Developmental Reserach Pilot Projects

ABSTRACT ? Developmental Research Program The goal 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 was highly successful over the last 5 years, with support going to 30 pilot projects, twelve of which have received additional funding outside of the SPORE based on their pilot project, two that were awarded a second year of funding, one that advanced to a full project within the first funding period, and six that provided data instrumental for the selection of the major research projects in this renewal. This relatively junior program, having received only 58 months of funding at the time of this writing, has 37 associated publications and 10 associated clinical trials. We will build on the success of our first funding period, which attracted investigators new to ovarian cancer research who ultimately became Principal Investigators of projects included in this SPORE application 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) to support at least four meritorious projects with $50,000 to be used within one year. In the first five years of our SPORE, we generated $990K direct dollars of institutional/Foundation support, approximately double the $500K proposed in the application for this time period; we will continue to seek additional support for ovarian cancer research in the years to come. Depending on the progress of a given project, there will be the possibility of a second year of support after competitive review of both new and continuation projects. The DRP will 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 and other experienced investigators as needed. Criteria for selection will 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 first funding period, it is anticipated that support of pilot projects through this program will generate new hypotheses that can be addressed in existing SPORE-sponsored projects or through peer-reviewed external grant support.