WELCOME TO THE 57TH MEETING OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERING. I'M DAVID GEORGE, NIBIB ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THIS COMMITTEE. THIS COUNCIL MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC EXCEPT FOR REVIEW OF PENDING GRANT APPLICATIONS, WHICH WILL TAKE PLAY LATER THIS AFTERNOON. THE OPEN SESSION OF THIS COUNCIL MEETING IS BEING LIVE-BROADCAST ON THE NIH VIDEOCAST NETWORK AND RECORDED FOR NIH ARCHIVES. THE COMMITTEE AND PRESENTERS ARE PARTICIPATING VIA VIDEO CONFERENCE. I'D LIKE TO WELCOME ALL OUR COUNCILMEMBERS, EX-OFFICIOS AND SPECIAL GUEST, AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO IS WATCHING ON THE VIDEOCAST. IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISH TO EXPRESS VIEWS REGARDING ANY ITEMS DISCUSSED DURING THIS MEETING, YOU MAY DO SO IN WRITING WITHIN THE NEXT 10 CALENDAR DAYS BY EMAILING ME AT INFO@NIBIB.NIH.GOV. THAT'S INFO@NIBIB.NIH.GOV. AND PLEASE PUT "NIBIB COUNCIL" IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF THE EMAIL. IN TERMS OF SOME BEST PRACTICES FOR VIDEO CONFERENCING, WE ASK OUR VIDEO CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS TO PLEASE MUTE YOURSELF WHEN YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING, AND WHEN YOU DO SPEAK AND TURN ON YOUR CAMERA, PLEASE STATE YOUR NAME BEFORE MAKING COMMENTS OR ASKING QUESTIONS. WHEN WE GET TO THE, AS BRUCE SAYS, "HOLLYWOOD SQUARES" MODE, SOME OF THOSE ON VIDEOCAST CAN'T QUITE TELL WHO'S ASKING QUESTIONS, SO IT'S HELPFUL. FOR COLLEAGUES AND GUESTS WHO ARE PRESENTING, A REMINDER TO PRESENT FROM A FILE LOCATED ON YOUR COMPUTER'S HARD DRIVE RATHER THAN A NETWORK DRIVE, AND ALSO BE LOGGED OFF VPN WHILE PRESENTING. AND ALSO, SHUT DOWN ANY UNNEEDED SOFTWARE DURING YOUR PRESENTATION. THE CHAT BOX IN ZOOM IS ENABLED ONLY FOR THE ATTENDEES TO CHAT WITH MR. ANTHONY DORIAN, OUR I.T. COLLEAGUE, WHO'S MANAGING THE VIDEO CONFERENCE TODAY. YOU CAN CHAT WITH ANTHONY OR IF YOU HAVE OTHER TECHNICAL PROBLEMS AND YOU'D MAYBE PREFER TO SEND AN EMAIL, YOU CAN EMAIL ANTHONY AT ANTHONY.DORI ANTHONY.DORION@NIH.GOV. BEFORE I MOVE ON, ANY QUICK QUESTIONS ABOUT VIDEO CONFERENCING? OKAY. SO IN TERMS OF ANNOUNCEMENTS, I'D LIKE TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE -- NOTE FOR THE RECORD THAT WE HAVE A QUORUM FOR TODAY'S MEETING. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK NIBIB COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT OFFICER PAM FOR ORGANIZING THE MEETING AND ALL THE SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS WE CONTINUE TO MAKE TO RUN OUR VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH OUR I.T. COLLEAGUES AND MANY STAFF MEMBERS FOR WORKING ON THE SPECIAL VIDEO ARRANGEMENTS. THANK YOU. I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THESE PROCEEDINGS ARE GOVERNED BY THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT KNOWN AS FACA, AND THE GOVERNMENT AND SUNSHINE ACT. CONSEQUENTLY, THIS MEANS THE MEETING IS ANNOUNCED TO THE PUBLIC IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER. IT CONSISTS OF AN OPEN PORTION TO THE PUBLIC, AND THEN A PORTION THAT IS CLOSED LATER THIS AFTERNOON FOR DISCUSSION OF INDIVIDUAL APPLICATIONS, SO WE ANTICIPATE ADJOURNING THE OPEN SESSION AT ABOUT 3:00 P.M. IN TERMS OF FUTURE COUNCIL DATES, OUR FUTURE COUNCIL MEETING DATES ARE LISTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE AGENDA. AND FOR COUNCILMEMBERS, THAT WAS POSTED IN THE ELECTRONIC COUNCIL BOOK UNDER THE CURRENT COUNCIL TAB. WE ASK PLEASE REVIEW THE DATES WHEN YOU HAVE THE CHANCE AND LET US KNOW IF YOU SEE ANY CONFLICT THAT MAY CAUSE US TO LOSE YOU AS AN ATTENDEE. OUR NEXT MEETING IS JANUARY 19TH, 2022. YOU'LL RECALL THAT THIS IS A CHANGE, HOPEFULLY EVERYONE CAUGHT IT, SO WE MOVED COUNCIL A FEW DAYS EARLIER SO AS NOT TO CLASH WITH A CONFERENCE THAT WOULD HAVE TAKEN SEVERAL OF YOU, AS WELL AS OUR DIRECTOR, AWAY, SO WE MOVED IT A LITTLE EARLIER. AND AS PAM HAD MENTIONED EARLIER, A DECISION HAD NOT BEEN MADE YET AS TO WHETHER THE JANUARY COUNCILS WILL BE IN PERSON OR HELD BY VIDEO CONFERENCE. SO WE'LL CERTAINLY LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS WE FIND OUT. I'D LIKE NOW TO MOVE INTO THE CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST COUNCIL MEETING. IN PREPARATION FOR VOTING, I ASK IF ALL THE COUNCILMEMBERS WOULD PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF IN PREPARATION TO CAST A VOICE VOTE. SO THE MINUTES WERE MADE AVAILABLE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO IN THE ECB TO YOU. ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS OR MODIFICATIONS THAT YOU WISH TO MAKE TO THE MINUTES? OKAY. WELL, HEARING NONE, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE. >> MOTION TO APPROVE. >> SECOND. >> A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, AYE. ALL OPPOSED, NAY. OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO WITH OUR ADMINISTRATIVE OPENING OUT OF THE WAY, I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE THE PROCEEDINGS TO THE REPORT FROM NIBIB DIRECTOR, DR. BRUCE TROMBERG. BRUCE, THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, DAVID. I GUESS WE CAN BRING THAT SLIDE DOWN AND MAYBE DO OUR NEW TRADITION OF EVERYONE, IF YOU DON'T MIND JUST POPPING ON YOUR VIDEOS FOR A LITTLE BIT, AND SAY HELLO, GREAT TO SEE YOU, WELCOME BACK. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. WE LOOK FORWARD TO A VIGOROUS DISCUSSION TODAY. LOTS TO REPORT AS USUAL, AND WE'RE JUST SO APPRECIATIVE TO HAVE ALL OF YOU PARTICIPATING IN OUR COUNCIL. I GUESS IT GETS CHAOTIC IF WE HAVE MULTIPLE CROSS CONVERSATIONS GOING ON, SO WE'LL TRY TO AVOID THAT RIGHT NOW, AND I IMAGINE -- I'M SORT OF SPEAKING SLOWLY SO WE CAN APPRECIATE THIS MOMENT FOR A FEW MORE MOMENTS, AND THEN I'LL GO AHEAD AND LAUNCH INTO MY SLIDES. UNLESS THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT COME UP BEFORE WE EVEN GET STARTED. BECAUSE DAVID, WE ARE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, PROBABLY FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME, MAYBE FOR THE DAY, BUT WE COULD ENTERTAIN A QUESTION. OR A COMMENT. WE HAVE A VERY AMBITIOUS AS USUAL AGENDA, WITH LOTS OF INFORMATION, LOTS OF UPDATES, DISCUSSION ON ALL OF OUR KEY AREAS, SO I HOPE YOU ALL ARE READY AND WE'LL ENJOY IT TODAY. I'M PARTICULARLY FORWARD TO -- I SEE MOHAMMAD JUST TURNED HIS CAMERA ON, SO THAT'S SORT OF A QUEUE FOR ME TO SAY I'M EXCITED ABOUT OUR DATA SCHOLARS, SO DON'T GO AWAY. AT 2:30, WE'LL HAVE THE DATA SCHOLARS PRESENTATION, WHERE WE'LL HAVE THREE DATA SCHOLARS PRESENTING, AND THIS IS JUST REALLY EXCITING FOR US TO SEE. WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AS WELL. OKAY. WITH THAT, I WILL LAUNCH INTO SHARING MY SLIDES. AND HERE WE ARE. SO THE SEPTEMBER COUNCIL DIRECTOR'S REPORT, I'M STARTING OFF WITH A VERY, VERY SAD BEGINNING. MANY OF YOU KNEW GEORGE PATTERSON. GEORGE DIED SADLY IN JUNE OF 2021 AFTER A COURAGEOUS BATTLE WITH CANCER. GEORGE WAS 50. HE WAS A GROUND BREAKING AND WORLD RENOWNED RESEARCHER IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHOTO ACTIVATABLE PROBES AND A TENURED SENIOR INVESTIGATOR WHO LED THE NIBIB INTRAMURAL SECTION ON BIOPHOTONICS. SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN GEORGE'S PRESENTATIONS OR INTERACTED WITH GEORGE OVER THE YEARS. HE WAS A BRILLIANT SCIENTIST AND AND GENUINELY COMPASSIONATE AND CARING PERSON. AMONG GEORGE'S MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS WAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL M OF THE WORLD'S FIRST PHOTO ACTIVATABLE GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN. WORKING TOGETHER WITH OTHERS, GEORGE'S CONTRIBUTIONS ENABLED THE SUPERRESOLUTION TECH NEECT KNOWN AS PHOTO ACTIVATED LOCALIZATION MICROSCOPY OR PALM FOR WHICH HE RECEIVED THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY IN 2014. THAT'S THE FIRST BIOFOE TO NICKS NOBEL PRIZE. GEORGE STARTED HIS LAB IN NIBIB IN 2009, WHERE HE WORKED ON THE DEVELOP M OF FLUORESCENT PROTEINS AS WELL AS TECHNIQUES FOR USE IN CELL BIOLOGY. WHILE IN NIBIB, GEORGE MADE MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CREATE BOTH NOVEL AND IMPROVE GENETICALLY ENCODED FLUORESCENT PROTEINS FOR USE AS MARKERS AND SENSORS SUCH AS THE PHOTOSWITCHABLE PSM ORANGE, AND PHOTOACTIVATABLE RED FLUORESCENT PROTEIN. HIS APPROACH