Developmental Research Program

ABSTRACT: Developmental Research Program (DRP) The MSCP SPORE Developmental Research Program (DRP) provides seed funding to explore promising novel research in melanoma and other skin cancers, particularly by investigators not currently engaged in research in this area. The DRP will solicit proposals 1-2 times per year and applies a peer-reviewed scoring system to prioritize the funding of 2-3 proposals per year at up to $75K/proposal/year. The DRP and SPORE Co-Directors, Regional Melanoma Consortium (RMC) representatives, and members of our SPORE Internal Advisory Board (IAB) and External Advisory Board (EAB) participate in the review process, together with Patient Advocates and any additional experts necessary to judge project feasibility, translational significance and likely overall impact. During the most recent period of funding, the MSCP SPORE supported 9 DRP projects in basic, translational, and clinical research. The DRP Co-Directors track the progress of the successful applications and assign mentors to funded investigators to ensure that they obtain any needed services from the MSCP SPORE Cores, and that they are effectively integrated into the SPORE program. Awardees present their research results to the MSCP SPORE membership after one year of funding to become eligible for a second year of support. Progress toward translation as well as impact and innovation will determine whether DRP projects are found to merit promotion to full SPORE projects at the time of formulating a renewal bid. Awardees are also advised as appropriate in the preparation of grant applications for funding outside the SPORE mechanism and given access to all SPORE Core resources to aid in this endeavor. DRP- supported research over the most recent period of support resulted in funded NIH R01, R21 and P01 grants, numerous publications and presentations at local, national and international meetings/symposia that serve to enhance MSC SPORE visibility on a global level.