Spinal Cord Injury Research Program Clinical Translation Research Award

The SCIRP CTRA is intended to support high-impact and/or new/emerging clinical research that may not be ready for a larger-scale clinical trial and for which feasibility/pilot/optimization studies are necessary. Projects should demonstrate potential to impact the standard of care, both immediate and long term, or contribute to evidence-based guidelines for the evaluation and care of military Service Members, Veterans, and other individuals living with SCI. The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) is soliciting applications to the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) using delegated authority provided by United States Code, Title 10, Section 4001 (10 USC 4001). The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) is the program management agent for this funding opportunity. Congress initiated the SCIRP in 2009 to provide support for traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI)-related research of exceptional scientific merit that has the potential to make a significant impact on improving the health and well-being of military Service Members, Veterans, and other individuals living with SCI. Appropriations for the SCIRP from FY09 through FY23 totaled $437.85 million (M). The FY24 Defense Appropriations Act provides $40M to the SCIRP through the appropriation for peer-reviewed spinal cord research. The vision of the SCIRP is to advance the treatment and management of SCI and ameliorate its consequences. The FY24 SCIRP challenges the scientific community to design research that will advance the development or translation of health care solutions for people living with SCI. Innovative research that fosters new directions or addresses neglected issues in the field of traumatic SCI is also supported, although studies focused exclusively on target identification are discouraged. The SCIRP encourages impactful research across the continuum of care from time of injury and across the life span that is well reasoned and scientifically supported. Applications from investigators within the military services and applications involving multidisciplinary collaborations among academia, industry, the military services, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and other federal government agencies are highly encouraged. These relationships can leverage knowledge, infrastructure, and access to unique clinical populations that the collaborators bring to the research effort, ultimately advancing research that is of significance to Service Members, Veterans, their Families and/or care partners.