Molly’s Participation in Research Applications
SCIENTIFIC PEER REVIEW OF CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS’ BREAST CANCER RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs’ (CDMRP), Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) consumer advocate Molly MacDonald recently participated in the evaluation of research applications submitted to the BCRP. Molly MacDonald was nominated for participation in the program by Ann Fonfa of the Annie Appleseed Project. As a consumer reviewer, she was a full voting member (along with prominent scientists) at meetings to help determine how the $150 million appropriated by Congress for Fiscal Year 2020 will be spent on breast cancer research.
Consumer reviewers are asked to represent the collective view of patients by preparing comments on the impact of the research on issues such as diagnosis, treatment and quality of life.
Consumer advocates and scientists have worked together in this unique partnership to evaluate the scientific merit of research applications since FY92. Colonel Stephen J. Dalal, Director of the CDMRP, expressed his appreciation for the consumer advocate’s perspective during the scientific review sessions. “Consumer advocates are an integral part of the CDMRP’s scientific review process. They provide a key ingredient to the review process, the patient’s perspective, which is real and urgent. The collaboration of consumer advocates alongside the scientists’ subject matter expertise is a truly unique collaboration that is difficult to find in most medical research programs.”
Scientists applying propose to conduct innovative research focused on the urgency of ending breast cancer and enhancing the well-being of patients experiencing the impact of breast cancer. The BCRP fills important gaps not addressed by other funding agencies by supporting groundbreaking, high-risk, high-gain research while encouraging out-of-the-box thinking.
More information about the CDMRP’s BCRP is available at the website.
Media Contact:
Jennie Mettert-Young, Public Affairs Specialist
Ripple Effect
Supporting the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, USAMRMC
301-619-9783