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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
National Institutes of Health
John E. Fogarty International Center
for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences
Written Report of the Director to the Advisory Board
Fifty-seventh Meeting
Table of Contents
- Personnel Announcements
- FIC Budget
- Programs and Initiatives
- Regional Activities
- Selected Activities of FIC Staff Members
I. PERSONNEL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Bernard A. Schwetz has been appointed by Secretary Thompson to be director of the DHHS Office of Human Research Protections. Dr. Schwetz had served as acting director of that office since February 2003.
Mr. Gregg Davis joined FIC in April as the Program Officer for East Asia and the Pacific in the Division of International Relations (DIR). He is a registered pharmacist and Lieutenant Commander in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. Prior to coming to FIC, he served in the Office of Generic Drugs in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at FDA, where he was Deputy Director of the Division of Labeling and Program Support.
Dr. Jean Flagg-Newton, who served as program officer in the FIC Division of International Training and Research from 1995-1997, returned to FIC in April as a Special Assistant in the Office of the Director. Prior to her return, she served as the Deputy Director and Chief, Office of Research, at the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She played an important role in the early development of the NCMHD, including development and implementation of the three programs authorized in the legislation that established the Center. At FIC, she will be involved in a range of activities, including working with the visiting fellows from the developing world, the NIH Public Trust Initiative, and outreach activities.
FIC BUDGET
The President's FY 2005 budget request for the NIH is $28.757 billion, an increase of $729.0 million or 2.6 percent over the FY 2004 appropriated level of $28.028 billion. Within this level, the budget request for the AIDS program is $2.930 billion, an increase of $80.4 million or 2.8 percent over the FY 2004 level of $2.850 billion. The budget request includes a major increase for the NIH Roadmap, which is comprised of three broad initiatives: New Pathways to Discovery, Multidisciplinary Research Teams of the Future and Re-engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise.
FIC FY 2005 Budget Request:
The FY 2005 budget request for the FIC is $67.182 million, an increase of $1.838 million or 2.8 percent over the FY 2004 level of $65.344 million. Within this level, the non-AIDS budget is $44.012 million, an increase of $1.271 million or 3.0 percent. The AIDS budget is $23.170 million, an increase of $.567 million or 2.5 percent. The increase in the non-AIDS budget will provide for program expansion and a new research initiative to address the global disease burden of trauma and injury.
The FY 2005 Congressional Justification can be found on the FIC web-site.
Hearings:
Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director, NIH testified on behalf of the FY 2005 President's budget before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the mornings of April 21 (Budget/Science/Roadmap) and April 22 (Management) and before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the morning of April 1. Each IC Director joined the hearings, and submitted a written opening statement to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee.
PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES
Addressing the Growing Global Burden of Trauma and Injury
FIC announced in April a new program, Trauma and Injury in the Developing World. The program was launched on the occasion of World Health Day, which focused this year on road safety. Among the features of this new FIC program, which addresses the growing burden of morbidity and mortality due to trauma and injury, are training across the range of basic to applied science, the epidemiology of risk factors, acute care and survival, rehabilitation, and the long-term mental health consequences. Possible research areas include development of low-cost synthetic blood products and diagnostic imaging tools, identification of behavioral intervention strategies that are effective, particularly in youth and other high-risk groups, and health services research to determine cost-effective measures for emergency care in low-income settings. PAHO, WHO, CDC and NIH partners are co-sponsors of this program.
Bridges to the Future: Fogarty-Ellison Fellowship Program in Global Health and Clinical Research
FIC recently announced the first recipients of the Fogarty-Ellison Overseas Fellowship Program in Global Health and Clinical Research Training, which provides early career opportunities for U.S. graduate students in the health professions to participate in one year of mentored clinical research at an NIH-funded research center in a developing country. The program pairs U.S. students with students from the host country, creating partnerships and contributing to building a new international community of research scholars. Twenty fellows from 16 U.S. medical schools and one school of public health were selected from a pool of 77 highly qualified applicants in the first annual competition. The 14 institutions that met stringent criteria for research training and were selected for the initial fellowship year are located in: Botswana, Brazil, Haiti, India (2), Kenya, Mali, Peru (2), South Africa (2), Thailand, Uganda, and Zambia.
