The Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Reconstructive Transplant Research Program (RTRP) to support research projects that specifically address needs in the field of vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA).
The managing agent for the anticipated program announcements/funding opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).
The RTRP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY21 funding opportunities. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the government. The FY21 RTRP program announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms will be posted on the Grants.gov website. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the program announcements are released.
Applications submitted to the FY21 RTRP Investigator-Initiated Research Award must address one or more of the following focus areas:
Reduce the risks of VCA-associated immunosuppression
- Define the unique manifestations and/or mechanisms of VCA immunogenicity
- Develop novel approaches for achieving VCA immune tolerance
- Develop less-toxic regimens for maintenance immunosuppression
- Identify unique immunosuppression requirements for VCA compared to other solid organ transplants
Develop reliable non-invasive prognostic/diagnostic biomarkers methods or tools for monitoring VCA graft rejection including applications that would be suitable for point-of-care testing or home monitoring
- Develop reliable non-invasive biomarkers for monitoring chronic VCA graft rejection in a large animal model or banked specimens and medical records
- Identify and/or validate new peripheral biomarkers for acute and chronic rejection
- Develop assays or devices for clinical graft monitoring utilizing validated biomarkers
Retrospective studies for VCA
- Comparison of solid organ immunosuppression protocols and outcomes vs. VCA immunosuppression protocols and outcomes
- Comprehensive assessment of VCAs performed to date, to include but not limited to, patient selection, immunosuppression protocols employed, long-term recipient outcomes (e.g., graft performance, chronic rejection, graft status), quality of life (e.g., physical/mental function, daily activities, social participation)
- Assessment of frequency, duration, and severity of rejection episodes, treatment interventions to mitigate rejection episodes, and immunosuppression-related complications (e.g., infection, end organ dysfunction)
- Assessment of VCA outcomes compared to age- and level of injury-matched prosthesis users
Applications submitted to the FY21 RTRP Advanced Technology Therapeutic Development Award must address one or more of the following focus areas:
Advance existing ex vivo tissue preservation strategies to extend the timeline between procurement and transplantation
- Develop promising approaches and technologies for translation to the clinic, including, but not limited to, perfusion, hypothermic, high-subzero and low-subzero, or static preservation strategies.
- Determine the extent to which VCA tissue preservation technology impacts VCA immunogenicity
Advance reliable non-invasive prognostic/diagnostic biomarkers, methods, or tools for monitoring VCA graft rejection, including applications that would be suitable for point-of-care testing or home monitoring.
- Develop reliable non-invasive biomarkers for monitoring chronic VCA graft rejection in a large animal model or banked specimens and medical records
- Validate peripheral biomarkers for acute and chronic rejection
- Develop assays or devices for clinical graft monitoring utilizing validated biomarkers
For more information about funding mechanisms and eligibility, visit: https://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/press/2021/21rtrppreann
It is anticipated that the Clinical Network Award will be released in FY22.
A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org prior to the pre-application deadline. All applications must conform to the final program announcements and General Application Instructions that will be available for electronic downloading from the Grants.gov website. The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism will also be found on Grants.gov. A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRDC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420.
Contact the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs if you have an interest in these opportunities at orsp@iit.edu.
Submission deadlines are not available until the program announcements are released. For email notification when program announcements are released, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under “Email Subscriptions” on the eBRAP homepage at https://eBRAP.org. For more information about the RTRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).