Development Research Program

ABTRACT – DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH PROGRAM (DRP) The purpose of the Developmental Research Program (DRP) in the Mayo Clinic SPORE in Ovarian Cancer is to support innovative, scientifically sound research projects from which findings can be translated into clinically relevant interventions that will reduce the burden of ovarian cancer. This program has been highly successful, with support going to 38 DRP projects in Years 6-10. Among the DRP project teams, 21 (11 funded in Years 1- 5 and 10 funded in Years 6-10) have received additional funding outside of the SPORE in Years 6-10 based on their DRP project and 5 provided data instrumental for the selection of the full research projects in this renewal. In our second funding period, the DRP generated 74 associated publications and contributed to 7 SPORE- associated clinical trials. We will build on the successes of our SPORE DRP, which has attracted investigators new to ovarian cancer research who ultimately became co-Leaders or co-Investigators of full Projects included in this SPORE application, Core co-Leaders, or were awarded NIH funding outside of the SPORE. The DRP will 1) foster innovative laboratory, population, and clinical study proposals that have strong translational potential; 2) encourage and support interdisciplinary collaboration in translational research in ovarian cancer; and 3) generate new hypotheses that can be tested in larger scale research projects or clinical trials in ovarian cancer. The DRP will provide $200,000 annually ($100,000 from the SPORE and a matching $100,000 from Mayo Clinic) to support at least 4 meritorious projects with $50,000 each to be used within one year. In addition, between August 2014 and July 2020 we raised philanthropic support for ovarian cancer research at Mayo Clinic that supported 18 DRP awards above and beyond the 20 originally projected during Years 6-10; and we will continue to seek additional support for ovarian cancer research in the years to come. Depending on the progress of any given project, the possibility of a second year of support exists via competitive review of both new and continuation projects. The DRP will continue to utilize a defined process to call for applications on an annual basis and to review submissions, utilizing the expertise of the Internal Scientific Advisory Committee, Executive Committee, Patient Advocacy Advisory Committee, and other experienced investigators as needed. Criteria for DRP awards include: The likelihood that the work will impact major challenges in ovarian cancer, scientific merit, originality, translational potential, qualifications of the key personnel, and interactivity. As experienced in our second funding period, it is anticipated that support of DRP projects through this program will generate new hypotheses that progress to full SPORE translational projects or to peer- reviewed external grant support.