UTILIZED MUTAGENESIS, INCLUDING MULTIPHOTON STRUCTURE ILLUMINATION MICROSCOPY, TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION TURF MICROSCOPY, AND SINGLE MOLECULE IMAGING. GEORGE WAS TRULY AN INCREDIBLE MENTOR WHO CREATED A VERY WELCOMING AND SUPPORTIVE LABORATORY THAT EMPHASIZED TRAINEE DIVERSITY. HE WILL BE FREIGHTLY BE GREATLY MISSED. HE'S SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN AND WE'LL TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE GEORGE, HIS CONTRIBUTIONS. WE HAVE BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT VARIOUS MECHANISMS FOR COMMEMORATING GEORGE IN AN ENDURING WAY WITHIN NIBIB AND NIH. SO I'D LIKE TO WELCOME TWO NEW COUNCILMEMBERS. WHO WILL BE FAMILIAR TO ALL OF YOU AND WHO ARE JOINING US TODAY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. MANU PLOTT IS A PROFESSOR AND A FELLOW IN MEDICAL ENGINEERING AT GEORGIA TECH. HIS RESEARCH, WHICH MANY OF US ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH, IS BIOCHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL DYNAMICS OF TISSUE REMODELING, REPAIR AND REGENERATION, AND IN PARTICULAR, THE TRANSLATION OF THESE APPROACHES TO ADDRESS GLOBAL HEALTH DISPARITIES. DR. PLATT WAS RECENTLY NAMED THE ASSOCIATE CHAIR FOR GRADUATE STUDIES AND ELECTED TO THE BMES BOARD OF DIRECTORS. HE'S A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AND AWARDED LEADER IN STEM MENTORSHIP AND DIRECTOR OF NIH AND NSF-FUNDED PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN BME. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN HIS LECTURE TO NIBIB COUNCIL, YOU SHOULD GO BACK INTO THE ARCHIVES AND SEE IT. IT'S ONE OF THE BEST ALL-TIME LECTURES THAT WE'VE HAD, AND WE ARE JUST VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE MANU JOIN US AS A COUNCILMEMBER. WELCOME. OUR SECOND INCOMING COUNCILMEMBER, WE ARE ALSO SO PLEASED TO RECEIVE DR. TEJAL DESAI AS A COUNCILMEMBER. SHE IS THE ERNEST PRIEN ENDOWED CHAIR AND PROFESSOR IN THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOENGINEERING AND THERAPEUTIC SCIENCES AT UCSF. HER RESEARCH IS IN THE DESIGN AND FAB FABRICATION AND USE OF MICRO AND NANOTECHNOLOGIES TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO MODULATE PLEK LER AND CELLULAR BEHAVIOR AND CREATE ENTIRELY NEW THERAPEUTICS. SHE HAS MULTIPLE PATENTS AND STARTUPS, INSPIRING FOR THOSE OF US IN THE AIR OF COMMERCIALIZATION, INCLUDING A NOVEL CELL ENCAPSULATION TECHNOLOGY TO TREAT ENDOCRINE DISORDERS. SHE IS THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF AIMBE AND A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE. TEJAL, WELCOME, WE ARE SO PLEASED SO HAVE YOU AND TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH YOU ON THE COUNCIL. WE HAVE SOME NEW NIBIB STAFF I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT BECAUSE I THINK MANY OF YOU ON COUNCIL WILL BE INTERACTING WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS. IN THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, WE HAVE TAYLOR GILLILAND. TAYLOR WAS FORMALLY I GOT TO KNOW TAYLOR V ERY WELL BECAUSE HE HELPED ESTABLISH BOTH THE RADX PROGRAM AT THE VERY, VERY BEGINNING. HIS ENERGY, CREATIVITY AND DRIVE WERE ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO THAT, AS WELL AS THE NTAC, NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATOR PRIZE COMPETITION. AT NIBIB, HIS TIE TEAL IS SENIOR ADD VAI SORE FOR INNOVATION PROGRAMS AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE'LL DO. HE'LL FOCUS ON EXPANDING INNOVATION PROGRAMS INCLUDING NON-TRADITIONAL MECHANISMS SUCH AS RADX, PRIZES AND MORE. STEVEN SANTOS IS IN THE OFFICE OF PROGRAM EVALUATION AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS. STEVEN IS, BY TRAINING, AN EXPERT IN INFECTIOUS DISEASE, AND HIS ORIGINAL APPOINTMENT AT THE NIH WAS AT NIAID. HE WENT TO WORK IN THE OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HE HAS BECOME THE LEAD INDUSTRY OFFICER FOR THE TESTING DIAGNOSTIC WORKING GROUP IN HHS, AND THE PRIMARY LIAISON ACROSS HHS FOR THE ENTIRE IN VITRO DIAGNOSTICS TECH INDUSTRY, AND REALLY OUR MAIN LINK TO THE OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND THE WHITE HOUSE, AND, OF COURSE, TO RADX. SO WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO WELCOME STEVEN. AND THE THIRD NEW STAFF MEMBER IS SONGTAH LIU, SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OFFICER IN THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION. HE COMES TO NIBIB FROM CSR WHERE HE WAS AN SRO IN THE SURGICAL SIGH INS BIOMEDICAL AND BIOENGINEERING -- APPLICATION STUDY SECTION. HE HAS EXPERIENCE AS A CLINICAL RESEARCHER IN THE DEPARTMENT OF RADIOLOGY AT NYU, THE NIH CLINICAL CENTER AND HAS SERVED AS SCIENTIFIC REVIEWER FOR THE FDA. SONGTAO WILL BE A GREAT ASSET, HE'S ALREADY BEEN A GREAT ASSET TO NIBIB AND OUR OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC REVIEW JUST IN TIME. SO WELCOME TO ALL THREE OF YOU. WE'RE SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU OFFICIALLY AS PART OF NIBIB. OF COURSE YOU'VE BEEN FAMILIAR AND WORKING WITH US FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND THIS IS GREAT TO HAVE YOU OFFICIALLY AS PART OF THE INSTITUTE. CONTINUING ON PERSONNEL, I'D LIKE TO TAKE SOME TIME NOW TO THANK THESE SEVERAL COLLEAGUES ON THEIR UPCOMING RETIREMENT. SO FIRST, WE HAVE THREE RETIREES I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE, ONE BY ONE, AND IF YOU COULD POP YOUR SCREENS ON AS I GO THROUGH, ACTUALLY YOU CAN ALL POP YOUR SCREENS ON AND MAYBE THAT WOULD BE THE EASIEST THING TO DO. BUT I CAN ONLY READ ONE AT A TIME SO I'LL START WITH FLORENCE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN. FLORENCE JUST CAME ON. SO FLORENCE WILL RETIRE FROM FEDERAL SERVICE AT THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. HER EXTENSIVE CAREER IN GOVERNMENT WAS LAUNCHED AT NIH ON SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1973. SHE WAS HIRED AS A GRANTS CLERK IN THE CAN DIVISION OF RESEARCH GRANTS, NOW CSR, AND BECAME A GRANTS TECHNICAL ASSISTANT. IN 1985, FLORENCE WAS HIRED AS A GRANTS MANAGEMENT TRAINEE FOR NIA. SHE'S ALSO WORKED AT NICHD AND NIAMS. IN JUNE OF 2002, FLORENCE WAS THE 17TH PERSON, A SPECIAL NUMBER, A PRIME NUMBER, HIRED AT THE NEWLY CREATED NIBIB. SHE WAS PROMOTED TO LEAD GRANTS MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST IN JUNE OF 2006. FLORENCE'S INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF NIH AND HER WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN AN INVALUABLE ASSET TO OUR INSTITUTE. WHEN FLORENCE RETIRES AT THE END OF 2021, SHE WILL HAVE AMASSED OVER 48 YEARS OF FEDERAL SERVICE. ALL AT THE NIH. WOW, FLORENCE. I JUST -- THOSE NUMBERS ARE SO IMPRESSIVE. ANGIE, ARE YOU -- THERE YOU GO. FANTASTIC. ANGIE ELDRIDGE WILL RETIRE FROM FEDERAL SERVICE ON OCTOBER 2ND. SHE BEGAN HER CAREER AS AN NIH STAY-IN-SCHOOL STUDENT ?T IN THE LATE 1970s. SHE SUBSEQUENTLY WORKED AT SEVERAL AGENCIES INCLUDING THE VA, DOD, AND THE UNIFORM SERVICES UNIVERSITY OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES, U SUHS. SHE RETURNED TO NIH IN 1998 AS A GRANTS MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST WORKING AT NINDS AND NIMH. IN 2004, SHE ARRIVED AT NIBIB. ANGIE'S IMMEDIATE PLANS AFTER RETIREMENT ARE TO DECOMPRESS -- WE CAN ALL RELATE TO THIS -- SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY, CATCH UP ON READING, AND CONTINUE WITH CROCHETING AND OTHER CRAFTS. HER ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: DO YOUR BEST, STAY PROFESSIONAL. YOU ALWAYS HAVE A PURPOSE. THAT'S BEEN HER TRADEMARK OVER A REMARKABLE 43 YEARS OF FEDERAL SERVICE. THANK YOU, ANGIE. JOHN HOLDEN. JOHN, ARE YOU ON? THERE YOU GO, I SEE YOU. FANTASTIC. HE WILL RETIRE FROM FEDERAL SERVICE ON SEPTEMBER 30TH. JOHN HAS BEEN AN NIBIB SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OFFICER SINCE JANUARY 2017, WHERE HE HAS REVIEWED A WIDE RANGE OF GRANT MECHANISMS, SPANNING FROM K AWARDS, CAREER K AWARDS, ALL THE WAY THROUGH OUR CENTERS FOR BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERING, OUR P41 PROGRAM. THAT'S QUITE A SPAN. PRIOR TO JOINING NIBIB, JOHN WORKED AT NIAMS, THE NIH CLINICAL CENTER, AND THE CSR. HE'S HAD A 26-YEAR FEDERAL CAREER WHERE HE'S ALSO WORKED AT FDA'S CENTER FOR DEVICES AND RADIOLOGICAL HEALTH, AND THE VA OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. PRIOR