Executive Branch News
NIH Seeks Comments on Strategic Plan to Advance Research on the Health and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Minorities
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking comments on its FY 2016-2020 Strategic Plan To Advance Research on the Health and Well-Being of Sexual and Gender Minorities (SGM). The agency is developing a strategic plan to guide its efforts and priorities in SGM research over the next five years. The plan was developed after substantive analysis and integration of portfolio analyses, community input, inter- and intra-agency collaborations, and recommendations from the NIH-commissioned Institute of Medicine report, The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding, released in 2011 (see Update, April 18, 2011)….
National Science Board Seeks Nominations for 2016 Class
The National Science Board, which is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and independent advisory body to the President and Congress on federal science policy, is seeking nominations for eight vacancies with terms of 2016-2022. Eight seats on the 25-member Board turn over every two years; members are appointed by the President of the United States for six year terms. The NSB is particularly interested in receiving nominations of individuals with expertise in the following areas: large/complex facility planning, construction, management and transformation; international projects and the globalization of research; metrics and performance measurement; neuroscience and the…
NIH Associate Director for Data Science Discusses Opportunities and Challenges of Data Science
At the September 1 meeting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) Council of Councils, Associate Director for Data Science (ADD) Philip Bourne discussed the opportunities and challenges of data science. Bourne began by asking: “What are we going to do with our data?” He explained that from his point of view, science is at point of significant change as a consequence of the amount of data that is being generated. Biomedical research is becoming more analytical, and scientific change is happening faster than anticipated as a result of faster accumulation of…
Michael S. Lauer Named NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research
On September 28, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins announced the selection of Michael S. Lauer as the new Deputy Director for Extramural Research. Collins noted that Lauer brings both research expertise and administrative skills to the job, as well as “keen insights into the world of extramural research.” Lauer is expected to begin this new position within the coming weeks. Lauer served as the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. Prior to that, he served as director of NHLBI’s Division of Prevention and Population Science, and most recently, the…
NSF Seeks Nominations of Early-Career Researchers for Waterman Award
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting nominations for the 2016 Alan T. Waterman Award, which is given to an outstanding young researcher each year. Nominees are accepted from any field of science supported by NSF and must be under 35 or within 7 years of completing his or her PhD. Candidates “should have demonstrated exceptional individual achievement in scientific or engineering research of sufficient quality, originality, innovation, and significant impact on the field so as to situate him or her as a leader among peers.” The recipient of the award receives a grant of $1 million over five years…
Census Releases New ACS Estimates
The Census Bureau has released a new set of annual data from the American Community Survey (ACS). The 2014 1-Year estimates provide information for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico on the dozens of economic, housing, social, and demographic topics covered by the ACS. The new data can be accessed here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
White House SBS Team Issues Inaugural Report; President Signs Executive Order
On September 15, President Obama signed an Executive Order calling on federal agencies and departments to use “behavioral science insights” to “design government policies to better serve the American people.” The order comes as the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST), a team of about a dozen behavioral scientists within the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), issued its first annual report. SBST was established in 2014 as a mechanism for testing and applying social and behavioral science interventions to make government programs more efficient and more accessible. The team is chaired by the White House Office of Science and…
Senior Leadership Changes Occurring at NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been experiencing a turnover in the leadership over the past month as several long-term directors have decided to retire and/or move on to new endeavors. In August, Alan Guttmacher, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), announced his plans to retire at the end of September. The Friends of NICHD paid tribute to Guttmacher on September 15 with a farewell breakfast in recognition of his dedication and leadership in advancing science and improving human health and well-being. COSSA serves on the Friends Executive Committee. As director of one…
NIH Releases Precision Medicine Initiative Framework for Cohort of One Million
On September 17, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) presented its recommended design framework for building a national research participant group, or “cohort,” of one million or more Americans, that would be part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, April 21, 2015 and June 15,2015). In a statement accepting the ACD’s recommendations, NIH Director Francis Collins pointed to the need to remain nimble and adaptable as the Initiative progresses. The agency intends to move quickly to build the necessary infrastructure so that participants can begin enrolling in the cohort in…
Perez-Stable Joins NIMHD Participates in First Advisory Council Meeting
Just two weeks into his new position, newly appointed National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) director Eliseo Perez-Stable presided over his first meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NACMHD) on September 17. Perez-Stable was appointed by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins in April (See Update, May 4, 2015). Perez-Stable shared his excitement to be at the NIH and his appreciation for the opportunity to work on a topic that he is passionate about. As a resident, he was interested in Latino health care, particularly patient-doctor communication styles,…
White House Chief Data Scientist Seeks Input