New Partnership
FIC is partnering with the National Center for Minority Health Disparities (NCMHD) on a new effort to address global health disparities and to benefit minority populations in the U.S. Recognizing that U.S. and foreign communities share many similarities, FIC and NCMHD are exploring opportunities to encourage U.S. minority students to train abroad through FIC programs. Under a new agreement, NCMHD will provide $750,000 in FY 2004 and $1,000,000 in FY 2005 to support health science students pursuing international health research that addresses global health disparities relevant to minority populations in the U.S. The initiative operates through the Fogarty/Ellison Program, the International Research Scientist Development Award, and through research support for U.S. doctoral students planning to study HIV/AIDS or other high priority research in developing countries that is relevant to the U.S.
Brain Gain: FIC, NIEHS and the International Brain Research Organization
Recognizing the growing global burden of disease due to mental illness and cognitive disorders, FIC led the development of a new partnership with the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO). FIC, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and IBRO have agreed to work together to support schools of neuroscience in developing countries. The schools are one of IBRO's main tools for building capacity in the neurosciences in low-and middle-income nations. School sessions tend to be 2 weeks long; teachers and mentors are leading neuroscientists. Recent schools have been held in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Ofir and Obidos, Portugal; Warsaw, Poland; Cape Town, South Africa; Dubrovnic/Zagreb, Croatia; Mexico City, Mexico; and Nairobi, Kenya. Seventeen schools in as many countries are scheduled for 2004. FIC and NIEHS will identify up to three schools to be supported in FY 2004.
Capitol Hill Briefing
Congressman Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, who holds John Fogarty's seat (2nd congressional district, Rhode Island) has invited FIC to give a briefing on global health at the Capitol on June 9. The entire Rhode Island Congressional delegation (Senators Jack Reed and Lincoln Chaffee, and Representative Patrick Kennedy), has agreed to co-host the event. This will be the first of several "Town Hall" meetings around the United States to raise awareness of emerging issues in global health. The upcoming briefing will focus on the silent epidemic of mental disorders. Dr. Thomas Insel, Director NIMH, Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, NIDA, and FIC grantees working on mental health-related projects in the developing world will join Dr. Sharon Hrynkow in presenting to Congressional members and staff the challenges and opportunities afforded through international collaboration.
Sex, Gender and Global Health Forum
FIC, with the Office of Research on Women's Health and the Institute of Gender and Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, sponsored on April 27 a one-day Forum on Exploring the Potential Collaborations for Sex and Gender and Global Health Research. The meeting brought together representatives from several international research funding agencies, including The Wellcome Trust, Ford Foundation, INSERM and 18 NIH ICs and Offices to discuss existing programs focused on gender and global health research as well as potential future partnerships or joint efforts in this area. Representatives from Latin America and Africa were present to give a developing world perspective. David Gergen, Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, gave the keynote address, which emphasized translating research into public policy. Participating agencies and groups spoke about how they currently address sex and gender in the context of global health research. Participants came to a consensus on the importance of the issues discussed and agreed to work with all appropriate partners to move the agenda forward. This will include providing information to UNESCO to include in its next report, which will focus on gender.
Middle East Roundtable on Women in Science
FIC organized and hosted the Roundtable. "Remembering the Journey: A Middle East Roundtable Discussion on Women and Science," which was held on March 17 at the Stone House as part of NIH events associated with Women's History Month. Five NIH researchers - all women and all born in countries in the Middle East or North Africa - discussed the challenges they faced in pursuing careers in science. Moderated by Mr. Richard Millstein, FIC Acting Deputy Director, the event emphasized the importance of enhancing career options in the life sciences for women from all parts of the world and was an excellent opportunity to hear and learn about where the needs and challenges are greatest.
Public Health and Medical Reporting Workshops
FIC, with support from NCI and NIEHS, sponsored a workshop in October to provide 25 Latin American and Latino health reporters the opportunity to learn from scientists and share experiences and ideas about reporting on a range of health topics using the results of medical research. Topics covered during the workshop included AIDS, Cancer and Tobacco and Environmental Health. A preliminary evaluation found it to be highly rewarding and 90% of journalists said they would strongly recommend a future workshop. Most agreed that it provided an excellent opportunity for exchange and direct dialogue between scientists and journalists. Concrete results include 48 articles that have been written or broadcast by the group of journalists using information or tools acquired from the workshop. The most lasting benefit of the program has been the journalists' use of the National Library of Medicine's Medline website to search for medical and public health information; many of whom were unaware of Medline previous to the workshop. More than half indicate that they use the site frequently, if not on a daily basis to garner background information for stories and had not known about this resource previously. The next workshop is planned for October 2004 in Panama City, Panama. and will be expanded to include a wider array of public health topics pertinent to the region of the Americas.
