US Dept of Defense – Autism Research Program

• up to USD$550,000 over 3 years
• supports ECRs and/or the transition of established investigators from other fields of research to conduct innovative, high-impact ideas; or early-phase, proof-of-principle clinical trials
• preliminary data required

• up to USD$550,000 over 3 years
• supports development of innovative, high-impact ideas that advance the understanding of ASD and ultimately lead to improved outcomes
• investigators must be at or above level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent)
• preliminary data required

• up to USD$1.9M over 4 years for single PI option (Assist Prof or above) or
• up to USD$2.2M over 4 years for ECR partnering PI option
• supports research with potential to have a major impact on treatment and/or management of ASD
• preliminary data required

• Assessment of novel therapeutics using valid preclinical models
• Tools and strategies to increase the speed with which evidence-based practices are deployed in community-based settings
• Cultural, socioeconomic, and gender factors in diagnosis, treatment efficacy, delivery, and access to services
• Healthcare provider-focused training or tools to improve healthcare delivery for autistic individuals across the life span and the continuum of care (ie primary care, urgent/emergent care, and disaster relief)
• Environmental risk factors
• Factors impacting quality of life during geographic relocation, such as military permanent change of station
• Factors promoting success in key transitions to independence for individuals living with ASD
• Improved diagnosis and access to services across the life span
• Interventions to support ASD adults, including transition to adulthood, mid-life, and late life needs
• Long-term treatment outcomes from previous clinical trials for ASD core symptoms or to alleviate co-occurring conditions
• Mechanisms of heterogeneous clinical expression of ASD
• Mechanisms underlying sex differences (ie prevalence, biological mechanisms, phenotypic expression, core and comorbid syndrome expression and outcomes, developmental trajectories, diagnosis, and treatment response)
• Mechanisms underlying conditions co-occurring with ASD (eg sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal issues, inflammation, aggression, depression, anxiety, attention deficit, and seizures)
• Mental health issues (such as grief, masking, suicide risk, trauma, etc) or disorders in autistic individuals
• Tests of implementation strategies to increase use of evidence-based practices
• Understanding heterogeneity in treatment response, including identification of psychosocial or biological factors that (1) impact treatment outcomes or (2) can be used to prospectively identify treatments that are most likely to benefit particular subgroups of individuals.
• Understanding key factors to support ASD adults, including transition to adulthood
• Understanding physical health and related issues in aging autistic adults including cardiovascular issues, joint pain, asthma, obesity, etc.
• Pharmacological, genetic, and other biological treatments for ASD core symptoms or to alleviate co-occurring conditions
• Dissemination/Implementation of clinically validated interventions
• Non-pharmacological therapies for ASD core symptoms or to alleviate co-occurring conditions
• Pragmatic trials
• Tests of implementation strategies to increase use of evidence-based practices

Supporting documents for download