Description
The PCRP New Investigator Award mechanism was introduced in FY99. Since then, 1,826 applications have been received and 388 have been recommended for funding. The New Investigator Award supports independent PIs in the early stages of their careers and requires a designated collaborator. The PCRP seeks PIs who have innovative, high-impact ideas or new technologies applicable to prostate cancer research, prevention, detection, diagnosis, or treatment. The PCRP seeks applications from all areas of basic, preclinical, behavioral, and epidemiological research that are responsive to one or more of the FY09 PCRP focus areas. NOTE: Clinical trials are not allowed under this mechanism. Refer to the Application Instructions and General Information, Appendix 6, for helpful information about distinguishing clinical trials and clinical research. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator (PI) to clearly and explicitly articulate how the project addresses the following important aspects of the New Investigator Award: 1. Personnel: The PI and collaborator are emphasized in this award. The PIs record of accomplishment will be evaluated regarding his or her potential for contributing to the prostate cancer research field. The PI and collaborator together will be emphasized in peer review to determine whether their combined background and prostate cancer-related expertise demonstrate the ability to accomplish the proposed work. 2. Innovation: Innovative research may represent a new paradigm, challenge existing paradigms, or look at existing problems from new perspectives. This may include high-risk approaches to prostate cancer research provided that there is potential for significant impact. Research that is an incremental advance upon published data is not considered innovative and will not be considered for funding under this mechanism. 3. Impact: Research that has high impact will, if successful, significantly advance current methods and concepts for the prevention, detection, diagnosis, or treatment of prostate cancer in humans. 4. Responsiveness to focus areas: The relevance of the research problem to one or more of the FY09 PCRP focus areas. 5. Collaborator: Submission to this award mechanism requires a collaborator (or collaborators), appropriate to the application, who has experience in prostate cancer research, as demonstrated by a record of funding and publications in prostate cancer research. FY09 DOD Prostate Cancer New Investigator Award 4 6. Preliminary Data: To encourage submissions from PIs early in their careers, applications are not required to have preliminary data. Any preliminary data provided should be from the laboratory of the PI or member(s) of the collaborating team. Although groundbreaking research often involves a degree of risk due to unforeseen difficulties or results, applications should be based on a sound scientific rationale that is established through logical reasoning and/or critical review and analysis of the literature. See the Program Announcement for the full Funding Opportunity Description.