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September 13, 2005 Report of the Director

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

Minutes of the Advisory Board
Sixty First Meeting

 

Table of Contents

1. FIC Personnel Announcements
2. FIC Budget
3. Across NIH
4. FIC Programs and Initiatives
5. Regional Activities
6. Outreach Efforts
7. Upcoming Events of Interest to the Board
8. Staff Publications

Confirmed:

Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Proposed:

Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

(The Research Award Subcommittee meets on the Monday preceding the full Board meeting.)

I. FIC Personnel Announcements

Dr. James Herrington joined FIC as the Director of the Division of International Relations in September 2005. Dr. Herrington served most recently as a senior program official on detail from the CDC at the UN Foundation, created by philanthropist Ted Turner to administer a $1 billion pledge to support UN priorities, particularly those of Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). An epidemiologist by training, Dr. Herrington’s career is in the field of infectious diseases and risk perception. At UNF, he was instrumental in strengthening global tobacco awareness programs, malaria control programs, and infectious disease surveillance, among others. Dr. Herrington received his Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Colorado State University and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal for two years. For 15 years, he was involved in o-the-ground program in Nigeria, Haiti and Cote d'Ivoire in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other groups. Dr. Herrington succeeds Mr. Rob Eiss who served as FIC’s Acting Director of the Division for the past year in addition to his responsibilities as Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives. Mr. Eiss, a long-standing FIC employee, has taken on the position of CEO at the Centre for the Management of Intellectual Property in Health R & D, a Rockefeller-funded project based in Oxford, UK.

Dr. Elizabeth Ann Davis joined FIC as the Program Director for Europe in the Division of International Relations. Dr. Davis is an epidemiologist and veterinarian by training and has lived and worked abroad extensively, having held positions such as Foreign Service officer for USAID and virologist at the Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU-2) in Indonesia. She has also held assignments at WHO and—through the United States Department of Agriculture—in Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize. Dr. Davis holds a D.V.M. degree from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, an M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a B.S. in molecular biology/microbiology from Oklahoma State University.

Ms. Tina Chung, M.P.H., the Program Director for Asia in the Division of International Relations, comes to FIC from the Office of Global Health Affairs (OGHA) in the Immediate Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. At OGHA, she served as an International Health Officer covering multilateral affairs. In this capacity Ms. Chung coordinated and monitored HHS interest with multilateral organizations (e.g., WHO, UNICEF and OECD) and the U.S. government’s policies and decisions in health and health-related areas for implementation by international organizations. Prior to her duties in multilateral affairs, Ms. Chung was the Public Health advisory overseeing the Asia and Pacific region for OGHA.

Dr. Jeanne McDermott, FIC’s Program Director for AIDS and Maternal and Child Health in the Division of International Training and Research, received the NIH Director’s Award “for outstanding leadership and commitment in managing FIC’s AIDS International Training and Research Program.” Congratulations, Jeanne!

II. FIC Budget

Fiscal Year 2006

The House passed the FY 2006 budget on June 24, 2005 and the Senate Appropriations Committee completed action on the budget on July 14, 2005. The Senate has not yet scheduled floor action on the appropriations bill. The following chart summarizes the actions as of September 7, 2005:

• FY 2005 Funding Level:  NIH - $28,364,515,000       FIC - $66,632,000

• FY 2006 - President's Budget:  NIH - $28,509,784,000       FIC - $67,048,000

• FY 2006 - House (June 24, 2005):  NIH - $28,506,805,000       FIC - $67,048,000

• FY 2006 - Senate Appropriations Committee (July 14, 2005): NIH - $29,317,494,000       FIC - $68,745,000

Hearings:

Dr. Zerhouni, Director, NIH testified on behalf of the FY 2006 President’s budget before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on March 9 and before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on April 6. Each IC Director submitted a written opening statement to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees. Dr. Hrynkow’s statement can be found on the FIC web site at http://www.fic.nih.gov/about/testimony/index.htm.

