DOD Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s, Convergence Science Research Award | W81XWH 21 PRARP CSRA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 21 PRARP CSRA

The DOD Peer Reviewed Alzheimer's, Convergence Science Research Award (CSRA) is a Department of Defense research funding opportunity designed to push Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) research in new, highly creative directions. The core goal is to back projects that do more than add incremental knowledge; proposals are expected to generate broadly useful research resources, tools, and fresh avenues of investigation that can accelerate progress for both researchers and health practitioners. In practice, this means the program is looking for work that deliberately challenges current research assumptions or methods, or that introduces genuinely novel approaches that could reshape how problems in AD/ADRD are studied or addressed.

A defining feature of this award is its emphasis on convergence science and practical impact. Applicants are expected to show that the work is innovation- and impact-based, not simply hypothesis-driven in a traditional way. Projects should be positioned to produce outputs that others can use, such as new datasets, methods, platforms, technologies, validated measures, or other enabling resources that open up new lines of inquiry. The intent is to seed efforts that can change the field's trajectory, rather than fund routine extensions of existing projects.

Another central requirement is relevance to military-related risk factors and populations. Applications are expected to demonstrate that the study team has credible experience in both military risk factor-related research and AD/ADRD, in a way that fits the proposed work. This reflects the program's mission to address health challenges that affect Service members and Veterans, while still ensuring that the resulting knowledge and tools can benefit the broader civilian community as well. In other words, the funded science should have clear value for military and Veteran health contexts, but it is also expected to translate to wider public health or clinical benefit.

Administratively, this opportunity is offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). It is categorized as discretionary funding within science, technology, and other research and development activities (CFDA 12.420). The funding instruments include both grants and cooperative agreements, meaning some awards may involve a higher level of programmatic involvement from the government than a standard grant, depending on the final mechanism used.

Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to many types of applicant organizations, subject to any additional eligibility details that may appear in the full announcement. The opportunity was created on April 8, 2021, with an original closing date of July 21, 2021. The program anticipated making around five awards. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided listing (shown as 0), which typically indicates that applicants need to consult the full funding announcement for budget limits, expectations, or constraints.

Overall, the FY21 PRARP CSRA is best understood as a high-bar, innovation-first award aimed at producing influential, enabling outputs for the AD/ADRD field, while maintaining a clear line of sight to military and Veteran risk factors and real-world impact across military, Veteran, and civilian communities.

• 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 Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s, Convergence Science 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 Apr 08, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 21, 2021. (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 5 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.

Apply for W81XWH 21 PRARP CSRA

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