DoD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research, Virtual Cancer Center Director Award

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For Fiscal Year 2020 FY (20), the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) offers a prestigious opportunity for an established researcher to lead the next generation of researchers toward a future in cancer. The Virtual Cancer Center Director Award (VCCDA) mechanism is a unique, interactive virtual cancer center (VCC) focused on bringing together two established investigators (Director and Deputy Director) and up to nine early career investigators (Scholars) to interrogate the commonalities of cancer. As the leadership of the VCC, the Director and Deputy Director will have the ability to shape the vision VCC and how it will succeed in its mission to train the next generation of cancer researchers. It is the expectation of the PRCRP that through the VCCDA funding award mechanism, an environment of collaboration and convergent training will be created. The FY20 PRCRP VCC offers the Director and Deputy Director the opportunity to influence the next generation of cancer research by catalyzing the growth and professional development of the Scholars and promoting the cross pollination of different cancer disciplines. Candidates for Scholars will apply to a separate funding opportunity, the Career Development Award – Virtual Cancer Center Scholar Option (CDA-SO). The VCC will give the Director, Deputy Director, and Scholars opportunities to operate in a collegial, highly dynamic, and cutting-edge center to lead cancer research to a new frontier. The VCC will provide intensive mentoring, national networking, collaborations, and a peer group for junior faculty. It is the intention that through the VCC, collaborations will foster new growth in different cancers and spur an integrated cancer center to ensure research advancements across different cancers. The potential outcomes of the VCCD and CDA-SO include integration of research from different disciplines and cancers, forging a new frontier in cancer research that will lead to answers across the cancer care spectrum (Biology/Etiology, Prevention, Diagnosis/Detection, Prognosis, Treatment, and Survivorship) and building a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research community capable of proposing convergent solutions to FY20 PRCRP Topic Areas issues. Through these award mechanisms, the FY20 PRCRP looks to fund answers that are responsive to more than one cancer, that information learned in one cancer or discipline informs other cancers and/or disciplines. Convergence in science supports innovation and answers age-old problems. With the VCCDA and the CDA-SO the PRCRP intends to grow and broaden cancer research understanding through a diverse community from many disciplines and a variety of cancers.

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