Health Research
Health Research
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…
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…
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…
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 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 “participant volunteers” 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…
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.”
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.
NIH: AIDS Research Center/Developmental Research Centers on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS
The Division of AIDS Research (DAR) within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications for Center Core grants to support an HIV/AIDS Research Center (ARC) (PAR-15-197) and applications to support Developmental AIDS Research Centers (D-ARC) (PAR-15-196). ARC supports innovative, interdisciplinary research in the areas of basic research, neuro-AIDS, behavioral and social, integrated biobehavioral, clinical, translational, and implementation science. D-ARC provides infrastructure support that facilitates the development of high impact science in HIV/AIDS and mental health that is relevant to the NIMH mission. NIMH’s intent is to support research that addresses…
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.
NIH Appears Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
On April 30, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins made his annual appearance before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) to discuss the President’s proposed FY 2016 budget request for the agency. The NIH director was accompanied by several institute directors: Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Douglas Lowy, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Gary Gibbons, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Jon Lorsch, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), and Tom Insel, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO)…
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…
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 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…
House Subcommittee Discusses CDC Budget; Director Questioned on Gun Violence, HIV/AIDS Research
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies met on March 25 to consider the administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget proposal for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In attendance was CDC Director Thomas Frieden, accompanied by Beth Bell, Director of the CDC’s National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases, and Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General and Director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) praised the CDC in his opening statement for protecting public health in the U.S. and abroad. He…
NRC Workshop Discusses Changing Social Norms
The National Research Council’s Committee on the Science of Changing Behavioral Health Norms held its first workshop on March 18, “Lessons Learned from Diverse Efforts to Change Social Norms.” The project, which is housed within the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, is co-sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The committee is charged with helping SAMHSA “implement strategies that improve attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders.” Sessions focused on messaging strategies, methods for…
NIJ: Forensic Science and Elder Abuse
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has issued a solicitation for proposals on research and development in forensic science for criminal justice purposes. The agency is looking to fund research that will “(1) Increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice or; (2) Result in the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods that have the potential for forensic application.” Proposals examining human factors as they relate to specific disciplines within forensic science will be accepted. More information is available in the full solicitation. The deadline for proposals is April 8, 2015.
NIH: Family and Interpersonal Relationships in an Aging Context
The National Institute of Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications designed to expand understanding of the role and impact of families and interpersonal relations on health and well-being in midlife and older age.
Aging and Mental Health Institutes Seek Comments on Draft Strategic Plans
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are seeking public comment on the development of the Institutes’ strategic plans. The plans will guide the Institutes’ research priorities. National Institute on Aging The NIA recently released a request for information (RFI) seeking guidance on its strategic plan, Aging Well in the 21st Century: Strategic Directions for Research on Aging. The draft plan outlines NIA’s broad strategic directions for the Institute and “provides a point of reference for setting priorities and a framework for systematically analyzing the Institute’s…
NCHS Brief Looks at Depression and Obesity
A new data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) examines the relationship between obesity and depression. It found that 43 percent of adults with depression were obese and that adults with depression were more likely to be obese, particularly women. In addition, as the severity of depression symptoms increased, so did the proportion of those with obesity. And over half of people whose symptoms were not relieved by medication were obese. The report observes, “It is not clear whether depression or obesity occurred first because they were both measured at the same time. Other studies have shown…