Executive Branch News

NIH Requests Comment on Precision Medicine Cohort, Strategies to Address Community Engagement and Health Disparities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback (NOT-OD-15-107) to help it in creating a national research cohort of one million or more Americans as part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, May 19, 2015).  The agency is specifically interested in feedback relating to the development and implementation of effective community engagement strategies for the cohort, and the ability to conduct transformative research to address health disparities.  The aim is to assemble a “cohort reflective of the rich diversity of the U.S. population.”

OMB Asks Agencies to Plan for 5 Percent Reductions in FY 2017

Although Congress is just beginning the process of working to enact fiscal year (FY) 2016 appropriations for federal agencies and programs, agency officials are beginning their work on the FY 2017 budget request. In a memo from Shaun Donovan, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), federal agencies have been advised to prepare their FY 2017 budget proposals with a five percent reduction below the net discretionary total provided in the FY 2016 President’s budget request. The scenario is meant to assist the Administration in its efforts to “deliver a Government that is more effective, efficient,…

NCHS Releases Health, United States, 2014

The National Centers for Health Statistics (NCHS) has released the 2014 edition of its annual report, Health, United States, which compiles data on Americans’ health, including life expectancy, fertility, disease prevalence, use of health care, and health expenditures. The 2014 edition includes a special feature on adults aged 55-64—baby boomers who are about to become eligible for Medicare, and whose aging is expected to have a significant impact on the U.S. health care system. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

PCAST Hears Interim Report on Precision Medicine Initiative

On May 15, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) received an interim report on the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). Opening the meeting, PCAST co-chair and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) John Holdren discussed the ongoing budget process and the challenges associated with the FY 2016 budget. Despite these challenges, Holdren noted, there are a number of exciting initiatives in progress, including the Precision Medicine Initiative.

NSF Requests Nominations to Advisory Committees

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued its annual call for recommendations for membership to its various advisory committees and technical boards. These committees advise NSF’s offices and directorates on program management, research direction,  and policies impacting the agency.  Committees of particular interest to the COSSA community include the Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences and the Advisory Committee for Education and Human Resources.  Recommendations for membership are maintained for 12 months. Back to this issue’s table of contents.

ACS to Retain Marriage, Field of Degree Questions Proposed for Elimination

The Census Bureau will retain several questions in the American Community Survey (ACS) originally identified for removal: Person Question No. 12, undergraduate field of degree, and Person Question Nos. 21-23, which are related to marital history. The questions were proposed for elimination as part of the Bureau’s 2014 Content Review of the ACS and were released to the public for comment in the fall (see Update, November 3, 2014). COSSA objected to the removal of these questions in a written comment, as did many other organizations in the scientific community. According to Census’ request to the Office of Management and…

White House Seeks Input on Using Science and Technology to Improve the Lives of Older Americans

In preparation for the 2015 White House Conference on Aging, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Domestic Policy Council are seeking input on science and technology initiatives that can improve the quality of life for older Americans. Examples of such activities might include: Expanded university and industry research and development to address challenges associated with aging Educational programs that help designers create “person-centered” products and services for older Americans Efforts to promote an “innovation ecosystem” for older Americans, which might involve accelerators, incubators, well-designed incentive prizes, and mechanisms for researchers and entrepreneurs to get rapid feedback…

Eliseo J. PĂ©rez-Stable Named Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

On April 28, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins announced the selection of Eliseo J. PĂ©rez-Stable, M.D. as Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).  He is expected to join NIH in September. Currently at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), PĂ©rez-Stable is a professor of medicine, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, and director of the Center for Aging in Diverse Communities. He is also director of the UCSF Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations, which is addressing issues for African Americans, Asians, and Latinos in the…

NIH: NIMHD Seeking Input for Health Disparities Science Vision

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) serves as the focal point for the agency’s conduct of research, research training, capacity-building, and outreach dissemination of minority health and health disparities. NIMHD recently initiated a scientific planning process in collaboration with the NIH institutes and centers designed to define a vision that will guide the development of “the science of health disparities research for the next decade and identify key research areas that should be given high priority because knowledge in those areas might inform translational efforts that could have a…

NIH: Input Sought on Precision Medicine Cohort

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback from the scientific community via a Request for Information (RFI): NIH Precision Medicine Cohort (NOT-OD-15-096) to guide it in creating a longitudinal cohort of one million or more Americans who have volunteered to participate in research as part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, April 21, 2015). Specifically, the agency is seeking information on characteristics, purpose, or other overall aspects in the development and implementation of a large U.S. precision medicine cohort. As participants in PMI, individuals will be asked to give consent for extensive characterization of…

