Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Dr. Fauci opened the Monday afternoon session by welcoming visitors to the 138th Council meeting.
He welcomed the ad hoc Council members: Dr. Preston Marx, Professor of Tropical Medicine and Senior Scientist, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Tulane Regional Primate Research Center; and, Dr. Gail Wertz, Professor, Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Consideration of Minutes of Previous Meeting:
The minutes of the January 29-30, 2001 meeting were considered and approved as written.
Staff and Organizational Changes
Dr. Fauci noted that Dr. Richard Koup has resigned his Council membership to become director of the Human Immunology Program for the Vaccine Research Center. Ms. Lynn Hellinger, former director of the NIAID Office of Human Resources Management, has accepted the new position of associate director for management and operations within the Office of the Director, NIAID. Dr. Holli Hamilton has been appointed chief of the Office of Clinical Research Affairs within the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Division.
Budget Update
Dr. Fauci discussed significant changes in the House appropriations hearings process with the new chairman of the Labor, HHS and Education House Appropriations Subcommittee, Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH). Rather than receiving appropriations testimony from each IC director, Rep. Regula held theme hearings on chronic diseases, life span issues, and health disparities in special populations. Dr. Fauci testified at the health disparities theme hearing focusing on NIAID's efforts to mitigate health disparities with new therapies, vaccines, and other interventions.
The FY 2002 President's budget for the NIH is $23 billion and represents a 13.5 percent increase over the comparable FY 2001 budget. NIAID continues to do well compared to other ICs. The Bush administration demonstrated its support for doubling the NIH budget by providing the largest dollar increase to date, $2.8 billion in FY 2002. Secretary Tommy Thompson mentioned during a press conference in April that it would take a $4.2 billion increase in FY 2003 to achieve a doubling of the NIH budget in five years.
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Until NIBIB becomes fully operational, the NIH ICs are acting on its behalf in two ways. Advisory councils are conducting the dual review for applications that may be transferred to NIBIB. Scientific and grants management staff of the ICs, including NIAID's, will award and administer grants until they can be transferred to NIBIB. NIBIB has a small operating budget for FY 2001, but will have a $40 million dollar budget in FY 2002 that includes $32 million for extramural research.
Select Pay and Bridge Awards
NIAID has had a select pay program for over 25 years. Of the 176 select pay awards made in fiscal years 1990 through 1995, 136 received competing renewal awards, a 77 percent success rate, compared to a 57 percent success rate for all NIAID competing renewal R01awards for the same period.
The bridge award program is newer than the select pay program. Each Council round, NIAID has awarded an average of 15 bridge awards. For fiscal years 1998 through 2000, 68 of the 92 bridge awardees that submitted amended applications for competition received competing renewal grants, a 74 percent success rate. In comparison, the success rate for all R01 applications for FY 1998 through 2000 was 35 percent.
Report of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council - Ms. Marie Saint Cyr
Ms. Saint Cyr provided a summary of the most recent OARAC meeting that took place on April 17, 2001. She noted the meeting focused on immunology. Topics covered included HIV immunopathogensis, AIDS research as a driving force in the investigation of immune function, mucosal immunity, and the limitations of experimental human immunology. The discussion also addressed the critical issue of the availability of primates, particularly the rhesus macaque.
Institute of Medicine Report - Vaccines for the 21st Century
This report was completed at NIAID's request as a follow-up to the two-volume report, New Vaccine Development: Establishing Priorities. HIV/AIDS was not included in the new report because it is already recognized as a top priority. The new report develops a model that can be used to set priorities for vaccine research against an expanded target of infectious diseases.
Council Materials:
Copies of the Legislative Update, which describes hearings and bills of interest to the Institute, were distributed. The NIAID Office of Communications provided Council members with several publications and press releases. back to top |