Heather Souders, an Air Force spouse, poses for a photo during her battle with cancer after her diagnosis in 2018. The CDMRP has funded numerous research studies to develop new treatments for breast cancer (Photo by: Audra Flanagan)

In this context, "consumers" could be patients, survivors, family members, or advocates representing an entire community affected by the disease or condition that's being studied.

"Integrating the consumer viewpoint is really one of the central tenets of the CDMRP," said Rebecca Fisher, the organization's deputy director for program management. "It's something that CDMRP pioneered many, many years ago, and I think others are now starting to see the tremendous value in that. We worked with the VA a few years back to share CDMRP approaches to help with their efforts to integrate more veteran input into VA research. Consumers are active in every part of our process."

That includes patients or advocates helping to set strategies, helping with peer and programmatic reviews, and even participating in research projects with investigators. The CDMRP has a training program and a mentoring process for those consumers who participate and provide input.

"CDMRP is not here to fund research for research's sake," said Fisher, who has managed complex biomedical research programs within the DOD for more than 15 years. "We are focused on accelerating solutions that will better people's lives. Even if it's earlier stage work that we're supporting, we're always looking to that horizon and how we can get there faster."

Fisher said that CDMRP-funded open research awards currently number about 5,000. With so many highly promising areas being studied, it is difficult for her to pick just a handful of the most exciting prospects. But one that was cited by both Fisher and Goldman is a study of the drug known as Ruxolitinib for the possible prevention of breast cancer.

"If this drug is successful, it could have a major impact for women who are diagnosed with early benign breast lesions, when they don't know which ones are actually going to transition to cancers," Fisher explained. "Right now, the current standard of care is an anti-estrogenAny of a group of steroid hormones which promote the development and maintenance of female characteristics of the body. Such hormones are also produced artificially for use in oral contraceptives or to treat menopausal and menstrual disorders.estrogen therapy, which has a lot of side effects and is very difficult, so some women discontinue or don't even take it.

"If you have a better preventative you can offer, it's a sea change in treatment. That's a huge, exciting project that's been developing over many years with different award mechanisms for these investigators through CDMRP's breast cancer program."

There is also a relatively new hearing restoration program underway that is funding pioneering research in treatment of auditory injuries and the restoration of hearing, including novel human 3D stem cell models of the inner ear, Fisher said.

"The inner ear is just really hard to get into and one of only a few organs for which biopsies are not possible," she said. "It's very difficult because of the bone structure around it. Having a way to test the effects of therapeutics on regenerating important sensory cells in the ear and perhaps restore hearing, down the road ... this technological development may open up those avenues. This could be a huge change in this field."

In 2019, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to two doctors, Gregg Semenza and William Kaelin, Jr., who previously received funding from the CDMRP. They shared the award with another scientist for discovering how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. Their work has implications for treating a variety of diseases, including cancer.

"It was so exciting for CDMRP be a part of their journey on to winning the Nobel Prize, and to see how their research has led to tremendous innovative breakthroughs," Goldman said recently.

Previously, two other scientists who were CDMRP-funded during their careers went on to become Nobel laureates, one in 2008 and another in 2009.

"We have the opportunity to realize a vision for very specific areas of medical research need, and hopefully accelerate the achievement of products and outcomes that will help to improve the lives of service members, veterans, and the American public, and really make a difference," Fisher said.

"That's what CDMRP is here for. While we fund the whole spectrum of research, we're looking at that impact. That is number one in our book."