DoW Military Burn, Discovery Award | HT942526MBRPDA

Opportunity Information: Apply for HT942526MBRPDA

The FY26 DoW Military Burn Research Program (MBRP) Discovery Award is a discretionary grant opportunity run through the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity (DHACA) to spark genuinely new ideas in combat-relevant burn care. It is specifically aimed at early-stage research that has the potential to reshape how the field thinks about preventing, diagnosing, treating, or otherwise managing burn injuries in military contexts. The program is looking for projects that are innovative and untested, meaning applicants are encouraged to pursue concepts that may be high-risk but could deliver high-impact insights if successful. The expectation is that this award will help investigators open up new scientific directions rather than simply extending established lines of work.

A key point of the opportunity is that the proposed research can take different scientific forms, including exploratory studies, hypothesis-driven projects, or hypothesis-generating work. Regardless of the approach, the project must be novel and supported by a strong scientific rationale and a well-developed study design. In practical terms, that means reviewers will be looking for clear justification for why the idea is worth pursuing, how the work will be executed, and why the methods are appropriate to produce interpretable results, even if the concept itself is still in its early stages.

The distinctive feature of this mechanism is its emphasis on innovation that can serve as a launchpad for future translational or clinical research. The award is meant to lay groundwork: it should create credible, robust preliminary data that can support the next step, such as larger validation studies, development of a prototype or product concept, or the early planning needed to move toward clinical testing. The program also frames the work in terms of combat relevance, so proposals should connect the research question and potential impact to real-world burn care needs in military settings, where injury patterns, operational constraints, evacuation timelines, and resource limitations can differ from civilian environments.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as Funding Opportunity Number HT942526MBRPDA under CFDA 12.420 (Science and Technology and other Research and Development). Eligibility is described as unrestricted, which generally signals that a wide range of applicant organizations may apply, assuming they can meet standard federal grant requirements. The original closing date is October 21, 2026. The agency anticipates making about two awards. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided listing, so applicants would need to consult the full announcement package or related guidance to understand budget limits, allowable costs, and any period-of-performance expectations.

Overall, this Discovery Award is designed for teams with a compelling, well-reasoned new concept in military burn care who can propose a rigorous plan to generate the kind of early evidence that unlocks future funding and downstream development, including translational pathways and eventually clinical impact.

• The Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "DoW Military Burn, Discovery Award" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.420.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-05-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-10-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for HT942526MBRPDA

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