EVALUATION OF THE
Congressionally Directed
Medical Research Programs
REVIEW PROCESS
Committee on the Evaluation of Research Management by DoD
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Board on the Health of Select Populations
Health and Medicine Division
A Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. HHSP233201400020B between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-45001-0
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-45001-2
Digital Object identifier: 10.17226/23652
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Evaluation of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Review Process. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23652.
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COMMITTEE ON THE EVALUATION OF RESEARCH MANAGEMENT BY DOD CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS (CDMRP)
KENNETH W. KIZER (Chair), University of California, Davis
JAMES M. ANDERSON, Case Western Reserve University
MARJORIE A. BOWMAN, Wright State University
MARINA BROITMAN, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
CARL A. CASTRO, University of Southern California
KAY DICKERSIN, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
MAHA HUSSAIN, Northwestern University
VICKIE MAYS, University of California, Los Angeles
RELFORD (CHIP) PATTERSON, Comprehensive Health Services, Incorporated
BARBARA J. TURNER, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
MYRL WEINBERG, National Health Council (Retired)
Study Staff
ROBERTA WEDGE, Study Director
ANNE STYKA, Program Officer
HEATHER L. CHIARELLO, Research Associate
NICOLE FREID, Senior Program Assistant
JULIE WILTSHIRE, Financial Officer
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Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of the independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following for their review of the report:
Lars F. Berglund, University of California, Davis
John Feussner, Medical University of South Carolina
Melissa Forsythe, Livingston, Texas
Uta Francke, Stanford University School of Medicine
Gary Gackstetter, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Barbara Hempstead, Weill Cornell Medical College
Melissa Kaime, Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center
Story Landis, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Retired)
Wilbur K. Milhous, University of South Florida College of Public Health
Amy Comstock Rick, Food and Drug Law Institute
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of the report was overseen by Martin A. Philbert, University of Michigan, and Philip J. Cook, Duke University. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of the report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Acknowledgments
This report was greatly enhanced by the participants at the open sessions held by the committee as well as by others who participated in informal data-gathering interviews with the study staff. Additionally, a great deal of information was provided by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) leadership and staff in response to committee questions throughout the course of the study.
The committee would like to acknowledge the efforts of those who gave presentations and who provided materials to the committee during the course of the study’s information-gathering period (in alphabetical order): Fred Atkin (Action to Cure Kidney Cancer), Linda Bambrick (CDMRP staff), Carolyn Best (American Urological Association), Timothy Brindle (Department of Veterans Affairs), Col. Carlton Brinkley (CDMRP staff), Kelley Brix (Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency), Ron Brown (National Gulf War Resource Center), Lucie Bruijn (ALS Association), Deborah Cory-Slechta (University of Rochester School of Medicine), Angel Davey (CDMRP staff), Colleen Gaydos (Senate Committee on Appropriations staff), Theresa Gleason (Department of Veterans Affairs), Amelie Gubitz (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke), Anthony Hardie (Veterans for Common Sense), Rogene Henderson (Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute), Lyn Jakeman (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke), Howard M. Kipen (Rutgers University School of Public Health), Audrey Kusiak (Department of Veterans Affairs), Robin Levy (Lymphoma Research Foundation), Bryan Lewis (Action to Cure Kidney Cancer), Kristy Lidie (CDMRP staff),
Carlos Maldonado (Department of Veterans Affairs), Beverly Michaels (CDMRP staff), Debora Moritz (tuberous sclerosis advocate), Jill Morris (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke), Denise Nichols (Gulf War illness advocate), Col. Wanda Salzer (Director, CDMRP), Ray Santullo (CDMRP staff), Gayle Vaday (CDMRP staff), Frances Visco (National Breast Cancer Coalition), and Rick Weidman (Vietnam Veterans of America).
The committee also greatly appreciates the contributions of the hundreds of former peer and programmatic reviewers who anonymously responded to the committee’s solicitation of input. The information that was provided by all of those mentioned above helped to set the stage for fruitful committee discussions.
4 VISION SETTING AND THE PRE-APPLICATION PROCESS
Pre-Application Receipt and Screening
Post-Meeting Activities and Deliverables
The Programmatic Review Meeting
Post-Meeting Activities and Deliverables
7 COORDINATION OF RESEARCH PRIORITIES
Medical Research Funding in the United States
Committee’s Approach to Coordination
Establishing Research Priorities
8 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Implementation of the 1993 and 1997 IOM Recommendations
Acronyms and Abbreviations
ACS |
American Cancer Society |
ALS |
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis |
BCRP |
Breast Cancer Research Program |
CDMRP |
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs |
COI |
conflict of interest |
DHA |
Defense Health Agency |
DMRDP |
Defense Medical Research and Development Program |
DoD |
Department of Defense |
DPCPSI |
Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (NIH) |
eBRAP |
electronic biomedical research application portal |
eRA |
electronic research administration |
GAO |
Government Accountability Office |
IOM |
Institute of Medicine |
JPC |
joint program committee |
NIH |
National Institutes of Health |
ORD |
Office of Research and Development (VA) |
PCORI |
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute |
PTSD |
posttraumatic stress disorder |
RePORTER |
Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (NIH database) |
SRO |
scientific review officer (peer review contractor staff) |
USAMRAA |
U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity |
USAMRDC |
U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command |
USAMRMC |
U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command |
VA |
Department of Veterans Affairs |