Disease Background: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder that affects as many as 50,000 individuals in the United States and about 1 to 2 million individuals worldwide. TSC causes tumors in many different organs, especially in the brain, eyes, heart, kidney, skin, and lungs. TSC is also characterized by seizures, developmental delays, behavioral problems, autism, and mental retardation. Major research breakthroughs have identified two genes, TSC1 and TSC2, whose dysfunction causes TSC. The TSC1 gene is located on chromosome 9 and produces a protein called TSC1 (hamartin). The TSC2 gene is located on chromosome 16 and produces a protein called TSC2 (tuberin). These proteins normally interact with each other and with important cell regulatory proteins; mutations in TSC1 or TSC2 disrupt these communications. The discovery of the TSC1 and TSC2 genes is a giant step forward in the fight against TSC, as they provide excellent targets for the development of new diagnostic assays and therapies for TSC.
Overview of the Program: The Department of Defense (DOD) Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research Program (TSCRP) was established in fiscal year 2002 (FY02) by Joint Appropriations Conference Committee Report No. 107-350, which provided $1 million (M) for TSC research. Since then, a total of $29.5M has been appropriated. The TSCRP is conducted according to the two-tier review model of peer and programmatic reviews recommended by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. The TSCRP, through its targeted funding for TSC, fills important gaps in TSC research not addressed by other funding agencies. The TSCRP vision is adapted yearly to facilitate rapid change and to better target funding to the most critical TSC research areas. A unique feature of the TSCRP is that consumer advocates actively participate in setting program priorities and making funding decisions. Consumer advocates may be individuals with TSC or have family members with TSC. Today, the TSCRP is one of the leading sources of extramural TSC research funding in the United States. A total of 48 awards have been made through FY09.
FY09 Program: The DOD TSCRP was continued through an FY09 congressional appropriation of $6M. Proposals were requested through four award mechanisms: Idea Development, Career Transition, Clinical and Translational Research, and Exploration Hypothesis Development Awards. Program Announcements were released in January and February 2009. The deadline for Grants.gov submissions to all four award mechanisms was April 14, 2009. The two tiers of review for all proposals were completed in October 2009, at which time 10 proposals were recommended for funding. FY09 award negotiations will be completed by September 30, 2010. Please see Program History for more details.
Program Outcomes: The outcomes of TSCRP-funded research can be gauged in part by the number of resultant publications (29), abstracts/presentations (73), and research resources (27) reported by awardees to date. Details on each award are located on this website under Search Awards.
Details on research resources available to the scientific community are located on this website under New Research Resources Initiative by the TSCRP. The goal of this initiative is to facilitate and speed TSC research by publicizing new resources and aiding collaborations.
Research results focus primarily on cell biology, molecular biology, and technology and resource development. Recent highlighted research is located on this website under Research Highlights and Consumer Highlights and in the Annual Report.
For more information, please contact cdmrpwebmaster@cdmrp.org
Overview of the Program: The Department of Defense (DOD) Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research Program (TSCRP) was established in fiscal year 2002 (FY02) by Joint Appropriations Conference Committee Report No. 107-350, which provided $1 million (M) for TSC research. Since then, a total of $29.5M has been appropriated. The TSCRP is conducted according to the two-tier review model of peer and programmatic reviews recommended by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. The TSCRP, through its targeted funding for TSC, fills important gaps in TSC research not addressed by other funding agencies. The TSCRP vision is adapted yearly to facilitate rapid change and to better target funding to the most critical TSC research areas. A unique feature of the TSCRP is that consumer advocates actively participate in setting program priorities and making funding decisions. Consumer advocates may be individuals with TSC or have family members with TSC. Today, the TSCRP is one of the leading sources of extramural TSC research funding in the United States. A total of 48 awards have been made through FY09.
FY09 Program: The DOD TSCRP was continued through an FY09 congressional appropriation of $6M. Proposals were requested through four award mechanisms: Idea Development, Career Transition, Clinical and Translational Research, and Exploration Hypothesis Development Awards. Program Announcements were released in January and February 2009. The deadline for Grants.gov submissions to all four award mechanisms was April 14, 2009. The two tiers of review for all proposals were completed in October 2009, at which time 10 proposals were recommended for funding. FY09 award negotiations will be completed by September 30, 2010. Please see Program History for more details.
Program Outcomes: The outcomes of TSCRP-funded research can be gauged in part by the number of resultant publications (29), abstracts/presentations (73), and research resources (27) reported by awardees to date. Details on each award are located on this website under Search Awards.
Details on research resources available to the scientific community are located on this website under New Research Resources Initiative by the TSCRP. The goal of this initiative is to facilitate and speed TSC research by publicizing new resources and aiding collaborations.
Research results focus primarily on cell biology, molecular biology, and technology and resource development. Recent highlighted research is located on this website under Research Highlights and Consumer Highlights and in the Annual Report.
For more information, please contact cdmrpwebmaster@cdmrp.org
