Resources for Researchers

Welcome to the American Tinnitus Association's Researcher Resource page.
Here you will find the latest research funding announcements, information about the results of ATA's advocacy efforts and links to important facts, statistics and published research articles.

Quick jump to:

• Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Funding Opportunities
• DoD Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Applied Neurotrauma Research Award
• FY11 Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program (PH/TBIRP)
• ATA's Continuing Efforts to Increase Research Funding
• Resources and Statistical Information on Tinnitus in Military Populations
• Helpful Research Articles
• Web Resources
   

FY12 Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program

The Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) Defense Appropriations Act provides $50 million to the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP)

The vision of the PRMRP is to improve the health and well-being of all military service members, veterans, and beneficiaries. The PRMRP challenges the scientific and clinical communities to address one of the FY12 congressionally directed topic areas with original ideas that foster new directions in basic science and translational research; novel product development leading to improved therapeutic or diagnostic tools; or clinical trials that address an immediate clinical need. This program is administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command through the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

Congressionally Directed Topic Areas: The FY12 PRMRP will solicit research applications for the following 22 topics areas: Arthritis, Composite Tissue Transplantation, Dystonia, Drug Abuse, Epilepsy, Food Allergies, Fragile X Syndrome, Hereditary Angioedema, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Interstitial Cystitis, Listeria Vaccine for Infectious Disease, Lupus, Malaria, Nanomedicine for Drug Delivery Science, Neuroblastoma, Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disease, Paget's Disease, Polycystic Kidney Disease, Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis, Scleroderma, Tinnitus, and Tuberculosis.

Military Relevance: Relevance to the health care needs of the military service members, veterans, and beneficiaries is a key feature of each FY12 PRMRP award mechanism.

Deadlines: See below for deadlines for each award mechanism.
 

All applications must conform to the final program announcements and application instructions that will be available for electronic downloading from the Grants.gov website. The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism will also be found on Grants.gov. A listing of all USAMRMC funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the CDMRP eReceipt website (http://cdmrp.org) prior to the pre-application deadline. Applications must be submitted through the federal government's single-entry portal, Grants.gov. Submission deadlines are not available until the program announcements are released.

Requests for email notification of the program announcements release may be sent to help@cdmrp.org. For more information about the PRMRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (http://cdmrp.army.mil).

Award Mechanism: Clinical Trial Award

Eligibility: Assistant Professor level or above (or equivalent)

Key Mechanism Elements: Supports the rapid implementation of clinical trials of novel interventions with the potential to have a significant impact on patient care in the topic area of interest. Clinical trial is expected to be initiated within 12 months of award date.

Funding: Maximum of $2.2 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs). Maximum period of performance is 5 years.

Submission Deadlines: Pre-Application (LOI): June 6, 2012. Application: June 26, 2012

Program Announcement

General Application Instructions

Award Mechanism: Discovery Award

Eligibility: All investigators

Key Mechanism Elements: Supports the exploration of a highly innovative new concept or untested theory. Projects involving human subjects or specimens will not be supported unless they are exempt under Title 32, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 219, Section 101(b)(32 CFR 219.101[b]).

Funding: Maximum of $125,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs). Maximum period of performance is 18 months.

Submission Deadlines: Pre-Application (LOI): May 9, 2012; 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Application: May 24, 2012; 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Program Announcement

General Application Instructions

Award Mechanism: Investigator-Initiated Research Award

Eligibility: Assistant Professor level or above (or equivalent).

Key Mechanism Elements: Supports research that will make an original and important contribution to the field of research or patient care in the topic area of interest. Partnering Principal Investigator option available (see below). Clinical trials will not be funded.

Funding: Maximum funding of $750,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs). Maximum period of performance is 3 years.

Submission Deadlines: Pre-application (Preproposal): April 10, 2012; 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Application: July 31, 2012; 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Program Announcement

General Application Instructions
 

Award Mechanism: Technology/Therapeutic Development Award

Eligibility: Assistant Professor level or above (or equivalent).

Key Mechanism Elements: Supports the development of new diagnostics or therapies that have the potential to make a strong impact on patient care in the topic area of interest. Product-oriented: Device, Drug, Clinical guidance/guidelines. Clinical trials will not be funded.

Funding: Maximum of $1.5 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs). Maximum period of performance is 3 years.

Submission Deadlines: Pre-Application (LOI): June 6, 2012; 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. Application: June 26, 2012; 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Program Announcement

General Application Instructions

DoD Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Applied Neurotrauma Research Award

Applications for the Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (PH/TBI) Research Program are being solicited by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Defense Health Program (DHP).

Description: The PH/TBI Research Program was established in FY07 for the purpose of complementing ongoing Department of Defense (DOD) efforts towards promoting a better standard of care for PH (including post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) and TBI in the areas of prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. This includes research to benefit service members, their family members, veterans, and other beneficiaries of the Military Health System (MHS).

Details: Visit http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=JXP1TTHTy2HwKSFnV721SFB84LDWNsbhGffpBnLyJzW11XNHpTwQ!-2014031096?oppId=126553&mode=VIEW to learn more about this opportunity.