TO JOINING NIH, JOHN WORKED AS A RESEARCH ENGINEER FOR AN R & D COMPANY, SOMETHING MANY OF US CAN RELATE TO. AND AS RESEARCH DIRECTOR AT THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND HEALTH CENTER AT SAN DIEGO. WE ARE PARTICULARLY GRATEFUL TO JOHN FOR DELAYING HIS ORIGINAL RETIREMENT. THANK YOU, JOHN. AND STAYING ON THESE PAST FEW MONTHS, HELPING US THROUGH THE CHALLENGING FISCAL YEAR. NOW HOLD YOUR APPLAUSE BECAUSE I HAVE TWO MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS. HOLLY TAYLOR. HOLLY, CAN YOU COME ON? AND KATE. HOLLY IS NIBIB'S CHIEF GRANTS MANAGEMENT OFFICER. SHE'LL RETIRE FROM FEDERAL SERVICE IN OCTOBER. HOLLY HAS PROVIDED INVALUABLE EXPERTISE AND CREATIVE RESOURCEFULNESS IN MANAGING THE NIBIB OFFICE OF GRANTS MANAGEMENT SINCE 2014. OVER A VERY IMPRESSIVE 31-YEAR CAREER AT THE NIH, HOLLY HAS HELPED POSITIONS AT THE NIGMS, THE NHLBI OFFICE OF GRANTS MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET. THE FORMER NCRR, WHERE I RAN INTO HOLLY MANY TIMES, AND NCATS, BEFORE COMING TO NIBIB. HER EXPERTISE HAS BEEN RELIED UPON AS THE GRANTS MANAGEMENT LEAD ON SUCH COMPLICATED TRANS-NIH PROGRAMS AS BRAIN AND HEAL INITIATIVES, COMMON FUND INITIATIVES, AND THE MOST COMPLICATED OF ALL, THE RADX PROGRAM, SHE'S BEEN CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THAT PROGRAM. HOLLY HAS POST-RETIREMENT PLANS. THEY ARE TO FINISH PLANTING HER ENGLISH ROSE GARDEN, ENJOY TIME WITH HER NEW GRANDDAUGHTER, AND THIS IS ONE I HAVEN'T HEARD OF, HOLLY, SHE WILL TAKE FORENSIC GENETIC JEAN GENEALOGY CLASSES. ONCE YOU TAKE THOSE, PLEASE TEACH US JUST FOR FUN. FLORENCE TURSKA WILL BE THE ACTING CHIEF GRANTS MANAGEMENT OFFICER UPON HOLLY'S DEPARTURE. THANK YOU, HOLLY. KATE, KATE EGAN WILL RETIRE FROM FEDERAL SERVICE ON OCTOBER 31ST. SINCE 2012, KATE HAS EXPERTLY DIRECTED NIBIB'S OFFICE OF SCIENCE POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS. IN MANY WAYS, THE PUBLIC FACE OF THE INSTITUTE. PRIOR TO JOINING NIBIB, KATE WAS COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR NINE YEARS AT NIMH. SHE ALSO APPLIED HER TALENTS IN WRITING, COMMUNICATIONS AND MANAGEMENT IN ROLES AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, THE NIA, CDC, EMORY UNIVERSITY, WEBMD, AND THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY. HER ENTHUSIASM FOR CONVEYING THE INSTITUTE'S ACHIEVEMENTS TO ITS DIVERSE AUDIENCES, PUBLIC, NEWS MEDIA, THE RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY COMMUNITIES, YES, EVEN CONGRESS HAS HEIGHTENED VISIBILITY FOR NIBIB. WHETHER THROUGH THE INSTITUTE'S EVER EVOLVING WEBSITE, THE PREPAREDNESS OF NIBIB EXPERTS IN SPEAKING WITH REPORTERS, THANK YOU, KATE, FOR ALL OF THAT HELP FOR ME, THE INNOVATION ON DISPLAY DURING OUR TECHNOLOGY EXPOS, OR THE BOLD FORAY INTO NEW MEDIA, VIDEO, DIGITAL APPS, SOCIAL MEDIA, IT'S ALL BEEN ACCOMPLISHED UNDER HER DIRECTION WITH THE AMAZING TEAM THAT SHE'S ASSEMBLED. CHRIS COOPER WILL STEP IN AS THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF OSPC. SO IN SUMMARY, AND THIS IS STAGGERING TO ME, WE ARE HAPPY FOR YOUR RETIREMENT, BUT WE CANNOT BELIEVE WE'RE LOSING OVER 160 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FROM FIVE PEOPLE WHO I KNOW TO BE ABSOLUTELY AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAMES. AND WE APPRECIATE SO MUCH WHAT YOU'VE DONE. WE WISH YOU A MANY HAPPY RETIREMENT, BUT WE WILL REALLY, REALLY MISS YOU, AND WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK. SO IF WE COULD JUST MAYBE TAKE -- HOW DO WE DO ELECTRONIC APPLAUSE? OR LET'S GIVE A ROUND OF OF APPLAUSE, WE ARE SO APPRECIATIVE AND GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK. THANK YOU ALL. OKAY. I WISH WE COULD HAVE THAT LIVE PARTY. MAYBE -- WE HAVE PREDICTIONS ON WHEN WE'LL ALL BE BACK TOGETHER, IF WE CAN TAKE A RAINCHECK ON THAT, THAT IS QUITE A CREW THAT WE'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO GET TOGETHER LIVE AND IN PERSON AND CELEBRATE WITH YOU. SO NOW A BUDGET UPDATE. THE ACTIVITY REALLY KIND OF KICKED OFF AT THE END OF MAY, AFTER OUR LAST COUNCIL MEETING, WITH THE HOUSE AND SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE HEARING, AND NIBIB THIS YEAR HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE ALONG WITH NIMHD, NICHD, NIAID, NHLBI, NCI AND NIDA. SO HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE KIND OF MADE IT IN THAT MAJOR LEAGUE GROUP, AND WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE A CONTRIBUTION TO THAT BUDGET HEARING. BOTH OF THOSE BUDGET HEARINGS. AFTER THAT, THERE WAS A HOUSE MINIBUS BILL FOR FY 22 WHICH WAS PASSED IN JULY WHICH YOU PROBABLY HAVE SEEN THAT HAD $49 BILLION TO NIH, A REDUCTION FROM THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, BUT A $7 BILLION INCREASE OVER FY 21. OF COURSE THIS STILL NEEDS TO GET TO THE SENATE. THIS WOULD INCLUDE $3 BILLION FOR ARPA-H AND $3.5 BILLION FOR OTHER INSTITUTES, CENTERS AND OFFICES. THERE IS STILL A PENDING INFRASTRUCTURE BILL WHICH YOU'VE HEARD QUITE A LOT ABOUT. IT HAS IN IT LANGUAGE ON VACCINES BS , THERAPEUTICS AND DIAGNOSTICS THAT WOULD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL MULTIYEAR SUPPORT FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS, SOMETHING MANY PEOPLE HAVE RECOGNIZED WOULD BE A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT FOR THE NATION TO MAKE. SO WHAT ABOUT OUR FUNDING, AND HOW HAS THAT BEEN? WELL, THIS IS A KIND OF BUDGET CHART THAT YOU KIND OF LIKE TO SEE. JUST IN TERMS OF BUDGETARY GROWTH. IT'S BEEN QUITE CHALLENGING FOR MANAGE ALL OF THIS BUT AS YOU KNOW, OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE HAD A MODEST INCREASE IN OUR BASE FROM FY 20 TO FY 21 WITH A SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL AMOUNT SPECIFICALLY TO LEGISLATED PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS THE COVID PANDEMIC. PRIMARILY, THOSE HAVE BEEN TO RADX, BUT WE'VE ALSO BEEN ABLE TO SUPPORT MORE BROADLY OTHER ACTIVITIES IN IMAGING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DIGITAL HEALTH, AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN GENERAL THAT IMPACT COVID. WE ARE PROJECTING IN FY 22 A CONTINUED APPROPRIATION THAT WOULD COME TO THE NIBIB TO ALLOW US TO MAINTAIN THESE ACTIVITIES SO OUR TOTAL ANTICIPATED BUDGET WILL BE JUST ABOUT $1.1 BILLION IN FY 22, DEPENDING ON WHETHER IT'S THE HOUSE, THE SENATE OR THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT BASE IS. BUT WE ARE ANTICIPATING AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT THAT WOULD BE ADDED TO THOSE ORIGINAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR OUR COVID ACTIVITIES. AGAIN, THIS IS PROJECTED, IT'S NOT CONFIRMED. ON THE TOPIC OF ARPA-H, SO YOU'VE SEEN THAT THERE HAS BEEN A $3 BILLION RECOMMENDATION FROM THE HOUSE, WE'LL SEE WHAT COMES FROM THE SENATE ON ARPA-H, MANY OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THIS SCIENCE POLICY FORUM PAPER WRITTEN BY DRS. COLLINS, SCHWETZ, TABAK AND LANDER. DR. LANDER, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, IS THE OSTP DIRECTOR, AND WHITE HOUSE CABINET MEMBER. IN THIS PUBLICATION, THEY POINT OUT THE RADX PROGRAM. AND REALLY REFER TO IT AND ITS INNOVATION FUNNEL AS ONE THAT GIVES CONFIDENCE THAT ARPA-H CAN FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY AT THE NIH. HOW WOULD THAT BE STRUCTURED, AND WHY DO THEY SAY THAT? SO THE ARPA-H WOULD BE CENTERED AROUND URGENCY, NIMBLENESS AND INNOVATION, ALL FEATURES OF THE KIND OF WORK THAT RADX HAS DONE, BUT REALLY MORE BROADLY, THE WAY OUR COMMUNITY WORKS. MUCH OF WHAT WE ALL DO INVOLVES FLAT AND DYNAMIC ORGANIZATIONS. ARPA-H WOULD HAVE A TERM-LIMITED DIRECTOR WITH A COMBINATION OF TECHNICAL AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS. AGAIN, A FUNDAMENTAL FEATURE OF WHAT OUR COMMUNITY DOES. THERE WOULD BE A CREATIVE AND DIVERSE COHORT OF PROGRAM MANAGERS RECRUITED FOR SHORT TERMS, MUCH LIKE DARPA WORKS RIGHT NOW WITH BROAD AUTONOMY TO DRIVE TRANSFORMATION CHANGE. THERE WOULD BE A UNIQUE PROJECT REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT GOES ON AT THE NIH CURRENTLY. IT WOULD INVOLVE A CONVERGENCE OF SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES WITH COLLABORATIONS ACROSS ACADEMIA, INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT. SO MANY OF THESE ARE ATTRIBUTES THAT ARE INVOKED IN THE RADX