DoD Military Burn, Discovery Award

The Department of Defense's Military Burn Research Program (MBRP), administered through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), has announced the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Discovery Award funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: HT942525MBRPDA). This program supports groundbreaking, exploratory, and novel research that offers new insights into combat-relevant burn care. The intent is to foster innovation in austere and resource-limited environments, particularly within military settings. The research may be hypothesis-driven or hypothesis-generating, provided it is rooted in strong scientific rationale and robust study design. Funded through the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) and administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA), the MBRP was established by Congress in 2011. It seeks to address the unique medical challenges faced by Service Members with traumatic burn injuries. These injuries, frequently caused by explosive devices in combat, are compounded by factors like delayed evacuation and complex infection risks. The FY25 appropriation for the MBRP is $10 million, with approximately $800,000 allocated for the Discovery Award to fund up to four projects, each with a maximum total cost of $200,000 over a two-year performance period. Eligible applicants include both extramural and intramural organizations—domestic and foreign, public and private, for-profit and nonprofit. Individuals at any academic level affiliated with eligible organizations may apply. No cost-sharing is required. The award is not intended to validate ongoing research, and inclusion of extensive preliminary data may be viewed as misaligned with the intent of this specific funding mechanism. Instead, the Discovery Award is geared toward pioneering work that can form the basis for future translational or clinical studies. Key focus areas for this opportunity include methods for preventing and treating cold injuries, acute burn care best practices in combat settings, and managing complications such as fluid resuscitation errors, sepsis, and inhalation injuries. Also prioritized are interventions applied shortly after injury to mitigate long-term complications like pain and neuropathy. Importantly, the Discovery Award does not support clinical trials but allows noninterventional clinical research and studies involving human subjects or specimens under defined conditions. The application process consists of two stages: a mandatory pre-application due by June 23, 2025, followed by an invitation-only full application due by September 8, 2025. The peer review will take place in October 2025, and final funding decisions will be made following a programmatic review in January 2026. Awards will be issued no later than September 30, 2026, using FY25 funds, which will remain available through September 30, 2031. Applicants must use the eBRAP system for pre-applications and Grants.gov for full applications (for extramural applicants). Required application components include a detailed project narrative, impact and relevance statements, lay and technical abstracts, and supplementary documentation addressing use of military or VA resources where applicable. Evaluation criteria emphasize innovation, impact, military relevance, and feasibility. For technical assistance, applicants may contact the eBRAP Help Desk at help@eBRAP.org or 301-682-5507, and for Grants.gov-related issues, support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726.