At a glance
This program funds conceptually innovative research on Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases that could improve understanding, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or patient care. U.S. Department of War organizations and other eligible U.S. organizations, including foreign or domestic, for-profit or nonprofit, and public or private entities, may apply; for the Career Development Option, the principal investigator must be an early-career researcher within 10 years of the terminal degree and have a mentor. The program expects to fund about three standard awards and two Career Development Option awards, with total costs capped at $800,000 per award for the standard award and $550,000 for the Career Development Option, over up to 3 years. Cost sharing is not required. Applications must focus on Lyme disease and/or other tick-borne diseases, and human vaccine work, tick or reservoir host field work, and clinical trials are not allowed.
What it funds
Official description from grants.gov
Summary: The intent of the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Tick-Borne Disease Research Program (TBDRP) Idea Development Award (IDA) is to support conceptually innovative research that could lead to impactful discoveries or significant advancements that will accelerate progress toward reducing the burden of Lyme disease and/or other tick-borne diseases and conditions, and improving patient care and/or the quality of life. Applications should propose research that is conceptually innovative, introduces a new concept or question, challenges existing paradigms, approaches issues from a new perspective, or exhibits other uniquely creative qualities; and should not merely be a next logical step or an incremental advance on published data or ongoing research. Distinctive Features: A Career Development Option is available to eligible early-career investigators who propose to conduct impactful mechanism-relevant research under the mentorship of an experienced tick-borne disease researcher(s). Applications submitted under the IDA – Career Development Option (IDA-CDO) will be reviewed using separate, career development-specific evaluation criteria by a separate, dedicated peer review panel; and are subject to a lower cost limit than those submitted under the standard IDA. https://cdmrp.health.mil/pubs/press/2026/tbdrppreann
Who can apply
- Unrestricted