III. Across NIH

Final Ethics Regulations

Final regulations on the reporting of certain financial interests, stock divestiture, outside activities, and awards were announced on August 25, 2005. The regulations were developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in close collaboration with NIH, with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), the Federal agency that prescribes executive branch-wide ethics standards. Adjustments were made to the interim final rules, based on a careful review of all comments about those regulations submitted by NIH staff, the public, and scientific organizations. A press release describing the major features of the final rules can be found at the following website. http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/aug2005/od-25.htm

Hurricane Katrina

NIH has been an active participant in the action plan to combat the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Within days of the hurricane, NIH mobilized a team of experts to staff a hospital in Meridan, MS. Some 100 staff are involved in that effort. In addition, NIH established a toll free phone number in order to assist health care providers from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. NIH has also set aside 100 beds in the Clinical Center in order to be able to offer treatment to those with hard-to- treat illnesses. Grant recipients in the hard-hit areas receive special consideration as part of receipt and related dates. FIC staff offering to volunteer to assist in the region are Kevin Bialy, Program Specialist in the Division of International Relations, and Dr. Mark Miller, Director, Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies and Dr. Elizabeth Ann Davis, Program Director for Europe, Division of International Relations.

Reauthorization Legislation – status and key points

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, Chaired by Joe Barton (R-Texas), is considering legislation to reauthorize the NIH. The legislation would expand the authorities of the NIH Director; establish a new Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives; establish a Common Fund; cluster the NIH Institutes/Centers; establish enhanced reporting requirements; and establish a cap on NIH funding.

The new Division of Program coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives is consistent with the NIH Roadmap, which serves as a model for reviewing NIH’s portfolio and for identifying and supporting trans-NIH opportunities to advance critical areas of research. The Common Fund, modeled after the Roadmap support mechanism, would be established to support trans-NIH initiatives identified through the new Division.

IV. FIC Programs and Initiatives

Framework Programs for Global Health. FIC received an enthusiastic response to the RFA on Framework Programs for Global Health. This program (R25) will support consortia across university campus, or among universities, taking new approaches to tackle global health issues. It will link multiple schools, including business, law, engineering and social science, among others, with FIC traditional partners, Schools of Medicine and Public Health. In addition, it will support the development of curricula on global health aimed at undergraduate and graduate students. 31 applications were received, including 4 planning grants from developing countries.

Conference on International HIV Research:

On May 16, the New York HIV Research Consortium and Fogarty International Center, with SUNY Downstate as a key contributor, sponsored a conference on “Identifying Future Directors in International HIV Research,” held at Caspary Auditorium at Rockefeller University. The conference focused on international HIV activities of regional academic and free-standing HIV research centers and provided an overview of international research on behavioral/prevention interventions, treatment, and basic science based at New York/Tri-State institutions in partnership with researchers from around the world. Key researchers led workgroups in identifying emerging international HIV research agendas by both topic and by geographical region. More than 160 participants from academic medical and research institutions participated in the cutting-edge conference. The major outcome of the meeting is increased collaboration among FIC-supported AIDS training programs active in the New York City area.

GRIP Awardees Share their Views on Resource Needs:

The 45 awardees of the FIC Global Health Research Initiative Program (GRIP) for new foreign investigators gathered at NIH in early June to present their work and to share their views with FIC and its NIH partners in regard to the type of resources they need to remain independent scientists after returning to their home countries. At an evening reception held at the Lawton Chiles International House, the FIC Acting Director was joined by ambassadors and other diplomats, the daughter of the late Congressman John E. Fogarty, Mrs. Mary McAndrew, and the NIH Director in honoring the 45 GRIP awardees. Speaking on behalf of all of the GRIP awardees, Dr. Jose Vasques-Prado, a GRIP recipient from Mexico and former postdoctoral fellow in the NIH Intramural Program shared how the GRIP allowed him to return to his home country following his training experience and to develop a team of scientists to work with him. Among the areas of need identified by the GRIP awardees were increased information on NIH and other grant opportunities.

Career Fair for Foreign Fellows:

FIC and partners NIEHS and the Office of Intramural Research supported the second annual career fair for foreign fellows training on the NIH campus. Initiated by FIC and the NIH Committee for Visiting Fellows from the Developing World last year, this event provides information on job opportunities abroad for those ready to move ahead in their careers. Over 500 young scientists attended the fair, which drew presenters from over 30 foreign organizations. The event is now viewed as one of the focal points for the year for the many foreign fellows working in the NIH intramural program.

