Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Dr. Fauci opened the Monday afternoon, January 29, session of Council by welcoming visitors to the 122nd meeting.
He announced the appointment of five new Council members: Dr. Jerrold Ellner, Dr. Warren Johnson, Jr., Dr. Paula Pitha-Rowe, Dr. W. Gary Tarpley, and Mr. Garry Lyle.
Dr. Fauci welcomed the ad hoc Council members: Dr. George Eisenbarth, Executive Director, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; Dr. Harold Weiner, Director, Multiple Sclerosis Program, Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Dr. Caroline Whitacre, Professor and Chair, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Ohio State University.
Consideration of Minutes of Previous Meeting:
The minutes of the September 11-12, 1996 meeting were considered and approved as written.
Dates of Future Council Meetings:
May 20-21, and September 26-27, 1996; and for 1997, January 23-24, May 19-21 and September 8-10.
Staff and Organizational Changes:
The Asthma and Allergy Branch along with its Host Defense Inflammation and Asthma and Allergic Mechanisms Sections, located in the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, have been replaced by the Asthma, Allergy and Inflammation Branch, which has two components: the Allergic Mechanisms Section and the Asthma and Inflammation Section.
The Office of Clinical Research (OCR), headed by Dr. H. Clifford Lane, NIAID clinical director, has been established within the Office of the Director, NIAID. Among other responsibilities, the OCR will develop, implement, and evaluate policies and practices related to human subjects research within NIAID; review research protocols; provide advice related to the NIAID clinical research portfolio; and promote interaction between intramural and extramural investigators, particularly with regard to collaboration on clinical research conducted at the NIH Clinical Center.
Dr. Dean Metcalfe has been appointed chief of the new Laboratory of Allergic Diseases, Division of Intramural Research. Dr. Metcalfe also serves as director of the Institute's Allergy and Immunology Training Program.
Dr. Fauci announced the departure of Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Johnston, who left the Institute to assume a full time consulting position with the Rockefeller Foundation.
Operating Procedures:
Operating procedures had been sent to Council members for review. No modifications were suggested, and they were approved.
Budget Update:
Fiscal uncertainties were at least temporarily put on hold in mid-January when NIH became one of the special agencies funded under a continuing resolution for the remainder of FY 1996 at the amount recommended by the House.
The CR plus some inter-institute transfers enlarged NIAID=s budget by 7.1 percent to $1,172 billion; the NIH budget increased 5.6 percent over the FY 1995 level. Growth for both was larger than that of the president=s budget, requesting a 3.6 and 4.0 jump for NIAID and NIH respectively.
These funds enable NIAID to set the payline for non-AIDS at the 12.0 percentile, and the AIDS payline at 14.0, with monies allocated to research project grants rising 8.5 percent. Programmatic reductions will remain steady at an average of 14.9 percent. Noncompeting grants will gain an inflationary increase of 4.0 percent as stipulated in the NIH Financial Management Plan.
This fiscal year, NIAID will fund 2,552 research project grants, including a large number of new and competing grants, 741 compared to 666 in FY 1995. The training budget goes up 6.8 percent, allowing the Institute to fund 856 full-time training positions, 32 more than last fiscal year. The success rate will remain steady at about 25 percent of all applications reviewed.
Legislative Update:
NIH's budget authority will be coming up for Reauthorization this year. Senator Nancy Kassebaum, chairperson of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, is planning two days of hearings in early March to showcase NIH. Dr. Varmus and some Institute directors, including Dr. Fauci, will testify. New approaches to the management of NIH are under discussion, including merging some smaller institutes with larger ones.
Other:
At Council, Dr. Fauci addressed the recent ACTG recompetition, presented highlights from the Institute's winter policy retreat, provided an overview of the White House summit on AIDS, and discussed the high cost of animal care in research. back to top |