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December 2004
The National Children's Study Federal Advisory Committee (NCSAC) has played an important role in the development of the Study to date and will continue to provide important advice and recommendations as the Study moves into the implementation phase. As the Study establishes initial Study sites and a clinical coordinating center through a competitive contracting process, there needs to be a brief hiatus in meetings of the NCSAC. This is a good time for some needed changes in focus, leadership, and membership of the committee consonant with the progress of the Study.
Dr. Donald Mattison, chair, and Ms. Jan Leahey, executive secretary of the NCSAC, have greatly expanded their responsibilities at National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in the new Obstetric and Pediatric Pharmacology Branch that includes the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Program. Consequently, they proposed that in concert with the progression of the National Children's Study, the time is right for adjustment in the structure and transition of leadership for the NCSAC. Dr. Duane Alexander, director, NICHD, has decided, in consultation with Dr. Mattison, and Dr. Peter Scheidt, director of the National Children's Study, to nominate Dr. Alan Fleischman to become acting chair of the NCSAC and Dr. Marion Balsam to take on the role of executive secretary. These nominations will become final after amendment of the Charter of the NCSAC and approval by the Director of the National Institutes of Health. In the interim, they are able to convene and conduct NCSAC meetings and assist in the process of filling current vacancies for the committee. |
Dr. Fleischman has been a member of the NCSAC since its inception. He is a pediatrician, neonatologist, and bioethicist and is presently working in the National Children's Study Program Office as well as at the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Balsam, a pediatrician and retired Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, is also presently working in the Study's Program Office.
As we thank Dr. Mattison and Ms. Leahey for their valuable service to the National Children's Study, we look forward to a smooth transition and continuing excellence in guidance and advice from the NCSAC. |