The deadline for $10 million in musculoskeletal research dollars is mere days away.
Deadline for $$$ in Research Dollars April 17th
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Secondary#funding#opportunity#orthopedicsurgery
The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) recently posted a Request for Project Proposals (RPP) for research on a variety of subjects including two musculoskeletal injury topics: prevention and reduction ($1.9 million available) and treatment and rehabilitation ($8.8 million available).
The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium is a nonprofit corporation that collaborates with industry and academia to then work with the Department of Defense (DoD) and other government agencies in order to protect, treat and optimize the health and performance of U.S. military personnel through the power of research and development.
MTEC plans to conduct the request for proposal process using the Enhanced White Paper approach. Proposals must be submitted by noon (eastern time zone) on April 17, 2023. Those papers that are selected by an evaluation panel for further consideration will be invited to submit a full cost proposal in stage two.
Focus Areas of Interest
Military Operational Medicine – This technology area aims to maximize health and performance and prevent physical and psychological injuries during training and operations.
Focus Area 9 – Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention and Reduction: about $1,965 million total with awards ranging from $1-2 million. Proposal has to address at least one of these topics:
- Solutions to prevent and/or reduce common overuse tendon and ligament injuries
- Solutions to prevent, reduce or mitigate joint stability
- Novel solutions or therapeutics to prevent muscle atrophy
Focus Area 10 – Musculoskeletal Injury Treatment and Rehabilitation: about $8.845 million with awards ranging from $1-5 million. Proposal has to address at least one of these topics (clinical studies are encouraged):
- Solutions to optimize short-term and/or long-term outcomes following soft tissue injury (sprain/strains)
- Biologic or drug therapy that can accelerate recovery of musculoskeletal injuries
- Therapeutic interventions to accelerate recovery timelines and/or optimize outcomes following battle related and/or training related musculoskeletal injury
- Validated assessments to optimize and inform return-to-duty guidelines following musculoskeletal injury
Those submitting proposals must be MTEC members in good standing. To join MTEC please visit https://mtec-sc.org/how-to-join/.
Evaluations of proposals will be made on a first-in, first-out basis. Submissions are highly encouraged to be submitted as soon as possible. Awards will be made on a rolling basis. Each proposal can specifically address only one Focus Area. Members can submit more than one proposal. To see the complete Request for Project Proposal and for more information on:
- Points of contact
- Enhanced White Paper format and template
- List of required submission documents
Please visit https://mtec-sc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MTEC-23-06-USAMRDCMultiTopic-RPP_FINAL.pdf.
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Discussion
This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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