(a)  This program shall incorporate the principles and organizational elements set forth in this article, including, but not limited to, a research program office with a director and other essential staff, a research council, and a research peer review panel. No more than 10 percent of the annual allocation for this program, up to a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), shall be expended annually for the total administrative costs of the program. Administrative costs shall be kept to a strict minimum.

(b)  The program shall be administered pursuant to the following principles:

(1)  The department shall work in close collaboration with the council and seek the advice of the council before taking an action different from an action recommended by the council.

(2)  The council shall participate in the development of the strategic objectives and priorities of the program based on the intent of this article and advise on what and how many research grants should be funded based on the research priorities that are established for the program and the technical merits of the proposals as determined by the peer review panels.

(3)  The research priorities shall reflect, and the program shall fund, innovative and creative research, with a special emphasis on research that complements, rather than duplicates, the research funded by the federal government and other entities.

(4)  All research funds shall be awarded on the basis of the priorities established for the program, statutorily or by the council, and the scientific merit and clinical applicability of the proposed research, as determined by an open, competitive peer review process that ensures objectivity, consistency, and high quality. All investigators, regardless of affiliation, shall have equal access and opportunity to compete for program funds.

(5)  The peer review process for the selection of research grants awarded under this program shall be generally modeled on that used by the National Institute of Health in its grantmaking process, including the appeals process, but shall reflect in composition the creativity and diversity called for in this article and in the research priorities established in this article and by the council.

(6)  A grantee shall be awarded grants for both direct and indirect costs of conducting the sponsored research consistent with those federal guidelines governing all federal research grants and contracts. All intellectual property assets developed under this program shall be treated in accordance with state and federal law.

(7)  In establishing research priorities, the council shall consider a broad range of cross-disciplinary cancer research, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 104181, including, but not limited to, research into the cause and prevention, cure, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, emphasizing gender-specific cancers, based on magnitude of incidence and mortality, that have not previously received state funding.

(Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 756, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1998.)