NINDS Advisory Council Meeting Minutes, May 30 - 31, 2002

• I. Call to Order and Opening Remarks
• II. Report of the Associate Director for Extramural Research
• III. Report of the Acting Director, NINDS
• IV. FDA-Approved Drug Screening Project
• V. Stem Cell Line Availability
• VI. Budget Funding Strategy for FY2003
• VII. Council Subcommittee Reports
• VIII. Council Review of Pending Applications
• IX. Adjournment

Department of Health and Human Services
Public Health Service
National Institutes of Health
National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council

Summary of Meeting¹
May 30-31, 2002

The National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council was convened for its 154th meeting on May 30-31, 2002, in Building 31, Conference Room 10, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Audrey Penn, Acting Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), served as Chairperson.

In accordance with Public Law 92-463, the meeting was:

Open: May 30, 2002 --10:40 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.

for the review and discussion of program development, needs, and policy; and

Closed: May 30, 2002 - 3:50 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.
May 31, 2002 - 8:30 a.m. to 10:10 a.m.

for the consideration of individual grant applications.

Council members present were:

Mr. Ronald Bartek
Ms. Jeanne Carpenter (absent 5/31)
Dr. Apostolos Georgopoulos
Dr. John Griffin (absent 5/31)
Dr. Julian Hoff
Dr. Daniel Lowenstein
Ms. Ellyn Phillips
Dr. Joshua Sanes
Dr. Sally Shaywitz
Dr. Ira Shoulson
Dr. Lydia Villa-Komaroff
Mr. Robert Waterman

Council members absent were:

Dr. Keith Black
Dr. Uta Francke
Ms. Kathy Hunter
Dr. Peter MacLeish
Mr. Brad Margus
Dr. Richard Tsien

Council Roster (Attachment 1)

Ex Officio Members present:

Dr. Paul Hoffman, Department of Veterans Affairs
Dr. Geoffrey Ling, Department of Defense

¹For the record, it is noted that members absent themselves from the meeting when the Council is discussing applications (a) from their respective institutions or (b) in which a real or apparent conflict of interest might occur.

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Members of the public present for portions of the open meeting included:

Ms. Alison Bowers-Glaxo Smithkline
Ms. Nura Shehzad-The Blue Sheet
Ms. Lisa Cash-Spinal Cord Connections
Dr. Perry Cohen-PDF
Ms. Rachel Hunt - Analytical Sciences, Inc.
Ms. Stephanie Simons-National Multiple Sclerosis Society

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NINDS employees present for portions of the meeting included:

Dr. Audrey S. Penn
Dr. Constance Atwell
Dr. Cheryl Kitt
Dr. Al Kerza
Dr. William Heetderks
Dr. Paul Nichols
Dr. Robert Baughman
Dr. Eugene Oliver
Dr. Alan Willard
Dr. Arlene Chiu
Ms. Joellen Harper
Dr. Toby Behar
Dr. Emmeline Edwards
Ms. Cikena Reid
Ms. Lynn Morin
Dr. John Marler
Dr. Claudia Moy
Dr. Raul Saavedra
Ms. Marian Emr
Dr. Giovanna Spinella
Dr. Scott Janis
Dr. Naomi Kleitman
Dr. Danilo Tagle
Dr. Jill Heemskerk
Ms. Quandra Scudder
Ms. Margo Warren
Dr. Story Landis
Ms. Pam Jones
Dr. Thomas Miller
Dr. Ursula Utz
Ms. Rebecca Claycamp
Mr. Gahan Breithaupt
Ms. Nena Wells
Dr. David Eckstein
Dr. David Jett
Ms. Susan Free
Ms. Toya Rogers
Ms. Maria Garcia
Ms. Marvene Horwitz
Ms. Gladys Bohler
Dr. Eugene Major
Dr. Paul Sheehy
Ms. Ruth Linn
Mr. Andy Baldus
Dr. Robert Zalutsky
Dr. Paul Scott
Mr. Paul Girolami
Dr. Diane Murphy
Dr. Henry Khachaturian
Dr. Meredith Temple-O'Connor
Dr. Deborah Hirtz
Ms. Sylvia Parsons
Dr. Tom Jacobs
Dr. Yuan Liu
Dr. Meenaxi Hiremath
Ms. Karen Bateman
Dr. Laura Mamounas
Dr. Ernest Lyons
Dr. Andrea Sawczuk
Dr. Bernard Ravina
Dr. Melinda Kelley
Dr. Katrina Gwinn-Hardy
Mr. Phillip Wiethorn
Ms. Liz Geiger
Ms. Margaret Jacobs
Mr. Levon Parker
Dr. Richard Crosland
Dr. Sussan Paydar
Ms. Carol Rowan
Dr. Gaya Jeyarasasingam
Mr. Paul Myers
Dr. Susan Daniels
Dr. Gabriel Leblanc
Ms. Maureen Hambrecht
Dr. Robert Finkelstein
Dr. Alfred Gordon
Dr. Carlos Pena
Dr. Randall Stewart
Ms. Stephanie Clipper
Ms. Robin Latham
Dr. Mary Ellen Michel
Dr. Frances Yee

