Stephanie Bunt, Ph.D.
Dr. Stephanie Bunt serves as a Managing Director, Healthcare Practice at McAllister & Quinn, where she provides strategic advice to healthcare and medicine sector clients by assessing and supporting their funding needs in alignment with their organizational priorities and goals. Stephanie has over 15 years of experience with research, grant writing and management, project and program development, communications, and scientific writing.
Kate Price, RN, MPH
Kate Price, RN, MPH, is the Director of the Healthcare Practice at McAllister & Quinn, a federal grants and strategic consulting firm. She provides critical research support, identifies funding opportunities, and produces legislative analyses to advance client strategies.
Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP): Substantial Increases in FY26 Federal Funding to Advance Medical Research and Healthcare Solutions Affecting Service Members and the American Public
The Department of Defense/Department of War’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) received $1.27 billion for FY26, almost double the FY25 $650M allocation, demonstrating Congress’ commitment to this important mechanism for innovative military and American public health research.
What Interested Applicants Need to Know about Federally- Funded Medical Research Grants
President Trump signed CDMRP funding into law on February 3, 2026 via the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, supporting 34 CDMRP research programs. With these programs, two multi-topic research programs, the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) and the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP), cover the full range of science and medicine and support 20 and 52 topic areas, respectively, In addition to funding a wide breadth of research topics, CDMRP also funds treatment of rare diseases, detection of military-related toxic exposures and diagnosis of adverse health outcomes, as well as suicide prevention and total force readiness.
CDMRP is a complementary research funding pathway, rather than a substitute for more traditional, predictable National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. In FY24, $955.13 million was invested in 792 new projects, a small fraction compared to NIH funding but with its own distinct purpose. CDMRP is uniquely positioned to support high-risk, high-gain research, and while it does fund the full pipeline of research development from basic to clinical research and supporting the next generation of scientists, it prioritizes a more direct pathway to clinical impact. CDMRP is focused on mission relevance and near-term impact, where innovation is highly incentivized, and funding is focused on rapid translational or implementation impact. Topics may change annually based on congressional priorities but also provide faster funding cycles over NIH’s more risk-averse operations.
Many Institutions are Eligible for CDMRP Funding
Eligibility depends on the individual CDMRP announcement. Unlike many other sources of federal funding for medical and biotechnology research, CDMRP opportunities are generally open to research institutions, universities, as well as for-profit businesses. McAllister & Quinn recommends reviewing the specific Grants.gov funding opportunity to determine eligibility of lead organizations, research teams, required community collaborations and topics responsive to the specific program.
What is the Submission Process for CDMRP Grants?
The CDMRP funding cycle begins with the congressional appropriations process. Prior to identifying topic areas, stakeholder meetings survey the research landscape and identify gaps in scientific and consumer areas. Press releases announcing annual funding and upcoming program opportunities in advance of full funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) give potential applicants ample time to assess program areas and award mechanisms, but once the FOA is released with complete program details and requirements, there is often a tighter submission window than that of the NIH, tying into the rapid funding cycles described above.
CDMRP typically requires a pre-application screening (often due within 4-6 weeks of FOA release), and investigators of meritorious pre-applications are invited approximately 2 to 4 weeks after the initial pre-application to submit a full application, typically due 8-12 weeks after the pre-application deadline. Awards are announced typically 6 weeks after programmatic review.
What Sets CDMRP Apart From Other Funding Streams?
CDMRP uses a very competitive two-tiered review process, consisting of scientific peer review and programmatic review to ensure relevance, with funding success rates varying across programs. In FY24, CDMRP received 19,700 pre-applications and 26% of these were invited to submit full proposals. Unlike funding agencies such as NIH, CDMRP does not have a “payline”/funding line, a percentage cut-off or pre-determined numerical score that applications must meet to be funded.
Each topical program area may include multiple grant mechanisms with unique guidelines regarding funding amount, eligibility, and technology readiness level (TRL)/preliminary data requirements. With limited preparation time, structuring a well-aligned program concept and forming a team early is vital. Additionally, it is important to plan ahead for the military relevance section of the proposal, as some mechanisms require collaboration with or the use of military population or data, making partnerships a necessary part of the process.
Appropriated FY26 Programs & FY25 Comparison Numbers**
**individual CDMRP program landing pages are linked in the funding table below, by program name. For more information on CDMRP, please see their website here
** Numbers taken from FY25 Annual Report
CDMRP as a Force Multiplier
Since the program’s inception in 1992, CDMRP has managed over $19.7 billion in congressionally appropriated funds for peer-reviewed research projects that support healthcare innovation in a variety of topics. From FY1992 to FY2023, approximately 21,479 awards were made to support medical advancements via grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts. CDMRP recently posted their FY25 Annual Report, which highlights that between October 2024 – September 2025, CDMRP-funded research projects produced 504 publications, 1,327 presentations, and 86 patents, showcasing CDMRP’s commitment to rapid patient impact.
Ready to Secure CDMRP FY26 Funding?
At McAllister & Quinn, we specialize in helping research institutions secure competitive federal grants — including successful submissions to CDMRP, DOD, NIH, ARPA-H, and other top sources of biotechnology and medical research funding. Based in Washington, DC, we’ve helped clients win over $17 billion in competitive grant funding, including over $50 million in CDMRP funding.
Please contact us to learn more about how we can help your institution advance its strategies to secure external funding.
