DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command


February 22, 2002

Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program for Fiscal Year 2002

Points of Contact:
Gail Whitehead, Public Affairs Coordinator, phone (301) 619-7071;
Richard Kenyon, Ph.D., BCRP Program Manager, phone (301) 619-7071

The Fiscal Year 2002 (FY02) Defense Appropriations Act provides $150 million to the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) to support innovative research directed toward the eradication of breast cancer. This program is administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command through the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

FOR THE FY02 BCRP, TWO PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL BE RELEASED.

The FY02 BCRP Program Announcement I was released on February 21, 2002. All Program Announcement I mechanisms require a pre-proposal submission, which are due by April 3, 2002. This announcement will call for proposals in the following mechanisms:

  • Clinical Translational Research (CTR) Awards
  • Biotechnology Clinical Partnership Awards
  • Collaborative-CTR Awards
  • Breast Cancer Center of Excellence Awards
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions Partnership Training Awards

New this year:
Biotechnology Clinical Partnership Awards are intended to support the establishment of partnerships between the biotechnology industry and academic institutions, and are expected to accelerate the delivery of novel breast cancer therapeutics and chemopreventives.

Release of the FY02 BCRP Program Announcement II is anticipated for March 2002, with receipt of proposals due in June 2002. This announcement will call for proposals in the following mechanisms:

  • Innovator Awards
  • Exploration Awards
  • Idea Awards
  • Physician-Scientist Training Awards
  • Clinical Research Nurse Training Awards
  • Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Traineeship Awards
  • Undergraduate Summer Training Program Awards

New this year:
Exploration Awards are intended to fund an initial innovative concept or theory (with no preliminary data) that could give rise to a testable hypothesis. Critical to this award is innovation, which will be the major evaluation criterion.

Physician-Scientist Training Awards are intended to support the training of new breast cancer clinical research physicians.

Clinical Research Nurse Training Awards are intended to support nurses at all levels (BSN, MSN, and Ph.D.) focusing on breast cancer research in an interdisciplinary breast cancer research environment.

Detailed descriptions of each of these mechanisms, evaluation criteria, and submission requirements can be found in the FY02 BCRP Program Announcements, which can be downloaded from the CDMRP web site (https://cdmrp.army.mil) upon their release. Proposals will be received electronically in FY02. All applicants will be required to submit one electronic version of their proposal as a PDF (Portable Document Format) file.

Please note that the signing of the FY02 appropriation was delayed until January 2002, which required the evaluation and award process to commence before the actual receipt of funding at this Command for these projects. It is believed that funds will be made available for these projects. However, no legal liability on the part of the Government for payment can arise until such funds are made available.

For more information about the BCRP, BCRP awardees, previous BCRP Program Announcements, and other CDMRP-sponsored programs and events, please visit the CDMRP web site (https://cdmrp.army.mil).