Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program
To Access the Application Information and Additional Required Documents:
Access the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research
Programs website at http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/prmrp.htm to view Fiscal Year 2009
(FY09) DOD Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) Funding Opportunities.
Here, you can view program announcements, application instructions (downloadable as either
Word documents or Adobe pdf files), application deadlines, and link to a pre-application.
Program Deadlines:
Pre-applications – March 19, 2009
Proposal – April 16, 2009
Award Mechanisms and Funding:
The Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) was established in 1999 to provide
support for military health-related research of clear scientific merit. Appropriations for the
PRMRP from Fiscal Year 1999 (FY99) through FY08 (excluding FY07, in which no appropriation
was made) totaled $394.5 Million. The FY09 appropriation is $50M.
To view or download a reference table of all FY09 award mechanisms, please visit
http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/pdf/09prmrpreftable.pdf
Encouraged DOD alignment:
The following websites may be useful in identifying information about ongoing DOD areas of
research interest within the FY09 PRMRP topic areas:
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
http://cdmrp.army.mil
U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
https://mrmc.amedd.army.mil
Air Force Research Laboratory
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/afrl
Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center
www-nmcphc.med.navy.mil/main.htm
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development
www.research.va.gov
Office of Naval Research
http://www.onr.navy.mil/
U.S. Army Research Laboratory
http://www.arl.army.mil
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U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
www.nrl.navy.mil
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
http://www.darpa.mil/
U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
http://www.usamraa.army.mil
Naval Health Research Center
http://www.nhrc.navy.mil/
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
http://www.acq.osd.mil/
Military Relevance Statement:
As part of the application, investigators are required to provide a statement describing the
following:
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

