Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Vision Research Program (VRP) Translational Research Award (TRA) supports translational research that transforms a promising discovery into new drugs, devices or clinical practice guidelines that are ready for definitive testing in clinical trials during or by the end of the period of performance. The TRA may be used to support preclinical studies, clinical research or a pilot clinical trial, but not a full-scale clinical trial. Research must align with at least one of the FY26 VRP Focus Areas.
Distinctive Features:
· If developing new drugs or device(s), the research team must include expertise in the regulatory approval process.
· The TRA includes a Partnering Principal Investigator (PI) Option (PPIO) for two PIs, an Initiating PI and a Partnering PI.
· Scored peer review criteria include Research Idea/Rationale, Research Strategy and Feasibility, Impact, Personnel and Post-Award Transition Plan.
· Programmatic review criteria include adherence to the intent of the TRA, contribution to the VRP portfolio, relative impact and relevance to military health.
· The VRP may share FY26 TRA applications and reviews with the National Eye Institute (NEI) for independent funding consideration.