Greetings,

We are excited to share an overview of 2026 funding opportunities from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The CDMRP strives to transform health care for service members and the American public through innovative and impactful research. More information about open CDMRP program funding opportunities can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our new Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.

Overview of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)

Initially funded in 1992 by a Congressional appropriation, the CDMRP fosters novel approaches to biomedical research in response to expressed needs of the American public, the military, and Congress. The CDMRP fills research gaps by funding high-impact, high risk and high gain projects that may not be funded by other agencies. Hallmarks of the CDMRP include:

investing in groundbreaking research
targeting critical gaps
reviewing applications using a two-tier formal review with no standing peer review panels
involving consumer advocates throughout the program cycle
supporting both the next generation of researchers and established scientists
funding the full pipeline of research development, including basic, translational, and clinical research
fostering (or employing) collaboration and synergy

Although individual research programs are uniquely focused, all CDMRP-managed programs share the common goal of advancing paradigm shifting research, solutions that will lead to cures or improvements in patient care, or breakthrough technologies and resources for clinical benefit.

Fiscal Year 2026 Research Program Areas

Recently, CDMRP announced funding for Research Programs for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). The appropriations funding will support 34 Research Programs (RPs) managed by CDMRP. Currently, funding opportunity announcements are available for 23 RPs, which encompass various diseases, conditions, military health, and other specified areas. Funding opportunity announcements include detailed descriptions of Award Mechanism intent, evaluation criteria, submission requirements, and deadlines. Some examples of Award Mechanism types include:

Translational Research Award. Focused on accelerating conversion of scientific findings into impactful clinical applications.
Clinical Trial Award. Supports the rapid execution of clinical health trials with potential significant impact.
Investigator-Initiated Research Award. Supports studies that will make an important contribution toward research, typically for established projects requiring preliminary data and addressing specific program goals.
Idea Development Award. Supports innovative, high-risk/high-reward research that could lead to critical discoveries.
Career Development/Early Investigator Award. For early-career investigators with fewer than three years of research experience, and who receive guidance from an experienced mentor.
Focused Program Award. RPs may issue condition or disease-specific funding mechanisms.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the Program Funding Opportunities page for a list of available funding opportunities and the associated Program Announcement, as well as Application Instructions and a synopsis of the RP's open Award Mechanisms.

Pre-application Process

All CDMRP funding opportunities require submission of a pre-application in the electronic
Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP).
CDMRP uses two types of pre-application formats: Letter of Intent (LOI) or Pre-proposal. Each funding opportunity specifies the type of pre-application submission required:
- LOI: There is no review and selection process for LOIs.The CDMRP uses LOIs for planning purpopses only. Applicants will not receive an invitation from this type of pre-application and may proceed directly to full application submission.
- Pre-Proposal: Pre-proposals undergo a review and selection process. Applicants will receive an "invite" or "not invite" decision for full application submission. Applicants that receive an invitation may proceed to full application submission.

Additional Information and Resources

CDMRP will host live Lunch and Learn webinars from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET, each focused on a subset of FY26 funding opportunities. Access these webinars from the first slide of the image carousel on the CDMRP home page:

June 3, 2026
June 10, 2026
June 24, 2026
July 8, 2026

The open funding opportunities page includes FAQs and other resources.

Read about the application submission process in how to apply to funding opportunities or CDMRP's funding process.

Watch the CDMRP’s Journey of an Application videos to learn more about Funding Opportunities and the Two-Tier Review Process.

Subscribe to funding opportunities and program communications by Research Program.

Search previously funded awards or visit the archives for previously funded Research Programs.

Questions from FAS or SEAS faculty about this opportunity may be directed to research_development@fas.harvard.edu.

MAILING LISTS

Sign up to join the mailing list for FAS Funding Focus, a resource series tailored to help FAS faculty and staff navigate the ever-evolving landscape of grants and funding. Previous editions of FAS Funding Focus (FFF) are accessible in the FFF archive. To receive additional announcements from FORA, including the monthly On Your RADAR (Research Administration Developments & Announcements Rundown) newsletter and invitations to the FORA Forum, a monthly meeting for Harvard research administrators, please sign up for the FORA listserv here.

RESOURCES

Research Development maintains a Sample Proposal Library of successful proposals from recent award recipients that are available to FAS and SEAS faculty by request; please email Research Development to request to view a proposal. For more information on Research Development's resources—including lists of internal funding programs, early career funding programs, and sabbatical fellowships—please visit the Funding Opportunities web page.

SEARCH FOR OPPORTUNITIES WITH PIVOT

All Harvard affiliates can search for opportunities and set up alerts using Pivot, a searchable database of federal and private funding opportunities. Information on Pivot, including a one-page user guide, and other funding opportunity databases available to the Harvard community can be found on the Funding Databases web page.

PIVOT CURATED SEARCHES

Curated funding opportunity lists are funding search topics of broad interest. The following curated lists can be further refined in Pivot based on your funding needs. To view the results you must be on a Harvard network or logged in to your Pivot account. Information on setting up a Pivot account can be found in our one-page user guide.

Data Science, Computer Science, and Artificial Intelligence

Engineering and Technology

Life Sciences

Neuroscience

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Additional curated lists are available on the Funding Databases web page. We continue to add to and refine these lists based on feedback. Please feel free to reach out to us at research_development@fas.harvard.edu with any suggestions you may have.