Advisory Committee to the Director

Overview

In February 1965, a distinguished committee appointed by President Johnson, under the chairmanship of Dr. Dean E. Wooldridge, conducted a study of the operations of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Among the recommendations the Wooldridge Committee made to the President in its report was that a new advisory group should be established to assist the Office of the Director, NIH, in the making of major plans and policies, especially those related to the allocation of NIH funds and resources. more >

Agenda for the 96th Meeting of the ACD

Blue Ribbon Panel to Advise on the Risk Assessment of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories at Boston University Medical Center

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has outlined additional steps in a comprehensive plan to address public safety concerns regarding a national biocontainment research laboratory now under construction at Boston University Medical Center. Research in the laboratory, the construction of which is funded partly by the NIH, will focus on the development of diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines for a variety of infectious diseases.

The NIH has established a Blue Ribbon Panel as a Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director, chaired by Adel Mahmoud, M.D., Ph.D., of Princeton University, that will review current risk assessments and provide independent technical expertise and guidance. The panel includes experts in infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology, risk assessment, environmental justice, risk communications, biodefense, biosafety, and infectious disease modeling. Panel members will provide ongoing, expert input and may recommend scenarios to study in any necessary additional risk assessment analyses.

For more information, please see the Blue Ribbon Panel web site.