DOD Tick-Borne Disease, Idea Award | W81XWH 19 TBDRP IA

FAQs: DOD Tick-Borne Disease Research Program (TBDRP) FY19 Idea Award

What is the FY19 TBDRP Idea Award?

The FY19 Idea Award is a Department of Defense (DOD) funding opportunity intended to support early-stage research concepts for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. It emphasizes genuinely new, potentially game-changing ideas that could lead to critical discoveries or major advances that improve health outcomes.

What kinds of research projects is this award trying to fund?

The program is seeking conceptually innovative projects that are high-risk but potentially high-reward. The research should be built around a clear, testable hypothesis and a strong scientific rationale, typically based on careful reasoning and a critical reading of existing research rather than predictable extensions of prior work.

How important is innovation for this opportunity?

Innovation is a central requirement. The award is meant for projects that introduce a new paradigm, challenge prevailing assumptions, or approach persistent problems from an unexpected angle. Incremental science (work that represents the next logical step in an established research line) is explicitly not the goal.

What does the program mean by "incremental" versus "innovative" science?

Based on the announcement’s framing, incremental science is research that predictably extends prior work in a straightforward way. Innovative science, in contrast, is research that is truly different in concept, challenges standard thinking, or opens a new direction that could move the field forward in a meaningful way if successful.

Does the application need to include a hypothesis?

Yes. Proposals are expected to be driven by a clear, testable hypothesis and grounded in a strong scientific rationale.

Is relevance to specific program priorities required?

Yes. Applications must connect the proposed research to at least one of the FY19 TBDRP Focus Areas and clearly explain why the work matters now in terms of real-world disease burden.

Does the opportunity prioritize military populations?

Yes. While the program serves the broader American public, it emphasizes the needs of military communities. Competitive applications should demonstrate awareness of healthcare realities affecting active duty Service members, Veterans, and military families, and explain how outcomes would be useful for these groups and/or for public health more broadly.

Are preliminary data required to apply?

No. Preliminary data are encouraged but not mandatory. Applicants may strengthen their case with unpublished findings from the principal investigator or named collaborators, or with well-chosen published evidence supporting feasibility and rationale, but a mature dataset is not required.

What kinds of evidence can strengthen feasibility if preliminary data are limited?

The announcement indicates applicants can rely on a strong scientific rationale supported by careful reasoning and critical evaluation of existing research. It also notes that unpublished findings from the PI or collaborators, as well as relevant published evidence, can strengthen the case for feasibility.

What research practices does the program encourage for rigor and reproducibility?

The announcement encourages rigorous study designs and highlights practices such as authenticating cell lines, applying statistical rigor in laboratory and preclinical work, and validating findings in well-characterized patient cohorts with consistent documentation.

Does the program encourage use of existing biorepositories and databases?

Yes. The opportunity highlights the value of leveraging existing Lyme and tick-borne disease biorepositories and databases, particularly when retrospective human samples or linked clinical data are essential.

Are large-scale patient datasets and long-term records relevant to this funding call?

Yes. Projects analyzing large-scale patient datasets with long-term health records and biospecimen repositories are specifically described as welcomed directions.

Are specific technologies or analytical approaches encouraged?

Yes. The announcement specifically calls out state-of-the-art genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and mathematical modeling approaches as welcomed directions.

What is the maximum funding amount for this award?

The direct costs for the entire project period are capped at $300,000.

How many awards were expected to be made?

Program leadership anticipated setting aside roughly $0.48 million total to support about one Idea Award in this cycle, indicating the competition was expected to be very selective.

What factors influence whether an application is funded?

Funding decisions depend on the availability of federal funds, the number of submissions received, and how applications score in both scientific merit review and programmatic review (including fit with mission and priorities).

Who is the sponsoring agency and who administers the award?

The sponsoring agency is the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, and the opportunity is administered through USAMRAA.

What type of award mechanism is used (grant vs cooperative agreement)?

Awards are issued as assistance agreements, either grants or cooperative agreements. If no substantial federal involvement is anticipated, the mechanism is a grant. If substantial involvement is expected (such as active collaboration or participation by the funding agency), the mechanism is a cooperative agreement, and the nature of that involvement is described in the award.

How is the award type determined?

The grant versus cooperative agreement determination depends on how involved the DOD expects to be during the project. The award type and the project start date are set during negotiations.

When was this FY19 opportunity posted and when did it close?

This FY19 opportunity was posted on March 29, 2019, and the original closing date was August 22, 2019.

When were awards expected to be made?

Awards were expected no later than September 30, 2020.

How long were FY19 funds expected to remain available?

The funds were FY19 dollars projected to remain available only for a limited period, with an expiration noted as September 30, 2025.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility was described as broadly open (unrestricted by entity type), subject to any specific clarifications in the full announcement.

What is the CFDA number and program category for this opportunity?

The opportunity is categorized under science and technology/research and development and is identified with CFDA 12.420.

What is the core message of what reviewers are likely looking for?

The program is essentially inviting applicants to propose a bold but plausible scientific leap for Lyme or other tick-borne diseases: a truly innovative idea tied to a testable hypothesis, clearly aligned with FY19 TBDRP Focus Areas, justified by disease burden and mission relevance (including military communities), and supported by rigorous design choices that leverage existing resources and best practices for reproducibility.