Other Federal employees present for portions of the meeting included:

Dr. David Armstrong
Dr. Gillian Einstein-CSR

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I. Call to Order and Opening Remarks

Dr. Audrey Penn, Acting Director, NINDS, welcomed Council members, guests and staff to the 154th Council meeting. She announced that there had been a fire at Morehouse College in Dr. MacLeish's lab that they would hear more about later, and he would be unable to attend the Council meeting. It is the last Council meeting for Dr. Hoff, Ms. Hunter, Dr. Francke, and Dr. Tsien. Dr. Penn expressed appreciation for their service and contribution to the Council. She announced that the new slate of Council members was with the Department of HHS, and she is waiting to receive final word from them.

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II. Report of the Associate Director for Extramural Research

Government in the Sunshine Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act

Dr. Constance Atwell, Associate Director for Extramural Research, NINDS, reviewed the Government in the Sunshine Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Acts, which require the Department of Health and Human Services to open to public observation as many advisory committee meetings as possible, including the National Advisory Councils. The NANDS Council meeting was open to the public, except during the review of grant applications. Notice of the date and place for the Council meeting was published in the Federal Register thirty days prior to the meeting.

Conflict of Interest

The regulations concerning conflict of interest were reviewed. Council members were reminded that materials furnished for review purposes and discussion during the closed portions of the meeting are considered privileged information. All Council members present signed a statement certifying that they did not participate in the discussion of, or vote on, an application from any organization, institution, or any part of a university system, of which they are an employee, consultant, officer, director or trustee, or in which they have a financial interest. Institutions or organizations which have multi-campus institution waivers, or are specifically designated as separate organizations under 18 U.S.C. 208(a), are exempt from this provision.

Consideration of Minutes of Previous Council Meeting

The minutes of the Council meeting of February 14-15, 2002, were considered and accepted as written.

Consideration of Dates for Future Council Meetings

The following dates for future Council meetings were reconfirmed:

• September 12-13, 2002 (Thursday and Friday)
• February 6-7, 2003 (Thursday and Friday)
• May 22-23, 2003 (Thursday and Friday)
• September 18-19, 2003 (Thursday and Friday)
• February 12-13, 2004 (Thursday and Friday)
• May 27-28, 2004 (Thursday and Friday)
• September 9-10, 2004 (Thursday and Friday)

Other Items

Reports Book -- The Reports Book consists of applications that have been designated for funding since the last Council meeting. It includes interim actions that have been taken and the status of applications that were identified for High Program Priority. Dr. Atwell encouraged Council to communicate their preferences for funding to the staff.

Expedited Review Process -- One hundred twenty eight applications were eligible for expedited award, and 57 have already been awarded.

New Staff - Dr. Atwell introduced Dr. Frances Yee, a new program analyst in the Clinical Trials Cluster.

Parkinson's Disease Consortium - Council has a copy of the updated assessment of the Institute's efforts to fulfill the Parkinson's Disease agenda mandated by Congress. The report has also been sent to Congress. Since the consortium resulted in recommendations for the government, per the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the recommendations are hereby presented to Council for concurrence. A motion was moved, seconded, and passed to accept the recommendations outlined in the report.

Support for New Investigators - Former NIH Director Harold Varmus made support for new investigators a priority for NIH. He established a policy that NIH would strive to maintain the same number of funded new investigators as were funded the year the R29 mechanism was discontinued. "New investigator" is defined as a first-time R01 grantee. A new investigator is one who has not previously served as a principal investigator on any PHS-supported research project other than a small grant (R03), an Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15), an exploratory/developmental grant (R21), or certain research career awards. NINDS has generally maintained a pattern of keeping or increasing the number of new investigators over the years. Statistics were given to Council showing the success rate of new investigators' applications. Institutes employ different strategies to ensure a stable number of new investigators. One of the methods used by NINDS to encourage new investigators is to consider applications from new investigators for High Program Priority (HPPs).

