DIRECTOR, USAMRAA, 820 CHANDLER ST, FORT DETRICK MD 21702-5014

A -- PROSTATE CANCER RESEARCH PROGRAM SOL 074&&&-9708-0003 POC CRAIG D. LEBO, Contracting Officer 301-619-2036 (Site Code DAMD17) The United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), through this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), is soliciting applications for prostate cancer research. Proposals are sought across all areas of basic, clinical, behavioral, and epidemiological research. The objective of the USAMRMC Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) is to promote innovative ideas that will lead to better understanding and control of prostate cancer. As directed in the Congressional language, the PCRP encourages innovative, multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary, and regionally focused research that is directed toward eliminating prostate cancer. The USAMRMC is strongly encouraging the scientific community to undertake great strides in innovative research to conquer prostate cancer by calling for proposals that will foster new directions, breakthrough ideas, and approaches and will bring new investigators into the field of prostate cancer research. The central theme is innovation. Scientific ventures that represent under-investigated avenues of research or novel applications of existing technologies are highly sought. Proposals addressing the needs of minority, elderly, low-income, rural, and other under-represented populations are encouraged. Although the program wishes to encourage risk- taking research, such projects must nonetheless demonstrate solid scientific judgment and rationale. The programmatic strategy is being implemented by a solicitation for proposals in two research award categories: New Investigator Awards and Idea Development Awards. The intent of the New Investigator Award is to promote and reward innovative ideas and technology from new investigators to conquer prostate cancer. In accordance with this challenge to be innovative, the USAMRMC invites the submission of New Investigator proposals that may lack pilot data. The Idea Development Awards, on the other hand, are intended to support innovative projects from established investigators that show promising preliminary data in prostate cancer.The USAMRMC is particularly interested in prepraring new scientists for careers in prostate cancer research and presenting an opportunity to move established investigators into the prostate cancer field. There is a total of $32M available for this program. The programmatic strategy features a change in emphasis from past Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. The strategy is centered around a new Dual-Phase Research Award, as described in Section I-C. After two years of research, the USAMRMC will challenge all funded PCRP investigators to compete for an additional two years of funding. Awards will be given after competitive evaluation to the prostate cancer investigators who (1) demonstrate the most productivity and innovation in Phase I and (2) submit the most scientifically promising Phase II research project. Proposals are due at Fort Detrick, MD no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on 29 October 1997. For more information or to receive a copy of the Broad Agency Announcement: (1) Download the document from the world wide web -- http://mrmc-rad6.army.mil/documents.html or (2) fax a request to 301-682-5521. (0247)

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