Status of FY 2007, 2008, and 2009 Budgets for NIA
FY 2007For NIA, the FY 2007 enacted level is $1,047,260 million, an increase of $10.7 million or 1.0 percent over FY 2006. As part of the Joint Funding resolution, funds reserved for roadmap activities were released to the NIH ICs for use in FY 2007. The NIA roadmap allocation was $12.5 million.
In FY 2007, the NIA currently estimates support of 1,518 RPGs, including 433 new and competing projects and a success rate of approximately 17.3 percent. NIA is presently supporting competing RPGs up to the 14.9 percentile. Support levels for other funding mechanisms include 74 research centers for $83 million; 240 other research grants, including 210 research career awards, for a total of $34.5 million; 554 full-time training positions for $23.8 million, and a total of $68.8 million for research and development contracts.
NIA is following the NIH FY 2007 funding policy for non-competing research grants, which is to provide no inflationary increase over FY 2006. In an effort to reinforce its support for new investigators, NIA is supporting a total of 54 new investigators in FY 2007, which is the average number of new investigators NIA supported over the last 5 years.
FY 2008On June 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education approved the FY 2008 Labor, HHS, and Education Committee report. For NIH, the Senate Committee mark up provides an additional $1 billion over the FY 2007 enacted level or $29.9 billion, and $1.3 billion over the FY 2008 President’s Budget level for NIH. For NIA, the Senate mark is $1.073 billion, an increase of $26 million, or 2.5 percent, over both the FY 2007 enacted level and the FY 2008 President’s Budget. The Senate mark assumes a 3.0 percent increase in non-competing RPGs and a 3.0 percent increase in the average cost of competing RPGs.
On July 19, the Full House passed the FY 2008 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations bill. The bill provides an appropriation for NIH of $29,649,887,000, which would be $750,000,000 above the FY 2007 appropriation and $1,028,646,000 above the President's request. The bill would increase the number of new and competing research grants by approximately 545 over last year’s level and 1,262 over the President’s request; lift a two-year freeze on the average cost of new research grants; help train the next generation of researchers; and provide $110.9 million for the National Children's Study and $300 million for the Global AIDS Fund. For NIA, the FY 2008 House allowance of $1.063 billion was $15.6 million, or 1.5 percent, higher than FY 2007.
FY 2009
Preliminary work on the budget for FY 2009 has begun using the FY 2008 President’s budget request as the base. After intermediate stages of review, the President’s budget request for FY 2009 will be presented to Congress in February 2008, at which time it will become available to the public.
Back to top
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
On July 19, the House passed H.R. 3043, the FY 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill, by a vote of 276 to 140 and with a presidential veto threat for overspending. However, the Senate Appropriations Committee mark-up measure, S. 1710 is not expected to see floor action until September. The Senate and House measures would provide different funding levels for NIH, but both levels are higher than the President’s Budget. H.R. 3043 provides NIH with a funding level of $29,649,887,000, which would be $750,000,000 above the FY 2007 appropriation and $1,028,646,000 above the President's request. The House bill includes several additional NIH provisions not included in S. 1710 (see NIA Budget Report). The FY 2008 House allowance for NIA is $1.063 billion, an increase of $15.6 million, or 1.5 percent, higher than FY 2007. S. 1710 provides an additional $1 billion over the FY 2007 enacted level or $29.9 billion, and $1.3 billion over the FY 2008 President’s Budget level for NIH. For NIA, the Senate mark is $1.073 billion, an increase of $26 million, or 2.5 percent, over both the FY 2007 enacted level and the FY 2008 President’s Budget.
Dr. Robin Barr has been appointed Director of the Office of Extramural Activities (OEA). He brings both expertise and experience to the OEA, which is often grantees’ first point of contact with our Institute, and serves as manager of NIA’s scientific review and grants award process. At NIA, Dr. Barr has served as Deputy Director of OEA and as NIA Training Officer since 1994, following his work as program administrator for cognitive functioning and aging in the Behavioral and Social Research Program. As OEA Director, he will oversee the Scientific Review Office, the National Advisory Council on Aging, and the Grants and Contracts Management Office and through this role will continue to play an invaluable role in laying the foundation for the future of research on aging. He has also been influential in policy development at the NIH level. He was instrumental in changing NIH policy on career awards and is a member of the NIH committee responsible for developing the Pathway to Independence award for new investigators.
