OpportunityTitle: DoD Prostate Cancer Physician Research Award
Description: The PCRP Physician Research Award mechanism was first offered in FY03. Since then, 208 Physician Research Award applications have been received, and 80 have been recommended for funding. The anticipated direct costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an FY17 PCRP Physician Research Award will not exceed $520,000. Refer to Section II.D.5, Funding Restrictions, for detailed funding information. The Physician Research Award supports a mentored research experience to prepare physicians with clinical duties and/or responsibilities for productive careers in prostate cancer research. The mentored physician is considered the Principal Investigator (PI) of the application. This award emphasizes equally the quality of the proposed research project and the career development of the PI, which should prepare physicians for careers in basic, population science, translational, or clinical prostate cancer research. All applications for the Physician Research Award are to be written by the PI, with appropriate direction from the Mentor(s). Key elements of the award are as follows: &#8226; Principal Investigator: Physicians with clinical duties and/or responsibilities who, at the application submission deadline, are either in the last year of an accredited graduate medical education program as a resident or fellow, or within 3 years of having initiated an appointment as an Instructor, Assistant Professor, or equivalent, are eligible to apply. The PI must demonstrate a commitment to a career as an investigator at the forefront of prostate cancer research and clinical practice; however, the PI is not required to have previous prostate cancer research experience. The award is intended to ensure protection of at least 40% of the PI&#8217;s time for prostate cancer research, which is not required to be exclusive of this award but can include effort dedicated to other prostate cancer research projects. Mentor(s): This award requires the involvement of at least one designated Mentor with an established research program in prostate cancer, evidenced by recent publications, active funding, and successful mentorship. In addition, the Mentor(s) must demonstrate a commitment to advancing the PI&#8217;s career in prostate cancer research. &#8226; Research Approach: The scientific rationale and experimental methodology should demonstrate in-depth analysis of the research problem presented. The feasibility of the research design and methods should be well defined, and a clear plan should be articulated as to how the proposed goals of the project can be achieved. The inclusion of preliminary data relevant to prostate cancer and the proposed project is encouraged but not required. Any preliminary data provided should be from the PI, Mentor(s), or member(s) of the collaborating team. Additionally, required resources should be identified and supported through documentation. &#8226; Researcher Development Plan: An individualized researcher development plan is required and should be prepared with appropriate guidance from the Mentor(s). The researcher development plan should include a clearly articulated strategy for acquiring the necessary skills, competence, and expertise that will enable the PI to successfully complete the proposed research project and foster the PI&#8217;s development as an independent prostate cancer researcher. An environment appropriate to the proposed mentoring and research project must be clearly described, although any deficiencies of resources and/or mentorship at the PI&#8217;s institution can be mitigated through collaboration(s) with other institutions. If the PI will be utilizing resources at another institution to successfully complete the proposed project, then the PI is strongly encouraged to designate a co-Mentor at the collaborating institution. &#8226; Impact: The proposed research should have the potential to make a significant impact on the program&#8217;s mission of eliminating death from prostate cancer and enhancing the well-being of men experiencing the impact of the disease. Proposed research projects are expected to address at least one of the PCRP Focus Areas and are strongly encouraged to address one or more of the PCRP Overarching Challenges. If the proposed project does not address any of the Overarching Challenges, the application should include a description to justify how the project will nevertheless address a critical need in the field of prostate cancer research and/or patient care. Investigators are strongly encouraged to incorporate the following components into their study design where appropriate in order to maximize the potential impact of the proposed research project: authentication of proposed cell lines; statistical rigor of preclinical animal experiments; incorporation of experiments to assess clinical relevance and translatability of findings. As such, the PCRP-funded Prostate Cancer Biorepository Network (PCBN) (http://www.prostatebiorepository.org) and/or the North Carolina &#8211; Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project (PCaP) (http://www.ncla-pcap.org) are important resources to consider if retrospectively collected human