitly explains the project’s potential impact on GWI. Examples of the kinds of studies the program seeks include efforts to identify objective measures that distinguish healthy Veterans from those with GWI (such as clinically relevant biomarkers), studies that deepen understanding of the biological mechanisms that may underlie GWI symptoms, and preclinical development of interventions that could eventually move toward improving outcomes for Veterans. Preliminary data are not required, which lowers the barrier for newer investigators; however, applicants may include preliminary findings if they help justify feasibility or strengthen the rationale. Importantly, any supporting preliminary data do not need to originate from prior GWI studies and may instead be drawn from related illnesses or prior observations, provided the proposed work logically and convincingly connects back to Gulf War Illness in Veterans.

A notable feature introduced in FY18 is an optional pathway tied to biorepository contribution. The program points applicants toward participation in the “Boston Biorepository, Recruitment, and Integrative Network (BBRAIN) for GWI,” an established repository designed to retain and distribute biospecimens and associated data for the research community. Applicants are encouraged to contribute biospecimens and/or data to this network to strengthen the shared research infrastructure. To qualify for the higher funding level under this Biorepository Contribution Option, the PI must submit a Biorepository Contribution Statement that lays out the proposed costs and formally commits to working under BBRAIN protocols and Standard Operating Procedures to ensure quality and consistency.

In terms of funding, the opportunity is offered as a grant or cooperative agreement under CFDA 12.420, categorized as science and technology research and development. For FY18, the anticipated maximum direct costs for the full performance period are capped at $500,000, with a slightly higher cap of $516,000 if applying under the Biorepository Contribution Option. The announcement projected about four awards. While eligibility is broadly described as unrestricted across entity types (subject to the full eligibility language in the announcement), the key gating factor is PI status under one of the three new-investigator categories and alignment with the program’s GWI-focused intent.

The announcement also makes clear what it will not support. Two specific areas are excluded: first, projects that attempt to derive GWI diagnostic biomarkers from animal models (meaning animal work cannot be used as the basis for claiming a diagnostic biomarker for GWI); and second, studies that frame psychiatric disease or psychological stress as the primary cause of Gulf War Illness. In practice, this means competitive applications should stay tightly focused on Veteran-relevant biological mechanisms, objective measures, and intervention development grounded in GWI as a complex illness, rather than positioning GWI chiefly as a psychiatric or stress-driven condition.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Gulf War Illness, New Investigator Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 31, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 08, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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