MPH Program in Russia Launched

St. Petersburg State University in Russia launched on September 14 the first ever Masters of Public Health Program in Russia. Fogarty played a major, defining role in this effort. Working through several FIC funded programs at Yale University (including AIDS and Maternal and Child Health), and in concert with Yale’s Dr. Michael Merson, FIC supported training of faculty in public health sciences and in the curriculum development and launch of the Program. It is expected that his Program will train young professionals who can assist Russia in improving health outcomes for its entire population.

Arctic Focal Point

As the focal point for NIH on Arctic health issues, FIC has undertaken a series of activities aimed at identifying priority need areas, and in forging partnerships to address them. In June, FIC convened a trans-DHHS meeting to consider activities to be supported during International Polar Year (IPY). For the first time, human health will be highlighted in IPY, normally a geophysical oriented event. As a first step in moving this agenda forward, FIC and NIMH teamed up to convene a panel of experts to consider best practices in suicide prevention in the Far North. This panel, to be held September 14, will be held at the International Association for Suicide Prevention annual meeting in Durban, South Africa. A separate panel convened by FIC will consider ethical issues in suicide prevention research. FIC’s Natalie Tomitch, Program Officer for Arctic Issues, and Dr. Karen Hofman, Director of the Division of Advanced Study and Policy Analysis, will represent FIC in Durban.

Program Review: Ecology of Infectious Diseases (EID) Program

FIC convened a panel in July 2005 to review its program, co-sponsored by NSF and several NIH ICs on Ecology of Infectious Diseases. Donald Burke, M.D., Associate Chair and Director of the Disease Prevention and Control Program of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, chaired the panel. The panels’ report endorsed the program and its successes in the short time of its existence. The panel recommended that FIC and its NIH partners, along with NSF, continue and expand the program to include additional NIH ICs and other federal partners. The panel recommended further that a special emphasis be added to the program to consider infectious diseases that are serious pandemic threats, and that the program foster translational research in order to develop public health interventions based on research findings. FIC and its partners are now considering potential next steps to further increase effectiveness of this critical program.

African Medical Journal Partnership Project:

To help increase the quality and visibility of sub-Saharan African journals, the Council of Science Editors, under contract to FIC and NLM, manages the logistics of a pilot project that pairs journals in the northern hemisphere with sub-Saharan African journals. The paired project editors include: African Health Sciences/BMJ, Ghana Medical Journal/The Lancet, Malawi Medical Journal/JAMA, and Mali Medicale/American Journal of Public Health and Environmental Health Perspectives. The project’s overall goal is to enhance the African journals to a level where they could be accepted into MEDLINE. To date, the four editors from Africa have visited their counterparts; business plans have been established for effective, sustainable publishing operations; and one initial training workshop for authors and reviewers has taken place in Bamako and a second is scheduled for Uganda in the fall. All four African partners were invited and attended the Council of Science Editors meeting in Atlanta in May. As a result of capacity building efforts Mali Medicale is now online and is publishing regularly 4 times/year and the Ugandan African Health Sciences Journal will be accepting submissions online and is also publishing on a regular basis.

Disease Control Priorities Project (DCPP)

FIC, the World Health Organization and the World Bank have co-sponsored DCPP; and for the past 4 years, FIC has hosted its secretariat and supported the DCPP with staff and other resources. The products of the project, which include two technical books Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition and The Burden of Disease and Risk Factors (Oxford University Press) and a policy-oriented book Priorities in Health, to be published by the World Bank, are nearing completion. The Books will be launched in Beijing in April 2006 at an event hosted by the Chinese Academies of Science and Engineering and organized by the Institute of Medicine and about 30 sister academies in the Inter-Academies Medical Panel. The DCPP was, in addition, a co-sponsor and major contributor to the book Millions Saved: Proven Successes in Global Health, published by the Center for Global Development in November 04.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—a major financial supporter, through FIC, for the preparation of the DCPP books—is now funding a major dissemination effort through the Population Reference Bureau.

