DoD Neurofibromatosis, Early Investigator Research Award | W81XWH 19 NFRP EIRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 19 NFRP EIRA

The DoD Neurofibromatosis Research Program (NFRP) Early Investigator Research Award (EIRA) is a Department of Defense funding opportunity designed to help launch the careers of promising early-stage researchers who want to build a long-term focus in neurofibromatosis (NF) research. The intent is not only to fund a specific NF-related research project, but also to deliberately support the professional growth of the applicant into an independent investigator positioned to contribute at the forefront of the field. A key feature of the program is structured mentorship: the award is built around the idea that strong guidance, training, and a supportive research environment are essential for turning a talented postdoctoral researcher into a future leader in NF research.

This opportunity is aimed at postdoctoral investigators, who are treated as the Principal Investigator (PI) on the application. The PI is expected to show clear potential and strong commitment to an NF research career, but prior experience working specifically in NF is not required. That means researchers coming from adjacent disciplines or disease areas can still be competitive if they can make a convincing case that their skills, proposed project, and career trajectory align with important needs in NF research. The expectation, however, is that the proposed project will be clearly NF-focused and that the overall plan will realistically move the PI toward independence.

Mentorship is a required and central component. Applications must include at least one Mentor who is well-suited to the proposed work and who can demonstrate real experience in NF research and in training investigators. The Mentor qualifications are expected to be backed up by concrete indicators such as active research funding, recent peer-reviewed publications, and a track record of successful mentorship. The program allows the primary Mentor to be a junior faculty member, but in that situation the PI is encouraged to add a secondary Mentor who brings a stronger or more established NF research and mentoring history. Across the mentoring team, reviewers will be looking for evidence that the Mentor(s) are genuinely committed to helping the PI grow into an independent NF researcher rather than simply overseeing a short-term project.

A major requirement of the application is an individualized NF-focused Researcher Development Plan. This plan should spell out, in a practical and specific way, how the PI will gain the skills, expertise, and professional competencies needed to carry out the research project and progress toward independence. In other words, the application is expected to go beyond listing experiments and should explain the training strategy: what the PI needs to learn, how they will learn it, what mentoring or career development activities will be used, and how the plan supports the PI's longer-term career direction within NF research.

The program also places importance on the research and training environment. Applicants must clearly describe an environment that supports both the science and the mentoring plan, including access to needed facilities, resources, expertise, and professional development opportunities. If the PI's home institution has gaps in resources or mentorship, those shortcomings can be addressed through collaborations with other institutions. When work will rely on resources from a partner institution, the PI is strongly encouraged to name a co-Mentor at that collaborating site, which helps ensure day-to-day guidance and meaningful access to the needed capabilities.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). The funding opportunity title is "DoD Neurofibromatosis, Early Investigator Research Award" and the funding opportunity number is W81XWH 19 NFRP EIRA. The funding instrument type is listed as a cooperative agreement or grant, and the activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development (CFDA 12.420). Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many entity types, subject to any additional eligibility details provided in the full announcement. The posting indicates an original creation date of March 11, 2019 and an original closing date of June 6, 2019, with an expected number of awards of four. The award ceiling is listed as 0 in the extracted data, which typically signals that the specific maximum budget may be defined elsewhere in the full program announcement or depends on other constraints rather than being captured in that single field.

• 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 "DoD Neurofibromatosis, Early Investigator Research 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 Mar 11, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 06, 2019. (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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