The Defense Health Agency Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs has opened HT942526DMDRPIDA, FY26 Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research Program Idea Development Award. The award supports impactful, high-risk/high-reward research intended to produce important discoveries or major advances that improve outcomes for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Submission timing: The required pre-application Letter of Intent was due September 4, 2026 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Full application deadline: September 18, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Because the mandatory first-stage deadline has already passed, only applicants that timely completed the pre-application may proceed this cycle.
Funding: CDMRP expects to allot approximately $2.5 million for about five awards, with a total-cost cap of $500,000 per award and a maximum two-year period of performance. Cost sharing is not an eligibility requirement.
Eligibility: Eligible organizations include domestic and foreign, for-profit and nonprofit, public and private entities. The PI must be an independent investigator and must qualify under one of three career categories: Established Investigator, New Investigator Early-Stage, or New Investigator Transitioning. Early-Stage investigators must be within 10 years of their first faculty appointment or equivalent and cannot have previously received a DMDRP Idea Development Award. Transitioning investigators must come from outside muscular dystrophy research, pursue an active DMD research line, and commit at least 10% effort in each budget year.
Research requirements: Preliminary data relevant to DMD are required. Clinical trials and clinical-trial aims are not allowed. The proposed work must include a well-formulated testable hypothesis supported by strong scientific rationale and address the program intent and applicable FY26 focus requirements.
Atlas fit: The organization categories are broad, including for-profit organizations, but PI eligibility, preliminary-data requirements, DMD scientific readiness, and the already-expired mandatory pre-application are controlling. This is not a new submission-ready Dr. Miltie direct pursuit for the current cycle. Preferred posture: Partner-Led / Already-Preapplied Qualified DMD Research Team. Do not initiate new applicant outreach for this cycle; route only organizations that can verify they timely completed the September 4 pre-application.