Dr. Robert Fenton joined the Intramural Research Program (IRP) as the new Staff Clinician for the Clinical Research Branch (CRB). Prior to accepting his position at the IRP, Dr. Fenton was an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland.
Dr. Wen G. Chen recently joined the Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging (NNA) Program as a Health Scientist Administrator and will be responsible for the Sensory/Motor Disorders of Aging portfolio. Dr. Chen completed her doctorate in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard University in 2003. Her research focused on the examination of epigenetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of neural activity-dependent gene expression in the central nervous system. She most recently worked in the Office of Cross-cutting Science and Scientific Technology at NIMH. Prior to coming to NIH, she served as Scientific Editor for programs/manuscripts in Systems Neuroscience at Neuron/Cell Press.
Dr. Partha Bhattacharyya, a health economist and health services researcher, joined the Behavioral and Social Research (BSR) Program on July 9 as a Health Program Specialist. While in graduate school, Dr. Bhattacharyya worked as an economist at Academic Analytics, LLC, in Stony Brook, New York, where he managed the process for database construction, integration, and management for FSPINDEX 2005-06, which measures productivity of approximately 180,000 faculty in PhD programs. He earned his doctorate in economics from SUNY Stony Brook in 2007; his dissertation focused on both the supply and demand sides of the healthcare market. He will be working closely with Dr. John Phillips on the BSR economics portfolio, on BSR’s initiatives to develop national health and well-being accounts, and on NIH Roadmap initiatives on burden of illness.
Dr. John Hardy, Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics (LNG), accepted a position as Chair of Neuroscience at the Institute of Neurology, University College, in London, England, in May 2007. Dr. Andrew Singleton, Senior Investigator, LNG, will be Acting Chief in the interim.
Dr. Darrell R. Abernethy, Senior Investigator and Chief of the Laboratory of Clinical Investigation (LCI), accepted a position as Chief Science Officer at the United States Pharmacopeia. Dr. Josephine Egan, Senior Investigator, LCI, will be Acting Chief in the interim.
I. Meetings Held
Panel to Oversee a Research Program on the Design of National Health Accounts - May 17, 2007 This NIA-funded exploratory meeting, the third in a series, was held at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. Because health policies can be informed by National Health Accounts, they are particularly important to the well-being of older populations who spend a disproportionate amount of income on health maintenance. Despite concerns about medical costs, relatively little attention has been paid to the issue of health care value. The absence of information about population health in relation to spending could lead to limited access to those benefits made possible through national investments in research and technology. The meeting was organized by the Committee on National Statistics and participants included academics, economists, physicians, health policy researchers, and members of: the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the NIH, the National Center on Health Statistics, and the National Institute on Aging. (For more information, contact Dr. John Phillips, BSR, Ph: 301-496-3138.)
Thyroid and Aging Research Summit - May 19, 2007 This exploratory workshop, held in Washington, DC, was sponsored jointly by the NIA Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology (GCG) Program and the American Thyroid Association. It followed a larger symposium on the previous day by the American Thyroid Association and Johns Hopkins University on the diagnosis, management, and clinical impact of thyroid disease in older adults. Participants at the research summit included leaders in thyroid clinical practice and research, and representatives from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). This focused and productive meeting identified and prioritized several research areas. It is expected that these outcomes will serve as the basis for a future program announcement on the aging thyroid. (For more information, contact Dr. Basil Eldadah, GCG, Ph: 301-496-6761.)
Meeting of BSR’s Data Priorities Committee - May 21, 2007 This NIA-funded exploratory meeting was held in Bethesda, Maryland. It was a follow-on to the first meeting (September 19-20, 2006, in Washington, DC) of a Special Ad Hoc Committee to review BSR data activities, as recommended in the 2004 NACA review of the BSR Program. The committee, chaired by Lisa Berkman and James P. Smith, was asked to discuss
A draft report has been prepared, based on the discussions at both meetings, and should be completed by September 2007. (For more information, contact Dr. John Haaga, BSR, Ph: 301-496-3131.)
Thymic Atrophy with Aging – June 5-6, 2007 A workshop on Thymic Atrophy with Aging was held on June 5-6, 2007, in Gaithersburg, MD. The purpose of the exploratory workshop was to discuss recent research advances in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that regulate thymic atrophy during aging. Investigators with scientific expertise in age-related changes in hematopoiesis, regulation of lymphocyte differentiation in the thymus, and the molecular and cellular processes responsible for thymic involution were invited to participate in this workshop. In addition, investigators that have developed and tested strategies to accelerate thymopoiesis and induce T cell recovery in animal models or in clinical settings were invited to discuss their research findings. The goal of the workshop was to identify and discuss the gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for thymic involution and to assess various strategies that have been tested in the past or are currently being developed to promote immune reconstitution. The workshop is also expected to promote interaction between researchers working in these different areas of research. A report of the meeting will be made available to NIA staff. (For more information, contact: Dr. Rebecca Fuldner, BAP, Ph: 301-496-6402.)
