Extramural Policy and Review Activities

Receipt, Referral, and Review

NIDA received 955 applications, including both primary and dual assignments for which the Office of Extramural Affairs (OEA) managed the programmatic referral process during this council cycle. Of these, NIDA received the primary assignment on 674 applications.

OEA arranged and managed 16 review meetings in which 295 applications were evaluated. OEA's reviews included applications in chartered, standing review committees; applications in conflict-of-interest with standing committees; and submissions to special initiatives. In addition, OEA's Contracts Review Branch (CRB) arranged and managed 5 contract proposal reviews and one concept review.

NIDA's chartered committees consist of NIDA-E (Treatment Review Committee), NIDA-F (Health Services Review Committee), NIDA-L (Medications Development Committee), and NIDA-K (Training Committee). In addition to meetings of each of these committees, OEA staff held four Special Emphasis Panels to review applications in conflict with the chartered committees. Special Emphasis Panels were also constituted for the Minority Institutions Drug Abuse Research Development Program (MIDARP), Centers applications, two Program Projects, Behavioral Science Track Award for Rapid Transition (B/START), Conference Grants, and Cutting Edge Basic Research Awards (CEBRA). Two Special Emphasis Panels reviewed RFA submissions.

OEA managed the following RFA reviews:

• DA 04-001: Stress and Drug Abuse: Epidemiology, Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment
• DA 04-002: Neuroimaging the Effects of Drugs of Abuse on the Development of the Human Nervous System

Completed Reviews from the Contracts Review Branch since the last Council are as follows:

• N01DA-4-8842: Non-clinical ADME Studies
• N01DA-4-8841: Toxicological Evaluations of Potential Medications To Treat Drug Addiction
• N01DA-4-2203: Clinical Trials Network Pharmacy Support
• N01DA-4-1203: National Hispanic Science Network On Drug Abuse
• N01DA-4-7745: NIDA Center for Genetic Studies

Concept Reviews:

• N01DA-4-8844: Analytical Chemistry and Stability Testing of Treatment Drugs

The CTN Protocol Review Board met in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on August 13-14, 2003, to review the fourth wave of new protocols. A second meeting was held on December 18, 2003, to review the recommended revisions to the new protocols.

Extramural Outreach

Dr. Teri Levitin, Director, OEA, spoke to graduate students and faculty at the University of Virginia, Department of Psychology about NIDA and NIH review procedures and policies.

Dr. Levitin participated in the NIDA Minority Health Scholars Network meeting, speaking about extramural issues, including review at NIDA and CSR.

Mr. Richard Harrison, OEA, participated in the Annual Conference of American Indian Science and Engineering Society in Albuquerque, New Mexico and managed the NIDA exhibit for that conference's Career Fair.

Staff Training and Development

The OEA Symposium Series, a forum for staff training and sharing of ideas and information, continued through the summer. Topics addressed have included stimulating creativity among grantees, special grant mechanisms for innovative research and junior investigators, and policy updates. The symposium series is organized and hosted by Dr. Mark Swieter.

Other Activities

The OEA has continued to assist in meeting requirements related to the President's Management Agenda objective regarding competitive sourcing, with staff involved in various aspects of the NIH competition of grants support functions.

Dr. Teri Levitin served on an NIH-wide committee on review criteria for clinical research/clinical trials applications.

Dr. Levitin continues to serve on the NIH Roadmap committee that is developing the NIH Director's Pioneer Award.

Dr. William Grace, OEA, provided staff support for the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse Workgroup on HIV/AIDS, coordinating its meetings and working with its members and NIDA staff to facilitate its activities.

Dr. Rita Liu, OEA, co-organized the NIDA mini convention at the 2003 Society for Neuroscience Meetings and co-chaired a session on "Structure, Function and Regulation of the Dopamine Transporter" that was part of the mini convention.

Drs. Khursheed Asghar, Chief, Basic Sciences Review Branch, OEA; Teri Levitin, Director, OEA; and Rita Liu, Associate Director for Receipt and Referral, attended the Society for Neuroscience and represented NIDA at the booth and other several events at this meeting.