FIGURE 5-1. Research projects by funding mechanism (amount in percentage).

approximately 78% of the funds ($170.9 million) went to research projects and the remaining funds ($47.9 million) went for training and infrastructure enhancement. The funded research projects can be further subdivided into New Investigator Awards (NIAs) with 11.4% of the research funds, IDEA grants with 4.5% of the research funds, and more traditional Other Investigator-Initiated Awards (OIAs) garnering 84.1%. In FY 1995, of the $86 million specified for funding research projects a greater proportion was directed toward IDEA grants (12%) while a proportionately smaller amount was directed to more traditional OIA grants (76%). NIAs stayed constant with approximately 12% of research funds (USAMRMC, 1997).

In FY 1996 the USAMRMC dramatically shifted funding toward IDEA awards. Of the $75 million total allocation in 1996, 53% was allocated for IDEA grants. This is over five times the amount awarded for IDEA grants in 1993/1994, and almost nine times more than originally recommended for this type of award by the IOM in 1993. NIAs and OIAs had been eliminated.

During 1996, 20% of funds (approximately $15 million) were allocated for Research with Translational Potential (RTP) awards. These multidisciplinary projects should produce practical applications in prevention, detection, and