Unexplained Fatigue in the Elderly - June 25-26, 2007 This NIA-sponsored exploratory workshop, held in Bethesda, MD, was led by GCG in collaboration with NNA and BSR. The overarching goal was to conceptualize the area, explore potential mechanisms, to understand approaches to operationalizing these concepts and mechanisms in the setting of observational and interventional studies. The multi-disciplinary group of speakers and participants represented a broad range of clinical and research backgrounds. Presentations outlined the current state of knowledge in selected key areas, and identified several areas of future research needs. (For more information, contact Dr. Basil Eldadah, GCG, Ph: 301-496-6761.)
The Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease: Where do we go from here? - August 15-16, 2007 A two-day advisory workshop to examine the next steps to be taken in the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) genetics and genetic epidemiology was held in Bethesda, MD, August 15-16, 2007. This meeting brought together a group of NIA-funded research scientists, NIH staff, and other select experts to determine the state of research in finding the genes for late onset AD using genome wide association studies, to consider what is needed to move research forward most effectively, and to discuss the formation of a consortium of Alzheimer’s geneticists for a large scale genome wide association study. Discussion topics included (1) the phenotypes and genetic samples that should be included, (2) ways to establish efficient sharing of genetic samples and data that rapidly move the field forward while protecting the research of individual scientists, and (3) the use of large data bases to organize and analyze the data. There was also a discussion of issues regarding informed consent and confidentiality documents. (For more information, contact: Dr. Marilyn Miller, NNA, Ph: 301-496-9350.)
Workshop on Phenotypic Measurement in Individual Differences in Economic Behavior - September 10-11, 2007 The goal of this NIA-supported exploratory workshop, held in Bethesda, MD, was to identify key issues requiring further examination. Recent developments in neuroeconomics linking economic behaviors to neurobiological function open opportunities for measurement of individual differences in economic behavior at both the behavioral and neurobiological level. Of particular relevance to aging are questions regarding (1) whether individual differences in economic behavior at any life stage reliably predict outcomes in older adulthood, (2) whether individual differences in economic behaviors become more or less pronounced with age, and (3) whether measurement of individual differences is reliable at a single life stage, or across life stages. The recent initiation of studies linking molecular genetics and individual differences in economic outcomes has prompted BSR to explore this issue more thoroughly. (For information contact Dr. Erica Spotts, BSR, Ph: 301-496-3138.)
Critical Illness and Critical Care in Older Adults – September 17-18, 2007 This exploratory workshop, held in Bethesda, MD, was sponsored by NIA/GCG. The goals of the workshop were to identify the current state of knowledge, knowledge gaps, research opportunities, and barriers to research on the management of critical illness in the elderly. The workshop was organized around three themes: the intersection of aging and critical illness, new techniques and technologies, and specific clinical issues and applications. It was anticipated that this workshop would draw attention to an existing program announcement co-sponsored by the NIA on multidisciplinary translational research in critical care (PA-07-233). (For more information, contact Dr. Basil Eldadah, GCG, Ph: 301-496-6761.)
II. Upcoming Meetings
The Cognitive Aging Summit - October 10-12, 2007 The Cognitive Aging Summit, an advisory meeting co-sponsored by the NIA and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF), will be held October 10-12, 2007, in Washington, DC. The Summit will bring together a range of experts in a variety of research fields to discuss the most cutting edge advances in our understanding of age-related brain and behavioral changes. It is anticipated that recommendations for research directions will emerge from the Summit that could be pursued in future partnerships between the NIA and the MBRF and that this research would lead to practical recommendations and interventions for maintenance of cognitive health throughout life. The goals and objectives of the Cognitive Aging Summit are (1) to assess the status of current scientific knowledge in normal aging and changes in cognition associated with aging; (2) to explore new avenues of potential research within the scientific community which could lead to the development of pharmacological and behavioral interventions and, ultimately, to improved outcomes for older adults; and (3) to raise the level of awareness both within the scientific community and among the public about the importance of this area of research and its tremendous value to society. (For more information, contact: Dr. Molly Wagster, NNA, Ph: 301-496-9360; wagsterm@nia.nih.gov.)
