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Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Dr. Fauci opened the Thursday afternoon, September 2nd, session of Council by welcoming visitors to the 133rd meeting.
Dr. Fauci welcomed the ad hoc Council members: Dr. Betty Diamond, Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Dr. Tim Mosmann, Director, Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology, University of Rochester Institute for Biomedical Sciences. In addition, Dr. Fauci introduced Dr. Mary desVignes-Kendrick, Director of the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, a member of the NIH Director's Council of Public Representatives who was invited to Council to participate in discussions of the Institute's Strategic Plan.
Dr. Fauci expressed the Institute's gratitude to the following members of Council whose terms end with this meeting: Drs. Jerrold Ellner, Warren Johnson, Paula Pitha-Rowe, W. Gary Tarpley; and Mr. Garry Lyle. Consideration of Minutes of Previous Meeting:
The minutes of the May 24-25, 1999 meeting were considered and approved as written.
Staff and Organizational Changes:
Dr. Laurence Wolfe has joined the Office of the Director, NIAID, as Director, Office of Technology Information Systems.
Within the Division of AIDS, Dr. Jack Killen will be stepping down as Director of the Division to accept a position in the Department of Clinical Bioethics at the Clinical Center, NIH. Dr. Fauci announced the Institute is currently in the process of conducting a national search and recruitment for a new Division director. Dr. Killen will remain Director of the Division until this process is completed.
Budget Update:
With the current debate between Congress and the President over the FY 2000 budget, Dr. Fauci warned Council about our prospects for receiving an appropriation for FY 2000. Despite disagreements over tax cuts, Congress has promised to circumvent a government shutdown by funding the government at present levels for up to a year, if necessary.
However the budget is resolved, Dr. Fauci confirmed his commitment to the Institute's 20.0 percentile payline and outlined steps NIAID may have to take, including cutting back initiatives, if the budget increase is small. There is still room for optimism, however, as congressional support of biomedical research remains strong.
Other
Council Materials:
Copies of the Legislative Update, which describes hearings and bills of interest to the Institute, were distributed. The NIAID Office of Communications provided Council members with several publications and press releases. In addition, the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, NIAID, distributed copies of the Institute of Medicine National Research Council book entitled Chemical and Biological Terrorism - Research and Development to Improve Civilian Medical Response.
Nevirapine Trial in Uganda
NIAID recently released the results of a perinatal transmission prevention trial in Uganda that should have profound implications for the AIDS epidemic in children worldwide. The study showed that just two doses of the antiretroviral agent nevirapine, one dose administered to the mother at the onset of labor and one to the baby within the first 72 hours following birth, reduced the risk of transmission from the mother to the infant by nearly 50 percent when compared with a short course of AZT. This finding is significant for the worldwide epidemic because nevirapine is relatively inexpensive and easy to administer; the regimen costs about $4, approximately 70 times less expensive than the previously studied regimen of a short course of AZT. As a result, there will be a lot of discussion about not only the affected countries contributing to programs but also organizations such as the World Bank.
Vaccine Research Center Dedication
The vaccine research center was dedicated on June 9th by President Clinton. The center will be jointly funded by NIAID and the National Cancer Institute. The President was joined by Donna E. Shalala, DHHS Secretary and others in dedicating the new building to Dale Bumpers, the former Senator from Arkansas, and his wife Betty. The 50,000-square foot state-of-the-art center is scheduled to be completed by the middle of next year. At full capacity, there will be about 100 scientists and support staff who will focus initially on developing candidate vaccines, with AIDS the initial focus.
Strategic Plan
In a discussion led by Dr. Fauci, Council endorsed NIAID's draft strategic plan. Before being finalized, the plan will be placed on the web for a month of public comment, starting in November. The plan lays out broad priorities for the next three to five years that will form the foundation of program-specific initiatives based on four cornerstone areas: immune-mediated diseases, AIDS, emerging infectious diseases, and vaccines. NIAID's investments in basic research are yielding new insights into the immune system, microbial physiology and genetics, and the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. With further opportunities for progress, planning a course among the many choices has become ever more critical. Setting out a strategic plan builds on NIAID's existing planning process.
Rather than drawing a blueprint for research, the plan outlines a flexible guide to future directions. At May Council, Dr. Jane Kinsel, director of NIAID's Office of Policy Analysis, summarized the plan's phases of review and revision before the Institute sends the final version to NIH director Dr. Harold Varmus at the end of December. In July, a Task Force of scientific and lay participants - including Council members Robert Couch, Raif Geha, Janis Giorgi, and Emil Unanue -- reviewed NIAID's initial draft plan. Changes recommended by that group were then incorporated into the draft mailed to Council before the September meeting. Public comment through the Web is the next step in the plan's evolution, with the next Council discussion scheduled for January 2000. back to top |