Public-Private Sector – Potential New Way Forward:

FIC has been in active discussion with the Medical Missions for Children (MMC) leadership to consider a new form of cooperation for the benefit of both. MMC, based in Patterson, NJ, provides satellite technology and satellite time to hospitals and universities in poor countries with a view toward enhancing educational opportunities for professional staff. MMC supports a range of activities, including its own medical channel, the “Giggles” theater, a therapeutic and entertainment effort for children in hospitals, among others. In close cooperation with the NIH Director, FIC is working to identify priority hospitals and centers in FIC-supported countries that would stand to benefit in particular from this opportunity. FIC will lead an ad hoc group to include NICHD and NLM as a next step.

Fogarty announces FIC-Ellison Class of 2005

Twenty-seven pairs of students (one from the US, one from a developing country) were selected to participate in the 2005 and second year of the Fogarty-Ellison program. This program provides one year of mentored clinical research training for US public health, medical and other graduate students in partnership with counterparts from low- and middle-income countries. In the second year, training sites in Russia and Bangladesh were added to the program. Training sites in the first year and second year are well-funded NIH sites in institutions in China, India, Haiti, Mali, Brazil, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana and Zambia. A 2½-week orientation for all students took place on the NIH campus during July. Students learned basic principles of epidemiology, biostatistics, economics and other fields from a range of NIH and other experts. In addition, they had the opportunity to meet with a range of NIH leaders and with the Surgeon General to discuss career path issues and other topics of interest.

NIH Alumni Associations.

Begun in FY 2004, FIC is supporting NIH alumni associations in Mexico, South Africa, China, India and Brazil. Based on the overwhelming support for the effort, new associations are being launched in FY 2005: Russia, Malawi, and Central and Eastern Europe. A status report will be provided at the February meeting.

Trauma and Injury Network Meeting:

The first network meeting for the diverse Fogarty International Collaborative Trauma and Injury Research Training Program (ICTRIT) was held at the Stone House on August 9, 2005. All seven ICTRIT awardees presented their training programs; and lessons learned, from the perspective of an experienced international training and research program, were shared with the group by Dr. Eileen Seese of the University of Washington’s AIDS International Training Research Program. Other discussions at the meeting focused on distance learning tools, financial management and arranging subcontracts with host country institutions, development of in-country surveillance infrastructures to collect injury data, cross program sharing, bioethics, program evaluation and tracking trainees.

International Leadership Program for Women in the Health Sciences:

As a follow up to the October 2003 FIC-sponsored “Colloquium on Career Paths for Women in the Health Sciences: A Global Perspective”, the Fogarty International Center held a workshop for women health scientists with a focus on professional development and gaining leadership skills. The training session, which drew on experts from the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women of Drexel University, was held May 30 – June 1 at the Stone House. Trainees were from the Fogarty’s Global Health Research Initiative Program for New Foreign Investigators (GRIP) and training took place just prior to the first GRIP Network meeting. Twenty women researchers were offered sessions on basic leadership and career building skills. They participated in sessions to discuss career needs, the current climate for women in their home institutions, existing programs supporting women scientists in their country or region and obstacles to their career growth. Based on the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response to this effort, FIC plans to incorporate leadership training for women as an integral component into its extramural training programs. It is envisioned that core leadership skills could be provided, along with opportunities to conduct pilot projects by the women to utilize newfound skills as part of a mentored training effort.

Pilot Internet Mentoring Project for Women:

Building on a recommendation from the October 2003 FIC-sponsored “Colloquium on Career Paths for Women in the Health Sciences: A Global Perspective”, FIC is working with UNESCO and its Latin America Chair for Women in Science to create an Internet-based mentoring curriculum. Using software that connects up to 60 individuals around the world in real-time, the pilot will work to provide leadership skills to women via the Internet and create a training space for them to share perspectives and experiences. The first six months of planning the program is now underway.

V. Regional Activities

Expanding our Vision of Vision Research

On August 24, FIC and the National Eye Institute announced the signing of an Indo-U.S. Statement of Intent for collaboration on expansion of vision research. The agreement, signed by Dr. Maharaj Kisan Bhan, Secretary of the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, symbolizes an increased commitment to collaboration on eye disorders. The National Eye Institute, the lead NIH institute in the Indo-U.S. collaboration, has a historic relationship with India dating back to the 1980’s. The current agreement reflects an expansion of those earlier efforts into the following areas: genetics of eye diseases; clinical aspects of genetic eye diseases; harmonization of clinical measurement techniques and terminology; translational physiology; and identification, development, and exchange of research resources. FIC worked closely with a range of partners, including the DBT and the US embassy in India, to develop the agreement, which was ultimately signed at the Lawton Chiles International House.