Workshop on National Health Accounts - October 2007This NIA-supported exploratory workshop will be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an ultimate goal of developing a revised set of National Health Accounts. Since health policies can be informed by National Health Accounts, they are particularly important to the well-being of older populations who spend a disproportionate amount of income on health maintenance. The health and well-being of the elderly is at the core of the NIA mission, and research to support the development of National Health Accounts is a high priority BSR initiative. This workshop will complement the important study on National Health Accounts being conducted by the National Academy of Sciences. The workshop participants will be made up of approximately 12-15 individuals representing a broad spectrum of national policy makers, senior government leaders involved in the production and dissemination of national health account information, and academic thought leaders, all potential users of this information. (For more information, contact Dr. John Phillips, BSR, Ph: 301-496-3138.)
Cell Lineage and Cell Turnover in Tissues of the Aged – November 2007This exploratory workshop on “Cell Lineage and Cell Turnover in Tissues of the Aged” is being organized by the Biology of Aging Program (BAP) for the week of November 5, 2007. The purpose of the meeting is to examine current methods of cell lineage tracing, quantitative methods for analyzing cellular compositions of tissues by molecular markers and other methods, and the potential experimental barriers to analyzing cell lineages and cell turnover in aged tissues. The workshop was motivated by the fact that cell lineage tracing identifies precursors for the cells that function in different tissues, but such studies have been done primarily in the fields of embryogenesis and developmental biology. However, tissue regeneration and tissue engineering are major areas of research across the NIH and are emerging foci of research on aging, specifically. Therefore, it may be advantageous to better understand the cellular sources for tissue maintenance or repair that function in vivo in aged organisms by extending the methods currently applied to understand these problems in embryogenesis and developmental biology. (For more information, contact Dr. Ron Kohanski, BAP, Ph: 301-496-6402.)
Allostatic Load - November 29-30, 2007 This NIA-supported exploratory workshop, to be held in the Washington, DC, area, will explore theoretical and measurement issues relating to the concept of allostatic load and, more specifically, the question of assessing multiple and cumulative aspects of physiological aging and dysregulation - including its antecedents (e.g., life experiences) and health consequences. The workshop will focus on measurement of cumulative physiological dysregulation in both survey and laboratory contexts and explore how the integration of these approaches and findings from human and animal studies can inform our understanding of these relationships. The goals of the workshop are to identify research needs and strategies for advancing the science in this area. (For more information, contact Dr. Lis Nielsen, BSR, Ph: 301-402-4156.)
Biology of Aging Program New Investigators Forum – May 29-31, 2007 The First Annual Biology of Aging Program New Investigators Forum was held in San Antonio, Texas from May 29–31, 2007. The purpose of the forum was one of outreach - to bring together new awardees of grants from BAP in the spring of the year following their award, to encourage their continued success in this field by allowing them to get acquainted with NIA program staff as well as network with each other. New investigators gave talks describing their planned work (or results to date) with an emphasis on how it relates to the area of aging research. This time and venue (rather than meeting in Bethesda) were chosen because the American Aging Association (AGE) was meeting in San Antonio from June 1st through June 4th. (For more information, contact Dr. David Finkelstein, BAP, Ph: 301-496-7847).
NNA First Annual Investigators Meeting for Translational Research - September 17-18, 2007 NNA has an ongoing translational initiative that includes an R21 Early Drug Discovery Program (PAS-06-261), and a U01 Preclinical Drug Development Program (PAR-05-148). In addition, NNA’s investigators involved in drug discovery and drug development can utilize the services of NIA’s Toxicology Contract, “Investigational new Drug Toxicology for Drugs to Treat Alzheimer’s Disease and other Aging-Related Diseases” with SRI International. In order to closely monitor the progress of the translational initiatives, provide guidance, and foster interactions among investigators involved in translational research funded by these programs, NNA staff convened the First Annual Investigators Meeting for Translational Research on September 17-18, 2007. The meeting included investigators who are recipients of grants from the above programs and investigators that use the Toxicology Contract services, program staff from the NIA and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a representative of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, relevant experts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and several experts on drug discovery for AD from academia and/or industry in the role of expert advisors. These advisors provided immediate feedback and guidance to the investigators and in doing so increased the likelihood of success of these translational projects. (For more information, contact Drs. Neil Buckholtz or Suzana Petanceska, NNA, Ph: 301-496-9350.)
