DoD Tick-Borne Disease Investigator-Initiated Research Award | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The DoD Tick-Borne Disease Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) under the FY16 Tick-Borne Disease Research Program is a competitive funding opportunity designed to support investigator-driven studies that can meaningfully advance the science and real-world outcomes related to Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. The program is aimed at research spanning the full spectrum from basic discovery through translational work, with an emphasis on well-justified projects that can generate strong proof-of-principle results and set the stage for future development. This includes preclinical research in animal models, studies involving human subjects (as long as they do not meet the definition of a clinical trial), and correlative or companion studies that leverage samples or data associated with an existing clinical trial, where the proposed work helps interpret biology or mechanisms rather than testing a new intervention prospectively.

A central theme of the award is impact. Applicants are expected to clearly explain why the proposed work matters in both the short term and the long term, and how success would significantly move the field forward. In practical terms, that means the research should have a credible pathway to improving scientific understanding, informing better diagnostics or treatments, shaping clinical decision-making, or improving patient care and quality of life. The program is looking for high-impact, high-rigor studies rather than exploratory ideas without adequate support, so the application needs to connect the proposed aims to concrete advances in tick-borne disease research and outcomes.

The award also requires a strong scientific foundation, with a clearly articulated and testable hypothesis supported by a solid rationale. The hypothesis and approach should be built from logical reasoning, a critical analysis of relevant literature, and preliminary evidence that demonstrates feasibility and strengthens confidence in the direction of the work. Preliminary data are not optional here; applicants must provide unpublished data from the principal investigator or named collaborators and/or published findings that directly support the proposed project and its relevance to Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases. In other words, reviewers will expect to see that the project is ready for rigorous execution and that key assumptions are grounded in data rather than speculation.

Human-focused research is allowed, including studies using human subjects or human anatomical substances, but the opportunity explicitly excludes clinical trials. The announcement uses a standard definition of a clinical trial: any prospective enrollment of patients where an intervention (such as a drug, biologic, device, surgery, rehabilitation method, behavioral intervention, or similar) is tested in humans with measurable outcomes tied to safety, effectiveness, or efficacy, reflecting a direct effect of that intervention. Projects that involve human participants must therefore be structured in a way that avoids prospective interventional testing as defined above, for example by focusing on observational, mechanistic, or correlative analyses rather than evaluating an intervention.

Administratively, this opportunity was issued by DOD-AMRAA (within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs infrastructure) under Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH-16-TBDRP-IIRA. It falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category (CFDA 12.420) and uses grant and cooperative agreement mechanisms. Eligibility is broadly open to applicants without restriction by organization type, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full announcement. The posting date was June 14, 2016, and the closing date was November 16, 2016. The opportunity anticipated making about three awards, and the public listing shows an award ceiling value of 0, which typically indicates that the maximum budget is specified elsewhere in the full program announcement or in associated guidance rather than in the summary field.

Overall, the IIRA is structured for established, well-supported research ideas with a clear hypothesis, credible preliminary evidence, and a strong argument for why the work will produce meaningful advances in the tick-borne disease field. It rewards rigorous design and real potential for downstream benefit, while drawing a clear boundary around what counts as a clinical trial to ensure the funded projects remain within the program scope.

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