Battlefield Wound Management and Infection Research Award | W81XWH 22 S DMRDP BWMIR

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81XWH 22 S DMRDP BWMIR

The Battlefield Wound Management and Infection Research (BWMIR) Award is a Department of Defense funding opportunity under the Defense Medical Research and Development Program (DMRDP) aimed at improving how traumatic combat wounds are treated and how infections are prevented and controlled across the full continuum of care. The central focus is on the realities of battlefield medicine: prolonged field care, en route care, limited supplies and staffing, harsh or austere environments, and the added strain of mass casualty events. The program is looking for research that deepens practical understanding of complex wound physiology and infection dynamics in ways that can drive near- to mid-term improvements in products, technologies, and clinical practice, with clear relevance to active-duty Service Members while also offering potential benefit to civilian trauma care.

A key theme in this award is translational momentum. Applicants are encouraged to "leverage" existing resources, meaning they should build on prior investments such as existing datasets, prototypes, platforms, clinical networks, biorepositories, validated models, or other mature capabilities to amplify what can be learned or to accelerate technical readiness. Projects that advance or repurpose existing solutions are viewed favorably because they tend to move faster toward real-world use, but entirely new approaches are not automatically excluded as long as they are applied and positioned for translation. The opportunity explicitly welcomes both "knowledge products" (research outputs that can improve individual or public health, such as actionable insights, protocols, or decision-support methods) and solutions that can speed the introduction of military-relevant medical products or technologies into clinical or operational settings.

The scope is intentionally practical rather than exploratory. Fundamental basic research is not allowed under this announcement; the program draws a line between studies that simply expand general scientific knowledge and studies designed with a specific application in mind. In contrast, applied and preclinical research is appropriate, including animal studies, as long as it is supported by substantial preliminary or published data and is geared toward validating clinical translation. On the clinical side, the award can support clinical research and small early-stage clinical trials, including first-in-human and Phase 1/1b efforts. However, it does not permit Phase 2 or Phase 3 trials aimed at FDA licensure for drugs or definitive/pivotal studies intended for device clearance. Studies that would require an Exception From Informed Consent (EFIC) are also not permitted, which matters for emergency trauma research where consent can be difficult.

The announcement provides clear definitions so applicants understand what qualifies as clinical research and a clinical trial. Clinical research includes direct interaction with human subjects (or identifiable human-origin materials), along with epidemiologic, behavioral, outcomes, and health services research. A clinical trial is defined as prospective assignment of one or more human subjects to an intervention to evaluate effects on health-related outcomes. If a clinical trial is funded, the awardee must post the IRB-approved informed consent form used for enrollment on a public federal website in line with federal human-subjects requirements (32 CFR 219). Notably, studies that qualify for IRB Exemption 4 using existing, de-identified specimens or publicly available de-identified data are not considered clinical research under the CDMRP definition, which can affect how a proposal is categorized and what requirements apply.

Funding is offered under two selectable levels tied to the type of work proposed, and the applicant must choose the level that fits the project scope (with the government retaining the right to fund at a lower level if appropriate). Funding Level 1 supports preclinical research only and requires substantial preliminary or published data; it cannot include clinical research or clinical trials, and total costs are capped at $1.2 million. Funding Level 2 supports projects that include clinical research or a clinical trial (and may include some preclinical work), again requiring substantial preliminary or published data; total costs are capped at $2.2 million. For proposals that include clinical studies or trials, there are added readiness expectations, including a requirement that any proposed clinical trial be initiated no later than month 9 of the initial period of performance, which pushes teams to have protocols, sites, and regulatory plans in place early.

Regulatory planning is treated as a serious part of feasibility for clinical work involving investigational products. If a proposed trial uses a drug that is not FDA-approved for the intended investigational use, the applicant may need an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission meeting 21 CFR 312 requirements, or formal evidence that an IND is not required. Similarly, investigational devices may require an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) under 21 CFR 812, or documentation that an IDE is not needed or that an abbreviated IDE applies. If the trial will take place internationally, the proposal must include evidence that submissions to the relevant host-country regulatory authorities have been made or approved. The IND/IDE is expected to be specific to the product and indication being tested rather than a loosely related or modified version, and the application package references a required Regulatory Strategy attachment for these details.

From an operational standpoint, the award emphasizes that solutions should reflect how care is actually delivered in combat and pre-hospital settings. Proposals are encouraged to account for variable skill levels among providers (from medics to surgeons), constrained logistics, and environmental diversity (temperature extremes, contamination risk, limited sterility, intermittent power, evacuation delays). While the program is military-driven, it explicitly does not exclude civilian-focused trauma advances, recognizing that civilian and military trauma systems influence each other and can overlap during disasters or large-scale events. The intent is to support work that can realistically be adopted in the field and then translate into broader trauma care improvements.

On oversight and compliance, any funded research involving human anatomical substances, human subjects, or cadavers must undergo Department of Defense administrative review and approval through the USAMRDC Office of Human and Animal Research Oversight (OHARO) before the work can begin, in addition to local IRB or Ethics Committee review. Local IRB approval is not required at the time of submission, but teams should plan for the OHARO human research review timeline, which may take up to about three months after complete documentation is submitted. Multi-institution human-subjects projects also need a plan for single IRB arrangements, identifying the lead institution that will manage the master protocol, master consent, and serve as the central regulatory point of contact.

Animal work has parallel requirements. Any animal research must be reviewed and approved not only by the local IACUC but also by the USAMRDC Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO), and applicants should anticipate a roughly three- to four-month timeline for ACURO review after submission of the necessary materials. The program also places heavy emphasis on rigor and reproducibility, referencing established best practices such as randomization, blinding, sample-size estimation, and transparent data handling. Applicants using animal models must include an Animal Research Plan and are encouraged to align planning and reporting with ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines, with the goal of improving the predictive value of preclinical findings and supporting translation.

In terms of who can apply and how awards are issued, eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning a broad range of organizations can apply (subject to any clarifications in the full announcement). The funding instrument is flexible: awards may be made as grants, cooperative agreements, procurement contracts, or Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs), and the specific instrument is chosen by the government based on the intended relationship and level of agency involvement. Cooperative agreements are used when substantial government involvement is expected, while grants are used when it is not; contracts are used when the government is acquiring goods or services for its own direct use. OTAs may be used to enable more flexible, industry-aligned collaboration models, particularly to attract nontraditional defense contractors and speed development of dual-use technologies.

Programmatically, the Army contracting and assistance office (USAMRAA) administers the opportunity, with applications falling under CFDA 12.420. The funding opportunity number is W81XWH-22-S-DMRDP-BWMIR. It was posted on September 21, 2022, with an original closing date of November 16, 2022, and planned awards by no later than September 30, 2023. The program anticipated supporting roughly 7 to 10 awards using an estimated combined pool of about $9.39 million in FY22 funds and $7.29 million in FY23 funds, with funding contingent on appropriations, application volume, scientific and programmatic merit, and government requirements. Applications from both extramural applicants and an intramural solicitation are reviewed together, and the government can choose any mix of internal and external projects for funding.

Finally, the opportunity signals an expectation of sharing. The CDMRP states an intent for information, data, and research resources generated under funded awards to be made available to the broader research community and the public, consistent with program guidance. In practice, that means teams should be prepared to think about data management and dissemination early, especially if their project is creating clinically relevant datasets, protocols, or translational resources that could speed adoption and improve outcomes for both Warfighters and civilian patients.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Battlefield Wound Management and Infection Research 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 Sep 21, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 16, 2022. (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 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for W81XWH 22 S DMRDP BWMIR

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