Partnerships for African Medical Editors
FIC, NLM and NIEHS sponsored a consultation in September that united editors from the British Medical Journal, Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the American Journal of Public Health and Environmental Health Perspectives with four African medical journal editors from Ghana, Mali, Malawi and Uganda. Partnerships have been established between the Western and African editors. Recommendations regarding the current challenges to publication of quality clinical research work also were discussed. As a result of initial consultations, a pilot project is underway to assist these journals in improving the quality and content of their journals via improved equipment, access to experienced reviewers, mentoring relationships with the Western journals, and future training and capacity-building workshops to enhance and improve editorial expertise, journal content and publishing issues. The Council of Science Editors (CSE) will serve as the secretariat of the pilot project. Initial site visits conducted by NLM have begun to assess the needs and current capabilities of each journal. Sponsors hope to eventually include additional African journals in this pilot project and to expand to other regions of the developing world.
Moving toward Independence: Career Fair for Foreign Fellows
FIC, together with NCI and NIEHS, organized a first-ever career fair for postdoctoral fellows currently participating in the NIH Visiting Program. The event, which took place at NIH on March 19, brought visiting fellows together with international scientific experts, representatives of foreign universities or programs, embassies, and other organizations to help the fellows gain insight and information about their careers and scientific prospects after they complete their NIH training. The career fair addressed a critical need, particularly for fellows from developing countries, by highlighting opportunities for them to pursue research careers in their own countries, and by providing information on skill-building resources available to them as they navigate the transition after NIH.
Global Forum on Bioethics in Research
The Global Forum for Bioethics in Research (GFBR), hosted this year by INSERM-France, took place on April 22-23 in Paris. This was the 5th in a series of annual meetings initiated by FIC and NIH partners in 1999. The GFBR also has been supported over the five-year period by international funding agencies, including, currently: The Wellcome Trust, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United Kingdom MRC and CDC. The WHO, PAHO, and the South African MRC have been past contributors. Funding partners this year included the European Commission and INSERM-France. The GFBR provides a unique opportunity for individuals from the developing world who are involved in research infrastructure to talk with one another and with representatives from funding agencies, and to exchange views and opinions on a variety of topics that are key to the conduct of research - benefit sharing, informed consent, what defines community, and approaches to distributive justice. This year's topic was benefit sharing in the context of intellectual property. The 2005 Forum will be hosted by The Wellcome Trust and most likely will take place in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2006 the Aga Kahn University in Karachi, Pakistan, with likely co-funding from EMRO, will host the Forum.
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Disease Control Priorities Project (DCPP)
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided additional funding for the DCPP in the amount of $2.885 million to assist in publishing the 2nd edition of Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries.
DCCP convened a series of meetings and activities to further the project's work:
- The DCPP Advisory Committee to the Editors met in Paris, France in February, hosted by the Pasteur Institute.
- March 25-27, DCPP editors met with the Advisory Committee to the Editors at a meeting convened by the Inter-Academy Medical Panel.
- May 3-4, DCPP convened a kick-off meeting for the development of a Strategic Communications Plan.
Forum of Institute and Center International Representatives
The bi-monthly meeting of the IC International Representatives was held Tuesday, May 11. Dr. Hrynkow chairs this meeting, attended by representative of each NIH institute and center and the Office of the Director. Dr. Daniel Raiten, NICHD, and Dr. Rachel Nugent, FIC, co-chairs of the NIH Subcommittee on International Nutrition Research (SCINR), provided an update on the activities of the SCINR. Changes in DHHS regarding international interactions were also discussed. The next meeting will take place on July 13.
FIC Seminars and Talks
February 17 - Dr. Linda Kupfer, FIC, "The FIC Framework for Evaluation."
February 18 - Dr. Carlos Daniel Ruiz Carrascal, Visiting Scientist, State University of New York in Buffalo, "Biology of African Highlands Malaria."
