SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), with funding from the Movember Foundation, proudly announces an innovative program called the Movember Foundation-PCF Scientific Reproducibility Initiative. Due to reports of issues related to the reproducibility of high-impact biomedical research findings, this initiative will assess the reproducibility of research findings with implications for prostate cancer patients. "The Movember Foundation is committed to accelerating the translation of promising discoveries into new tests and treatments. Through quicker validation of the science, and if the science is true, we can help find new cures and prevent prostate cancer in more men at a faster rate. The Movember Foundation is confident that this initiative will play an important role in supporting this goal," says Paul Villanti, Executive Director of Programs, Movember Foundation.
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Science Exchange, in collaboration with PCF, will identify faster high-impact biomedical research findings that could speed earlier detection and new cures. This list will be prioritized and final selection made by PCF's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Howard Soule.
Dr. Soule stated, "This first-in-field foundation initiative is all about getting the smart stuff to patients quicker. We will see an acceleration of progress due to the mobilization of resources against the robust findings."
Science Exchange is a marketplace for scientific collaboration, where researchers can order experiments from the world's best labs. Their mission is to improve the quality and efficiency of scientific research by using market-based incentives to promote collaboration between scientists. The Science Exchange network consists of more than 800 verified labs from leading institutions, providing an opportunity to easily access specialized scientists to validate research.
Science Exchange will use the replication best practices established for the Reproducibility Project: Cancer Biology, to conduct the replication experiments for the Movember Foundation-PCF Scientific Reproducibility Initiative. These include: conducting a direct replication (using the same materials and methods as closely as possible); obtaining input from the original author on the proposed replication protocol; pre-registration and peer review of the replication and analysis plan; using power calculations to ensure the replication sample size is sufficient to detect the reported effect with at least 80% power; using expert, independent labs from the Science Exchange network with extensive expertise in the techniques being replicated; using positive and negative controls to confirm replication experiments worked; and providing all protocols, results, raw and processed data for review.
"We are very excited to work with the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Movember Foundation to implement replication studies into their funding strategy. Replication studies enable confirmation of high potential exploratory research results, providing a strategy for identifying robust reproducible results that can be effectively built upon to accelerate prostate cancer research," stated Elizabeth Iorns, PhD, CEO, Science Exchange.
In the 2012 Nature article titled "Raise Standards for Preclinical Cancer Research", C. Glenn Begley and Lee M. Ellis stated, "We need a system that will facilitate a transparent discovery process that frequently and consistently leads to significant patient benefit."
Back in 2011, a team at Bayer HealthCare in Germany reported that merely 25% of published preclinical studies could be validated to the point at which projects could continue. The Movember Foundation-PCF Scientific Reproducibility Initiative allows us to focus resources on the most important reproducible findings that could help to deliver new medicines to patients.
About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world's leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised over $595 million and provided funding to more than 2,000 research programs at nearly 200 university cancer centers and universities in 18 countries and territories. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and faster and more innovative investment of governmental research funds for transformational cancer research. Its efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. More information about PCF can be found at www.pcf.org.
About the Movember Foundation
The Movember Foundation's vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men's health. We do this by getting men to grow moustaches during Movember (the month formerly known as November) to spark conversation and raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health. Together with the Movember community we have raised over $550 million, funding more than 832 world-class programs in 21 countries. We're committed to changing the face of men's health and won't stop growing as long as serious men's health issues remain.
Movember is fully accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and for the past two years, has been named a Top 100 best NGO by The Global Journal. For more information please visit Movember.com. Movember is a registered 501(c)(3) charity.