NIH: Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is inviting applications to stimulate innovative collaborative research in the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium.  Because translating biomedical discoveries into clinical applications is essential to improving health and at the same time a complex process with high costs and substantial failure rates, the CTSA hubs are designed to promote advances in translational research and training at participating medical research institutions.  NCATS recently released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program (PAR-15-172), to enable collaboration among…

NIH Appoints Working Group for Precision Medicine Initiative

In March, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins appointed a team of individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) Working Group on the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). The Working Group is expected to host public meetings to seek public input into the development of President Obama’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative. This group will help the NIH define “what can be learned from a study of this scale and scope, what issues will need to be addressed and considered as part of the study design, and what success would look like five and ten…

AHRQ 2014 Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Shows Improved Overall Quality and Access, Lingering Disparities

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released its congressionally mandated report to Congress on the status of health care quality and disparities in the U.S. In past years, this information has been released as two separate reports (the National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report). For 2014, AHRQ has chosen to combine the two into the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR). The agency believes that combining the reports “highlights the importance of examining quality and disparities together to gain a complete picture of health care.” The 2014 report is shorter and more…

BTS Releases Annual Report

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has released its 2013 Transportation Statistics Annual Report (TSAR), which provides detailed information on the U.S. “transportation system, the system’s performance, its contributions to the economy, and its effects on people and the environment.” The congressionally mandated report provides detailed information and identifies data gaps on the extent of the U.S. transportation system, its physical condition, how it moves people and goods, its performance, transportation economics, transportation safety, the energy and environment, and the state of transportation statistics. The scope of the report is large: the U.S. transportation system is valued at $7.7 trillion…

Nominations Sought for USPSTF Members

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is inviting nominations for individuals to serve on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The USPSTF is an independent body of experts that makes evidence-based recommendations about the effectiveness of clinical preventive services and health promotion. Qualified nominees will have demonstrated expertise in the following areas: (1) critical evaluation of peer-reviewed research; (2) clinical prevention, health promotion, and primary health care; and (3) implementation of evidence based recommendations in clinical practice. In addition, expertise in the following areas is also desirable: Behavioral medicine Public health Health equity and the reduction of…

White House Releases Antibiotic Resistance Action Plan

  On March 27, the White House released the National Action Plan for Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. The Action Plan outlines “federal activities over the next five years to enhance domestic and international capacity to prevent and contain outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections; maintain the efficacy of current and new antibiotics; and develop and deploy next-generation diagnostics, antibiotics, vaccines, and other therapeutics.” The plan is consistent with an initiative in the President’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2016 that would allocate $1.2 billion to combatting antibiotic-resistance (see COSSA’s analysis). Back to this issue’s table of contents.

RFI: Optimizing Funding Policies and Other Strategies to Improve the Impact and Sustainability of Biomedical Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a Request for Information (RFI), Optimizing Funding Policies and Other Strategies to Improve the Impact and Sustainability of Biomedical Research, soliciting input from the scientific community regarding the possible development of new policies and other strategies to improve the impact and sustainability of the NIH-funded biomedical research enterprise.

RFI: Proposed Funding Priorities for Neuroscience Research, Input on High Impact and Cross-Cutting Opportunities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is seeking input from the scientific community on how the Blueprint might best accelerate discovery in neuroscience research. Specifically, the request for information (RFI), Proposed Funding Priorities for Neuroscience Research, Input on High Impact and Cross-Cutting Opportunities (NOT-NS-15-020), is seeking suggestions regarding how future Blueprint investments can have a broad impact on neuroscience and serve the interests of the 15 participating NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices that support research on the nervous system.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Strategic Visioning Initiative Seeks Scientific Community’s Input

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking the scientific community’s input in its Strategic Visioning Initiative. To help determine NHLBI’s future direction, the Institute is seeking the community’s participation in an “ongoing process that will inform its priority setting, decision making, and resource allocation.” The purpose of the Initiative is to develop the Institute’s priorities for the next decade. In the video launching the initiative, NHLBI director Gary H. Gibbons explained that he is asking the NHLBI community to help identify the most compelling questions and critical challenges that the…

Let Out Your Inner Behavioral & Social Scientist – OBSSR Issues Call for Videos

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2015.  The celebration includes a call to social and behavioral scientists to submit videos that showcase their research. The best videos will be featured at the OBSSR 20th Anniversary Research Symposium on June 25, at the NIH William H. Natcher Conference Center and on the OBSSR’s website throughout 2015.  A letter of intent to submit a video is required by April 15, 2015. The deadline for submission is May 15, 2015.

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