February 24 - Prof. Avidan U. Neumann, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Israel, "Hepatitis viral dynamics - from mathematical models to the patient's bedside."
March 16 - James D. Murray, National Outreach Director, National Sea Grant College Program, NOAA, "Diffusion of Innovations through the Extension Model."
March 25 - Kerstin Erickson, Stanford- in-Washington Intern. "How well has AITRP Provided Opportunities for Training for Women? Analysis of Long Term AITRP Trainee Data from 1988-2003."
April 7 - Dr. James Chin, Communicable Disease Prevention and Control, "The Past, Present, and Probable Future of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic."
April 14 - Holly Gaff, Dynamics Technology, Inc., "The Impact of Spatial Heterogeneity on Tick-borne Diseases."
April 23 - Lawrence Haddad, Director, Food, Nutrition and Consumption Division, International Food Policy Research Institute and Marie Ruel, Senior Scientist, FNCD, IFPRI, "Nutrition, Disease, and New Perspectives on the Malnutrition Epidemic in Developing Countries."
May 3 - Leah Belsky, Clinical Center Department of Bioethics, "Researchers' Ancillary Care Responsibilities: ARV Provision in the Developing World."
May 10 - Dr. Sandy Thomas, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London, "Ethics of Research Related to Healthcare in Developing Countries"
REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
The Americas
In late February, FIC developed NIH input on a draft report on "Health along the U.S.-Mexico Border," prepared by the HHS Office of Global Health Affairs. NIH input focused on current research partnerships and collaborations to help address the many health challenges in the region.
Russia and the NIS
At a FIC Special Event held on March 30, staff of the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF) presented an update on their newest initiative -- the Eurasian HIV/AIDS Research Initiative, aimed to increase research collaborations with scientists from Russia and the Former Soviet Union (now commonly referred to as Eurasia) focused on HIV/AIDS and related infections. The initiative is part of a larger U.S-Russian HIV/AIDS Cooperation Initiative that Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir V. Putin discussed during their September 26-27, 2003 meeting at Camp David. Thanks to major support by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and the US Department of State, CRDF will fund 12 international workshops in 2004 in various countries of the NIS and the Baltics to bring together nearly 200 scientists from the U.S. and Eurasia to develop plans for joint research in HIV/AIDS and related infections, including tuberculosis and hepatitis C. The workshops will be followed by a final conference in November 2004, which will synthesize the outcomes of the workshops and attempt to develop an HIV/AIDS research agenda for the region, with participation by scientists as well as relevant policymakers. The second phase of the initiative will involve a call for proposals for joint research and development that will contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS and related infections both in the short and long term.
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SELECTED ACTIVITIES OF FIC STAFF MEMBERS
Dr. Sharon Hrynkow joined Dr. Elias Zerhouni at a meeting with the European Commission Director of Health Research on February 3 to discuss ways to enhance collaborative activities between NIH and the Commission.
Dr. Hrynkow participated as Federal liaison at the AAAS Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPP) meeting held February 13-15 in Seattle. While in Seattle,
Dr. Hrynkow met with officials at the Gates Foundation to discuss ongoing collaboration and t o outline upcoming FIC activities.
Dr. Hrynkow represented NIH at a meeting on "Developing a Global Health Research Collaborative among the Major National Health Research Agencies." The meeting took place February 23-27 at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy. FIC co-sponsored the meeting, which brought together science leadership from Canada, France, the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, as well as NGOs and academic sectors.
Dr. Hrynkow, Dr. Zerhouni and Dr. Ruth Kirschstein met with Johns Hopkins staff on March 2 to discuss NIH and FIC international activities and to learn about a JHU proposal to foster research activities in the Middle East. Subsequently, Dr. Hrynkow and Ms. Judy Levin met on March 26 with Dr. John Waterbury, President of the American University in Beirut to discuss AUB as a regional center of excellence and potential research collaborations in the Middle East. They also participated in Dr. Waterbury's meeting with the Regional Director of the Middle East Partnerships Initiative program at the State Department.
Dr. Hrynkow met on March 10 with the Minister of Health of Côte d'Ivoire to explore ways to further NIH research training collaborations with scientists from Côte d'Ivoire.
