DoW Reconstructive Transplant, Concept Award

The Department of the Army’s U.S. Army Medical Research and Acquisition Activity is issuing a funding opportunity for the Fiscal Year 2026 Reconstructive Transplant Research Program Concept Award, designed to support highly innovative, non-clinical research concepts or untested theories aimed at advancing vascularized composite allotransplantation. This award targets early-career investigators and other qualified researchers at or above the postdoctoral level, with a strict prohibition on clinical trials and the explicit disallowance of preliminary data submissions. Instead, applicants must provide a strong scientific rationale demonstrating the potential to generate interpretable results. Research must align with at least one of the FY26 RTRP Focus Areas and be framed around innovation in concept, methodology, or technology, with evaluations prioritizing originality, scientific environment, and the clarity of application presentation. The total budget for each award is capped at $200,000 for a maximum performance period of 18 months, with funding available even for shorter projects. Applicants must submit a two-part proposal through eBRAP and Grants.gov, including a two-page project narrative, a three-page statement of work, a one-page innovation statement, a post-award transition plan, and required representations, with all documents uploaded as individual files in specified formats. Submission requires active registrations in SAM.gov, eBRAP.org, and Grants.gov, and strict adherence to deadlines with no grace periods allowed. A pre-application letter of intent is due by September 2, 2026, followed by the full application by September 16, 2026. Applications undergo a two-tier review process by scientists, clinicians, and consumers, followed by programmatic relevance screening to ensure alignment with military health priorities and portfolio balance. Awards are contingent upon federal funding availability, the quality of submitted proposals, and compliance with federal regulations including the Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations, 2 CFR Chapter XI, and DoD R&D Terms and Conditions. Recipients must comply with data sharing requirements, submit annual and final progress reports via the Research Performance Progress Report format, and adhere to federal research compliance standards, including institutional approvals for human or animal research through the DHA Office of Research and Regulatory Compliance and local ethics committees. Foreign affiliation disclosures for all key personnel are mandatory under National Security Presidential Memorandum-33, and failure to disclose will result in disqualification. Recipients exceeding $10 million in cumulative federal awards must report civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings to SAM.gov, and indirect