Convening internationalists across NIH:

In its role as chief coordinator of NIH international efforts, FIC convened on May 10 its bi-monthly meeting of IC international representatives. Among the areas of discussion included NIH support for the Civilian Research and Development Foundation, a Congressionally created NGO aimed at providing civilian research opportunities to former weapons scientists from the Former Soviet Union states. FIC coordinates NIH’s support for CRDF.

World Health Assembly

At the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 16, 2005, the Honorable Mike Leavitt, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, convened a ministerial meeting on Avian Influenza, which has killed hundreds of millions of birds and could potentially lead to a global flue pandemic among humans. He invited representatives from the affected nations and donor countries together to discuss their ongoing efforts to contain an epidemic. The text of the Secretary’s remarks can be found at http://usinfo.state.gov/utils/printpage.html. FIC provided leadership and support to NIH in preparation for this year’s World Health Assembly, a meeting of all the participating nations in the World Health Organization.

Demystifying the State Department

In-service training for the Division of International Relations, other FIC staff, and NIH International Representatives took place on August 4 at the Lawton Chiles International House. The focus of the training was on the role of the State Department in advancing health and science. Included among the speakers were: Mr. Andy Reynolds, Deputy S&T Advisor to the Secretary of State; Mr. William Peters, director of the Office of Global Issues and Communications Information Programs; Ms. Katherine Bliss, Policy Advisor for Environmental Health Issues, Edward Howard, Deputy Director of the Office of Science & Technology Cooperation, and Dr. Mark Dybul, Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Chief Medical Officer.

VI. Outreach Efforts

Informing a range of audiences, including potential grant applicants of FIC-supported funding opportunities and other initiatives is a high priority. The Communications Director is leading a series of activities aimed at increasing awareness of FIC programs and initiatives: re-design of the website, creation and use of FIC grantee and other list-serves, expanding distribution of FIC news highlights, among others.

• Describing the links among research, global health, and foreign policy. FIC’s Acting Director participated in the Great Teachers Lecture Series sponsored by the Foreign Policy Association on July 13 at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA. Dr. Hrynkow discussed global pandemics and the roles of a range of agencies, including the World Health Organization, in addressing them. FIC’s Acting Director also presented to U.S. Foreign Service officers as part of the Global Issues training course of the State Department. FIC engages with these officers on a routine basis and plays a key role in informing them about high priority health and science issues that touch on US foreign policy concerns.
• Congressional briefing. At the request of Congressman Patrick Kennedy, FIC’s Acting Director provided an overview of FIC programs and priorities. As a result, the Congressman requested that FIC convene a second briefing for Congressional members and staff on the topic of global mental health issues (specific area of focus TBD), and he expressed interest in joining a FIC-Brown University sponsored event on global health activities supported by Rhode Island institutions of higher learning. The RI event is expected to take place in Spring 2006.
• National Academy of Sciences. In June, FIC’s Acting Director presented to two groups on FIC and NIH international priorities with a view toward identifying potential collaborative efforts. The groups were the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (Science and Engineering: Strategies for Capacity Building in Africa and their Long Term Impact on the U.S.”), and the Institute of Medicine’s Board on Global Health. At the latter, specific consideration was given to leadership training for women in science, and on the possibility of examining efforts to date on clean water as a global health tool.
• Foreign Visitors. The NIH Director and FIC Acting Director, along with sister ICs met over the past months with senior officials from abroad to discuss priority programs and interests and potential collaborations. Examples include:

The Ambassador of Malaysia, H. D. Dato’ Ghazzali and Dr. Zahratul Kamar Mahmud, Director of the Malaysian Students Department at the Malaysian embassy. Joining FIC in the discussions were NIDCR and the Clinical Center, along with two Malaysian scientists now working/training in the NIH intramural program.

The Spanish Minister of Education and Science, Maria Jesus Sansegundo, and her delegation met with FIC to discuss a range of programs. Following the discussion, the Minister met informally with Spanish scientists now participating in the NIH Visiting Program.

