At a glance
This program funds translational research in vision injury and vision dysfunction that moves promising discoveries toward new drugs, devices, or clinical practice guidelines ready for definitive testing in clinical trials. It may support preclinical studies, clinical research, or a pilot clinical trial, but not a full-scale clinical trial, and projects must fit at least one FY26 Vision Research Program focus area. Eligible applicants include extramural and intramural U.S. Department of War organizations, along with foreign or domestic public or private, for-profit or nonprofit organizations; awards go to eligible organizations, not individuals. The program expects to fund about one award with a total cost cap of $1.6 million and a maximum project period of 3 years. Cost sharing is not required, and there are no geographic restrictions stated, though some travel costs are limited and research involving domestic cats or dogs in painful categories D or E is not supported except for military or service animal studies.
What it funds
Official description from grants.gov
Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Vision Research Program (VRP) Translational Research Award (TRA) supports translational research that transforms a promising discovery into new drugs, devices or clinical practice guidelines that are ready for definitive testing in clinical trials during or by the end of the period of performance. The TRA may be used to support preclinical studies, clinical research or a pilot clinical trial , but not a full-scale clinical trial . Research must align with at least one of the FY26 VRP Focus Areas . Distinctive Features: · If developing new drugs or device(s), the research team must include expertise in the regulatory approval process. · The TRA 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, Personnel and Post-Award Transition Plan. · Programmatic review criteria include adherence to the intent of the TRA, contribution to the VRP portfolio, relative impact and relevance to military health. · The VRP may share FY26 TRA applications and reviews with the National Eye Institute (NEI) for independent funding consideration. https://cdmrp.health.mil/pubs/press/2026/vrppreann
Who can apply
- Unrestricted