DoD PRMRP Discovery Award | W81XWH 22 PRMRP DA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 22 PRMRP DA

The DoD Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) Discovery Award (Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH 22 PRMRP DA) is a Department of Defense research funding opportunity run through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA). It is designed to push early, unconventional ideas forward by supporting innovative, non-incremental projects that are considered high-risk but with the potential for high reward. In practical terms, the program is looking for research that does more than add another small step to an existing line of work; it wants studies that can change how a problem is understood, open up a new scientific direction, or introduce a genuinely new technology or application. The expectation is that funded projects will generate foundational insights or proof-of-concept evidence that sets up larger, follow-on studies in the future.

A key requirement is that the proposed work is driven by a clearly stated, testable hypothesis supported by sound scientific reasoning and a solid study design. While the program encourages bold ideas, it still expects rigorous planning and logic behind the approach. The award is meant to establish groundwork, so it is well-suited for researchers who have a compelling concept and a plan to produce decisive early results that can justify later-stage development or broader validation.

In terms of what the award will and will not support, the Discovery Award cannot be used to conduct clinical trials. However, it can support non-interventional clinical research, meaning studies that observe or analyze human data without assigning participants to an intervention. This distinction matters for applicants working with patient samples, medical records, biomarkers, imaging, or other forms of observational human research, where the work can still be clinically relevant without meeting the definition of a clinical trial.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and may be issued as either a grant or a cooperative agreement, which typically means the DoD may choose an assistance mechanism with more or less programmatic involvement depending on the project needs. The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and it is listed under CFDA number 12.420. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, indicating that applications are generally open to a wide range of organizations and entity types, subject to any additional eligibility details that may be provided in the full announcement.

For the specific cycle referenced, the opportunity was created on March 16, 2022, with an original closing date of May 20, 2022. The listing indicates an expectation of up to 75 awards. The award ceiling is shown as 0 in the source data, which typically signals that a specific maximum dollar cap was not captured in that field or was defined elsewhere in the full funding announcement rather than as a fixed amount in the summary record.

• 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 PRMRP Discovery 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 16, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 20, 2022. (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 75 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 22 PRMRP DA

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