Executive Branch News
White House Issues Annual S&T Guidance for FY 2017 Budget
On July 9, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued their annual joint memorandum to federal agencies outlining âMulti-Agency Science and Technology Priorities for the FY 2017 Budget.â Each year, OMB and OSTP outline specific White House science, technology, and innovation priorities for federal investment, which is meant to inform federal agenciesâ development of the fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget submission to OMB and Congress. Similar to last yearâs guidance, the FY 2017 memorandum asks federal agencies to allocate resources to a number of multi-agency research activities, including advanced…
Congressionally-Mandated Strategic Plan, FY 2016 Budget Discussed by NIH Advisory Committee to the Director
The June 11-12 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) meeting included the discussion of a number of important issues for the agency, including its fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget and its efforts to develop a five-year strategic plan by December 2015.
NIH SMRB Working Group Approves Recommendations on Streamlining the NIH Grant Award Process
On July 6, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) Working Group on the NIH Grant Review, Award, and Management Process (GRAMP) approved its draft report of its findings and recommendations on ways to streamline the NIH grant award process. NIH director Francis Collins charged the Working Group to ârecommend ways to further optimize the process of reviewing, awarding, and managing grants in a way that maximizes the time researchers can devote to research while still maintaining proper oversightâ without compromising the quality of peer review. To accomplish the charge the working group examined the grant…
NIH Seeks Feedback on Using mHealth for the Precision Medicine Cohort
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback from the scientific community regarding using mobile Health (mHealth) technologies for the Precision Medicine Cohort. The agency points out that the collection of health and lifestyle data on âparticipant volunteersâ have generally come from medical records and extensive phone or paper surveys. For the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), the agency is considering using smart phone and wireless technologies to collect some of this information (See Update, June 15, 2015). The use of these devices, however, generates a number of considerations for which NIH is seeking feedback: Willingness of participants to carry…
OBSSR Marks 20th Anniversary at NIH, on Capitol Hill
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) marked its 20th anniversary with a three-day celebration on June 23-25 on the NIH Bethesda campus and Capitol Hill. The celebration began with the 8th Matilda White Riley Award and Lecture in Behavioral and Social Sciences on June 23. The award is given in recognition of an outstanding behavioral or social scientist whose research has contributed to both the deepening of knowledge and its application in a manner that furthers NIHâs mission of improving health. This year the award went to Kevin Volpp and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn.
ACS Launches New Website
The American Community Survey (ACS) has a new website. The new site, according to the ACS office, âhas a look and feel consistent with census.gov,â and should allow for easy user navigation. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
NIH Issues Notice on Enhancing Reproducibility
On June 9, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research (OER) issued a Notice (NOT-OD-15-103) in an effort to clarify and revise application instructions and review criteria “to enhance reproducibility of research findings through increased scientific rigor and transparency.” The release of the Notice is to raise awareness and begin “culture shifts in the scientific community.” In a June 9 blog post, Sally Rockey, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, and Larry Tabak, Principal Deputy Director of NIH, explained, âThese changes will prompt applicants and reviewers to consider issues, whichâif ignoredâmay impede the transparency needed to reproduce key…
Share Your Basic Research Success Stories
In a June 2 blog post, Jo Handelsman, Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), urged the scientific community to share examples of basic research that has yielded unexpected, yet important insights. Handelsman states, âOne of the hallmarks of science is that the path to knowledge is often indirect, and that in addition to rigorous investigation, discovery is often shaped by serendipity, human curiosity, and sometimes even heroism.â Unfortunately, basic science, especially in the area of social science, continues to be attacked by some who fail to see the valuable ties between…
Members of Congress Address NIH Precision Medicine Working Group Workshop on Digital Health Data and Research Cohort Design
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) addressed a special session of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Council to the Director (ACD) Precision Medicine Initiative Working Group at the Public Workshop, Digital Health Data and Research Cohort Design, on the campus of Vanderbilt University on May 28-29. The workshop is part of series by the ACD Working Group and builds on the April 28-29 workshop held on the NIH campus that focused on the development and implementation of a large national cohort, as well as identification of the unique scientific questions and opportunities of using such…
NIH Minority Health Institute Moves Ahead on Science Visioning of Health Disparities
At the June 9 meeting of National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NACMHD), outgoing Acting Director Yvonne Maddox updated the Council on the Institute’s Science Visioning process for health disparities research. NIH Deputy Director Larry Tabak will serve as the Instituteâs Acting Director until newly appointed director Eliseo Perez-Stableâs arrival in September. To initiate the process, the Institute released a request for information in April (see Update, May 4, 2015). Maddox reported that a trans-NIH Science Vision Advisory Group had been appointed and working groups are being established. The working groups will hold discussion forums around areas…
Census Bureau Outlines Content Changes to American Community Survey
The Census Bureau issued a Federal Register Notice on May 29 outlining its proposal for updating the content and methodologies of the American Community Survey (ACS). As previously reported the Census Bureau proposes to retain the field of degree and marriage questions originally slated for elimination from the ACS beginning in 2016. In addition, the proposal plans to remove a couple of other questions that have been deemed of no or low benefit. The Notice states these changes are an âinitial step in a multi-faceted approach to reducing respondent burden.â Public comment on the proposal is due by June 28;…
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 Presidentâs budget request. The scenario is meant to assist the Administration in its efforts to âdeliver 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 Americansâ health, including life expectancy, fertility, disease prevalence, use of health care, and health expenditures. The 2014 edition includes a special feature on adults aged 55-64âbaby 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 issueâs table of contents.
PCAST Hears Interim Report on Precision Medicine Initiative
On May 15, the Presidentâs Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) received an interim report on the Presidentâs 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 NSFâs 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 issueâs 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 Bureauâs 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 Censusâ 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 âperson-centeredâ products and services for older Americans Efforts to promote an âinnovation ecosystemâ 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 agencyâs 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 âthe 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…