DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command



Point of Contact:
Chuck Dasey, (301) 619-7071

November 16, 1999
For Immediate Release:
Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program for 2000

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 Defense Appropriations Act provides $75M to the Department of Defense (DOD) Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP). This program has been administered since FY97 by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) through the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

Pending receipt of FY00 funds by the CDMRP, an FY00 program supporting peer-reviewed, innovative prostate cancer research will be executed.

The proposed programmatic strategy for the FY00 PCRP envisions funding proposals in two research award categories (Idea Development Awards and New Investigator Awards) and in two training award categories (Postdoctoral Awards and Minority Population Focused Collaborative Training [MPFCT] Awards). A proposal body limit of 10 pages (to include all figures, tables, and graphs) is anticipated for all mechanisms.

Idea Development Awards are designed for independent investigators at the Assistant Professor level or higher who are established prostate cancer investigators or are established investigators in other fields who desire to move into prostate cancer research. The funding level is anticipated to be $375,000 per award (direct costs) for a 3-year period. Preliminary data in prostate cancer research relevant to the proposed project are required.

New Investigator Awards are designed for independent investigators at the Assistant Professor level or equivalent in the early phase of their research careers. The funding level is anticipated to be $225,000 per award (direct costs) for a 3-year period. Preliminary data are not required, but proposals must demonstratea solid scientific rationale.

Postdoctoral Training Awards are designed for recent doctoral degree graduates with limited postdoctoral experience (£ 3 years). The funding level is anticipated to be $96,000 per award, inclusive of both direct and indirect costs, for a 2-year period.

MPFCT Awards are designed for independent investigators at the Assistant Professor level or equivalent who have had little or no research support. The intent of this award is to provide applicants with the opportunity to design and initiate a prostate cancer research concept that focuses on the disparity in prostate cancer incidence and mortality among different ethnic groups. Development of this concept is to be the product of a collaboration between the applicant and an established prostate cancer research investigator. The funding level is anticipated to be $75,000 per award, inclusive of direct and indirect costs, for up to 1 year.

Pending receipt of FY00 funds by the CDMRP, the approximate receipt date for postdoctoral proposals is expected to be early March 2000. For all other awards (Idea Development, New Investigator, and MPFCT), proposal receipt is expected to be mid-April 2000.

Please consult the CDMRP web site (https://cdmrp.army.mil) for updates on PCRP-related events. The PCRP Program Announcement, when released, may be downloaded from this web site.