DoD Tick-Borne Disease, Career Development Award | W81XWH 18 TBDRP CDA

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 18 TBDRP CDA

The DoD Tick-Borne Disease, Career Development Award (FY18 TBDRP CDA; Funding Opportunity Number W81XWH 18 TBDRP CDA) is a Department of Defense research funding opportunity designed to help early-career investigators build independent research careers in tick-borne diseases. The central purpose is career development through the support of a substantive research project paired with structured mentorship from an established tick-borne diseases researcher. The program is positioned as a launch point for investigators who are ready to lead their own scientific direction but still benefit from the guidance, training, and professional development that comes from working closely with a seasoned mentor.

A defining feature of this award is that the early-career investigator is the Principal Investigator (PI), and the application is expected to revolve around the PI's own research vision and career trajectory. Reviewers are meant to see that the ideas, hypotheses, and overall research strategy originate with the PI rather than being driven by the mentor's existing program. The mentor is explicitly framed as a support for the PI's growth and success, not as the originator of the science. The award emphasizes impactful, discovery-oriented research, meaning applicants should propose work that moves the field forward through new insights, approaches, or directions, rather than incremental extensions of well-established findings.

The opportunity does not require preliminary data, which lowers the barrier for proposing bolder, earlier-stage concepts. At the same time, the absence of a preliminary data requirement does not mean the proposal can be speculative or underdeveloped. Applicants still need to present clear logical reasoning, a strong scientific rationale, and a coherent plan that shows the project is feasible and well thought out. In practical terms, the proposal should make a convincing case for why the question matters, how the approach will generate meaningful knowledge, and why the PI is positioned to execute the work successfully with the mentor's guidance.

Administratively, the award is offered by the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, through USAMRAA. The funding instrument types listed are grant and cooperative agreement, and the activity category falls under science and technology and other research and development (CFDA 12.420). Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to different types of applicant organizations, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications included in the full announcement. The opportunity was created on May 10, 2018, with an original closing date of September 27, 2018. The listing indicates an expectation of one award and shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that the ceiling was not specified in the summary record and would need to be confirmed in the full funding announcement or program guidelines.

Overall, this program is best understood as a mentored independence award for tick-borne disease research: it funds an early-career PI to pursue a discovery-focused project while simultaneously building the credentials, research leadership, and professional development needed to become a fully independent investigator in the tick-borne diseases field.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoD Tick-Borne Disease, Career Development Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 10, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 27, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for W81XWH 18 TBDRP CDA

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