Why We Must Restore Funding for the CDMRP

The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) was created by Congress in 1992 to fund high-impact medical research—especially in areas overlooked by traditional sources—through the Department of Defense. CDMRP began with breast cancer research and has since expanded to support many conditions affecting both Service Members and civilians.

The CDMRP’s unique strength lies in backing high-risk, high-reward science: early-stage, innovative ideas that can lead to major breakthroughs but often don’t qualify for NIH funding.

Over the years, CDMRP has enabled progress in immunotherapy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, traumatic brain injury recovery, and rare diseases. It funds projects that fill research gaps and includes patient advocates in decision-making to ensure the research goals align with patient needs.

Importantly, since 2017, the CDMRP has had a dedicated Kidney Cancer Research Program (KCRP) – a direct result of consistent, vocal advocacy from patients, families, health care professionals, and advocacy organizations. And because we continued advocating, what began as a $10 million program grew to a $50 million program. We had hopes of seeing the KCRP grow to $60 million in the near future.

This progress has come to a halt. In the most recent continuing resolution to fund the federal government for 2025, Congress cut funding for the KCRP $50 million to $0, and overall CDMRP funding was reduced by 57%.

Impact in Action

One powerful example of CDMRP’s impact is Dr. Pavlos Msaouel’s research on renal medullary carcinoma (RMC)—a rare, aggressive kidney cancer primarily affecting young African Americans with sickle cell trait, including Service Members. Before his work, RMC had no known risk factors and a grim prognosis.

Initial funding from the KCA allowed Dr. Msaouel to research RMC specifically. In 2018, Dr. Msaouel received a CDMRP KCRP Concept Award that allowed him to explore an innovative idea: could intense exercise or dehydration trigger kidney damage in people with sickle cell trait? Using mouse models, his team showed that exercise-induced hypoxia caused red blood cell sickling and tissue damage in the kidney’s inner medulla, particularly on the right side due to lower blood flow—which also might explain why RMC often occurs in the right kidney.

These early findings—funded by CDMRP—led to additional grants from the KCA and to a follow-up clinical study supported by the National Cancer Institute, confirming the link between high-intensity physical activity and increased RMC risk in human patients. This was the first modifiable risk factor identified for RMC. It now guides physicians in counseling patients with sickle cell trait—potentially preventing RMC or catching it earlier.

Compared to the prognosis for RMC patients just 5 years ago, Dr. Msaouel’s research has resulted in improved survival in many and eradication of disease – meaning they are cured – in about 5-10% of his patients. 

Without CDMRP, this research might never have happened. Promising new treatments now entering clinical trials with the potential to cure cancer could be delayed—or lost altogether. CDMRP isn’t redundant; it’s irreplaceable. It backs research NIH or other programs may not be able to currently fund. It empowers patient-centered innovation. And it saves lives.

Congress must reverse the decision to eliminate this funding. Patients—and progress—depend on it.