U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command &
Fort Detrick Public Affairs/Marketing Office, Fort Detrick, Maryland
December 2, 2003
Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program Announces Concept Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 03
Due to the overwhelming response to the fiscal years 1999 and 2002 Concept Awards and the outstanding success reported by Concept Award recipients at the September 2002 Era of Hope meeting, the Department of Defense (DOD) Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) intends to offer the Concept Awards again this year. The BCRP plans to announce a $20 million initiative to support these awards on or about December 12, 2003.
Concept Awards are intended to fund an initial concept or theory that could give rise to a testable hypothesis within breast cancer research. The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) plans to solicit electronic submissions for short (one-page) Concept Award proposals. These awards can be requested for $75,000 in direct costs over a 12-month performance period, plus indirect costs as appropriate. The receipt deadline is planned for January 21, 2004. These awards will be reviewed and negotiated expeditiously so that research dollars will be available no later than September 30, 2004.
Concept Awards encourage the exploration of untested, innovative questions in breast cancer. Proposals should postulate a new paradigm, challenge existing paradigms, or examine an existing problem from a new perspective. Some topics of interest are: systems biology, proteomics, early detection, computational biology applications, nanotechnology applications, and prevention. Concepts from complementary areas of science such as chemistry, biophysics, mathematics, engineering, etc. are encouraged.
Projects involving human subjects or human anatomical substances will not be supported unless they are exempt under 32 CFR 219.101(b)(4).1 Studies that do not qualify for exempt status during review at any level will be administratively withdrawn and will not be funded.
1Title 32, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 219, Section 101(b)(4). "Research involving collection or study of existing data, documents, records, pathological specimens, or diagnostic specimens, if these sources are publicly available or if the information is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that subjects cannot be identified, ... is considered to be exempt under 32 CFR 219.101(b)(4)."
Points of Contact:
Richard H. Kenyon, Ph.D., BCRP Program Manager
Gail Whitehead, Public Affairs Coordinator, phone 301-619-7071