Morehouse School of Medicine - Dr. Atwell, Dr. Alfred Gordon, and Joellen Harper went to Atlanta to view the damage and to offer their support. Dr. Atwell described the extent of the fire and the actions that took place immediately after the fire to repair the laboratory. She praised Morehouse College's administration, which quickly assembled a team of senior management staff to deal with issues of replacement, insurance, and finding alternative laboratory space for the investigators.

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III. Report of the Acting Director, NINDS

Dr. Audrey Penn commended Morehouse College for its rapid and competent response to the problems associated with the fire. She said support will be available from NIH and other sources to defray the costs of repair and replacement.

Dr. Penn reported that new NIH Director, Dr. Elias Zerhouni presided at the most recent Institute/Center Directors' meeting. One of the major items on the agenda was the budget for moving staff, patients, and equipment into the new NIH Clinical Center. Dr. Penn and others will be working on move issues for NINDS in the upcoming weeks. Dr. Zerhouni is focusing on formulating NIH's budget for the upcoming fiscal year and has planned an NIH wide budget retreat June 1. He has asked for reports from the institutes on the results of the doubling of the budget. He is also interested in what NIH is doing in translational research. He is committed to filling the institute director vacancies at NINDS, NIMH, and NIDA. The new director of the Office of AIDS Research, Dr. Jack Whitescarver, was just announced.

NINDS's budget will be discussed in detail later in the agenda; however, Dr. Penn reminded the Council that the President's Fiscal Year 2003 budget for NIH is $27,259,000, up 15.7%, and NINDS' budget is $1,443,000, up 8.4%.

Applications were filed electronically for the Loan Repayment Program. The process was supervised by Marck Horowitz, who manages the loan repayment program for the Intramural Division. A special committee was assembled, chaired by Dr. Roger Simon, to review the applications. Of the 50 applications NINDS received, 28 fulfilled all financial criteria and were reviewed. Twenty NINDS grant-holders were recommended for funding: 7 K08s, 7 K23s, 1 K02, 2 R01s, 1 T32, 1 R21, and 1 U54 awardee. The institute is awaiting information on the final funding policy from NIH-OER and the Loan Repayment Committee.

The House Appropriations Committee hearings took place in March. The House of Representatives Appropriations Labor, HHS, and Education subcommittee has a new chair, Rep. Ralph Regula, who is becoming acquainted with the appropriation issues related to NIH. The theme of the hearing was, "Bench to Bedside." NINDS presented its work on Parkinson's Disease as the model for inter-institute cooperation. In addition to the appropriation hearings, the Senate subcommittee had a separate meeting on Parkinson's Disease.

Dr. Atwell made the following staff announcements: Dr. Lillian Pubols, Scientific Review Branch Chief, retired, and the search for her replacement is underway. Ms. Joellen Harper, Grants Management Branch Chief, was congratulated for her selection as a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. At the completion of the one-year program, Ms. Harper will return to NINDS. The search for her replacement is also taking place.

Dr. Penn called attention to the Stroke Progress Review Group report and expressed appreciation to Dr. Thomas Jacobs and staff for producing it and making it available on the NINDS website. NINDS is committed to implementing the recommendations.

Dr. Penn invited Dr. Jill Heemskerk, program director in the Technology Development Cluster, to report on the Neurodegeneration Drug Screening Project.

A copy of Dr. Penn's presentation is attached as Appendix 1.

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IV. FDA-Approved Drug Screening Project

Dr. Jill Heemskerk, Program Director, Technology Development Cluster, explained that drug screening is a drug discovery approach that has been used in industry for many years. In academia, drug screening has been used more recently for both drug discovery and research purposes. The approach involves the testing of a diverse collection of drugs for an effect on a simple model of a disease or biological process. Like a classical genetic approach to biological problems, drug screening lacks mechanistic bias and has the potential to open up new fields by identifying unsuspected targets.

To date, academic researchers in the field of neurodegeneration have used drug screening very little. The NINDS Drug Screening Program for Neurodegeneration was developed in response to Planning Panel recommendations and the PD research agenda. One initiative in this program is formation of the FDA-approved Drug Screening Consortium.

This Consortium was organized as a partnership between NINDS and three Voluntary Groups: The Huntington's Disease Society of America, The ALS Association, and The Hereditary Disease Foundation. The goal was to test a collection of 1,040 drugs for activity in simple models of neurodegeneration. The tests were conducted in 26 laboratories, and were done blinded to avoid bias. The investigators met in April 2002 to compare the results and learn the identity of the drugs with activity in 29 different assays of neurodegeneration.