PROGRAM, IN NIBIB IN GENERAL, AND IN OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. SO WE'RE ENCOURAGED BY THIS. THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER AND MANY OF YOU HAVE FOLLOWED THE LISTENING SESSIONS THAT NIH HAS HELD. THERE HAVE BEEN A TOTAL OF 15 LISTENING SESSIONS WITH OVER 5,000 STAKEHOLDERS ON THE ARPA-H CONCEPT, REALLY FUNDAMENTALLY ADDRESSING THE VAL YOU'LL OF ARPA-H VALUE OF ARPA-H TO OUR COMMUNITIES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING ARPA-H AT THE NIH. WE HAVE A WEBPAGE THAT'S DEDICATED TO THE MOST IMPORTANT LISTENING SESSION, NUMBER 9, WHERE TAJAL WAS ONE OF THE SPEAKERS, THE WITNESSES IN THAT LISTENING SESSION REPRESENTING AMBIE. WE ALSO HAD DAN BORLAND. SO WE'VE HAD REALLY QUITE IMPORTANT AND EXTENSIVE PARTICIPATION FROM OUR COMMUNITY IN BEING ABLE TO ARTICULATE BOTH WHAT WE DO AND THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY, THE UNIQUE CONTRIBUTIONS THAT WE COULD MAKE TO AN ARPA-H PROGRAM. SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT PAGE, AND THERE ARE, AS I SAID, 15 SESSIONS, I THINK, OF COURSE, OURS IS THE BEST, AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL AGREE WITH ME ON THAT. SO NOW I'D LIKE TO GO THROUGH SOME OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE, I GUESS, ALWAYS THERE BUT ARE CONSTANTLY IN FLUX, AND ALSO NOTE THAT WE HAVE NEW FEATURES ON OUR WEBSITE THAT POINT TO THESE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE FOR DETAILS BECAUSE I'M GOING TO FLY THROUGH THESE. THE FIRST IS THE ALZHEIMER'S SUPPLEMENT, SO YOU FREQUENTLY HEAR US TALK ABOUT THAT. THIS IS A WAY TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR NIBIB FUNDED RESEARCH IF YOU ARE MOVING INTO ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, THE INTENT IS TO BRING NEW PEOPLE, NEW IDEAS, NEW TECHNOLOGIES INTO ALZHEIMER'S. OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SKILLED AT RECEIVING THESE SUPPLEMENTS. WE'VE AWARDED ON THE ORDER OF ABOUT 15 AWARDS FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AROUND 3 MILLION, THIS YEAR A LITTLE OVER $3 MILLION. A NEW NOTICE IS COMING OUT. RANDY KING AS ALL OF YOU KNOW IS THE PROGRAM CONTACT FOR THIS, AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GET IN TOUCH WITH RANDY. IT'S A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY TO MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS TO NEUROSCIENCE AND IN PARTICULAR IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. ONE OF THE MOST URGENTLY NEEDED FEATURES AND TECHNOLOGIES OF OUR FIELD ARE IMAGING PHANTOMS. THIS NIBIB-NIST COLLABORATION. IT'S CURRENTLY AT AN EARLY STAGE WITH JUST MRI PHANTOMS, BUT IT WILL EXPAND TO INCLUDE ALL FORMS OF IMAGING: CT, PET, SPEC AND OPTICAL. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING TYPES OF APPROACHES IN THE SENSE THAT PHANTOMS ARE DEVELOPED AND THEN PASSED AROUND, THEY CAN BE CHECKED OUT, AND THEN USED BY MULTIPLE LABORATORIES FOR STANDARDIZATION AND VALIDATION, SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IN OUR WORLD OF IMAGING, QUANTITATIVE IMAGING AND QUANTITATIVE BIOMARKERS. THERE IS A NEW INITIATIVE CO-LED BY NCCIH AND NIBIB. YOU HEARD ABOUT A WORKSHOP IN MY LAST COUNCIL PRESENTATION. THERE WILL BE AN FOA THAT IS COMING OUT. THE EXPECTED EARLIEST APPLICATION SUBMISSION DATE, SO PLEASE KEEP FOCUSED ON THIS, WILL BE IN THE MIDDLE OF DECEMBER. THIS IS VERY MUCH ALIGNED WITH THE SKILLS AND EXPERTISE OF OUR COMMUNITY. IN A HIGH NEED AREA TO DEVELOP QUANTITATIVE IMAGING AND BIOMARKERS OF MYOFASCIAL TISSUES FOR CLINICAL PAIN MANAGEMENT. THIS WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THE HEAL INITIATIVE, AND IT'S A VERY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR TECHNOLOGY AND IMAGING COMMUNITY TO MAKE AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION IN AN AREA WHERE VERY, VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN. SO PLEASE CONTACT GUOYING ABOUT THAT. BLUEPRINT MED TECH, YOU'VE HEARD CONSISTENTLY ABOUT THIS FROM MIKE WOLFSON. THIS IS FOLLOWING THE RAD RADX MODEL. WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS. THE APPLICATIONS ARE DUE OCTOBER 20TH THIS YEAR. CONTACT MICHAEL ABOUT THAT. SO THE NOVEL FEATURE OF RADXIFICATION, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF MATERIALS, IMPORTANT WEG LA TRI APPLIANCE, ANIMAL STUDIES, CLINICAL STUDIES AND SO FORTH, SO THESE WILL BE SHARED BY PROJECTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE PROGRAM. THERE ARE A VARIETY OF ME MECHANISMS THAT ARE GOING TO BE UTILIZED BUT FUNDAMENTALLY IT WILL WORK IN THIS ACCELERATED INNOVATION FUNNEL TYPE OF PROCESS. MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE NSF-NIH SMART AND CONNECTED HEALTH PROGRAM. SO QI DUAN IS THE PROJECT LEADER, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONNECT WITH HIM. MY SENSE IS THAT OUR COMMUNITY COULD BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO THIS RFA. THERE IS GREAT ALIGNMENT WITH THE CAPABILITIES AND EXPERTISE OF OUR COMMUNITY, BUT THERE MAY NOT BE AS MUCH ENGAGEMENT IN THIS PARTICULAR PROGRAM. WE'D LIKE TO SEE MORE. SO PLEASE CONTACT QI ABOUT THIS. IT SPANS FROM INFORMATICS TO MULTIMODAL SENSORS, MEDICAL IMAGE INTERPRETATION, AND MANY OF THE FEATURES AND COMPONENTS THAT WE ARE ADVANCING AND DEVELOPING. THIS IS A JOINT NSF AND NIH PROGRAM THAT INVOLVES APPLICATIONS TO NSF AND A CLEVER APPROACH FOR SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS TO HAVE THEM COME IN TO THE NIH. I THINK ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING WITH GREAT INTEREST THE EXPANSION OF THE SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY ACTIVITIES AT THE NIH LED BY NIBIB AND IN PARTICULAR WITH OUR DIVISION DIRECTOR, DAVID RAMPULLA. OUR SECOND CONSORTIUM MEETING IS COMING UP IN NOVEMBER. SO I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS MEETING. THIS WILL INVOLVE ENGAGING WITH FDA STAKEHOLDERS. ALSO SHOWCASING RESEARCH FROM THE CONSORTIUM'S GRANTEES AND, OF COURSE, NETWORKING WITH OUR PROGRAM STAFF FROM A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT ICs AND SOME WORKSHOPS. AND JUST REMINDING YOU, THE BEAUTIFUL FEATURES OF THIS INITIATIVE ARE JUST THE IDEA THAT ONE CAN REWIRE BIOLOGY AND ENGINEER HEALTH. SO YOU CAN SEE THE WEBSITE AND HOPING THAT MANY OF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THIS GROWING ACTIVITY. OUR DATA SCHOLARS PROGRAM WILL HAVE ITS NEXT ROUND OF CALLS, THIS IS A TRANS-NIH PROGRAM, IN APRIL. AND THIS IS A SE BAT SBA IS A BAT CAL-LIK E SABBATICAL-LIKE EXPERIENCE. THESE DATA SCHOLARS WORK WITH OUR EXTRAMURAL PROGRAM FOLKS, AND THEY REALLY ENGAGE POLICY MAKERS AND MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN OUR OPERATIONS. WE'RE VERY, VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE THIS DATA SCHOLARS PROGRAM. I ANNOUNCED LAST TIME OUR FIRST THREE DATA SCHOLARS, JUDY, MOHAMMAD, AND MARIE. THEIR PRESENTATIONS WERE SO IMPRESSIVE WHEN WE SAW THEM COME ON BOARD THAT I REALLY WANTED TO HAVE THEM PRESENT TO ALL OF YOU. SO AT THE RISK OF BUILDING THEM UP TOO MUCH, AT 2:30 THIS AFTERNOON, YOU'LL SEE THREE PRESENTATIONS FROM EACH OF OUR THREE DATA SCHOLARS. INTRODUCED BY THEIR COLLEAGUES, THEIR MENTORS, IN NIBIB. THIS IS PROBABLY OUR MOST SPECTACULAR PROGRAM. I KNOW IT'S HARD TO SAY OUT OF SO MANY PROGRAMS, BUT IN MANY WAYS, THIS ENCAPSULATES ALL OF THE INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY OF OUR FIELD WRAPPED IN EDUCATION AND REALLY LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE. IT'S A PROGRAM THAT MAKES US FEEL THAT WE CAN BE CONFIDENT ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR FIELD. IT'S THE DEBUT PROGRAM DESIGNED BY UNDERGRADUATE TEAMS. WE THIS YEAR HAVE GIVEN AWAY OR ARE GIVING AWAY $115,000 IN PRIZES. THIS YEAR THERE WERE 76 APPLICATIONS FROM 47 UNIVERSITIES AND 26 DIFFERENT STATES. ABOUT 400 STUDENTS IN ALL WERE ENGAGED. WE ADDED SIX ADDITIONAL STATES, INCLUDING IDEA STATES WHICH TRADITIONALLY HAVE NOT BEEN REPRESENTED IN THIS PROGRAM. MANY OF THE TEAMS WERE MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS, ALSO I THINK A REFLECTION OF THE MOVEMENT IN BIOENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS TO INCLUDE ALL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY'RE BIOENGINEERING, WHICH IS WHAT DEPOSE ON IN INDUSTRY AND THE WORKPLACE. THERE