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Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA · Department of Defense

DoW Autism Clinical Trial Award

Open

Key facts

Deadline
Due Oct 22, 2026 · 15 days left
Award size
Not stated: see the official notice
Total available
$3.2M · about 1 award
Match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Anyone (unrestricted)
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

How this fits you

  • Available in Tennessee (nationwide program)
  • No match required
  • Past Tennessee awards on file: 115

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

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More from Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA

About this grant

Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Autism Research Program (ARP) Clinical Trial Award supports the rapid implementation of clinical trials with the potential to have a significant impact on the treatment or management of autism. Clinical trials may be designed to evaluate promising new products, pharmacologic agents (drugs or biologics), devices, clinical guidance and/or emerging approaches and technologies. Proposed projects may range from small proof-of-concept trials (e.g., pilot, first-in-human, phase 0) to demonstrate the feasibility or inform the design of more advanced trials through large-scale trials to determine efficacy in relevant patient populations. Distinctive Features: Applications are strongly encouraged to address one of the FY26 ARP Clinical Trial Award Areas of Interest. Partnering Principal Investigator (PI) Option for Early-Career Investigator: The FY26 Clinical Trial Award mechanism is offering a higher level of funding for applications that propose to partner an experienced PI (i.e., Initiating PI) with an Early-Career Investigator (i.e., Partnering PI) wishing to pursue a career in autism clinical trial research. FY26 Clinical Trial Award submissions are required to include community collaborations to optimize research impact. Research teams are therefore required to establish and utilize effective and equitable collaborations and partnerships with community members to maximize the translational and impact potential of the proposed research. Applications to the FY26 ARP Clinical Trial Award are expected to name at least one community partner (e.g., Autistic individual or caregiver, representatives of community-based organizations) who will provide advice and consultation throughout the planning and implementation of the research project. Interactions with other team members should be well integrated and ongoing, not limited to attending seminars and semi-annual meetings (see Attachment 12, Community Collaboration Plan).

Ask a partner for a letter

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

  1. Oct7
    Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
    Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
  2. Oct1
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment (already past: do it now)
    Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
  3. Oct15
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
  4. Oct20
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Oct22
    Deadline
    From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the official notice HT942526ARPCTA_GG.pdf (44 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.

Award size and project length

  • Project period: 4 years · p. 4
    “The maximum period of performance is 4 years.” Open page 4
  • Award amounts here are for the whole project · p. 9
    “The application’s total costs budgeted for the entire period of performance should not exceed $1.5M for a Single PI and $1.75M for the Partnering PI Option for Early-Career Investigator.” Open page 9

Registrations you need first (2)

  • SAM.gov, Grants.gov · p. 3
    “Active SAM.gov, eBRAP.org and Grants.gov registrations are required for application submission.” Open page 3
  • Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 26
    “Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management The applicant organization must be registered as an entity in the System for Award Management (SAM), SAM.gov, and receive confirmation of an “Active” status before submitting an application through…” Open page 26

The deadline is in 15 days. If your registration isn't already active, it may not be ready in time, so check it today. Get-ready checklist

Steps before the deadline

  • Pre-application · p. 11
    “Pre-Application Components The Initiating PI must submit the following pre-application components.” Open page 11
  • Pre-application · p. 12
    “The items to be included as supporting documentation for the pre-application must be uploaded as individual files and are limited to the following: ○ References Cited (one-page limit):” Open page 12
  • Pre-application · p. 27
    “Pre-Application Submission All pre-application components must be submitted by the PI through eBRAP, including the submission of contact information for the Partnering PI if selecting the Early Career Investigator Option.” Open page 27
  • Pre-application · p. 27
    “The Partnering PI must follow the instructions provided in the email to associate the partnering pre-application with their eBRAP account.” Open page 27