The drug collection was a modified version of a collection produced by Microsource Discovery Systems, which contains mostly FDA approved compounds as well as natural products and other molecules with known biological activity. NINDS modified the existing collection to include controlled substances known to cross the blood brain barrier, and other drugs thought to affect neurodegeneration processes, such as caspase inhibitors. Because many of these compounds are FDA approved for use in humans, active compounds may be brought to the clinic more rapidly than compounds with no history of human use.

The goals of the testing were two-fold: to look for candidates for clinical testing and to look for drugs that may be useful in research aimed at understanding the mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

The models tested covered a wide range of complexity, from purified proteins through cells and yeast to whole organisms such as worms and flies. The common theme of all assays is that they represent an aspect of neurodegeneration. This includes mitochondrial dysfunction, cell death, protein aggregation, and toxicity of disease-causing proteins.

Two kinds of data emerge from drug screening experiments. The first is the identification of molecules with very potent activities. These hits were reported to an NINDS database and were discussed at a meeting in April 2002 of the consortium investigators. The results are preliminary and will require confirmation via secondary screens and animal testing.

A second approach to drug screening data analysis is to use a statistical approach to looking for meaningful activities. This approach considers all activities to look for patterns among the various assays, rather than focusing only on the most active compounds. This analysis can be very informative about the kinds of cellular events that operate in neurodegeneration and how much commonality there is among different neurodegenerative diseases. The statistical analysis is underway and is expected to be completed later in the summer.

During the question and answer session, Dr. Heemskerk explained that there are efforts underway to apply the drug screening process to other diseases and that there is some overlap in assays.

Dr. Jeffrey Rothstein, Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, followed Dr. Heemskerk with a presentation on the drug screening project from the investigator's view: the value of the screening program and how it compares to his on-going work on ALS. He presented background on ALS and on the types of assays that are being used by the NIH Neurodegeneration Drug Screen Consortium. Seven compounds gave positive results in two or more ALS- relevant assays. Confirmation studies are underway, after which final drug candidates will move to clinical trials, if appropriate. There are "spill over" opportunities for other disorders, such as epilepsy, spinocerebellar ataxia, and brain tumor. The screening effort provides basic research and therapeutic opportunities for finding common pathways mediating cell death in ALS and other neurological diseases.

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V. Stem Cell Line Availability

In October 2001, Dr. Arlene Chiu, Program Director, Repair and Plasticity Cluster, presented to Council the President's new policy on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. Eight months later, she provided an update on current NIH-wide efforts to implement this new policy. She reviewed the criteria for federally-funded research grants, and specifically identified the types of research activities prohibited from federal funding. This information can be found on the NIH website http://escr.nih.gov. She pointed out that the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry, now up and running, lists fourteen stem cell providers and a current total of 78 cell lines. The Registry fulfills two functions: it provides a unique NIH code that identifies each cell line eligible for federal funding. It also provides contact information for anyone interested in obtaining the cell lines. The major issues faced by investigators wishing to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells include: 1) access to cell lines, 2) intellectual property issues (material transfer agreements), 3) IRB issues, 4) administrative issues, and 5) acquisition of skills and experience. Information addressing these and other issues, as well as funding opportunities for human ES stem cell research can be found on the NINDS website: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/research/stem_cell/index.htm

Dr. Michael Moskowitz, Professor, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Harvard University, and Co-Chair of the Stroke PRG Roundtable, discussed the first two of the five top priorities of the Stroke PRG: 1) Examine and change the nosology and diagnosis of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, based on gene screening and profiling technologies, and 2) Find the blood vessel-brain integrated function (neurovascular unit) and cerebral blood vessel interactions.

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VI. Budget Funding Strategy for FY2003

Dr. Atwell explained that her presentation would be a reprise of the discussion of the FY02 budget, which took place at the September 2001 Council meeting. The FY03 budget has not yet been finalized and may not actually be available until well into the new fiscal year. It was, therefore, considered important to make preliminary budget decisions for FY03 at this Council meeting so that we could plan for actions that will be brought to the September Council, which is the first round for FY03. This fiscal year (2002), NINDS has been operating with a $1.3 billion budget. If next year's budget is increased by 8.4% as anticipated, then the NINDS budget will have nearly doubled over the five years, beginning in 1998. The President's budget recommendation was for a 15.7% increase for NIH overall, equaling $27.259 billion. The individual institute budgets did not increase by the same margin due to the new $1.5 billion allocated to NIAID for bioterrorism research activities.

