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Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Dr. Fauci opened the Thursday, May 30th, session of Council by welcoming visitors to the 141st meeting.
He welcomed the ad hoc Council members: Dr. William Brenner, Professor, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Dr. Stanley Lemon, Dean of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Dr. Michael Osterholm, Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minneapolis; and, Dr. Wayne Yokoyama,
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Washington University School of Medicine.
Consideration of Minutes of Previous Meeting: The minutes of the January 17, 2002 meeting were considered and approved as written.
Staff and Organizational Changes:
Dr. Fauci announced the following appointments: Dr. Jack Killen has been appointed the Institute's Associate Director for Biodefense Research. He will coordinate biodefense work among the various Divisions within NIAID and between NIAID and other agencies and organizations. Nancy Blustein is the new Director of the Office of Policy Analysis.
Budget Update
NIH's proposed FY 2003 budget will grow by $3.7 billion, a 15.8 percent increase over last fiscal year. NIAID's budget is slated to gain 57.3 percent, a $1.5 billion increase, which includes $1.4 billion for biodefense research and infrastructure. This includes money for building BL-3 and BL-4 facilities both intramurally and extramurally. Basic research will be stressed as well as the development of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Biodefense money will also support clinical research, including clinical trial infrastructure to conduct clinical trials.
Legislative Update
Dr. Fauci reported considerable congressional activity and interest due to the biodefense initiative, including many high-level meetings, hearings, and briefings.
Council Materials
The NIAID Office of Communications provided Council members with several publications and press releases.
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