DoD Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapeutic Idea Award

The summary for the DoD Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapeutic Idea Award grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Dept of the Army USAMRAA, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

DoD Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapeutic Idea Award: The Therapeutic Idea Award is designed to promote new ideas aimed at drug, treatment, and target discovery that are still in the early stages of development. Proposed research projects should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale that holds translational potential to improve ALS treatment and/or advance a novel treatment modality. Projects that focus primarily on investigating the pathophysiology of ALS are outside the scope of this mechanism.
New for FY15: In addition to hypothesis-based ideas aimed at drug or treatment discovery, the FY15 Therapeutic Idea Award will support the following topics, which were previously supported under the ALSRP Therapeutic Development Award mechanism.
 Development, validation, and application of high-throughput screens to define targets with therapeutic potential or to identify lead agent candidates for ALS treatment;
 Development, modification, and/or validation of preclinical model systems in order to assess lead compounds and potential therapeutics by pharmacological and/or pharmacokinetic testing. Such models would also serve as improved tools for the ALS research community.
Applicants contemplating development of products beyond drug or treatment discovery should apply to the ALSRP Therapeutic Development Award, which supports advanced preclinical development activities.
Innovation and impact are the most important aspects of the Therapeutic Idea Award. Applications that demonstrate exceptional scientific merit but lack innovation and high
DoD FY15 ALSRP Therapeutic Idea Award 4
potential impact do not meet the intent of the Therapeutic Idea Award. Presentation of preliminary data is not consistent with the intent of the Therapeutic Idea Award mechanism. While the inclusion of preliminary data is not prohibited, the strength of the application should not rely on preliminary data, but on the innovative idea and the potential impact it will provide.