Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Hearing Restoration Research Program (HRRP) Focused Research Award (FRA) supports promising research that accelerates drug discovery and therapeutic development for hearing restoration after military-relevant auditory system injury. The FRA may be used to support preclinical studies and/or clinical research. Research must align with at least one of the FY26 HRRP Focus Areas. The FRA cannot be used to support clinical trials, tinnitus research or vestibular research.

Distinctive Features:

• The FRA offers two Funding Levels to support research at different stages and the exploration/development of ideas of different maturity levels.

• Funding Level 2 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, and Personnel.

• Programmatic review criteria include adherence to the intent of the FRA, contribution to the HRRP portfolio, relative impact, and relevance to military health.