The Deputy Director of the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Yong Il Park, met with FIC to consider strengthening cooperation and to learn about FIC efforts on women in science and on re-entry programs. In a separate meeting, Members of the of the National Assembly of Korea and officials from the Embassy of Korea traveled to the U.S. for discussions on the use of the NIH model for conducting and supporting medical education and research training.

Minister Carlos Alfredo Lazary Teixeira of the Brazilian Embassy visited to discuss streamlining of NIH grant review in Brazil among other issues.

Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Dr. Chen Zhu visited NIH to discuss strengthening ties between NIH and CAS, particularly in the field of neuroscience; to solidify understanding of how the CAS would support expanding the GRIP, and to discuss upcoming events in China, including the launch of the Disease Control Priorities Project.

Indian Minister of Health, Dr. A. Ramadoss; Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Dr. N. K. Ganguly and Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology and Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. M. K. Bhan on June 6 for discussions on HIV/AIDS, stem cell and vision research, and training of scientists. On August 24, NIH and DBT signed a Letter of Intent to expand cooperation in vision research (see above). On August 29, FIC and DBT agreed to collaborate more closely on the GRIP program and on the NIH alumni association in India.

Dr. Sheng-Mou Hou, Minister of Health of Taiwan; Dr. Shiow-Wen Liou, Vice Supertendent of Taipei Municipal Hospital and Dr. Peter Chang, Director of International Cooperation, Department of Health on August 3 for discussions on priority setting at the NIH, its relationship with HHS, and international training.

FIC joined Acting Deputy Secretary Alex M. Azar II, HHS on June 6 in a roundtable discussion with a delegation of senior Russian officials composed of representatives of the Russian Federation State Duma, media, and leading business executives—Mr. Mr. Mikhail Grishankov, the First Deputy Chair of the State Duma’s Security Committee; Mr. Valery Zubov of the State Duma’s Committee on Credit Organizations and Financial Markets, Mr. Alexander Rodnyansky, General CTC Media and others—working to fight HIV/AIDS. The participants discussed opportunities for expanding U.S.-Russian bilateral collaboration on HIV/AIDS in follow-up to the September 2003 Camp David and the February 2005 Bratislava Summits, where Presidents Bush and Putin called for expanded bilateral pubic-private collaboration in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

FIC met with the Director of International Affairs Office, Chilean Ministry of Health, Dr. Roberto Tapia, on July 27 to explore potential areas of collaborations;

Azamat K. Abdymomunov, Vice-Minister of Science and Education, Kazakhstan on August 9 to discuss opportunities for training and exchange of Kazakh scientists and the sharing of U.S. expertise in biotechnology. Representatives from NIAID also joined the meeting.

FIC Acting Director met with the Minister of Health of Afghanistan in early September. Among the potential areas of action include consideration of training opportunities for Afghani scientists as part of FIC extramural programs, particularly in the area of trauma and injury. Consideration is also being given to enhance cooperation in information technology to improve health and research.

FIC invited the former Director of the Pakistani Medical Research Council, Dr. Tasleem Akhtar, to visit NIH May 23-24 for a series of discussions on science and health in the Muslim world. Dr. Akhtar spoke with a variety of NIH groups on a range of topics, including training issues for women in science in India and Pakistan.

VII. Upcoming Events of Interest to the Board:

Indigenous People’s Research.

FIC will attend and support the travel of indigenous peoples’ representatives to the International Network for Indigenous Health Knowledge and Development conference to be held in Vancouver, B.C. October 1-4. Prior to the conference, the FIC Acting Director will meet with counterparts from Canada, New Zealand and Australia to consider a new collaboration in indigenous people’s research. This is in keeping with the discussion at the May Board meeting with Dr. Jeff Reading, Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Institute of Aboriginal Health and the recently signed NIH-CIHR agreement on this topic. FIC is exploring the possibility of supporting a jointly developed program with other international partners, and NCHMD, in FY 2006.

Pipeline issues.

FIC and AAMC will convene a working group to discuss strategies to engage U.S. medical residents in international clinical research. Recognizing the talent and the enthusiasm of U.S. medical students for foreign training experiences (e.g. through the FIC-Ellison program), this workshop will consider how to continue to support these individuals during their residencies so that they can continue with international projects and interests. Barriers and opportunities will be discussed. Input from the Board in advance of the September 26 meeting is welcomed. Board members are invited to join the discussion.