Dr. Atwell reviewed the breakdown of neuroscience research funding among the NIH institutes, showing NINDS funding almost 31%; NIMH, NEI, NIDA, and NIA funding from 8 - 14% each; and several other institutes funding smaller amounts. The budget categories were also reviewed for FY02 and projected for FY03, noting that almost 75% of the budget goes to research grants, and 75% of that is committed to noncompeting grants. In terms of the entire NINDS budget, noncompeting grants make up approximately half and almost 18% is devoted to competing grants. The Intramural program represents 9.5% of the total budget.

There was a discussion about Core center grants. It is hoped that new Core centers will eventually replace some program project grants. Core center grants are a more efficient use of funds than program projects, but there is no mechanism in place to encourage investigators to shift to core center grant applications, nor to prevent an investigator from applying for both. Dr. Atwell suggested that the Infrastructure Subcommittee discuss the issue and present recommendations to Council at the next meeting. Dr. Villa-Komaroff asked for numbers of applicants in the two categories.

The trend in number of SBIR/STTR, noncompeting, competing, and supplement grants from 1993 to 2003, and success rate percentages of single investigator and multi-component grant applications from 1997 to 2002 were reviewed. Council was given statistics showing the average increase in Type 2 awards from the average last Type 5 award, from FY98 to FY02. The amount increased annually until FY02, where it dropped to an average of a 30% increase over the last Type 5 amount due to the new FY02 funding strategy cuts. There was a discussion about placing a limit on the percentage increase that can be requested above the last grant, as other institutes have done, but it was pointed out that a limit as strict as 24% would only generate a 1% increase in additional funds available for new grants.

Council then turned to a model of the current funding strategy applied to the President's budget for FY03. Council was asked to suggest variations in the controlling mechanisms to result in the optimal funding strategy for FY03. Currently, modular grants are cut by 5%, nonmodular by 10%, the payline is set at the 23rd percentile, and there is approximately a 75/25% split between payline and set-aside spending. Dr. Lowenstein expressed concern for more funds for training grants and other strategies to encourage talented medical students to go into neuroscience. The training grants and loan repayment program are intended for that purpose. It was noted that there has been an increase in number of K08 and K23 applicants, and there are plans to expand the loan repayment program. A more general discussion about the NINDS budget included success rate differences between R01s and program project grants and the possibility of establishing different paylines for different mechanisms. NINDS has not done that so far. Different strategies were discussed, bearing in mind that a 5% cut on modular grants results in a 1 percentile gain in the payline. It is not anticipated that Congress will pass a larger budget than what the President has proposed. In FY04, the President's proposed increase in NIH's budget is 2.2%.

A copy of Dr. Atwell's presentation is attached as Appendix 2.

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VII. Council Subcommittee Reports

Training and Career Development Subcommittee

Dr. Julian Hoff, Chair of the Training and Career Development Subcommittee, reported that over the last three years, the subcommittee had re-evaluated and updated the K awards and training grants. Most modifications are being implemented and have had a positive impact. The subcommittee has also been dedicated to increasing the diversity of training grant awardees. Another priority has been to award more training grants for research on how HIV affects the brain. Dr. Hoff reported that the ANA conference last year was highly successful in reaching the goal of joining K03 and K23 awardees with mentors outside their own institutions. The same program will take place with ANA this year. Regarding the loan repayment issue, the average debt of a medical student after leaving medical school is $100,000. The financial burden discourages medical school graduates from going into research. NIH was authorized $28 million for the loan repayment program, with NINDS authorized to spend $1.3 million per year from its contract funds. The maximum award is $35,000 per year for two years. The Loan Repayment Committee agreed, after this first round, that the criteria for award needed to be refined. The criteria for NINDS awardees should include a demonstrated commitment to neuroscience research. The loan repayment program needs to be marketed more aggressively to medical school students, to add an incentive to go into neuroscience. The Committee will continue to work on the criteria throughout the next session. Dr. Penn pointed out that the criteria were established by an NIH-wide committee. The institutes cannot alter the criteria but can set priorities for funding within their institutes. The funds authorized for the program will double next year; however, eligibility will expand to non-NIH grantees. Dr. Shoulson suggested that the program should place more emphasis on supporting NRSA trainees and fellows. In response to a request, Dr. Atwell said she will present the Council's interest in NIH exploring a debt-servicing program to the NIH-wide committee for re-consideration, although it may need to be authorized by Congress. The Council agreed that the loan repayment program should be used as an incentive and reward for research in the neurosciences. Dr. Hoff then invited Dr. Henry Khachaturian, the Training and Career Development Branch Chief, to make a presentation on the first round of the loan repayment program for NINDS.