What to submit

  • Data management plan · p. 8
    “The application should include a clearly articulated statistical analysis plan, a power analysis reflecting sample size projections that will answer the objectives of the study, and a data management plan that includes use of an appropriate database to…” Open page 8
  • Resumes or bios of key staff · p. 12
    “Provide a list of abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols used in the Preproposal Narrative. ○ Key Personnel Biographical Sketches:” Open page 12
  • Form SF-424 · p. 12
    “(a) SF424 Research & Related Application for Federal Assistance Form (Grants.gov submissions only):” Open page 12
  • Letters of support or commitment · p. 15
    “If applicable, provide a letter of support, signed by the lowest- ranking person with approval authority, confirming participation of intramural DOW collaborator(s) and/or access to military populations, databases or DOW resources.” Open page 15
  • Memorandum of understanding (MOU) · p. 19
    “Also include a plan for obtaining any required data sharing, memorandum of understanding or other agreements required to access and publish data.” Open page 19
  • Organizational chart · p. 21
    “Provide an organizational chart that identifies key members of the study team and an outline of the governing structure for multi-institutional studies.” Open page 21
  • Timeline or schedule of completion · p. 22
    “Include a timeline with defined milestones describing the logical next steps to advance the research outcome to the next stage of clinical development/implementation/dissemination.” Open page 22

Length limits

  • Project Narrative: 20 pages max · p. 12
    “Project Narrative (20-page limit):” Open page 12

Dates in the notice

  • July 27, 2026 · p. 1
    “July 27, 2026 Application Due:” Open page 1
  • September 30, 2027 · p. 4
    “Awards supported with FY26 funds will be made no later than September 30, 2027.” Open page 4

Mistakes that get applications rejected (2)

  • Extra or uninvited material: Uninvited full application submissions will be rejected. · p. 12
    “Uninvited full application submissions will be rejected.” Open page 12
  • Extra or uninvited material: Extra items will not be reviewed. · p. 14
    “Extra items will not be reviewed.” Open page 14

Who in Tennessee has won this program

30 awards to Tennessee groups in 2 counties since 2016. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$12.7M spent that year2025
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$9.3M2018
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$5.7M2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$4.7M2019
University of TennesseeMemphis, Shelby County$4M2017
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$3.6M2025
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$3.5M2022
Idbiologics IncNashville, Davidson County$3.2M2019
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$3.1M2023
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$2.9M2017
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$2.7M2023
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$2.6M2020

Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse, USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

Tennessee groups that got this money through Tennessee Department of Education

This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. In Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Education passes it on: watch that agency for applications, not the federal agency. 85 pass-through grants on file. Largest shown:

Tennessee pass-through grant winners
Past winnerWhereThroughAmountFiscal year
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Rochester$2.6M2024
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Rochester$2.5M2023
University of MemphisMemphis, Shelby CountyOhio State University, the$2.1M2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyRegents of the University of Michigan$1.5M2023
State of TennesseeNashvilleUniversity of Arkansas, Little Rock$730K spent that year2024
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyCivil-Military Innovation Institute, Inc$677K spent that year2025
State of TennesseeNashvilleThe Ohio State University$651K spent that year2025
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyThe General Hospital Corporation$446K2025
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyMassachusetts General Hospital$439K spent that year2025
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyThe General Hospital Corporation$420K2025
State of TennesseeNashvilleUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock$390K spent that year2023
State of TennesseeNashvilleUniversity of Pittsburgh$373K spent that year2025

Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).

About the federal program

Military Medical Research and Development
Program number 12.420 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency (DHA) · Cooperative agreement (a grant with close agency involvement), project grant

How applications are judged

All applications are reviewed for technical merit and relevance to the mission of the DHA and its programs. Also, additional specific evaluation criteria will be included in each funding opportunity announcement.

Match

None required (federal program listing).

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal year 2017: No Current Data Available. Fiscal year 2018: Gulf War Illness Research Program Fiscal year 2020: Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program Fiscal year 2021: Hearing Restoration Research Program Fiscal year 2022: Combat Readiness-Medical Research Program Fiscal year 2023: Spinal Cord Injury Research Program - Clinical trial, clinical translational research, translational research, and investigator-initiated research projects Fiscal year 2025: Military Burn Research Program - Patient-centered research, technology/therapeutic development, and clinical translational research projects

This program on SAM.gov

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What's wrong?

Source: Federal grants from Grants.gov · the official federal record. Last checked by GrantMe Oct 7, 2026.

Reference numbers: official notice number HT942526ARPCTA · program number 12.420