Announcements

Community Outreach

• Director’s Council 2009 Nomination Process Is Now Open
  When: September 26, 2008
  Institute: Office of the Director (OD)

  The NIH Director is seeking nominees to the Director’s Council of Public Representatives (COPR). The COPR advises the NIH Director on cross-cutting related to medical research and health issues of public interest that ultimately promote individual, family, and community health. The COPR consists of up to 21 individuals selected from among the diverse communities that benefit from, and have an interest in, NIH research, programs, and activities.
  
  New members will be notified of their conditional appointments in time for the April 2009 COPR meeting. All nominees will be notified regarding the final appointees in the summer of 2009. More

  Next Steps
  Nominations are due Friday, September 26, 2008, and are available online at http://copr.nih.gov/nomination.asp. To request a nomination form by mail, contact the COPR Resource Staff by phone at (301) 650-8660, ext. 269, by fax at (301) 650-7172, or by e-mail at COPR1@palladianpartners.com.
  
  For more information, please visit the following Web sites:
  
  Nomination instructions: http://copr.nih.gov/nomination.asp
  
  Background on the COPR: http://copr.nih.gov
  
  COPR fact sheet: http://copr.nih.gov/factsheet.asp
  
  COPR member biographies: http://copr.nih.gov/current_members.asp

Grants and Funding

• NIH Peer Review Gets an Upgrade
  Institute: Office of the Director (OD)

  Last year, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni appointed two working groups to examine the peer-review process at NIH. All applications for grants and funding from NIH undergo several rounds of review, during which “peers” who are knowledgeable in a given field of research evaluate the strength and merit of the applications. NIH’s intramural working group recently completed its report to Dr. Zerhouni containing recommendations for improving the peer-review process.
  
  Key improvements include evaluating new forms of high-bandwidth electronic review and rewarding outstanding and sustained review service. NIH will also redesign grant applications to stress impact, determine a minimum number of new-to-NIH and early-stage investigators to support, create a new Roadmap for Medical Research grant mechanism, and reduce the multiple-round resubmission burden for highly graded applications. More

  Next Steps
  You can find more information about the enhancements to NIH peer review at http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/calendar.html.

Kidney and Urinary System

• Strategic Plan for Prostate Disease Research Published
  Institute: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

  NIDDK recently published a strategic plan for research into benign prostate disease. The NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan addresses four major research areas judged critical for advancing the field. These include basic science, epidemiology and population-based studies, translational research, and clinical sciences.
  
  The new plan is targeted toward a broad audience of researchers, clinicians, advocacy groups, representatives of funding organizations, and patients. Each major section includes a mission statement, a plain-language summary, an overview of current knowledge, and high-priority recommendations for future research. More

  Next Steps
  To read and download a PDF of the NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan, go to http://www2.niddk.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/318606D2-A9D1-4CAD-B9BF-8EB3009C83BE/0/NIDDKProstateStrategicPlan.pdf. To purchase the plan in print or CD format, visit
  http://catalog.niddk.nih.gov/PubType.cfm?Type=182&CH=NKUDIC.

Mental Health and Behavior

• New Mental Health Strategic Plan Released
  Institute: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  NIMH has developed a new Strategic Plan. The document serves as a guide to the Institute for advancing mental health science over the next five years. Its development has been a collaborative effort among scientific experts, advocacy groups, Institute staff, and more than 500 members of the public who provided input.
  
  NIMH’s mission is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cures. For NIMH to continue fulfilling this vital public health mission, the Institute must foster innovative thinking and ensure that a full array of novel scientific perspectives are used to further discovery in the evolving science of brain, behavior, and experience. In this way, breakthroughs in science can become breakthroughs for all people with mental illnesses. More

  Next Steps
  You can view NIMH’s new Strategic Plan online at www.nimh.nih.gov/about/strategic-planning-reports or download a PDF version at www.nimh.nih.gov/about/strategic-planning-reports.

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