|
|
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Dr. Fauci opened the Council session by welcoming visitors to the meeting. He introduced the newly-appointed Council members: Dr. Charles Davis, Jr., Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland; Dr. Anthony D'Alessandro, University of Wisconsin Medical School; Ms. Anne Munoz-Furlong, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network; Reverend Raymond O'Brien, Professor, Catholic University School of Law; and Dr. Anjano Rao, Center for Blood Research, Harvard Medical School. He also welcomed the ad hoc Council members: Dr. Ann Arvin, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University; Dr. Betty Diamond, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Dr. Christian Larsen, Department of Surgery, Emery University.
Consideration of Minutes of Previous Meeting: The minutes of the September 23, 2002, meeting were considered and approved as written.
Consideration of Operating Procedures:
The operating procedures for Council for this year were considered and adopted as written.
Staff and Organizational Changes:
Dr. Fauci announced that Dr. Marshall Bloom has been appointed Associate Director of the Institute's Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana.
Budget Update
NIH's FY 2003 budget was not yet finalized. NIH's proposed FY 2003 budget will grow by $3.7 billion, a 15.6 percent increase over last fiscal year. NIAID's budget is slated to gain 57.6 percent, a $1.5 billion increase, which includes $1.4 billion for biodefense research and infrastructure. This includes money for building BL-3 and BL-4 facilities both intramurally and extramurally, as well as for general NIH-wide physical security. Basic research will be stressed as well as the development of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Biodefense money will also support clinical research, including clinical trial infrastructure to conduct clinical trials. The FY 2003 budget has been amended and includes $225 million to accelerate the biodefense extramural construction from FY 2004, while delaying 2003 biodefense research to 2004.
Legislative Update
Dr. Fauci reported considerable congressional activity and interest due to the biodefense initiative, including many high-level meetings, hearings, and briefings. President Bush signed H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and it is now Public Law 107-296.
Other Information Items
In addition to the previous Category A for the Biodefense Research Agenda, Dr. Fauci mentioned that we have come out with a Category B and C Research plan, which is now available on the NIAID internet Web site.
Concerning the smallpox vaccine, the 15 million doses of Dryvax we have in storage have maintained their potency in the undiluted form, and they can be diluted to 1:5, if necessary. The first civilian response teams as well as the military are starting to receive vaccinations. We're currently pursuing a safer vaccine.
Council Materials
The NIAID Office of Communications provided Council members with several publications and press releases. back to top |