Staff Awards
New Publications Funded by BSR/NIA - These recent publications were wholly or partially funded by NIA/BSR:
Every two years, thousand of older Americans tell their stories. Quietly, compellingly, they answer questions about every aspect of their lives – how they are feeling, how they are faring financially, how they are interacting with family and others. They do this as participants in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS), one of the most innovative studies ever conducted to better understand the nature of health and well-being in later life. The HRS’s purpose is to learn if individuals and families are preparing for the economic and health requirements of advancing age and the types of actions and interventions – at both the individual and societal levels – that can promote or threaten health and wealth in retirement. Now in its second decade, the HRS is the leading resource for data on the combined health and economic circumstances of Americans over age 50. Adobe PDF (7.1M) (download the Adobe Acrobat Reader here) Plain HTML version (for screen readers)
As outlined in the guest editorial, this represents a high-priority area that is being developed by the Behavioral and Social Research Program at the National Institute on Aging, and three specific directions for portfolio development are described. The special section includes eight commissioned papers that have investigated effects of social behaviors and social environments on outcomes that affect behaviors critical to healthy aging. Several of these papers are based on analyses of NIA-funded studies. Many of these papers were originally presented as part of a symposium organized by BSR (on the same theme as the special section) at the 2006 annual meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association.
For more than a decade, NIA has funded the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMARs). One of the four key components of the RCMARs is a Community Liaison Core whose objectives are to conduct research on recruiting community members for scientific studies and to facilitate working relationships with host communities. The articles in this supplement represent some of the scientific knowledge available on community-based participatory research (CBPR) at the RCMARs. The hope is that this supplement will motivate others involved in CBPR to more fully engage in the conduct of science related to relationships that mutually benefit communities and researchers.
This special issue developed out of a symposium on cognitive training for older adults sponsored by NIA in March 2004, with a goal of addressing (a) the state of the art in development of cognitive interventions and the readiness to turn research findings into practice; (b) key research and methodological issues that the consumer, practitioner, and researcher should be aware of when considering the concept of cognitive intervention; and (c) guidelines for judging cognitive intervention as successful.
(For more information on these publications, contact Dr. Richard Suzman, BSR, Ph: 301-496-3131.)
NIA PublicationsThe following new publications were completed:
The following publications were updated or reprinted:
NIHSeniorHealth -- new topics added to the website: Skin Cancer and Talking with Your Doctor, bringing the total to 33.
(For more information about NIA’s publications or NIHSeniorHealth, Ms. contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, Ph: 301-496-1752.)
NIA News Releases News releases were distributed generating 123 clips in print and internet outlets and reaching nearly 64 million people.
AARP Bulletin article sparks interest in AD clinical trials: The June cover story on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the AARP Bulletin, sent to 25 million subscribers, included the ADEAR Web site URL and phone number as resources for more information on participating in AD clinical trials. The mention resulted in more than 5,000 phone inquiries to the ADEAR Center and 26,671 searches of the AD clinical trials database. Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) sites (29 sites responding) reported receiving 1,409 calls as a direct result of the article and ADEAR referrals.
(For more information about NIA’s press releases, contact Ms. Vicky Cahan, Director, Office of Communications and Public Liaison [OCPL], Ph: 301-496-1752.)
Meetings and Exhibits
(For more information about NIA’s exhibits, contact Ms. Vicky Cahan, OCPL, Ph: 301-496-1752. For more information about meetings with professional organizations or associations, contact Dr. Tamara Jones, Legislative Officer, Ph: 301-451-8835.)
Awards
"New Notices and Initiatives Relevant to National Institute on Aging (NIA)Excerpts from the NIH GUIDE- April 3, 2007 - August 3, 2007Includes Notices and Initiatives (Requests for Applications (RFAs) and Program Announcements (PAs), published since the May 2007 Council presentation of the Director’s Status Report (DSR) to the National Advisory Council on Aging (NACA). Also check our NIA website for “Funding Opportunities” at www.nia.nih.gov/GrantsAndTraining/FundingOpportunities/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm
(Shown here are selected Notices and Initiatives relevant to NIA/National Institutes of Health/DHHS).
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES – RFAs (NIH's )–issued by Other ICs with NIA involvement,There are no RFAs from other Ics that NIA joined this council round as of 8/1/2007. (Announcements are sorted by release date. Most recent announcements are at the top of this list.)
| Disclaimer | Accessibility | Policies | Contact Us | FOIA | Site Map