military relevance of the proposal
appropriateness of the research to lupus
how the research will benefit the military
There are many research areas that link lupus and the military, including the overall health of
women and African Americans serving in the military, the effects of the vaccination program,
especially anthrax and small pox, on military personnel, the human immune system’s responses
to bioterrorism, gulf war syndrome, and early detection.
Useful facts and statistics related to these areas include:
Lupus is one of the most common chronic diseases of females. As the number of women in the
armed forces continues to increase, the DOD can expect increasing numbers of female service
people to contract the disease. This is especially true because lupus is typically diagnosed during
the childbearing years. Women with lupus are excluded from military service and may be
subject to discharge if they contract the disease once they are already in the armed forces.
African Americans are represented in the military in numbers that exceed their representation in
the total US population. They are also disproportionately affected by lupus. African Americans
make up approximately 21% of enlisted personnel but only 13% of young adults between the
ages of 18 and 44. Recent research suggests that lupus may be 3 times more common in African
Americans than in Caucasians and that when they get the disease its symptoms are more serious.
The study of lupus will advance the DOD’s understanding of the effects of the DOD vaccination
program, especially anthrax and small pox, on military personnel. More than 900 thousand
military personnel have been vaccinated against anthrax in the past several years and more than
500 thousand have been vaccinated against small pox since December 2002. If those who have
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undiagnosed lupus are at elevated risk of death because of these vaccinations, it is critical that
improved screening and diagnosis methods are discovered.
The study of lupus will compliment other research funded by the DOD, especially in the area of
the human immune system’s responses to bioterrorism.
Thousands of veterans of the Gulf War of 1990-1991 continue to believe that Gulf War
Syndrome is a real phenomenon and that lupus or a lupus-like condition is a component of this
syndrome. Although a recent study conducted by the DOD concluded that there was not an
increased risk to gulf war veterans when compared to service men and women who had not
served in the gulf war, thousands of gulf war veterans continue to believe that this syndrome is
real and that more needs to be done to address it.
Because of the importance of early detection, especially in the military where service personnel
take a battery of vaccinations that might (in rare cases) trigger autoimmune disease, lupus
research is particularly important. The Department of Defense Serum Repository is a unique
resource that can facilitate this research area. Because lupus is so difficult to diagnose and
because it may have a long latency period, any test that highlights a patient’s risk for developing
lupus could be very useful for early intervention.
Suggested references include:
Department of Defense Serum Repository contains approximately 30 million specimens
prospectively collected from more than 5 million U.S. Armed Forces personnel.
N Engl J Med. 2003 Oct 16;349(16):152633.
Related Articles, Links
Comment in:
N Engl J Med. 2003 Oct 16; 349(16):1499500.
N Engl J Med. 2004 Jan 15; 350(3):305; author reply 305.
Is systemic lupus erythematosus, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or fibromyalgia associated with
Persian Gulf War service? An examination of Department of Defense hospitalization data.
Smith TC, Gray GC, Knoke JD.
Am J Epidemiol. 2000 Jun 1;151(11):10539.
Related Articles, Links: Department of Defense Center for Deployment Health Research,
Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 921865122, USA. smith@nhrc.navy.mil
Systemic lupus erythematosus in a naval aviatorits aeromedical implications.
Dudley JS, Lawler J.
Aviat Space Environ Med. 1998 Aug; 69(8):78892.
Related Articles, Links: U.S. Army School of Aviation Medicine, Ft. Rucker, AL 363625377,
USA.
Osteomyelitis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Wu KC, Yao TC, Yeh KW, Huang JL.
J Rheumatol. 2004 Jul; 31(7):13403.
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Related Articles, Links: Division of Allergy, Asthma and Rheumatology, Department of
Pediatrics, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, 5 FuHsin Street, Kueishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Salmonella typhimurium mediastinal abscess in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Joshua F, Riordan J, Sturgess A.
Lupus. 2003; 12(9):7103.
Related Articles, Links: Rheumatology Department, St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW,
Australia. fredjoshua@bigpond.com
Systemic lupus erythematosus associated catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome occurring
after typhoid fever: a possible role of Salmonella lipopolysaccharide in the occurrence of diffuse
vasculopathycoagulopathy.
Hayem G, Kassis N, Nicaise P, Bouvet P, Andremont A, Labarre C, Kahn MF, Meyer O.
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Paris, France.
Arthritis Rheum. 1999 May; 42(5):105661.
Antibodies to Squalene in Gulf War Syndrome
Asa P.B.; Cao Y.; Garry R.F.
Experimental and Molecular Pathology, February 2000, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 5564(10).
Antibodies to Squalene in Recipients of Anthrax Vaccine
Asa PB, Wilson RB, Garry RF.
Experimental and Molecular Pathology, August 2002, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 1927(9).
Review Process
All proposals are evaluated by scientists, clinicians, and consumer advocates using a two-tier
review process. The first tier is a scientific peer review of proposals against established criteria
for determining scientific merit. The second tier is a programmatic review that compares
submissions to each other and recommends proposals for funding based on scientific merit and
overall goals of the program. Additional information about the two-tier review process used by
the CDMRP may be found at http://cdmrp.army.mil/fundingprocess.htm.
The peer review and program review processes are conducted confidentially and anonymously to
maintain the integrity of the merit-based selection process. Each tier review requires panelists to
sign a non-disclosure statement attesting that proposal and evaluation information will not be
disclosed outside the panel. Violations of the non-disclosure statement can result in the
dissolving of a panel(s) and other correcting actions. Correspondingly, institutional personnel
and PIs are prohibited from contacting persons involved in the proposal review process to gain
protected evaluation information or to influence the evaluation process. Violations of this
prohibition will result in the administrative withdrawal of the institution's proposal. Violations
by panelists or PIs that compromise the confidentiality or anonymity of the peer review and
program review processes may also result in suspension or debarment of their employing
institutions from Federal awards.
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Deadline Dates
Proposal submission is a two-step process consisting of (1) pre-application submission and
(2) proposal submission. Pre-application submission is a required first step.

Pre-application Submission Deadline:
5:00 p.m. Eastern time, March 19. 2009

Proposal Submission Deadline:
11:59 p.m. Eastern time, April 16, 2009

Scientific Peer Review: July 2009

• Programmatic Review:
October 2009
Awards will be made approximately 4 to 6 months after receiving a funding notification letter,
but no later than September 30, 2010.
For questions regarding Program Announcement, proposal format, or required
documentation: To view all funding opportunities offered by the Congressionally Directed
Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), perform a Grants.gov basic search using the CFDA
Number 12.420. Submit questions as early as possible. Response times will vary depending
upon the volume of inquiries. Every effort will be made to answer questions within 5 working
days.
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
301-619-7079
301-619-7792
cdmrp.pa@amedd.army.mil
For questions on the application eReceipt system: Questions related to pre-application
components through the CDMRP eReceipt system should be directed to the eReceipt help desk,
which is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Phone:
301-682-5507
Website: https://cdmrp.org
Email:
help@cdmrp.org
Grants.gov contacts: Questions related to submitting applications through the Grants.gov
(http://www.grants.gov/) portal should be directed to Grants.gov help desk. Deadlines for
proposal submission are 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on the deadline date. Therefore, there is an
approximate 3-hour period during which the Grants.gov help desk will NOT be available. Please
plan ahead accordingly, as the CDMRP help desk is not able to answer questions about
Grants.gov submissions.
Phone:
Email:
800-518-4726, Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern time
support@grants.gov
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