DoD Spinal Cord Injury Translational Research Award
Applications to the Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) are being solicited for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Defense Health Program (DHP), by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisitions Activity (USAMRAA). The SCIRP was initiated in 2009 to fund innovative projects that have 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 FY12 totaled $67.85 million (M). The FY13 appropriation is $30M. The FY13 SCIRP challenges the scientific community to design innovative research that will foster new directions for and address neglected issues in the field of SCI-focused research. Applications from investigators within the military Services, and applications involving multidisciplinary collaborations among academia, industry, the military Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and other federal Government agencies are highly encouraged. Though the SCIRP supports groundbreaking research, all projects must demonstrate solid scientific rationale. The SCIRP has identified seven Areas of Encouragement for the FY13 program. Not all Areas of Encouragement are applicable to each award mechanism offered by the FY13 SCIRP. B. FY13 SCIRP Areas of Encouragement The FY13 SCIRP encourages applications that specifically address one or more of the following areas related to acute SCI: 1. Pre-hospital, en route care, and early hospital management of SCI, including but not limited to: • The mechanisms of the effects of hemorrhagic shock and hypovolemic resuscitation on SCI • Effects of vibration, G-forces and hypobaria as experienced in military medical evacuations • Identification and validation of prognostic assessments 2. Development, validation and timing of promising interventions to address issues during the first year after SCI, for example deep vein thrombosis, infection, and pressure ulcers. Note: Studies of neuroprotective drug interventions are not encouraged. 3. Identification and validation of best practices during the first year after SCI including but not limited to: • Surgical interventions • Critical care interventions • Rehabilitation interventions • Musculoskeletal health The FY13 SCIRP also encourages applications that rigorously and definitively address one or more of the following issues which may occur at any time after SCI: 4. Bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction 5. Neuropathic pain and sensory dysfunction 6. Functional deficits 7. The ambulatory and non-ambulatory clinical benefits of exoskeletal systems
Office: U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
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