Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment Parkinson's Career Progression Award | W81XWH 15 NETPR CPA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 15 NETPR CPA

The Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment Parkinson's (NETPR) Career Progression Award is a U.S. Department of the Army research grant offered through the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) and managed under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). It sits within the broader NETPR Program, which began in 1997 to fund high-merit research aimed at understanding, preventing, and treating the dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra that drives Parkinson's disease. While the NETPR Program has an overarching interest in causes, prevention, and treatment, this particular FY2015 opportunity is tightly centered on the non-motor side of Parkinson's, such as cognitive impairment, depression, autonomic dysfunction, and sleep disturbances, with the ultimate goal of producing findings that can meaningfully improve patient outcomes and quality of life.

At the program level, NETPR is built around three connected priorities: identifying surrogate markers of Parkinson's disease, linking specific clinical features to clusters of those markers, and developing interventions that target the biomolecular pathways connecting markers to symptoms in order to prevent disease, slow or stop progression, or improve day-to-day functioning for people living with Parkinson's. The Career Progression Award supports that mission by investing in independent, early-career investigators who are positioned to bring fresh ideas, new technologies, or high-impact approaches into Parkinson's research and patient care, specifically in the under-addressed area of non-motor manifestations.

The funding announcement highlights specific Areas of Emphasis for non-motor Parkinson's research. Applicants are encouraged to focus on (1) identifying altered metabolic pathways and/or pinpointing therapeutic intervention targets within those pathways, (2) identifying molecular markers tied to non-motor manifestations, and (3) exploring genetic alterations associated with the functional expression of non-motor symptoms in sporadic (non-familial) Parkinson's disease. The announcement also allows room for innovative projects outside these exact topics, as long as the work still addresses how one or more non-motor manifestations develop or progress and provides a strong, credible rationale for why the project advances the NETPR mission. Separately, the broader FY2015 NETPR program notes that a Depression Research Award mechanism is being offered for the first time that year, underscoring a heightened interest in depression as a significant non-motor burden in Parkinson's.

The mechanism is structured to reward both the investigator and the translational importance of the proposed science. Reviewers consider the Principal Investigator's prior achievements and trajectory, weighing whether the applicant is likely to become a strong contributor to the NETPR mission. At the same time, the research itself must clearly address at least one of the Areas of Emphasis and must make a persuasive case for impact, meaning the applicant needs to explain how the proposed work could lead to new or improved therapeutic interventions and/or measurable quality-of-life improvements for people experiencing non-motor Parkinson's symptoms. A practical requirement is that feasibility must be supported with preliminary data, and any such data should come from the PI's laboratory or from collaborators, signaling that the applicant needs to show genuine hands-on capability and momentum rather than relying solely on background literature.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity (CFDA 12.420) with unrestricted eligibility, meaning no special applicant category is required in the posted summary. The opportunity number is W81XWH-15-NETPR-CPA, with an original closing date of December 16, 2015. The posting indicates an expected three awards and lists no award ceiling in the provided excerpt. The intended beneficiaries of the research are the broader Parkinson's population, with an explicit emphasis on relevance to Service Members and Veterans who may be susceptible to, or living with, Parkinson's disease.

• The Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment Parkinson's Career Progression 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 2015-10-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2015-12-16. (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 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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