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U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command


September 12, 2003

For Immediate Release:

Department of Defense Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research Program Announces Awards

The Department of Defense Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research Program (TSCRP) was established in fiscal year 2002 (FY02) by Joint Appropriations Conference Committee Report No. 107-350, which provided $1Million (M) for tuberous sclerosis research. A Program Announcement was released in March, 2002, with proposals received September 5, 2002. Following peer and programmatic reviews, institutions received funds during the summer of 2003.

The FY02 TSCRP offered a single award mechanism, the Idea Development Award which encouraged innovative research aimed at understanding the role and function of proteins produced by the TSC1 and TSC2 tumor suppressor genes. Thirteen proposals were received and two were recommended for funding. A third proposal was recommended for funding with FY03 TSCRP dollars. Awards totalled $1,193,322.

Award Recipients of TSCRP Idea Development Awards include:

David Gutmann, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, $374,002 for his research proposal "Mouse Models of TSC-Related Epilepsy."

Elizabeth Henske, M.D., Fox Chase Cancer Center, $398,751 for her research proposal "TSC1 And TSC2 Related Genes Homologs in Schizosaccharomyces Prombe."

Naoto Ito, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, $420,569 for his research proposal "Functions of TSC Genes in the Nervous System of Drosophila melanogaster."

Congress appropriated $2 M to continue the TSCRP in FY03. Proposals were requested through a Program Announcement in March 2003 and proposals were received in August 2003. The two tiers of review will be completed by December 2003. FY03 award negotiations will begin in January 2004 and will be completed no later than September 30, 2004.

The TSCRP program is administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) through the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

For more information about the TSCRP awards, technical and public abstracts about the research, previous TSCRP Program Announcements, and other CDMRP-sponsored programs and events, please visit the Tuberous Sclerosis Complex section of the CDMRP web site (https://cdmrp.health.mil). Point of Contact: Gail Whitehead, Public Affairs Coordinator, phone (301) 619-7783, gail.whitehead@amedd.army.mil