The Defense Health Agency Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs has opened HT942526NFRPIIRA, FY26 Neurofibromatosis Research Program Investigator-Initiated Research Award. The award supports high-impact research addressing critical needs in neurofibromatosis disorders and patient care. Research may span any phase except clinical trials, and applications must include preliminary and/or published data relevant to NF and the proposed project.
Submission timing: The required pre-application Letter of Intent was due September 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Full application deadline: September 22, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Only applicants that timely completed the mandatory first-stage submission may proceed this cycle.
Funding: CDMRP expects approximately $6.04 million for about seven awards. Level 1, without an optional feature, has a total-cost cap of $840,000. Level 2, including either the Open Science Initiative or an Optional Qualified Collaborator, has a total-cost cap of $920,000. The maximum period of performance is three years. Cost sharing is not required.
Eligibility: Eligible organizations include domestic and foreign, for-profit and nonprofit, public and private entities. PIs must be independent investigators at or above assistant professor level or equivalent and must commit at least 10% effort in each budget year. Investigators do not have to be from academic institutions and may serve as PI on only one FY26 NFRP IIRA application.
Research controls: Clinical trials are excluded. Preliminary or published NF-relevant data are required. The optional Open Science Initiative emphasizes early data access and sharing within the NF research community, while the Qualified Collaborator option supports collaboration between basic and clinical researchers and between academic and biotechnology scientists.
Atlas fit: Broad organization eligibility includes for-profit organizations, but qualified PI leadership, NF scientific readiness, preliminary data, and the expired pre-application deadline are controlling. This is not a new submission-ready Dr. Miltie direct pursuit for the current cycle. Preferred posture: Partner-Led / Already-Preapplied Qualified NF Research Team. Do not initiate new applicant outreach for this cycle; route only organizations that can verify timely September 8 pre-application submission.