Embracing the use of data to improve government function and its interaction with people, the Obama Administration established the position of Chief Data Scientist (CDS) in February. DJ Patil joined the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in February as Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Data Policy and Chief Data Scientist. Patil is credited with helping to coin the term “data scientist.” The former Vice President of Product at RelateIQ, Patil has also held positions at LinkedIn, Greylock Partners, Skype, PayPal, and eBay. Prior to his stint in the private sector, he worked at the Department of…
NIH Issues Guidelines for HIV/AIDS Research Priorities
In August, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a Notice, NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities and Guidelines for Determining AIDS Funding (NOT-OD-15-137), outlining its overarching HIV/AIDS research priorities along with the guidelines the agency will use to determine AIDS funding for the next three to five years beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2016 (see related story). NIH’s Office of AIDS Research (OAR) is legislatively mandated to coordinate, plan, evaluate, and budget for the agency’s AIDS research program (see Update, June 16, 2014). The notice highlights NIH’s overarching HIV/AIDS research priorities: Research to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS, including the development…
OAR Outlines Overarching AIDS Research Priorities; Studies of Behavior and Social Conditions with Multiple Negative Outcomes Deemed Low Priority
At the September 1 meeting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) Council of Councils, Acting Associate Director for AIDS Research and Acting Director for the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) Robert Eisinger provided the Council with an update on OAR’s activities, including the recent release of NIH’s high-priority areas of HIV/AIDS research and accompanying guidelines for determining funding for this research (see related story). Eisinger highlighted NIH director Francis Collins’ August 12 statement extolling the ”extraordinary progress that has been made in HIV/AIDS research over the past 34 years, transforming what…
HHS Releases Proposed Updates to the Common Rule
The Department of Health and Human Services has released its proposal to update the regulations that govern research involving human subjects (the Common Rule). The long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) explains the proposed changes and poses a number of questions for which the department is seeking public comment, to be submitted within 90 days of the NPRM’s publication. The Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) plans to hold several webinars in the coming weeks to explain the changes as well as an in-person town hall meeting in Washington, DC in October. The Common Rule has not been updated since…
NIH Plans for Redirection of National Children’s Study Funds
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak provided an update on the “redirection” of National Children’s Study (NCS) appropriated funding at the September 1 meeting of the NIH Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) Council of Councils. Despite the NIH’s discontinuation of the NCS, in FY 2015, Congress provided $165 million for the study with direction to the agency to continue to support the mission and goals of the study, along with flexibility on how to carry this task out. Tabak announced that the awards associated with this funding will be made in September. As…
William T. Riley Appointed NIH OBSSR Director
On July 30, National Institute of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins announced the appointment of William “Bill” T. Riley, PhD, as the next Director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). Riley has served as Acting Director of the OBSSR since May, 2014. Riley has been with NIH since 2005, serving as Deputy Director of the Division of AIDS and Health & Behavior Research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). He joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute as Program Director of the Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences in 2009….
NIH Office of Extramural Research Releases 2013-2014 Report
Research grants to extramural scientists represent more than 80 percent of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget. The agency’s Office of Extramural Research (OER) provides the infrastructure to make this happen, whether it is through developing policies and procedures or providing electronic systems, among other things, for extramural staff across NIH’s 27 institutes, centers, and offices and “for more than 166,000 external users in 24,000 research institutions worldwide.” OER recently released its 2013-2014 report. OER director Sally Rockey notes that the report looks back at 2013 and 2014 and includes examples of the impact OER has had on “ensuring…
NIH Releases Alzheimer’s Disease Bypass Budget Proposal for FY 2017
On July 27, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins released the first Professional Judgement Budget, also known as the Bypass Budget, for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias, Bypass Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2017—Reaching for a Cure: Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research at NIH. The bypass budget was mandated by Congress in the National Alzheimer’s Project Act enacted in 2011 (P.L. 111-375). The fiscal year (FY) 2017 bypass budget outlines the “optimal approach NIH would take in an ideal world unconstrained by fiscal limitations.” It concludes that NIH could “significantly accelerate progress against Alzheimer’s disease with…
NIH Seeks Input on Congressionally-Mandated Agency-Wide Strategic Plan
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued a time-sensitive Request for Information (RFI) (NOT-OD-15-118) inviting comments and suggestions on the framework for its congressionally-mandated NIH-wide Strategic Plan. NIH is requesting feedback by August 16, 2015. The agency also plans to host webinars in early to mid-August to gather additional input. NIH Deputy Director Larry Tabak presented the agency’s first iteration of its draft plan at the June 11 meeting of the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) (see Update, July 14, 2015). At the July 20 meeting of the ACD, Tabak presented a revised draft framework incorporating the…
NIH Seeks Comments on Proposed Alternative to National Children’s Study
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is inviting comments on its proposed plan for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program and has issued a time-sensitive Request for Information (RFI). Background The ECHO program responds to the NIH’s decision to discontinue the National Children’s Study (NCS) in December 2014, per the recommendations of a working group of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) of NIH (See Update, December 19, 2014). NIH emphasizes that in keeping with the spirit of the NCS, ECHO aims to address the critical goal of understanding the impact of environmental influences on children’s…