DoW Vision, Investigator-Initiated Research Award

About this funding opportunity

Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Vision Research Program (VRP) Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) supports basic through early translational research that will yield highly impactful discoveries or major advancements in the research and/or patient care of eye injury and/or visual dysfunction related to military exposure. The IIRA may be used to support preclinical studies and/or clinical research. Research must align with at least one of the FY26 VRP Focus Areas. The IIRA cannot be used to support clinical trials.

Distinctive Features:

· The IIRA offers two Funding Levels to support research at different stages and the exploration/development of ideas of different maturity levels.

· Funding Level 2 includes a Partnering Principal Investigator (PI) Option (PPIO) for two PIs, an Initiating PI and a Partnering PI.

· Scored peer review criteria include Research Idea/Rationale, Research Strategy and Feasibility, Impact, and Personnel.

· Programmatic review criteria include adherence to the intent of the IIRA, contribution to the VRP portfolio, relative impact, and relevance to military health.

· The VRP may share FY26 IIRA applications and reviews with the National Eye Institute (NEI) for independent funding consideration.

https://cdmrp.health.mil/pubs/press/2026/vrppreann

Topic areas: General and Cross-cutting R&D, Life Sciences and Health, Security and Defense.

Funding amount

This grant provides Varies in funding.

Deadline

Applications are due Nov 12, 2026. Confirm the exact closing time on the official program page before applying.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Open to all applicant types

Eligibility

The program did not publish a separate eligibility statement. See the official opportunity page for the full eligibility criteria.

Agency

DoW Vision, Investigator-Initiated Research Award is administered by Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA (AMRAA), listed via Grants.gov.