DoD Toxic Exposures Translational Research Partnership Award

The Department of Defense, through the Defense Health Program’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), has announced the Fiscal Year 2025 Toxic Exposures Research Program (TERP) Translational Research Partnership Award (TRPA). This funding mechanism is designed to support collaborative translational research that accelerates the progression of military-related toxic exposure research into clinical applications. Such applications include healthcare products, interventions, technologies, or clinical practice guidelines. The award emphasizes bidirectional integration between basic science and clinical observations and mandates collaborative research partnerships. Administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) via the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), TERP aims to address the health impacts of toxic exposures associated with military service. The FY25 TERP appropriation is $15 million. Under the TRPA, approximately $4.48 million is expected to fund around two awards, each with a cost ceiling of $2.24 million and a performance period of up to three years. The TRPA mechanism is newly introduced in FY25, requiring an Initiating Principal Investigator (PI) and at least one, and up to two, Partnering PIs to conduct a single overarching study. Each PI will receive a separate award and be subject to independent reporting and regulatory requirements. Eligible applicants include both extramural and intramural organizations, domestic or foreign, for-profit or non-profit, and public or private entities. PIs must be independent investigators at any career stage, excluding mentored positions such as postdoctoral fellows. All research must relate to military-related toxic exposures and align with at least one of the TERP’s five Program Goals and one of the four Topic Areas, which include Neurotoxin Exposure, Gulf War Illness, Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits, and other military-related toxic exposures such as pesticides or industrial chemicals. Applicants must complete a two-step application process. A pre-application must be submitted via eBRAP by July 29, 2025. Only invited applicants may submit a full application through Grants.gov (for extramural applicants) or eBRAP (for intramural applicants) by October 16, 2025. Applications will be peer reviewed in December 2025 and undergo programmatic review in February 2026. Applicants are strongly encouraged to include military or Veteran consumers in their research teams, especially for projects involving human samples or data. The application must include specific documents such as a Project Narrative, Technical and Lay Abstracts, a Statement of Work, and a Post-Award Transition Plan. Evaluation criteria include research strategy and feasibility, translational potential, impact and relevance to military health, partnership and personnel qualifications, and statistical/data analysis plans. Reviewers will also assess adherence to sex as a biological variable considerations and plans for data sharing and dissemination. For assistance, applicants may contact the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507 for pre-application support, or the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726 for technical issues with the submission portal. Final award decisions are expected by September 30, 2026, with FY25 funds expiring September 30, 2031.

Preliminary data are required Collaborations with VA/DOD and inclusion of Veteran populations are highly encouraged Avoid clinical trial proposals; these are not permitted under this mechanism