OpportunityTitle: DoD Prostate Cancer Health Disparity Research Award
Description: The PCRP Health Disparity Research Award mechanism was introduced in FY01. Since then, 177 applications have been received, and 45 have been recommended for funding. In FY09, through a Request for Information (RFI), the PCRP solicited feedback from the prostate cancer research community on critical needs to facilitate prostate cancer health disparity research. This award mechanism has been modified for FY10 in response to the RFI feedback received. The Health Disparity Research Award supports new ideas that represent innovative approaches to prostate cancer health disparity research with the potential to make an important contribution to eliminating death and suffering from prostate cancer. The Health Disparity Research Award reflects the PCRP&#146;s commitment to resolving disparities in prostate cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality by funding health disparity-focused projects. Studies proposed for this award mechanism are expected to improve the understanding of, and ultimately eliminate, health disparities. Applicants for this award must explicitly state how the proposed research is related to an area of prostate cancer health disparity. Appropriate health disparity areas include, but are not limited to, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, access to health care, insurance status, age, geography, and cultural beliefs. Due to this award&#146;s emphasis on innovation, presentation of preliminary data relevant to prostate cancer and the proposed project is encouraged but not required. Any preliminary data provided should be from the laboratory of the Principal Investigator (PI) or member(s) of the collaborating team. Research involving human subject use is permitted under this funding opportunity, but is restricted to studies without clinical trials. In general, a clinical trial is defined as a prospective study where an intervention (e.g., device, drug, behavioral, surgical procedure, or other) is tested on human subjects for a measurable outcome. Refer to the General Application Instructions, Appendix 5, for additional information about studies involving human subjects, human subjects data, or human anatomical substances. The PCRP seeks Health Disparity Research Award applications from the wide spectrum of basic to clinical research (excluding clinical trials). Applications must be responsive to at least one of the PCRP focus areas and, although not required, may also be responsive to the PCRP overarching challenges. PIs wishing to apply for funding for population-based studies may also consider submitting an application for the PCRP Population-Based Research Award; each research project may be submitted to only one award mechanism. New for FY10! The following components of the Health Disparity Research Award are new for this fiscal year: 1. Qualified Collaborator Option: The FY10 Health Disparity Research Award strongly supports collaborative research between basic and clinical researchers, between researchers with prostate cancer expertise and those with health disparity expertise, and between researchers and community organizations that may be critical to the study of populations disproportionately affected by prostate cancer. Although these and other types of collaboration are, in general, strongly encouraged, collaborations that meet specific criteria will qualify for a higher level of funding as described in Section I.D., Funding. For the application to qualify for a higher level of funding, the PI must submit a Qualified Collaboration Statement that clearly describes the collaborator and addresses how each of the criteria below are met. In addition, the collaborator must provide a letter of collaboration describing his/her involvement in the proposed work. It should be clear that the success of the project depends on the unique skills and contributions of both the PI and the qualified collaborator. The following criteria must be met to use the Qualified Collaborator Option: &#149; The collaborator must significantly contribute to the project such that the proposed work could not be accomplished without his/her involvement. This is expected to include both intellectual input and research resources (e.g., supplies, reagents, equipment, personnel, services, tissue samples, or access to patients). &#149; The collaborator must contribute at least a 10% level of effort to the project. Contribution of the collaborator should be reflected in the application budget. &#149; If the PI does not have experience in prostate cancer research or working with disproportionately affected populations, the collaborator must possess such experience. 2. New Investigator Option: The FY10 Health Disparity Research Award mechanism encourages applications from investigators in the early stages of their careers. The New Investigator Option is designed to allow applicants, early in their faculty appointments or in the process of developing independent research careers, to compete for funding separately from established investigators. Applications from New Investigators and Established Investigators will be peer and programmatically reviewed in separate groups. Applicants for the New Investigator Option are strongly encouraged to strengthen their applications by including investigators experienced in prostate cancer research and/or other relevant expertise as demonstrated by a record of funding and publications. It is the responsibility of the applicant to describe how additional investigators will augment the PI&#146;s expertise and better address the research question. Applicants for the New Investigator Option are permitted to also use the Qualified Collaborator Option. All applicants for the New Investigator Option must meet specific eligibility criteria as described in Section I.C., Eligibility. 3. Health Disparity Research Resources: Responses to the FY09 PCRP RFI identified difficulties in establishing relevant collaborations and obtaining access to relevant study populations as major barriers to prostate cancer health disparity research. Therefore, potential applicants for the Health Disparity Research Award are encouraged to seek collaborations and access to appropriate study populations through the following resources: &#149; Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP): Search the CDMRP awards database at http://cdmrp.army.mil. &#149; The North Carolina &#150; Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP): PCaP is supported by the PCRP to conduct prostate cancer health disparity studies. PCaP members and institutions may be found at http://www.ncla-pcap.org/. &#149; National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (NIH Reporter): Search for NIH awards at http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm. &#149; Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC): Search for DOD and other government-funded investigators through DTIC Technical Reports at http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/. &#149; National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD): Search for health disparity research and researchers at http://crchd.cancer.gov/disparities/disparities-index.html. &#149; National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Initiative: Contact the NCMHD at http://ncmhd.nih.gov/our_programs/CommunityParticipationResearch.asp for information on current CBPR programs, and scientists and communities engaged in health disparity research. &#149; National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, PubMed: Search for investigators publishing studies on prostate cancer health disparities at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=PubMed. &#149; U.S. Department of Education: Search for institutions that may have increased access to disproportionately affected populations at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html. In addition, PIs are encouraged to establish and/or maintain interactions with organizations relevant to their proposed studies including the Urban League, National Medical Association, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, American Indian Health Care Association, National Rural Health Association, National African American Outreach Program of the Patient Advocate Foundation, Prostate Health Education Network, The Prostate Net, or other relevant organizations. It is the responsibility of the PI to clearly and explicitly articulate how the project addresses the following important aspects of the Health Disparity Research Award: 1. Research Question: Applications must clearly describe how the research question is relevant to an area of prostate cancer health disparity such as race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, access to health care, insurance status, age, geography, and cultural beliefs. 2. Innovation: Research deemed innovative may represent a new paradigm, challenge current paradigms, look at existing problems from new perspectives, or exhibit other uniquely creative qualities. Innovative research may include high-risk approaches to prostate cancer health disparity research. Research that is an incremental advance upon published data is not considered innovative. 3. Impact: Research that has high impact will, if successful, lead to significant reduction or elimination of the disproportionate effects of prostate cancer on specific populations and ultimately accelerate the overall elimination of death and suffering from prostate cancer. 4. Responsiveness to PCRP focus areas and overarching challenges: Applications should describe the relevance of the proposed project to at least one of the PCRP focus areas. Relevance to a PCRP overarching challenge, if applicable, should also be described.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: CDMRP Help Desk
GrantorContactText: PA HELP:  301-619-7079; cdmrp.pa@amedd.army.mil &lt;br/&gt;eReceipt HELP:  301-619-5507; help@cdmrp.org &lt;br/&gt; &lt;br/&gt;