Dr. Hrynkow was invited to meet with Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), who holds the Congressional seat formerly held by John Fogarty. Dr. Hrynkow provided an overview of FIC programs and activities of interest, including the new trauma and injury research training program. Dr. Hrynkow met with Senator Bill Frist's staff to discuss FIC's AIDS programs in Africa on March 12.
Dr. Hrynkow met with representatives of the newly launched Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization (IPSO) on March 12 and then, again, at the National Academies of Science to discuss potential mechanisms of cooperation. IPSO's goal is to bring Israel and the Palestinian Authority together using science as a bridge.
Dr. Hrynkow and Mr. Mark Pineda met on March 26 with a delegation from the University of Oslo to provide an overview of FIC and NIH international research activities.
Dr. Hrynkow and FIC Staff met on March 31 with Professor Jenny Lund, Director General of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) to discuss a new partnership to strengthen teaching in the neurosciences in poor countries.
Dr. Hrynkow met on April 14 with the Permanent Secretary of the Icelandic Ministry of Health and Social Security, the CEO of deCODE Genetics, and the Managing Director of The Blue Lagoon Psoriasis Treatment Center, to follow-up on earlier discussions related to cooperation between NIH and counterparts in Iceland. On the same day, FIC brought together IC international representatives, from NHLBI, NINDS, CSR, NICHD and NIAMS to learn more about deCODE and to consider potential new partnerships.
Dr. Hrynkow represented NIH on May 3 at the second meeting of the DHHS Global Health Policy Core Group meeting, chaired by Dr. Bill Steiger, Special Assistant to the Secretary for International Affairs.
Dr. Hrynkow, Dr. Kenneth Bridbord and Dr. Jeanne McDermott are involved in a range of DHHS working groups for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief. These include, among others, the Strategic Information Human Resource Capacity Building Work Group and a group that is reviewing Year One Country Plans submitted by country teams for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
Dr. Hrynkow and Drs. Joel Breman, Pierce Gardner and Kenneth Bridbord participated in a teleconference with the newly constituted global health committee of the Infectious Disease Society of America on May 12 to provide updates on FIC programs and priorities.
Dr. Joel Breman participated in a meeting of the WHO International Commission for the Certification of Dracunculiasis Eradication, March 9-11 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Breman participated in the Scientific Program Committee meeting for the XVI International Congress for Tropical Medicine and Malaria (to be held September 11-15, 2005, in Marseille), March 12-13, in Paris, hosted by Val de Grace Hospital.
Dr. Breman participated in Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (DCPP) Advisory Committee to the Editors (ACE) and Inter-Academy Medical Panel meeting, March 24-27 in Paris, hosted by the Institut Pasteur.
Dr. Breman participated in a Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) meeting, March 29-April 2 in Stockholm, hosted by the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University.
Dr. Breman participated in the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) National and Global Public Health Committee meeting on March 12, by teleconference.
Dr. Bridbord and Dr. Aron Primack participated as observers at a session of the United Nation General Assembly addressing the Global Road Safety Crisis and an NGO-led Global Road Safety - A Shared Responsibility Stakeholder Forum that took place April 14 - 15 at UN Headquarters in New York City. FIC's new International Collaborative Trauma and Injury Research Training Program was discussed in detail at the latter meeting.
Dr. Bridbord attended AIDS Science Day 2004 events April 22 - 23 at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Dr. Bridbord attended a Workshop on Integrative Doctoral Programs in the Health and Social Sciences, April 29 - 30 at the Social Science Research Council in Warrenton, Virginia.
Ms. Emmy Cauthen represented FIC February 10 at a media resource fair for Latin American for Latin American health reporters sponsored by Merck, Sharpe & Dohme and the InterAmerican Press Association.
Mr. Gregg Davis met with representatives of Korea's Food and Drug Administation to discuss passage of the Korean Functional Health Food Act of 2004.
Mr. Davis and Dr. Jeanne McDermott met with representatives of China's CDC to discuss updates on various FIC grants.
Mr. Robert Eiss took part in a "Partners Forum" convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), The Wellcome Trust, and UK Medical Research Council to discuss proposed initiatives in the global health field developed by WHO joint task forces April 25-29 in London, UK.
Dr. Pierce Gardner presented a talk on Vaccine Issues for Older Women at a conference on Women and Infectious Diseases February 27-28 in Atlanta.
