The State of Florida Prostate Cancer Advisory Council’s research objective is to support and advocate innovative research and technological solutions to decrease the burden, incidence, suffering and cost of prostate cancer among Florida’s population. To accomplish these goals, PCAC members have developed a comprehensive research agenda, which specifies research priorities, makes recommendations for funding, and advocates for new initiatives to enhance grant funding for prostate cancer research.
The following major recommendations have been issued:
- Extend the scope of the Florida Biomedical Research Program to include prostate cancer research
- Develop new funding mechanisms that will:
- Distinguish indolent from aggressive disease
- Advance the understanding of the etiology of the disease
- Assess and evaluate appropriate imaging/detection modalities
- Encourage clinical research programs to support development of systems of care
- Incentivize team science through multi-institutional funding mechanisms
- Support prostate cancer registries, tissue banks and other support structures that aid in prostate cancer research.
PCAC, due to its multi-institutional composition, is in a unique position to assist the Florida Legislature with coordination of research programs and to facilitate responsible implementation of research and educational programs in Florida. PCAC members work closely with the research community and create dialogues with scientists throughout the state on prostate cancer research issues, on the biomedical discovery process through translational research, and on process improvements within the research enterprise. Progress and recommendations related to prostate cancer research programs will be communicated through our website (www.FLPCAC.org ), the hosting of a Pan-Florida prostate conference, the bi-annual Advisory Council meeting, and production of the FL PCAC annual report for submission to the Florida Governor and Legislature.