WERE MANY CAREER LEVEL TEAMS FROM FRESHMEN TO SENIOR AND ONE OF THE WINNING TEAMS WAS AN ALL FRESHWOMAN TEAM. SO THAT WAS PRETTY EXCITING TO SEE. ALL OF THESE DESIGN PROJECTS INVOLVE HOLISTIC APPROACHES, NOT JUST THE TECHNOLOGY, BUT EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND ENGAGING COMMUNITY AND THE FOLKS WHO WOULD BE THE END USERS OF THESE DEVICES. SO I'M JUST GOING TO RUN THROUGH VERY QUICKLY SOME OF THESE, AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE WEBSITE, OUR WEBSITE, THE PRESS RELEASE, WHICH HAS MOSH EXTENSIVE DESCRIPTIONS MORE EXTENSIVE DESCRIPTIONS. THE FIRST PRIZE IS THE STEVEN KROSNICK PRIZE WHICH IS IN MEMORY OF STEVEN CROSNICK, AN EXCEPTIONALLY TALENTED PROGRAM DIRECTOR AT NIBIB WHOM WE LOST, AND REALLY HIGHLY VALUED MENTORSHIP AND WORKING WITH STUDENTS AND THIS POPULATION IN PARTICULAR, YOUNG PEOPLE. SO IN HONOR OF STEVEN, THIS FIRST PRIZE EUCOVENT WAS AWARDED, A VERY TIMELY INNOVATION THAT ALLOWS MULTIPLE PATIENTS TO BE VENTILATED WITH A SINGLE DEVICE. THE SECOND PRIZE, A $15,000 PRIZE, WENT TO RICE UNIVERSITY FOR THE CEPHALOPUMP, AN ASSISTIVE TREATMENT DEVICE FOR LOW DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE HYDROCEPHALUS. THIRD PLACE IS A $10,000 PRIZE THAT WENT TO A TEAM FROM COLUMBIA. THE EYEPHONE, WHICH IS AN AT-HOME GLAUCOMA MONITORING DEVICE WITH A LOW-COST VIRTUAL REALITY APPLICATION YOU CAN SEE IN THE IMAGE THERE A GOOGLE CARDBOARD COMBINED WITH A PHONE, REALLY COOL STUFF TO LOOK AT VISUAL FIELD. THE AWARDS CEREMONY IS TAKING PLACE AT THE BMES ANNUAL MEETING IN OCTOBER, BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON, AND THERE WILL BE DEDICATED PARALLEL SESSIONS FEATURING THE DEBUT WINNERS. INTO THE HIV/AIDS PRIZE, A $15,000 PRIZE, IN TH IS A SPECIAL CATEGORY SUPPORTED BY THE OFFICE OF AIDS RESEARCH, WENT TO TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY ON DIRECT DETECTION OF HIV MIRNA USING SERS, SO THERE'S MICRO RNA USING SER FASTEN HANSED RAMEN SCATTERING WITH A LOW COST 3D PRINTED DEVICE AND GOLD NANOPARTICLE-BASED SENSING. ANOTHER $15,000 PRIZE, THE HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES FOR LOW RESOURCE SETTINGS, WHICH IS A CONTRIBUTION FROM NIMHD, IS A LOW COST PORTABLE POINT OF CARE LATERAL FLOW DEVICE FOR SICKLE CELL DISEASE IN LOW TO MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES. VERY TOPICAL AREA OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CURRENTLY. THE NCI HAS SPONSORED ALSO A PRIZE OF $15,000, TECHNOLOGIES FOR CANCER PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT, AND THIS WENT TO A TEAM FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY FOR A LOWCOSTOMY, AN AFFORDABLE COLOSTOMY BAG FOR OSTOMY PATIENTS IN LOW RESOURCE SETTINGS. VENTURE DIAGNOSE WELL GIVES TWO PRIZE, THE VENTURE PRIZE, A $15,000 PRIZE WENT TO A TEAM FROM GEORGIA TECH FOR THE AUSCULBAND, A POWERFUL YET AFFORDABLE PATIENT-FACING ELECTRONIC STETHOSCOPE THAT CAN BE MARKETED AT A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER COST THAN THE CURRENT COMPETITION. AND FINALLY, VENTUREWELL'S DESIGN EXCELLENCE PRIZE, A $5,000 PRIZE THAT TO STANFORD UNIVERSITY, FOR NEEDLEDELIVERY, A TOOL TO FACILITATE TRANS VAGINAL INJECTION OF MEDICINE. SO I'D NOW LIKE TO GO INTO A UPDATE ON RADX TECH AND KIND OF A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT PROGRAM. WE RE-OPENED THE INNOVATION FUNNEL FOR A SECOND TIME IN JUNE, BRIEFLY, AND HAD 108 APPLICATIONS, SO IN TOTAL BETWEEN OUR FIRST FUNNEL WHICH IF YOU'LL RECALL OPENED ON APRIL 29TH AND RAN FOR A FEW MONTHS AND OUR SECOND FUNNEL WHICH WAS VERY FOCUSED, WE'VE HAD 824 TOTAL APPLICATIONS COMING IN. WE'VE DONE A TOTAL NOWT NOW OF 179 SHARK TANK OR WEEK LONG DEEP DIVES INTO THE EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGIES. AT THIS POINT, 35 TECHNOLOGIES HAVE COME OUT WITH PHASE 2 FUNDING. WE EXPECT TO AWARD SEVERAL MORE AS A RESULT OF THIS SECOND INNOVATION FUNNEL. THOSE ARE IN THE WORKS RIGHT NOW. SO THIS GIVES KIND OF A SUMMARY SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE TO THIS POINT. 824 APPLICATIONS IN, 35 COMING OUT, AND WHAT ARE THOSE 35? SO YOU'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE, ALTHOUGH IF YOU PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION, YOU'VE SEEN I'VE ADDED SEVERAL ON TO THIS. IN GENERAL, POINT OF CARE AND HOME TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING THREE NOW THAT ARE FULLY APPROVED FOR OVER THE COUNTER USE, THE QUIDEL QUICKVUE, THE ELLUME, THERE ARE SEVERAL NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE COMPOSITE PLATFORMS THAT WE'VE SUPPORTED, AND THEN THERE ARE LABS THAT ARE DOING QUITE LARGE THROUGHPUT LIKE THE BROAD INSTITUTE, HELIX WHICH ARE DOING 50 TO 100,000 PATIENTS PER DAY, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO ADD ON THE NEWEST BEING OCTON, WHICH IS DOING ACTUAL ACTUALLY ALL THE PCR TESTING FOR THE LA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. WE'VE ALSO SUPPORTED LAB PRODUCTS LIKE NANOSCIENCES NANOPARTICLES OR NANOMATERIALS MADE BY A COMPANY CALLED SERIES THAT PRECONCENTRATE SPECIMENS AND IMPROVE LIMITS OF DETECTION, SALIVA COLLECTION AND SWABS. THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF ALL OF THIS SINCE WE STARTED ABOUT 16 MONTHS AGO HAS BEEN INCREASING TEST CAPACITY BY 814 MILLION OR 815 MILLION NEW TESTS. SO FIVE MONTHS AFTER LAUNCH, WE HAD MEASURABLE PRODUCTION OF AROUND 20 MILLION OR SO TESTS IN SEPTEMBER. THIS HAS GROWN MONTH OVER MONTH. WE'RE NOW AT ABOUT 4 MILLION TESTS AND PRODUCTS PER DAY IN AUGUST OF 2021. YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S BEEN A CAPACITY REDUCTION FROM JULY TO AUGUST, WHICH MIRRORS THE DROP IN DEMAND, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN HOW ABBOTT ACTUALLY DESTROYED INVENTORY AS A RESULT OF THE LOSS OF THAT DEMAND SIGNAL AND THE ANTICIPATION THAT THE MARKETS WERE DISAPPEARING. WE'LL GET MORE TO THAT LATER. BUT THERE HAVE BEEN 28 EUAs INCLUDING THE FIRST OVER THE COUNTER EUA, THREE AT-HOME TESTS, MORE THAN A HUNDRED COMPANIES HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED. WE ANTICIPATE BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR TO EXPEND ALL OF THAT INITIAL CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION, ROUGHLY A BILLION DOLLARS, AND 600 MILLION OF THIS HAS GONE TO PHASE 2 COMPANIES FOR THEIR SUPPORT FOR EXPANSION. THERE HAS BEEN, INTERESTINGLY, AN ADDITIONAL $1.3 BILLION IN PRIVATE CAPITAL RAISED TO THIS POINT FOR SUPPORTING ALL OF THESE COMPANIES IN TOTALITY, WHICH IS VERY, VERY ENCOURAGING, EXCEEDING, OF COURSE, THE FEDERAL INVESTMENT. IN TERMS OF THE TECHNOLOGIES, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A PRETTY SPECTACULAR ACCOMPLISHMENT, BUT IT'S NOT TRIVIAL TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET TECHNOLOGIES IN TO PEOPLE'S HANDS, ADVISE THEM ON WHEN TO TEST, HOW TO TEST, WHERE TO PURCHASE TESTS, AND SO CRITICAL MECHANISM FOR THAT HAS BEEN THE WHENTO IT TOTEST.ORG WEBSITE DEVELOPED BY CIMIT WITH OUR SUPPORT AND WITH COLLABORATIONS FROM MULTIPLE GROUPS. THIS WEBSITE NOW HAS ABOUT 44,000 USERS. IT REALLY KIND OF STARTED LAST YEAR, IN DECEMBER, AND ACTUALLY WE HAD A PEAK AT THAT MOMENT WHEN I HAD ABOUT FIVE MINUTES WITH CNN AND GOT TO MENTION WHENTO IT IS WHENTOTEST.ORG. IT DEVELOPED MANY NEW CAPABILITIES OVER TIME. YOU'VE SEEN MONTH OVER MONTH A STEADY INCREASE SO NOW THERE ARE ALMOST 11,000 USERS IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST. ONE OF THE REALLY WONDERFUL FEATURES OF THIS WEBSITE IS THAT YOU CAN, WITH THE CALCULATOR, ENTER THINGS LIKE VACCINATION RATES, MASK WEARING, UNMASKED ACTIVITIES, AND DETERMINE HOW MUCH TESTING NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION. YOU CAN ADJUST THE TRANSMISSIBILITY OF THE VIRUS FOR NEW VARIANTS, SO IT CAN BE ALTERED FOR DELTA. IT CAN ALSO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON POOLING, THERE ARE PLAY BOOKS IN PARTICULAR FOR K THROUGH 12, AND THE CDC HAS NOW RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT PLAY BOOK AND IS MARKETING AND ADVERTISING THAT PLAY BOOK TO SCHOOLS. COMING, HOPEFULLY SOON, WILL BE AN INDIVIDUAL RISK CALCULATOR, SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE IS THINKING ABOUT IN PARTICULAR AS EVERYONE LOOKS TO GET OVER THE COUNTER HOME TESTS. AND ALSO VERY IMPORTANTLY ARE LINKS TO PURCHASE TESTS