The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) is part of the US Army and Department of Defense. It manages over $1 billion in funding per year for high-impact innovative medical R&D. For each of its programs, Congress specifies the focus, and CDMRP, together with experts in salient fields, defines a research strategy and way to competitively select projects in that area to receive funding.

Dr. Kimbark will speak on the unique attributes of the CDMRP Cancer Programs. She has worked at the CDMRP for 18 years. She has spearheaded development of an exceptionally large program, the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP), for which she has been Program Manager since its inception in 2009. Dr. Kimbark earned her PhD in Molecular Biology in Cancer Therapeutics at the University of New York, Buffalo.