anatomical substances or correlated data are critical to the proposed studies. Studies utilizing data derived from large patient studies that include long-term health records, biospecimen repositories, and pre-existing research, and that apply state-of-the-art genomic and/or proteomic analysis, bioinformatics, and/or mathematical models to such data are also encouraged. Research Involving Human Anatomical Substances, Human Subjects, or Human Cadavers: All Department of Defense (DoD)-funded research involving new and ongoing research with human anatomical substances, human subjects, or human cadavers must be reviewed and approved by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) Office of Research Protections (ORP), Human Research Protection Office (HRPO) prior to research implementation. This administrative review requirement is in addition to the local Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee (EC) review. Local IRB/EC approval at the time of submission is not required. The HRPO is mandated to comply with specific laws and requirements governing all research involving human anatomical substances, human subjects, or human cadavers that is supported by the DoD. These laws and requirements will necessitate information in addition to that supplied to the IRB/EC. Allow a minimum of 2 to 3 months for HRPO regulatory review and approval processes. When possible, protocols should be written for research with human subjects and/or human anatomical substances that are specific to the DoD-supported effort outlined in the submitted application. Submission to HRPO of protocols covering more than the scope of work in the DoD-funded award will require HRPO review of the entire protocol as DoD-supported research and may include extensive modifications to meet DoD human subjects protection requirements. Refer to the General Application Instructions, Appendix 1, and the Human Subject Resource Document available on the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) &#8220;Funding Opportunities &amp; Forms&#8221; web page (https://ebrap.org/eBRAP/public/Program.htm) for additional information. Clinical trials are not allowed. A clinical trial is defined as a prospective accrual of patients where an intervention (e.g., device, drug, biologic, surgical procedure, rehabilitative modality, behavioral intervention, or other) is tested on a human subject for a measurable outcome with respect to safety, effectiveness, and/or efficacy. PIs may participate in clinical trials as part of their research project or researcher development plan, but funding for such clinical trials must come from sources other than this award. Research Involving Animals: All DoD-funded research involving new and ongoing research with animals must be reviewed and approved by the USAMRMC ORP Animal Care and Use Review Office (ACURO), in addition to the local Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of record. IACUC approval at the time of submission is not required. Specific documents relating to the use of animals in the proposed research will be requested if the application is selected for funding. The ACURO must review and approve all animal use prior to the start of working with animals, including amendments to ongoing projects. PIs must submit the institutional animal use protocol, IACUC approval of that protocol, and a version of the animal use appendix titled &#8220;Research Involving Animals.&#8221; Allow at least 2 to 3 months for ACURO regulatory review and approval processes for animal studies. Refer to the General Application Instructions, Appendix 1, for additional information. All projects should adhere to a core set of standards for rigorous study design and reporting to maximize the reproducibility and translational potential of preclinical research. The standards are described in Landis, S.C., et al., A call for transparent reporting to optimize the predictive value of preclinical research. Nature 2012, 490:187-191 (www.nature.com/nature/journal/ v490/n7419/full/nature11556.html). While these standards are written for preclinical studies, the basic principles of randomization, blinding, sample-size estimation, and data handling derive from well-established best practices in clinical studies. Applicants should consult the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) guidelines to ensure relevant aspects of rigorous animal research are adequately planned for and, ultimately, reported. The ARRIVE guidelines can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/__data/promis_misc/622936arrive_ guidelines.pdf. The CDMRP intends that information, data, and research resources generated under awards funded by this Program Announcement be made available to the research community (which includes both scientific and consumer advocacy communities) and to the public at large. For additional guidance, refer to the General Application Instructions, Appendix 2, Section K. Awards will be made no later than September 30, 2018. For additional information refer to Section II.F.1, Federal Award Notices.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: CDMRP Help Desk
GrantorContactText: CDMRP Help Desk &lt;br/&gt;Phone: 301-682-5507 &lt;br/&gt;Email: help@eBRAP.org