The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Program, and the Army Medical Research Acquisitions Activity are seeking applications for the FY 2013 Defense Vision Research Program (VRP). Congressionally Directed Medical Research programs and TATRC are executing agents for this funding program announcement.
The VRP Translational Research Award (TRA) mechanism is being offered for the first time in FY 13. This award will support research to accelerate the movement of ideas in vision research into clinical applications. Observations that drive a research idea may be derived from a laboratory discovery, population-based studies, or a clinician’s first-hand knowledge of patients or from anecdotal data
The VRP was established in FY 09 to fund innovative research to help service members, veterans, and other individuals living with visual dysfunction. Congress did appropriate funds for FY 13 for $12,000,000 to support this vision research, but since the FY 14 Defense Appropriations Bill has not been passed there is no guarantee that in the future there will be any additional funds made available to support this program.
Applications from investigators within the military and applications involving multidisciplinary collaborations among academia, industry, the military, the VA and other Federal government agencies is encouraged. The requirement for FY 13 VRP TRA mechanism is that all applications must specifically address one or more of the VRP TRA focus areas.
One of the focus areas mentioned is telehealth. Within this focus areas “Vision Rehabilitation Strategies and Quality of Life Measures”, there is a request for research to provide rehabilitation capabilities and strategies using telehealth initiatives.
The other focus areas include treatment for traumatic injuries, war related injuries and diseases to ocular structures and the visual system, treatment of visual dysfunction associated with TBI, and research to restore vision following a traumatic injury.
Applications for the funding announcement “Vision Research Program Translational Research Award” (W81XWH-13-CRMRP-VRP-TRA) released October 28, 2013 are due February 6. 2014.
Go to www.grants.gov/custom/viewOppDetails.jsp?oppId=245753 for the full announcement.