DoW Peer Reviewed Medical, Discovery Award
🏛 Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA (DOD-AMRAA)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 16, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for researchers and research institutions conducting peer-reviewed medical research of relevance to the Department of the Army and military medicine. Eligible applicants typically include accredited research institutions, universities, medical centers, and independent research organizations with 501(c)(3) status or equivalent federal research authority. The program supports discovery-focused medical research that may have applications to military health, warfighter performance, or defense-related medical challenges. Applicants must demonstrate institutional research infrastructure, compliance with federal regulations, and a clear research plan with potential military medical relevance. Both established researchers and early-career investigators may be competitive, depending on the specific program priorities announced in the funding opportunity announcement.
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Program description
Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) Discovery Award supports novel, untested, high-risk, high-reward research projects with the potential to provide new insights, paradigms, technologies, or applications and with a potential to generate preliminary data that will lay the foundation for future projects. The application must address a critical problem or question in the field of research and/or patient care in a congressionally directed FY26 PRMRP topic area and one of the FY26 PRMRP portfolio-specific strategic goals.
Distinctive Features: Applications must not include preliminary data. The focus of this award mechanism is innovation. Research proposed to this mechanism should be pioneering and revolutionary, and the outcomes generated by the award are expected to generate robust preliminary data that will lay the groundwork for future avenues of scientific investigation or product development.
Funding Details: The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) expects to allot roughly $11.165M to fund approximately 29 Discovery Award applications with total cost caps of $385,000 per award. The maximum period of performance is 2 years. It is anticipated that awards made from this FY26 funding opportunity will be funded with FY26 funds, which will expire for use on September 30, 2032. Awards supported with FY26 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (Federal Application for Federal Assistance) and SF-424 Supplement
- Research narrative/project description with specific aims and methodology
- Detailed budget and budget justification
- Biographical sketches of key personnel (NSF format or equivalent)
- Letters of institutional commitment and support
- Evidence of institutional DoD research compliance and DFARS capability
- Curriculum vitae of principal investigator(s)
- Timeline and milestones
- Documentation of IRB approval (if human subjects research) or IACUC approval (if animal research)
- Letters of collaboration from partner institutions (if applicable)
- Certification regarding conflicts of interest and cost-sharing commitments
Program contact
- 👤 Christopher L Baker Grants Officer
- 📧 help@eBRAP.org
- 📞 3016192332
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 12.420 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$2,265,729,366
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$800,631,761
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$74,531,880
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$67,205,571
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$55,443,120
-
$34,191,124
-
$24,907,742
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$21,394,379
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$19,100,256
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$19,002,641
Top States by Funding
- MD 10 awards $3,150.1M
- NC 11 awards $132.3M
- CA 12 awards $107.3M
- FL 8 awards $99.8M
- TX 8 awards $76.5M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 12.420). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $1,483,968,520 | |
| 2025 | $1,201,153,417 |
FAQ
Who is eligible to apply for this grant?
Accredited research institutions, universities, medical centers, and 501(c)(3) organizations with demonstrated research capacity and federal research compliance infrastructure are typically eligible. Principal investigators must have appropriate doctoral-level credentials and institutional affiliation.
What is the typical funding range for this award?
Award amounts vary, but DoD peer-reviewed medical awards commonly range from $100,000 to $2 million over the project period, depending on research scope and program priorities outlined in the funding opportunity announcement.
What types of research activities are supported?
This program funds discovery-oriented medical research with relevance to military medicine, warfighter health, or Army-related medical challenges. This may include basic science, translational research, and clinical investigation that addresses military health priorities.
When is the application deadline and how competitive is this program?
The deadline is July 30, 2026. This is a highly competitive peer-reviewed program. Applications are evaluated based on scientific merit, feasibility, institutional capacity, and military relevance. Success rates are typically 10-20% depending on the specific program announcement.
What are the key application components?
Applicants must submit a detailed research narrative, specific aims, methodology, timeline, budget with justification, institutional endorsement, and evidence of compliance with DoD and federal research regulations including security and intellectual property requirements.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Clearly articulate the military medical relevance of your research early in the application. Reviewers need to understand how your work addresses Army or warfighter health priorities, even if your research is discovery-oriented.
- Ensure your institution has established DoD research compliance infrastructure including DFARS compliance, cost accounting standards capability, and security protocols. Lack of these can be a significant barrier.
- Invest time in a compelling research narrative that balances scientific rigor with accessibility. Peer-review panels include both military medical subject matter experts and research scientists, so clarity matters.
- Include preliminary data or feasibility evidence to strengthen your application. Even for early-stage research, demonstrating proof-of-concept increases competitiveness significantly.
- Verify your institution's indirect cost rate agreement with the federal government and ensure your budget is realistic and well-justified. DoD is detail-oriented on budget accountability.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications often fail to adequately establish the military medical relevance or operational applicability of their research, making reviewers question why Army funding is appropriate. Additionally, many applicants underestimate the regulatory and compliance requirements specific to DoD funding, including DFARS clauses and security protocols, leading to administrative delays or rejections. Finally, weak preliminary data or insufficient institutional research infrastructure documentation can signal low feasibility to peer reviewers.
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