THROUGH PROJECT N95 AND CONNECT A TEST AT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY. SO THESE ARE VERY, VERY POWERFUL, IMPORTANT LINKS THAT CAN PROVIDE GUIDANCE, COMPARE TESTS AND TEST BRANDS, AND REALLY SET PEOPLE UP WITH THE ABILITY TO IMMEDIATELY ACQUIRE TESTS. SO THAT'S INFORMATION. WHAT ABOUT IN TERMS OF REDUCING THINGS TO PRACTICE? YOU MAY RECALL THE "SAY YES TO COVID TEST" PROGRAM THAT WE'VE LAUNCHED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CDC, THE COORDINATING CENTERS AT DUKE AND UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA. THESE ARE PUBLIC HEALTH PROJECTS THAT ACCESS -- THAT ASSESS THE EFFICACY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF AT-HOME TESTING MULTIPLE TIMES PER WEEK. SO INITIALLY WE RECOMMENDED A CADENCE OF THREE TIMES PER WEEK BASED ON SCIENCE THAT WAS SUPPORTED BY RADX. HOWEVER, WE'RE NOW HOPEFUL AND REALLY TRYING TO FOCUS ON TESTING TWICE PER WEEK IN LINE WITH SEQUENTIAL TESTING AUTHORIZATION FOR RAPID TESTS THAT THE FDA CAME OUT WITH, AND WAS INSPIRED IN PART BY WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OUTCOME MEASURES GOING ON IN THESE STUDIES, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT SITES THAT HAVE BEEN LAUNCHED AND ARE NOW CLOSED. THERE IS AN APP THAT'S USED WITH THIS FOR ORDERING TESTS AND PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON HOW TO TAKE TESTS, POTENTIALLY TO RESULT, TEST RESULTS BOTH IN MICHIGAN AND TENNESSEE. THE BASIC TESTING PLATFORM HERE IS THE QUIDEL QUICKVUE, AMONG THE FIRST TO BE APPROVED FOR FULLY OVER THE COUNTER USE, AND THERE HAVE BEEN 2 MILLION OF THESE THAT HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED. IN FACT, IN MULTIPLE PROGRAMS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY, THERE ARE CLOSE TO 3 MILLION, A LITTLE OVER 3 MILLION TESTS THAT HAVE BEEN PURCHASED AND DISTRIBUTED IN THE SAY YES TO COVID TEST PROGRAM, RADX UP PROGRAMS FOR RETURN TO SCHOOL, THE ACT IV PROGRAM, AS WELL AS SOME PILOT STUDIES WE'VE BEEN MANAGING IN ORDER TO GHAIN A GAIN A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PEOPLE LIKE AT-HOME TESTING AND THEIR WORKFLOWS. SO THESE ARE IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY. I'LL FOCUS IN ON ONE OF THEM, THE MICHIGAN LOCATION. WHICH HAS TWO CITIES WITHIN WAWSH WASHTENAW COUNTY. AND ANN ARBOR, WHICH IS LOWER. AND INTERESTINGLY, AND MAYBE PERHAPS A BIT COUNTER INTUITIVELY, THE YPSILANTI PROGRAM HAS BEEN ACTUALLY MUCH MORE VIGOROUS, RECEIVING EIGHT TESTS PER PERSON ON AVERAGE IN YPSILANTI, SO WHEN WE DO POPULATION ADJUSTED DISTRIBUTION AS COMPARED TO ANN ARBOR, SO IT'S BEEN SURPRISINGLY SUCCESSFUL IN HIGH SVI AREAS, THE WHOLE DISTRIBUTION NETWORK. AS A RESULT OF THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROGRAM, WHICH LARGELY USED AMAZON FULFILLMENT AND WEB BASED INFORMATION TRANSMISSION LINKING TO COMMUNITY HEALTH AS WELL, BUT A VERY, VERY STRONG WEB BASED STRUCTURE. UP TO FOUR ADDITIONAL SAY YES TO COVID TEST SITES HAVE NOW BEEN APPROVED. TWO OF THEM ARE IN HAWAII AND GEORGIA. THIS IS A COLLABORATION WITH THE WHITE HOUSE PANDEMIC TESTING BOARD. THEY SPECIFICALLY REQUESTED THIS. AND IT INVOLVES A PARTNERSHIP WITH HHS SURGE TEAMS. THERE WILL BE UP TO ANOTHER 4 MILLION HOME AND OVER THE COUNTER TESTS THAT WILL BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THIS ADDITIONAL PROGRAM. AND TO MAKE MUCH OF THIS HAPPEN AT THE CENTER HAS BEEN CARE EVOLUTION, A DIGITAL HEALTH PLATFORM THAT WE'VE SUPPORTED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, AND I POINT OUT ANDREW WEITZ AND KRISHNA JULURU, INCLUDING WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATOR AND APHL, THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH LABS, IN ORDER TO TAKE INFORMATION FROM APPS, STANDARDIZE THE DATA ELEMENTS, AND TRANSMIT IT USING FIRE AND HL7 STRUCTURE TO PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES AND FEDERAL DATABASES. SO THIS IS NOW NOT JUST UNDER CONSTRUCTION, IT IS ACTUALLY CONSTRUCTED. AND IT'S AN IMPORTANT PATHWAY THAT WE HOPE WILL BE INVOLVED AND UTILIZED IN FUTURE PROGRAMS. EVERYONE IS VERY WORRIED ABOUT VARIANTS, AND JANUARY, WE ESTABLISHED -- OF 2020 -- SORRY, THAT'S JANUARY OF 2021, WE ESTABLISHED THE VARIANT TASK FORCE. AT THE CENTER OF THE TASK FORCE IS A DATABASE FROM A COMPANY CALLED ROSALYN. THE POINT OF THIS TASK FORCE WAS TWOFOLD. FIRST TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF VARIANCE ON BOTH NUCLEIC ACID TESTS AND ANTIGEN TESTS, SO THE DATABASE CAN BE USED TO LOOK AT SEQUENCES AND COMPARE THOSE SEQUENCES TO PRIMERS AND TO EPITOPES IN THE CASE OF ANTIGEN TESTS, AND SECONDLY, TO POTENTIALLY DESIGN TESTS FOR VARIANT SURVEILLANCE. FOR EXAMPLE, SNP CHIPS OR GENOTYPING APPROACHES, THAT WOULD NOT USE NEXT GENERAL SEQUENCING AND COULD BE DEPLOYED AT THE POINT OF TESTING. THIS THIS HAS BEEN A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM, A FEDERAL AGENCY COLLABORATION, AGAIN LED BY NIBIB AND OUR OUTSIDE COLLABORATORS, THE RADX TEAM, A HOST OF REALLY OUTSTANDING INDUSTRY EXPERTS, EMORY EXPERTS, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON. WE NOW HAVE MORE THAN 75,000 SAMPLES WITH VARIANTS IN THE BIOBANK AT EMORY GEORGIA TECH, AGAIN STARTED IN JANUARY. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT RESOURCE BECAUSE MANY OF THESE VARIANTS NOW HAVE DISAPPEARED, THEY'VE BEEN OUTCOMPETED BY THE DELTA VARIANT. SO THIS IS ONGOING, IT'S A REGULAR INTERACTION WITH THE FTA. THE FDA ON WHETHER MANUFACTURERS SHOULD BE ENGAGED IN THE MODIFICATION, REDESIGN OR POSSIBLY RECALL OF THEIR TESTS. THE SECOND IS WHAT WE CALL SNP CHIPS. THIS IS TO DESIGN TESTS THAT WOULD NOT INVOLVE NEXT GEN SEQUENCING BASED ON GENOTYPING AND WE'RE CALLING THIS CALLING THIS PROJE CT ROSA. SO THIS HAS RECENTLY LAUNCHED IN THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, AGAIN INVOLVING ROSALIND GISADE, WHICH HAS ABOUT 3 MILLION SEQUENCES IN THEIR REPOSITORY. SO THE TEAM HAS DESIGNED A 48-MARKER SNP CHIP OR GENOTYPING APPROACH THAT WILL DO THREE THINGS. ONE, EVALUATE THE POSSIBILITY, LOOK AT ITS LINEAGE FOR ALL OF THE WHOA VARIANTS, AND THREE, BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY MUTATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL INTEREST. SO THE BIG ADVANTAGES TO THIS APPROACH ARE SPEED. RIGHT NOW, YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE, BUT THE WAY THAT THE CDC GETS INFORMATION ABOUT VARIANTS IS RANDOM SAMPLING OF AROUND 5% OF THE POSITIVE -- THIS CAN TAKE ON THE ORDER OF FOUR TO SIX WEEKS TO GET THE ANSWER. SO IT'S QUITE TIME LAGGED. SO THIS APPROACH WOULD NOT INVOLVE REFLEX TESTING. IT COULD BE TEE EMPLOYED IN LABORATORIES TO DO THOUSANDS OF TESTS PER DAY COMPARED TO NGS. THE COST, THE INITIAL CAPITAL EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT IS LESS IN TERMS OF THE PRICE PER TEST IN NGS, AND IT'S REALLY ADAPTABLE TO MANY DIFFERENT LABORATORIES. SO TO THE EXTENT THAT LABORATORY TESTING IS USED IN THE COUNTRY WITH PCR, IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE ADAPTED. IN ORDER TO HELP FACILITATE THAT, WE'RE TRYING SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT. WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO SUBMIT ON BEHALF OF NIH AND RADX AN FDA EUA FOR THIS PROCESS PERHAPS AS EARLY AS MID NOVEMBER, AND DISTRIBUTE THE ALGORITHMS, THE BIOINFORMATICS SIDE, THROUGH ROSALYN SO THAT ANY LABORATORY COULD RUN THIS TEST MUCH LIKE YALE SUPPORTED THE SALIVA HRB DIRECT ASSAYS ON A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PLATFORMS, THE -- WHICH THEY'RE NOW MODIFYING FOR FLU AND COVID, SO WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION HERE. SO LET ME KIND OF WRAP SOME THINGS UP WITH ONGOING CHALLENGES. SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THAT OUR REPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TESTS IS NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT. THIS IS AN INTERESTING STORY. THREE-WEEK DELAYS IN TRACKING INFECTIONS, LAB RESULTS DELIVERED BY WEG REGULAR MAIL OR EVEN PHACS, AND THERE FA EXK, ANDX, AND T HERE ARE MANY, MANY INTERRUPTIONS IN TRANSMISSION THAT REALLY LEAD TO A FAILURE TO IDENTIFY HOT SPOTS QUICKLY ENOUGH TO SEE OUTBREAKS. THE SECOND AREA IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING IN COUNCIL FOR QUITE SOME TIME, THIS PIONEERING PAPER, THAT CAME OUT IN SCIENCE AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE THAT HAS ALL THE DATA IN IT. NEARLY FIVE OUT OF SIX CORONAVIRUS CASES WERE UNDETECTED. SO WE HAVE BEEN BLIND WITH TESTING FOR QUITE A LARGE PORTION OF THE PANDEMIC. THE BOTTOM LINE AT THAT TIME, NEARLY 17 MILLION AMERICANS MAY HAVE GONE UNKING ITED WITH COVID LAST -- SO THESE ARE A COUPLE OF INTERESTING ONGOING CHALLENGES. AND WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF ALL OF THIS? IN VERY PRACTICAL TERMS, GUIDANCE AND POLICY DECISIONS ARE MADE BASED ON LAGGING AND INCOMPLETE TEST DATA. I LIKE TO THINK OF IT AS SORT OF THE CHALLENGES THAT ASTRONOMERS HAVE WHEN THEY LOOK AT LIGHT FROM DES TANS STARS. DISTANT STARS. IT'S OLD LIGHT, AND MUCH OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THIS REPORTER STRUCTURE IS LOOKING AT OLD -- NOT LIGHT YEARS OLD BUT MAYBE WEEKS TO A MONTH OLD. SO WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS? WE NEED REALTIME DATA, VERY INTUITIVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THIS WOULD INVOLVE MODERNIZING AND EXPANDING DIGITAL HEALTH AND REPORTING. IT WOULD IMPACT BOTH LAB, POC AND OVER THE COUNTER TESTS. WE ALSO NEED TO HAVE BET AND MORE ACCESSIBLE RAPID TESTS, NOT JUST ANTIGEN TESTS BUT THERE ARE OTHERS THAT WORK ALMOST AS WELL AS RTPCR BUT HAVE FORM FACTORS AND PRICE POINTS THAT ARE COMPARABLE TO ANTIGEN TESTS. AND THIS REALLY NEEDS TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE PUBLIC. WE ARE NOT REALLY FULLY UTILIZING THE DISRUPTIVE POWER OF THE INTERNET TO DISTRIBUTE AND REPORT. WE'RE RELYING ON ESTABLISHED STRUCTURES THAT WERE CREATED BY THE WAY -- BY A MORE TRADITIONAL WAY OF APPROACHING THIS PROBLEM, AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO INTRODUCE INNOVATION IN THIS AREA. WE'LL SEE MULTIPLEX TESTS THIS FALL AND OUR INNOVATION FUNNEL 2.0 IS SUPPORTING BOTH THESE ACCESSIBLE FAST TESTS AS WELL AS MULTI- -- ALONG WITH FLU, RSV, THESE WILL BE FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. THE OTHERS WILL GO INTO POINT OF CARE AND LABORATORY SETTINGS, AND OF COURSE AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE NEED SURVEILLANCE, GENOTYPING WITH INFORMATICS, BUT THERE ARE ALREADY MANUFACTURERS THAT RADX IS SUPPORTING THAT ARE ENVISIONING AND IN FACT HAVE WORKING PROTOTYPES OF CONVERTING THIS POINT OF THING TO POINT OF CARE POINT-OF-CARE TESTS. AND OF COURSE THE FUTURE IS LEVERAGING FOR OWES PATHOGENS AND PREEPTNESS. SO ONE LATEBREAKING PIECE OF NEWS IS THE PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENT JUST LAST WEEK. AND THIS IN IN MANY WAYS VALIDATES THE BOULDER WE'VE BEEN PUSHING AGAINST FOR MANY MONTHS. IF YOU -- HOW AT HOME CORONAVIRUS TESTING IS BECOMING PART OF BIDEN'S PLAN FOR MANAGING THE PANDEMIC. IN HIS SPEECH, IN ADDITION TO VACCINES BEING MANDATORY, HE GOES THROUGH A NUMBER OF KEY POINTS FOR TESTING. IN WORK, MANDATED BY OSHA, THERE WILL BE VACCINES AND WEEKLY TESTING. IN ENTERTAINMENT VENUES, RECOMMENDATION IS TO BE ABLE TO SHOW NEGATIVE TESTS, FOR PEOPLE TO ENGAGE IN ENTERTAINMENT MENUS. IN SCHOOLING, IN SCHOOLS, REGULAR TESTING WHICH WE'VE SEEN, OF COURSE, THAT BEING LAUNCHED ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY, BUT THIS PROVIDES FURTHER FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THAT, SO THAT'S COMING FROM PROCUREMENT WILL BE AUTHORIZED FOR OVER THE COUNTER AND POINT-OF-CARE TESTS, AND DPA, THE DEFENSE PROCUREMENT ACT, WILL BE -- OR DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT WILL BE INVOKED IN ORDER TO RATE THOSE COMPANIES AND GET THEM TO DELIVER TESTS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR HIGH PRIORITY NEEDS. THERE'S ALSO -- THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE PANDEMIC TESTING BOARD IS WORKING WITH RETAILERS TO BE ABLE TO SELL OVER THE COUNTER TESTS THAT COST AND COORDINATE WITH MEDICAID FOR REIMBURSEMENT ON THOARS OVER THOSE OVER THE COUNTER TES TS. IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THESE WILL BE DISTRIBUTED IN HIGH SVI REGIONS AND PHARMACIES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY WILL EXPAND THESE OVER THE COUNTER AND POINT-OF-CARE TESTS AND EXPAND THEIR FUTURE. SO THIS IS EXCITING TO SEE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE COVER PICTURE FROM "THE WASHINGTON POST," THIS ACTUALLY COMES FROM OUR SAY YES TO COVID TEST PROGRAM WITH THE QUICKVUE TESTS WE HAVE DISTRIBUTED. SO I WILL STOP THERE AND I THINK WE HAVE SOME TIMES FOR QUESTIONS, AND DAVID, CAN I TURN IT BACK TO YOU FOR MODERATING THE QUESTIONS OR HOW WOULD -- >> HAPPY TO HELP OUT WITH THAT. IF THE COUNCILMEMBERS WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO TURN ON THEIR CAMERAS AND THEN WE CAN HAVE SOME DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS FOR BRUCE. THANK YOU. >> HOPEFULLY EVERYONE IS STILL AWAKE. >> SO BRUCE, I'D LOVE TO JUMP IN HERE WITH THE FIRST QUESTION. FIRST OFF, CONGRATULATIONS ALWAYS. ALWAYS SO MUCH HAPPENING. AND I'M GLAD YOU ENDED WITH THE RADX AND THE HOME TESTING TECHNOLOGY BECAUSE I'VE BEEN HEARING IN THE BROADER PUBLIC, I'D SAY, ABOUT WHY ARE WE NOT EXPANDING HOME TESTING AND I KNEW THAT ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED WITH RADX WITH THE MULTIPLE TYPES OF TESTS. I JUST WONDER, I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS IN NIBIB'S PURVIEW, COST ANALYSIS STRUCTURES TO DETERMINE WHICH ONES WOULD BE CHEAPEST TO MANUFACTURE FOR BROADEST DISTRIBUTION, WAS THAT CONSIDERATION IN THE PROGRAM AND IS THAT HELPFUL AT ALL TO GET MORE OUT FASTER? >> YEAH, AND LET ME JUST JUMP ON SOMETHING THAT YOU JUST SAID. I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS IN NIBIB'S PURVIEW, SO THE PANDEMIC HAS CREATED A NEW SUR VIEW FOR US, WE ARE CONSTANTLY OUT OF OUR PURVIEW. THE NIH IS MORE OR LESS CONSTANTLY. YOU KNOW BE WE'RE KIND OF A UNIQUE ORGANIZATION AT NIH IN THAT WE ARE A RELENTLESSLY PROBLEM-SOLVING-DRIVEN ORGANIZATION, SO WE WORK WITH THE FDA AND THE CDC, WHICH ARE KIND OF -- HAVE DIFFERENT RESPONSIBILITIES, SO WE'RE ABLE TO BE FLEXIBLE AND NIMBLE AND TRY TO FILL THE GAPS. SO ABSOLUTELY COST, WHICH IS TOTALLY BEYOND OUR PURVIEW, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE CONSIDERED VERY DEEPLY IN OUR THOUGHTS ON HOW WE SUPPORT A PORTFOLIO OF TESTING TECHNOLOGIES. HOW PRICE ACTUALLY APPEARS IN THE MARKETPLACE IS SOMETHING I THINK WE ALSO UNDERSTAND FAIRLY WELL FROM OUR EXPERIENCE IN INNOVATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, MARKETS AND SO FORTH, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE HAVE MUCH CONTROL OVER. SO WHAT YOU'VE SEEN WITH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS THE RESULT OF MANY MONTHS OF PRESSURE FROM US AND OTHERS TO TRY TO MAKE A MOVE IN THAT REGARD TO DRAMATICALLY EXPAND OTC TESTS AND NOT HAVE THEM SO THEY ARE ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON FLUCTUATIONS IN MARKET DEMAND. I THINK THE HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE THAT WE ALL SAW WITH ABBOTT DESTROYING 8.6 MILLION TESTS WHEN THE DEMAND WENT AWAY IS UNFORTUNATELY SOMETHING WE HAVE ALL BEEN PREDICTING. ALTHOUGH WE DIDN'T GO SO FAR AS TO PREDICT THAT THEY WOULD DESTROY TESTS, THEY ALREADY SAW MANUFACTURERS WOULD BE CUTTING BACK ON THEIR PRODUCTION CAPACITY, REDUCING THEIR INVENTORIES. WHEN THE TEST DEMANDS WENT AWAY, THAT'S THE NATURAL REACTION OF AN INDUSTRY THAT IS TETHERED TO THE MARKET. AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO ENCOURAGE ALL ACROSS THESE COLLABORATIVE STRUCTURES, THE NIH AND THE TESTING DIAGNOSTICS WORKING GROUP IN HHS AND SO FORTH IS ENCOURAGE THE PANDEMIC TESTING BOARD TO WORK WITH THE WHITE HOUSE TO CONTEMPLATE SOME NEW MODELS, TO STABILIZE THE INDUSTRY, TO NOT MAKE IT SO SUBJECT TO THE FICKELL FLUCTUATIONS OF MARKET, BECAUSE WHEN THE SURGE COMES AGAIN IN A FEW MONTHS, WE'RE GOING TO NEED THOSE TESTS. WE DON'T WANT THEM IN THE TRASH CAN, AND WE WANT THE MANUFACTURING LINES TO BE WARM. SO THERE ARE WAYS -- BARDA HAS PIONEERED SOME OF THESE BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THE COUNTRY HAS REALLY HAD TO CONTEND WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS AT SUCH A SCALE. SO THAT'S WHY I'M SO EXCITED BY THE ANNOUNCEMENT, WHICH IS A RECOGNITION THAT WE'RE GOING TO NOT JUST ADDRESS THE SHORT TERM URGENT NEED RKT BUT THINK NEED, BUT THINK ABOUT THIS FOR THE LONGER TERM AND TRY TO TRANSFER THOSE