FY11 Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program (PH/TBIRP)

The PH/TBI Research Program Basic/Applied Psychological Health Award mechanism is being offered for the first time in FY11

Award Mechanism: Basic/Applied Psychological Health Award

Key Mechanism Elements: This Program Announcement/Funding Opportunity is focused on the research of psychological health and well-being of military personnel and their families. Investigators must demonstrate logical reasoning and a sound scientific rationale established through a critical review and analysis of the literature for the proposal to be competitive. Research projects should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on a strong scientific rationale. This mechanism solicits basic and applied research (including early phase clinical trials). Preliminary data is required for applied research applications.

All applications to the FY11 DHP Basic/Applied Psychological Health Award mechanism MUST specifically address one or more of the following Task Areas listed below (with potential Areas of Interest). Applications can address basic science and/or applied research needs related to these Task Areas. Definitions of Basic and Applied Science are provided on pages 3 and 4 above. Applications for Task Areas other than those listed above should NOT be submitted in response to this Program Announcement/Funding Opportunity. If the proposed research is not DOD FY11 PH/TBI Basic/Applied Psychological Health Award 5 relevant to these advertised Task Areas, the government will administratively withdraw the application.

Task Areas:

1. Suicide Prevention: The goal of this Task Area is the development and validation of prevention and treatment interventions for suicidal behavior among military populations. Populations of interest include all Services, ethnicities, genders, Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserves.

2. Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD): The goal of this Task Area is to result in enhanced prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of combat-related PTSD.

3. Diagnosis and Treatment of Deployment-Related Psychological Health Problems and Health Risk Behaviors: The goal of this Task Area is to identify enhanced methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat deployment-related psychological health problems (e.g., depression, anger, grief, guilt, etc.) and/or health risk behaviors (e.g., alcohol and drug use, tobacco use, prescription misuse, violence, accident prone behaviors, etc.).

4. Warfighter Psychological Resilience: The goals of this Task Area are to better understand resilience processes, and to develop and validate skills-based strategies (e.g., enhancement of traditional training, stress management, emotion regulation, etc.) for enhancing Warfighter resilience and decreasing susceptibility to negative effects of trauma exposure and combat.

5. Military Family and Community Health and Resilience: The goals of this Task Area are to lead to improved, evidence-based family and community resilience programs and methods to build strong relationships (before and during deployment), and to maintain strong relationships during deployment/extended separation and reintegration.

Funding:

• The maximum period of performance is 4 years.
• Applications can be either basic science, applied science, or a combination of basic and applied science. For combined awards, the maximum allowable direct costs for the entire period of performance cannot exceed $4M.
• For applied science awards, the maximum allowable direct costs for the entire period of performance is $3M plus indirect costs.
• For basic science awards, the maximum allowable direct costs for the entire period of performance is $1M plus indirect costs.

Submission Deadlines:

• Pre-application Submission Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (ET), October 12, 2011
• Invitation to Submit an Application: November 2011
• Application Submission Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET, December 30, 2011
• Scientific Peer Review: February 2012
• Applicant Response to Scientific Peer Review Summary Statement (if applicable): April 2012
• Programmatic Review: May 2012

For more information visit: http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/phtbi.shtml

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ATA's Continuing Efforts to Increase Research Funding

For a second consecutive year, ATA's advocacy efforts have resulted in tinnitus research funding available through the Department of Defense (DoD). The 2009 Appropriations bill includes requests for tinnitus-related proposals for the DoD's $50 million Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). This program was established by Congress in 1999 to study combat-related illness.

For the second year in a row, tinnitus is the number one service-connected disability for returning Global War on Terror veterans. This sharp increase is disconcerting, but we are pleased that our advocacy efforts have resulted in this opportunity for tinnitus investigators to continue and broaden their work toward finding a cure for all who suffer.

We are also excited to inform you that two tinnitus investigators have been awarded funding for their tinnitus proposals submitted for the 2008 funding allocation of $50 million - tinnitus research garnered nearly $2 million of that allocation all on its own. Competing with 21 other maladies and hundreds of proposals, Drs. Hinrich Staecker, current ATA Scientific Advisory Committee member, and Didier Depireux  are the recipients of these Investigator Initiated awards. You can read more about their projects here.

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Resources and Statistical Information on Tinnitus in Military Populations

The following documents provide current statistical information, research and resources on tinnitus in military populations. ATA is happy to provide this helpful information to you at the click of your mouse.

• This fact sheet provides data on the incidence of tinnitus within veterans and active duty military, as well as the alarming increases in tinnitus seen in other at-risk populations.
• Here are the most common service-connected disabilities for veterans from all periods of service. Tinnitus is number one. 
• This chart provides a startling visual of the current number of veterans who are service-connected for tinnitus as well as projections out to 2014 based on the current trends. 
• This chart shows the most common service-connected disabilities for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
• The PRMRP's annual report from 2007 provides a snapshot of the types of grant proposals received and funded during the 2007 funding cycle.
• The Veterans Independent Budget for 2012 outlines some of the latest developments in military-related tinnitus, including a recent study done "in theater" (war theater) on the blast exposed population. The findings indicate that rates of tinnitus, are exceeding hearing loss at all times, indicating that this group of veterans may have higher rates of tinnitus without hearing loss than maybe any other veteran group to-date. 

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Helpful Research Articles

Tinnitus, blast exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), global war on terror, soldiers, veterans, traumatic brain injury (TBI), military, service-connected disability.

Web Resources