Dr. Khachaturian reported that NINDS received 28 eligible applications for the Loan Repayment Program (LRP). The Scientific Review Branch convened a panel composed of current and former members of the Training and Career Development Review Committee and other scientists. Of the 28 applications, 27 received a score (based on the NIH 1.0 - 5.0 scoring system) and 1 was unscored. NINDS intends to provide funds for the top 14 ranked LRP applications. In addition, an NINDS panel composed of Dr. Alan Willard, Dr. Raul Saavedra, and Dr. Henry Khachaturian met after the initial review to evaluate the merit of the remaining 14 applications. This panel identified an additional 6 applications for funding consideration by the Director. Dr. Khachaturian reviewed the purpose of and qualifications for the Loan Repayment Program for Clinical or Pediatric Research, as well as the application process and applicant requirements. He concluded by presenting a table displaying the number of applications and awards, broken down by grant awardee type.

Clinical Trials Subcommittee

Dr. Daniel Lowenstein, Chair of the Clinical Trials Subcommittee, reported that the subcommittee discussed how the subcommittee assigns relative priority of program relevance to proposals for funding. They agreed to change nomenclature from "priority" to "relevance." The new ratings will be: "extremely high relevance," "high relevance," and "relevant." The subcommittee also discussed the concept of having a large number of clinical centers work together. Four clinical trial proposals were reviewed. The clinical trial review system is working very well.

Dr. Penn thanked the Clinical Trials Subcommittee for all of their hard work.

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VIII. Council Review of Pending Applications

This portion of the meeting, involving specific grant review, was closed to the public. The Council gave special attention to applications from foreign institutions and other applications, which needed specific discussion.

Research Training and Career Development Programs

The Council reviewed a total of 73 research career development grant applications; of this total, 55 applications had primary assignment to NINDS, and 44 of them (80.0 percent) were recommended for support in the amount of $6.1 million first-year direct costs. It is anticipated that, of the research career development and institutional training grants competing at this Council, NINDS will be able to pay first-year direct costs of approximately $3.1 million.

Research Grant Awards

The Council reviewed a total of 1,379 research grant applications; of this total, 843 applications had primary assignment to NINDS, and 562 of them (66.7 percent) were recommended for support in the amount of $161.9 million first-year direct costs. It is anticipated that, of the research grants competing at this Council, NINDS will be able to pay first-year direct costs of approximately $55.7 million.

Senator Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Awards

The Senator Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Awards are made to distinguished investigators who have a record of scientific excellence and productivity, who are actively pursuing an area of research of strategic importance, and who can be expected to continue to be highly productive for a seven-year period. Candidates are nominated and selected at each Council meeting. At this meeting, the Council recommended four investigators as Javits awardees.

Small Business Innovation Research and Small Technology Transfer Award Programs

The Council reviewed a total of 151 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Technology Transfer Award (STTR) grant applications; of this total, 85 applications had primary assignment to NINDS and 49 of them (57.6 percent) were recommended for support in the amount of $8.1 million first-year direct costs. It is anticipated that, of the SBIR and STTR applications competing at this Council, NINDS will be able to pay first-year direct costs of approximately $4.0 million.

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IX. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 a.m. on Friday, May 31.

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We certify that, to the best of our knowledge, the foregoing minutes and attachments are accurate and complete.

_______________________________
Constance W. Atwell, Ph.D.
Executive Secretary
National Advisory Neurological Disorders
and Stroke Council
Associate Director for Extramural Research
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

_______________________________
Audrey S. Penn, M.D.
Acting Chairperson
National Advisory Neurological Disorders
and Stroke Council
Acting Director
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

These minutes will be formally considered by the Council at its next meeting. Corrections or notations will be incorporated in the minutes of that meeting.

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A complete, printed copy of the Council minutes, including attachments, may be obtained by contacting:

Mrs. Ruth Linn
Committee Management Specialist
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Neuroscience Center, Suite 3309
6001 Executive Boulevard, MSC 9531
Rockville, MD 20852-9531
(301) 496-9248
(301) 402-4370 (FAX)
linnr@ninds.nih.gov