K-22

N. Alderson¹ , U. S. Babu² , P. Chu³ , T. Crone⁴ , C. Elkins⁵ , R. M. Fahmy³ , J. V. Gobburu⁶ , J. Johannessen¹ , C. Kavanaugh² , S. Kumar⁷ , M. Major⁷ , M. Manjanatha⁵ , R. A. Bright⁸ , H. Trinh¹ , S. D. Torosian⁴ , R. S. Uppoor⁶ , T. Woods⁸ , ¹OC, ²CFSAN, ³CVM, ⁴ORA, ⁵NCTR, ⁶CDER, ⁷CBER, ⁸CDRH

The Committee for the Advancement of FDA Science (CAFDAS) serves as an internal advisory committee to the Commissioner, Associate Commissioner for Science, and the Senior Science Council. Functioning independently of any Center or discipline, CAFDAS addresses FDA-wide science issues from a working scientist's perspective. It is composed of two members from each Center and the ORA who represent research, review and compliance aspects of the FDA mission; each member serves a three-year term. The primary objective of CAFDAS is to aid in enhancing the agency's science infrastructure by: serving as a medium for advancing ideas and concerns from scientists to senior FDA management regarding the state of science in the FDA, providing comments to the Commissioner on science policy questions and planning, and offering practical suggestions and constructive solutions to achieve Agency-wide scientific excellence. Some CAFDAS activities include reviewing OSHC collaborative science project applications, disseminating leveraging information on competitive research funding sources and mechanisms, and, most recently, providing input for potential future changes of the peer review system for FDA scientists.In cooperation with the Office of Science and Health Coordination (OSHC) and the Office of the Commissioner (OC), CAFDAS initiated "The Commissioner's Seminar Series."This internal FDA seminar series highlights FDA science pertaining to the "Critical Path" and promotes the recognition of mission-based science through plain-language presentations to audiences with diverse backgrounds and experience.More information regarding CAFDAS' history, meeting minutes, leveraging activities and The Commissioner's Seminar Series is available at: http://first.fda.gov/cafdas.