Dr. Gardner attended and served on the conference steering committee for the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases February 29-March 3 in Atlanta.
Dr. Gardner received a certificate of appreciation from the Office of the Secretary of Defense for his contributions as a Member of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board from March 2000-March 2004.
Dr. Gardner made a presentation on FIC international training opportunities at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Professional Skills Development Conference, April 20 at NIH.
Mr. George Herrfurth represented NIH at interagency meetings February 17-24 regarding the proposed revision of the WHO International Health Regulations related to national reporting of infectious disease episodes and their potential international implications.
Mr. Herrfurth represented NIH at an OSTP-hosted interagency meeting on April 6 regarding the U.S. involvement in the UNESCO science agenda.
Dr. Karen Hofman, Dr. Barbara Sina and Dr. Joshua Rosenthal represented FIC at the Global Forum on Bioethics in Research April 22-23 in Paris, France. FIC initiated this Forum in 1999, and the recent Forum was the 5th in a series.
Dr. Dean Jamison attended the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) meeting February 11-14 in Agra, India. He presented an overview of the DCPP during a plenary session incorporating the meeting's theme, "Leveraging Research through Policy and Practice."
Dr. Jamison gave a talk at the UCLA Pharmacoeconomics Seminar April 8 in Los Angeles.
Dr. Jamison presented a seminar on "Health, Wealth, and Welfare" April 15 at the International Monetary Fund.
Dr. Jamison gave a talk at the Columbia /MSF/UNICEF /WHO malaria meetings April 29 in New York City.
Dr. Jamison attended a meeting hosted by Newt Gingrich at the American Institute for Public Policy Research to deliberate on a plan offered by NCI Director Andrew von Eschenbach to end death from cancer by 2015. The meeting took place May 4 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Flora Katz attended the first Annual Meeting of a new ICBG Project involving several U.S. universities and several institutions in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. The meeting took place March 7-14 in Tashkent and Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Dr. Katz participated in a 9 day Data Manager Training Course for the Global Data Center of the ICBG Program, at Friday Harbor Laboratories,March 30-April 9 in Friday Harbor, Washington. This is part of a contract to White Point Systems, Inc to manage a global database and informatics training on NAPIS, a proprietary natural products information system, for the ICBGs.
Dr. Katz made a presentation to the National Academies of Science Life Sciences Board on "Genomics and Developing Countries" as part of an invited consultation.
Dr. Katz made an invited presentation at a workshop sponsored by Internet2 on "Extending the Reach of Advanced Networking", highlighting the informatics needs and activities of our programs.
Dr. Katz represented FIC/NIH as an Observer to the Advisory Committee on Health Research (ACHR) of the WHO, May 3-5 in Geneva. Topics for discussion included follow-up on the ACHR Report on Genomics and World Health and the World Report on Knowledge for Better Health; updates on the upcoming World Summit on Health Research and on the Health Research Systems Analysis Initiative; WHO's role in strengthening Health Systems and Operational Research; and an initiative to document and review all WHO research activities.
Dr. Richard Krause traveled to India February 17-March 7 to continue collaborative research with co-investigators on a project on streptococcal epidemiology in school children in villages surrounding Chandigarh and Vellore. While in Chandigarh, he gave the plenary lecture entitled "Preventive and Social Medicine: A Victorian Legacy" at the 31st Annual National Conference of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine. In Chennai, he visited the TB Research Center, where he gave a lecture on "Reflections of the History of Streptococcal Disease during the 20th Century."
Dr. Krause served as Chair of a Conference on Immunology and Immunopathology in Health and Disease at the Max Planck Institute of Immunology, March 22-27 in Freiburg, Germany. The Conference was organized in Honor of Professor Klaus Eichmann on the occasion of his retirement as Director of the Institute.
Dr. Krause traveled to Seoul, Korea May 1-8 at the invitation of the Minister of Health and Welfare to represent NIH and give a lecture on "Emerging Infections, Microbes Evolving, the Universal Tension: A Compulsion to be Something New" at a symposium organized to recognize the recent creation of the Korea Center for Disease Control.
Ms. Judy Levin participated in a meeting February 26 with the Chief Scientist for the Israeli Ministry of Health, to explore possibilities for NIH-Israel collaborative infectious disease research.