Lawton Chiles International Lecture.

The seventh annual lecture will take place on Friday, October 7, 2005 from 10:30 to noon at the LCIH. The guest speaker this year will be Jose Ignacio Santos, M.Sc., M.D., Director General of the Hostpital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez, Mexico City. He will speak on “Defining Mexico’s Priorities in Pediatric Research, Education and Training.” Board Members are invited to attend. The lecture series is sponsored by the FIC and NICHD.

Barmes Lecture in Global Health.

Speaker will be Dr. Rita Colwell. Global Climate, Environmental Pathogens, and Human Health: a New Paradigm. November 15, Masur Auditorium. Sponsored each year by Fogarty and NIDCR.

NIH Director’s Pioneer Award Symposium, September 29, Masur Auditorium, 8:15 am to 3 pm. FY 2004 Pioneer Awardees will present, and the FY 2005 Pioneer Award Recipients will be announced.

Working with NIHs around the world:

The FIC Acting Director represented the NIH Director at a recent meeting of heads of international research organizations. The meeting, held in London, UK in June, explored capacity building programs in Africa, among other items. Expected actions to be taken as a result of the discussion include development of metrics to share information on global health research spending, and to identify specific areas of cooperation on training of African scientists.

Upcoming Travel of the FIC Acting Director:

Vancouver, B.C., Canada, to participate in the international conference on indigenous people’s health and to meet with indigenous peoples groups. October 1-4.

China and Korea, October 11 - 17, to explore stronger ties with the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) and the Ministry of Science and Technology, respectively, and to participate and present at the Shanghai conference on Healthy people 2020: Alcohol, Obesity and Diabetes Workshop sponsored by the CAS and NIH/NIAAA.

Alaska. Keynote presentation at annual conference of Alaskan Public Health Association, Anchorage, November.

VIII. Staff Publications (selected):

Zerhouni, EA and Hrynkow, SH. Moving Beyond Disciplines and Geography to Support Health Research: The NIH Experience. Published as part of the Global Forum for Health Research, September 13 – 18, Mumbai, India.

Cecile Viboud, Rebecca F. Grais, Bernard A. P. Lafont, Mark A. Miller, and Lone Simonsen. Multinational Impact of the 1968 Hong Kong Influenza Pandemic: Evidence for a Smoldering Pandemic. JID 2005:192 (15 July) * 000

Smith DL, Dushoff J, Morris G Jr. Agricultural antibiotics and human health. PLoS Med 2(8): e232.

Ramanan Laxminarayan, Mead Over, David L. Smith. Will a Global Subsidy of Artemisinin-Based Combination Treatment (ACT) for Malaria Delay the Emergence of Resistance and Save Lives? World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3670, July 2005

Prudhomme WA, FE McKenzie, AJ Magill, JR Forney, B Permpanich, C Lucas, RA Gasser Jr, C Wongsrichanalai. Sources of variability in determining malaria parasite density by microscopy. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 73: (in press, September 1 issue).

O'Meara WP, JG Breman, FE McKenzie. Intermittent preventive malaria treatment in Tanzanian infants. Lancet 366: 545.

O'Meara WP, JG Breman, FE McKenzie. The promise and potential challenges of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in infants (IPTi). Malaria Journal 4: 33.

McKenzie FE, WA Prudhomme, AJ Magill, JR Forney, C Lucas, B Permpanich, RA Gasser Jr, C Wongsrichanalai. WBC counts and malaria. Journal of Infectious Diseases 192: 323-330.

McKenzie FE. Polyparasitism. International Journal of Epidemiology 34: 221-222.

McKenzie FE, WH Bossert. An integrated model of Plasmodium falciparum dynamics. Journal of Theoretical Biology 232: 411-426.

Le Menach A, FE McKenzie, A Flahault, DL Smith. The unexpected importance of mosquito oviposition behavior in malaria transmission: demographic sinks can be sources for infection. Malaria Journal 4: 23.

Smith KF, AP Dobson, FE McKenzie, LA Real, DL Smith, ML Wilson. Ecological theory to enhance infectious disease control and public health policy. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 3: 29-37.

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