CPDR BACKGROUND

In 1992, amid the growing prevalence of prostate cancer and controversy over the optimal treatment for it, Congress enacted Public Law 102-172 to establish the Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) with the mission of studying prostate cancer and prostate disease in the US Military Health Care System. The law designated the authority to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) to create and administer CPDR, in coordination with the USU-affiliated Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF). CPDR has received funding from the office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). In 2010, CPDR was recognized as a Department of Defense (DoD)-Center of Excellence for multidisciplinary translational research in prostate cancer and the center is now funded under the DoD, USU-School of Medicine (SoM).

The CPDR integrates a multidisciplinary approach to prostate cancer and continues to make great strides in clinical and basic sciences research for improving the entire spectrum of care to include diagnosis, treatment, management, and follow-up for patients with prostate cancer. CPDR's strategy is to focus investigators on potential breakthrough basic science and clinical research within its three major research programs - Clinical Program, Basic Science Program, and Multicenter National Database - and maintain the core support requirements for all programs.

COL David G. McLeod, MD, MC, USA (Ret.), is an internationally renowned urologic oncologist at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) and a professor in the USUHS SoM Department of Surgery. Dr. McLeod served as the Founding Director of the CPDR 1992-2016; COL Inger Rosner, MD, MC, USA, a leading urologic oncologist at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) and a professor in the USUHS SoM Department of Surgery. Dr. Rosner serves as the Director of the CPDR. Shiv Srivastava, PhD, is an internationally recognized cancer molecular biologist and a professor in the USU SoM Department of Surgery. Dr. Srivastava is the CPDR Co-Director. CPDR's senior leadership also includes Isabell A. Sesterhenn, MD, Director, CPDR-Genitourinary Pathology collaborations, a distinguished genitourinary pathologist at the Joint Pathology Center; Albert Dobi, PhD, Associate Director, Basic Science Research Program, an established molecular biologist with transcription factor and hormonal mechanisms expertise; Jennifer Cullen, PhD, Director, Epidemiology Research and Multicenter National Database, a cancer epidemiologist with a strong track record in racial disparity research; Gyorgy Petrovics, PhD, Assistant Director, Basic Science Research Program, an experienced cancer molecular biologist with translational research expertise; Taduru Sreenath, PhD, Assistant Director, Basic Science Research Program, an established investigator with engineered mouse model expertise; and Mr. Adam Dimke, Program Administrative Director with management experience in DoDsupported multidisciplinary medical research programs.

To accommodate the needs of its increasingly robust basic science research efforts, in 1999 CPDR expanded from its laboratories within the Department of Surgery at USU to an 18,000- square-foot, stand-alone prostate disease research facility containing laboratory and administrative space in Rockville, MD. This outstanding facility continues to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for the Basic Science Research, Multicenter National Database and Administration programs of the CPDR supported by a dedicated team of cancer cell and molecular biologists, epidemiologist, a bio-statistician, medical- and bio-informatics specialists and administrative staff. CPDR Basic Science Research Program has been credited with many ground-breaking discoveries leading to a better understanding of the prostate cancer biology and development of promising biomarkers. The CPDR facility in Rockville has also been the hub of state-of-the-art prostate cancer research training experience to a large number of short-term and long-term researchers including post-doctoral fellows, urology residents, visiting scientists, medical and graduate students, and summer interns. CPDR Rockville serves as the headquarters of the Multicenter National Database under the USU SoM. During the last two decades, eight DoD medical centers and one civilian site have contributed data from more than 25,845 patients to the CPDR Database. Currently CPDR maintains active operations at WRNMMC, Naval Medical Center-San Diego (NMCSD), Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC), Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC), and Virginia Mason Medical Center. Database sites have been valuable to CPDR for the multi-center clinical and epidemiologic and translational investigations conducted by CPDR investigators and collaborators.

In August 2000, CPDR opened a fully dedicated prostate cancer center at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). The 13,000-square-foot facility accommodated the state-of-theart clinical research, innovative clinical trials and a comprehensive biospecimen bank supported by dedicated and integrated efforts of urologic-oncologists, physician assistants, clinical research coordinators, medical technologists, and a full-time PhD nurse researcher in education. The prostate cancer center also supports two weekly multidisciplinary clinics with specialists from urology, radiation oncology, and medical oncology as well as comprehensive patient education and support activity. As part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process that began in 2005, the WRAMC-CPDR Clinical Research Program moved to a new location. The new state-of-the-art CPDR Clinical Research Program opened at WRNMMC, formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, MD, on August 23, 2011. The CPDR-Clinical Research Program is located on the 3rd floor of Building 19 of WRNNMC. The new state-of-the-art, 4,000-square-foot facility at WRNMMC continues to facilitate the clinical and research activities formerly conducted at WRAMC to ensure military beneficiaries suffering from prostate disease are provided exceptional care.