Ms. Levin coordinated and participated in the review of proposals submitted in response to the U.S.-Egypt Joint Fund annual call for collaborative projects.
Dr. Jeanne McDermott attended the Annual Meeting of the HIV Prevention Trials Network February 16-20 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. McDermott represented FIC at the Launch of the Reduction of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity: Interagency Strategic Consensus for Latin America and the Caribbean February 20 in Washington, D.C. PAHO, the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF, the Population Council, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Dr. McDermott participated in a workshop entitled, An Introduction to NIH, the NIH AIDS Research Program, and Funding Opportunities on March 5-7 at the Third Central American Congress on STD/HIV/AIDS and the Second National and Central American Community Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. The workshop was organized by the NIH Office of AIDS Research.
Dr. McDermott attended the Cross- Network Training Meeting held at the HIV Vaccine Trials Network Full Group Meeting April 4 in Bethesda.
Dr. Ellis McKenzie hosted meetings of two Working Groups of the Secretary's Advisory Council on Public Health Preparedness (DHHS) at NIH: the WG on Smallpox Modeling February 11-12, and the WG on Anthrax Modeling April 8.
Dr. McKenzie spoke on "Developing smallpox models as policy tools" at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, March 3 in Atlanta.
Dr. McKenzie participated in the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS), May 3-4 at NIGMS.
Dr. Kathleen Michels attended the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Pew Programs in the Biomedical Sciences March 9 in Puerto Rico and gave a presentation on grantsmanship, and funding opportunities through FIC and NIH to Pew Latin American Biomedical Fellows. A number of the Fellows are current or past FIRCA foreign collaborators, some of whom credited their current success to the critical start afforded by the FIRCA funding.
Dr. Mark Miller participated in the 5th Meeting of the WHO Product Development Group for Measles Aerosol Vaccine and the WHO Consultation on Vaccination against Rubella by Aerosol May15-21 in Geneva.
Mr. Richard Millstein moderated a FIC-led roundtable with women scientists from the Middle East, which was held March 17 at NIH
Mr. Mark Pineda provided an overview of NIH and FIC programs and discussed the potential for increasing cooperation between NIH and counterparts in German at a meeting on April 21 with the Director-General for European and International Cooperation in the German Ministry of Education and Research
Dr. Aron Primack participated in a meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, which included a pre-meeting session in International Activities and Research on Nicotine and Tobacco with six of 15 grantees under the International Tobacco and Health Research Capacity Building Program. The meeting took place February 18-21 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Dr. Primack presented a grants-writing workshop for 35 visiting fellows from developing countries at the Stone House on April 1.
Dr. Primack represented NIH/FIC at the PAHO "Road Safety is no Accident: Health in the Americas Week." The event served as the regional launch of the WHO World Health Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention.
Ms. Minerva Rojo represented FIC at a conference organized by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) for science officers and other representatives from foreign embassies in Washington. The meeting addressed the increasing interest of foreign governments to have their scientists return home upon completion of NIH training. FIC will host in the coming months an event on campus for Ambassadors.
Dr. Barbara Sina made site visits for the ICER training program needs assessments at Makerere University and the Rakai project February 23-27 in Uganda, and the Tuberculosis Research Center April 1-4 in Chennai India.
Dr. Sina attended the Emerging Infectious Disease conference organized by CDC February 29-March 3 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Sina attended the Malaria Conference March 25-26 and a conference on Public Health, Human Rights and AIDS April 7-9 organized by Chris Beyer, both at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Ms. Natalie Tomitch met with staff of the Embassy of Kazakhstan on February 11 to review collaborative opportunities for Kazakhstani health scientists and discuss planned NIH activities in the Central Asia region.
Ms. Tomitch participated in an interagency meeting February 20 on HIV/AIDS in Europe and Eurasia, hosted by the State Department's Office of Global AIDS Coordination and the NIS Office for NIS Assistance. The meeting explored the viability of establishing an interagency coordination mechanism for U.S.-Russia/NIS/CEE cooperation on HIV/AIDS.
Ms. Tomitch and staff of the NIH Office of AIDS Research met with representatives of the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) February 24 to discuss the status of the CRDF-NIH HIV/AIDS initiative announced last fall.
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