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Summary of the Open Session of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council Meeting -- May 13, 2004
Until the official minutes of the May 13-14, 2004, meeting of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council (NAGMSC) are posted on this Web site, we are providing this summary of the major topics covered during the Council’s open session on May 13.
Center for Scientific Review (CSR) Update
Dr. Brent Stanfield, Acting Director of NIH’s Center for Scientific Review (CSR), provided an update on CSR’s study section reorganization activities, the unprecedented numbers of applications CSR is receiving for review, and the technologies CSR has adopted to enhance the peer review process. Dr. Stanfield reported that CSR’s reorganization, as recommended by the Panel on Scientific Boundaries for Review (PSBR), is continuing to move forward on schedule (see http://www.csr.nih.gov/review/reorgact.asp). In the implementation phase of the reorganization, 12 Integrated Review Groups (IRGs) have been completely reorganized, and their component study sections have been created thus far. Guidelines for study sections that will compose the remaining four IRGs to be reorganized have been recommended by the CSR Advisory Committee and approved by the CSR Director. All IRGs that will be reorganized as a result of the PSBR process are expected to be established by early 2005. Dr. Stanfield also reported that the PSBR reorganization is taking place at a time when unprecedented numbers of grant applications are being submitted to NIH. In FY 2002, the number of applications received for CSR review increased by 17 percent over the previous year. In FY 2003, the numbers jumped again, by 24 percent. In FY 2004, CSR is on pace to receive yet another record number of applications. Dr. Stanfield discussed innovations in peer review, including distribution of applications to reviewers on CDs instead of paper, and NIH’s Internet Assisted Review system. Finally, he spoke about issues related to the review of applications from new investigators. For more information on CSR and to view a video of a mock study section, visit http://www.csr.nih.gov/video/video.asp.
Contact: Contact: Dr. Karl Malik, MalikK@csr.nih.gov, 301-435-1114
Update on Large Grant Working Group
The first meeting of the Large Grant Working Group of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council was held on May 12, 2004. The working group, chaired by Dr. Richard Morimoto, includes Council members Dr. Stanley Fields, Dr. Gregory Reyes, Dr. Laura Weiss Roberts, Dr. Susan Taylor, and Dr. Douglas Lauffenburger, who could not attend the first meeting. The meeting focused on general issues related to evaluation of the large NIGMS-funded grant programs, including the glue grants, the Protein Structure Initiative, the Pharmacogenetics Research Network, and the NIGMS Centers of Excellence in Complex Biological Systems Research. The group will plan and implement a process to analyze and evaluate processes, tools, and timing of the review of mechanisms. In addition, the group plans to focus ways in which the large grants can coordinate efforts and results across programs.
Concept Clearance: Genetic/Genomic Resources for Emerging Models
Several research groups have presented convincing cases that the genome of their chosen model organism deserves to be sequenced. However, obtaining the sequence is only the beginning. The ability to conduct comprehensive functional and comparative analyses often requires additional technology and resource development specific to the model system being studied. Dr. Anthony Carter described a proposed program announcement to support the development of genetic and genomic tools and resources for the study of promising model organisms, whose genomic research is still at an early stage of development. Dr. Carter provided a profile of the general characteristics of model organisms that would be considered responsive to the proposed program announcement, and he presented background information on selection of the R24 (research resource grant) funding mechanism. The program will emphasize research community input and prioritization of needs. Applicants must ensure that reagents, technologies, and resources developed under this initiative will be made widely available to the research community. Applications must include specific plans for data sharing and exercising intellectual property rights. Dr. Carter requested, and received, Council approval for soliciting proposals to seed resource and technology development for promising model systems.
Contact: Dr. Anthony D. Carter, cartera@nigms.nih.gov, 301-594-0943
NIH Roadmap Update
The NIH Roadmap for Medical Research has become a reality. Dr. Jeremy M. Berg briefly described the Roadmap process and ongoing implementation efforts. The first grants funded through the Roadmap process are being reviewed during this Council meeting. Dr. Berg summarized the current status of the Roadmap Initiatives for which NIGMS is playing a leading role, including those which are administered by the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and Structural Biology Implementation Groups. Dr. Berg also discussed the processes in place for extending Roadmap Initiatives beyond FY 2005.
Contact: Dr. Jeremy M. Berg, bergj@nigms.nih.gov, 301-594-2172
X-Ray Crystallography As Microscopy
Operation of a generic microscope has three components: (1) learning how to prepare and understand the specimen of interest; (2) using a probe to interrogate the specimen point by point; and (3) implementing a mechanism to process the output of the probe into an enlarged image and learning to understand and interpret these data. X-ray crystallography fits this description well. The first two steps are fairly straightforward; a crystal is the specimen, and an X-ray beam is the probe. Dr. Eaton Lattman discussed the third, more mysterious step, focusing on how X-rays that are diffracted from crystals are converted to images of molecules, and how these images should be understood and interpreted.
Contact: Dr. Eaton Lattman, lattman@jhu.edu, 410-516-0151
Overview of NIGMS Budget and Programs
The amount of funds available to support investigator-initiated grants in addition to new, larger-scale programs depends on the overall size of the NIGMS budget and on ongoing commitments to existing programs. Dr. Jeremy M. Berg described plans to examine the impact of these commitments, which include both smaller-scale research grants and major initiatives that include the large glue grants, the Protein Structure Initiative, the Pharmacogenetics Research Network, and the NIGMS Center of Excellence in Complex Biological Systems Research. He also discussed plans to examine how funding for the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research may impact the discretionary budget.
Contact: Dr. Jeremy M. Berg, bergj@nigms.nih.gov, 301-594-2172
Report from the NIGMS Committee Examining Possible Update of the MBRS SCORE Program
During 1996 and 1997, and following the creation of the MORE Division, the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) programs were revamped to create the following programs: Support of Continuous Research Excellence (SCORE), Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement, and Initiative for Minority Student Development. Although these revisions improved program accountability and separated research funding from student development, they were not fully upgraded to meet the changing needs of the national biomedical research endeavor and the variety of minority-serving institutions that are eligible for MBRS support. The current SCORE program resembles the original MBRS research program in that it supports meritorious, investigator-initiated, research projects from a wide range of scientific disciplines submitted as part of a program project application. However, the number of components may range from one to 28 subprojects and pilot projects per grant, and eligible institutions vary considerably in size, resources and research capabilities from small, non-research intensive institutions to very large, research-intensive institutions. Dr. Arthur Zachary and Dr. Clifton Poodry distributed a report describing a recent re-examination of the MBRS SCORE program, which was performed by an internal NIGMS committee with staff from the scientific divisions and the scientific review, grants management, and budget offices. Through regional visits and other means of communication, in the coming months NIGMS staff will seek input from current SCORE program participants and report the results at an upcoming Council meeting.
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