LEARNING EXPERIENCES TO PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS. SO I THINK THERE THIS IS A VERY POSITIVE SIGN. >> BRUCE, I HAVE A QUESTION. >> HEY, JENNIFER. >> LET ME ADD MY CONGRATULATIONS TO JUST THE FANTASTIC WORK THAT'S BEEN ONGOING. IT'S ALWAYS EXCITING TO HEAR. I NOTED THAT MANY OF THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU SAID IN TERMS OF REPORTING AND INFRASTRUCTURE, IS THERE ANY RELATION THERE WITH THE SMART AND CONNECTED HEALTH PROGRAM AND GETTING -- >> THERE ARE. THAT IS OUR COMMUNITY AND I REALLY WISH WE WOULD SEE MORE RESPONSE IN THESE AREAS. I THINK THERE IS TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO GET ENGAGED SINCE WE THINK NOT JUST ABOUT THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS BUT ALSO HOW TO BRING THE TECHNOLOGIES INTO AREAS OF NEED AND WORKING IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS. SO I HOPE WE SEE A BIGGER RESPONSE BECAUSE IT'S AN URGENT, URGENTLY NEEDED AREA. IT'S BEEN A LITTLE SHOCKING TO ME. NOW THE CDC'S DATA INFRASTRUCTURE, THEY EMBARKED ON A MODERNIZATION PLAN A FEW YEARS AGO. IT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT FULLY COMPLETE. SO IT BOTH ENGAGES LABORATORY REPORTING, WHICH IS DOING MUCH, MUCH BETTER THAN POINT OF CARE, WHICH IS ALMOST NON-EXISTENT, AND OVER THE COUNTER REPORTING, WHICH IS TOTALLY NON-EXIST TENT. SO THE NUMBERS HAVE SHIFTED AS WE PREDICTED. IF YOU REMEMBER GOING BACK TO I GUESS THE FIRST COUNCIL MEETINGS WHERE WE SAID OUR AMBITION WAS TO SHIFT THE NATION'S CAPACITY FROM PRIMARILY LABORATORY TO POINT OF CARE AND HOME, THAT'S HAPPENED. IN FACT, POINT OF CARE AND HOME IS LIKE 3 TO 4X THE NUMBER OF TESTS GOING ON IN LABORATORIES, AND IT'S NOT SURPRISING. THAT'S VERY CONVENIENT AND BEING SESSIBLE. HOWEVER, WE DON'T HAVE EXACT NUMBERS ON THOSE TESTS OR RESULTS. WE DON'T KNOW THE VOLUME. WE DON'T KNOW THE POSITIVITY RATES, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT CAPTURED. >> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, BRUCE. I SEE GILDA HAD HER HAND UP. GILDA. >> YES. THANK YOU. SO BRUCE, MY QUESTION IS AROUND RADX ACTIVITIES. SO NIBIB HAS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB TAKING ON THE RADX ACTIVITIES MEETING THE CHALLENGE, ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER FANTASTIC THINGS IT WAS ALREADY DOING AND ADDING SOME NEW THINGS ALONG THE WAY. SO MY QUESTION IS, WITH RADX TAKING UP THE TYPE OF LARGE SPACE, LIKE IF YOU LOOK AT EVEN WHAT YOU SHOWED US WITH THE FUNDING, IT'S SUCH A HUGE AMOUNT. WE CAN'T PREDICT THE PANDEMIC FOR SURE, BUT WHAT ARE THE PLANS AND THINKING ABOUT WHAT GETS RETAINED IN NIBIB, WHAT MAY HAVE TO SHIFT, JUST THAT KIND OF FUTURE THINKING ABOUT SOMEHOW AT SOME POINT WHAT'S GOING ON, RADX IS GOING TO SHIFT. >> YEAH, THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION. AND A TOUGH ONE TO ANSWER. BUT I THINK WE HAVE SORT OF THE INFLECTION POINT WILL BE -- AND WHEN THE NATION SHIFTS TO AT LEAST THE ABILITY TO VISUALIZE MOVING FROM PANDEMIC TO ENDEMIC, AND WE WILL BE INVESTING, WE HOPE, MORE RESOURCES IN PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS. AND THEN I HOPE AT THAT POINT, AGAIN, SO MUCH OF THIS DEPENDS ON WHAT CONGRESS DECIDES TO DO. BUT WE ARE IN THE MIX TO BE ABLE TO HAVE STABLE, LONG TERM SUPPORT. BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE INDICATIONS THAT NEXT YEAR, WE WILL HAVE AN ADDITIONAL $500 MILLION. WHICH WE HAVE NOT KNOWN, AND THAT'S NOT GUARANTEED, BUT IT'S STILL WORKINGITY WAY THROUGH O AND B APPROVAL. WE ACTUALLY HAD THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD JUST BE SPENDING DOWN THIS YEAR AND THEN JUST SAY, WELL, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED AND WE'RE DONE. BUT MANY PEOPLE HAVE RECOGNIZED THE VALUE OF OUR PROGRAM AND WE'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT DONE WITH THE PANDEMIC, SO THAT REQUEST THAT WE HAD MADE VERY EARLY IN THE YEAR LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE THAT. BUT IT'S STILL A SPRINT AND YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, AND WHAT YOU SEE THAT WE'RE DOING MIRRORS WHAT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IS TRYING TO CONTEND WITH. INTO ALL OF ALLALL OF YOU. ALL OF US. SO WHAT WE'RE HOPING FOR IS THAT WITH THIS NEXT APPROPRIATION, WHICH MAY GO THROUGH THIS RECONCILIATION PROCESS, SO KEEP YOUR EYES ON THAT, THERE WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR LONGER TERM STABILITY AND WE CAN START THINKING ABOUT THE KINDS OF STRUCTURES WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO PUT IN PLACE SO THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN. BECAUSE IT'S EASY TO MODEL THE LIKELIHOOD OF THIS HAPPENING AGAIN. IT'S ALSO HE'D EASY TO MODEL, VERY SIMPLE MATH, HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO INVEST AND THE COST THAT WE'VE NOW EXPERIENCED IN THIS PANDEMIC IN ORDER TO PREVENT AND ATTENUATE THE IMPACT OF THE NEXT ONE, WHICH SEEMS TO BE COMING WITH GREATER AND GREATER FREQUENCY AS TIME GOES ON. SO THAT'S WHAT I'M HOPING FOR, GILDA. MAYBE IN JANUARY, BECAUSE I THINK THE MAJOR BUDGET BATTLES WILL BE TAKING PLACE IN THE NEXT MONTH, OR AT LEAST WE HOPE THAT THERE WILL BE AN FY 22 BUDGET THAT HAPPENS BEFORE JANUARY. OTHERWISE WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE WITH CONTINUING RESOLUTIONS. BUT THAT'S WHERE IT IS. THAT'S WHERE THE COUNTRY IS RIGHT NOW. IT'S AT THE PANDEMIC-ENDEMIC TRANSITION AND STARTING TO THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE BRING ALL THESE TAXICAB NOLGS TECHNOLOGIES AND STRUCTURES THAT WE'VE CREATED INTO THE NEXT PREPAREDNESS LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE. THEN WE CAN INTEGRATE IT INTO OUR NORMAL OPERATIONS, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, THE ONLY REAL WAY TO GET OUR TOTAL BUDGET INCREASED IS THROUGH A CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATION WHICH WOULD BE ON GOING OR POSSIBLY THIS UNIQUE PATHWAY FOR A SPECIFIC LINE ITEM. >> THANK YOU. I SEE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS. SO ZANE, SAM, AMY, SOHI, ANNE AND THEN RON. >> BRUCE, AS ALWAYS, GREAT STUFF. NIBIB MAKES GREAT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY AND PATIENT RESPONSE. SO I'M GOING TO GET AWAY FROM RADX, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT MEDICAL IMAGING PHANTOM LIE LIBRARY. WE LAUNCHED A REGULATORY CATALOGS TOOL ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND ONE OF THE KEY COMPONENTS IS PHANTOMS. SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD IS WHAT IS NIBIB PUTTING IN TO SUPPORT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE SO THESE PHANTOM LIBRARIES CAN MOVE FORWARD, SECOND ONE, HOW DO WE MOVE TOGETHER BET ON THIS. >> SO I DON'T HAVE ANY DETAILS FOR YOU ON THE ACTUAL INVESTMENT. DAVID, DO YOU KNOW WHAT ANY OF THOSE ARE OR IS GOY INGE ON THEING ON THE LINE? >> I AM HERE. AS BRUCE MENTIONED, THIS IS -- THE PHANTOM -- THE AGREEMENT THROUGH THE INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT BACK IN AUGUST, SO THIS IS TO THE VERY BEGINNING AND NIBIB'S CONTRIBUTION IS RELATIVELY SMALL, ORDER OF 70 THOWR FOW DOLLARS, BUT THE GREAT VISION BETWEEN NIBIB AND THE NIST, WE ARE ANTICIPATING WORKING TOGETHER AND BEYOND MRI BASE THE PHANTOM AND EXPANDING IT INTO OTHER IMAGING MODALITIES, AND EVEN POSSIBLY DEVELOP THIS NOT JUST A LIBRARY, PERHAPS AS A REPOSITORY FOR INVESTIGATORS WITH FEDERAL FUNDINGS DEVELOP THOSE PHANTOMS BY PUTTING THEM ON THE SHELVES AFTER PROJECT ENDED, SO WE COULD MAKE USES OF THOSE PHANTOMS SCATTERED AROUND AS WELL AND HAVE AT LEAST CALIBRATED THEM. AND THEY BRING IT BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. SO THOSE ARE ALL -- AND SO FAR NIBIB'S CONTRIBUTION IS ON THE ORDER OF $74,000. >> ZANE, SO MAYBE I CAN ALSO ADD THAT I GUESS THAT'S A BEGINNING, AND WE'RE ALL VERY, VERY PASSIONATE, THIS GOES RIGHT TO THE CORE OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO. IN FACT, MANY OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED. SO WE REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH US ON THAT. YOU KNOW, BOTH JOSH IF FEFFER HAS SOME FANTASTIC PHANTOMS, WE KNOW DAN HAMMER HAS PHANTOMS, SO WE REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON THAT. THIS IS AN AREA THAT'S LONG OVERDUE AND MUCH NEEDED, AND IT'S BEEN PERCOLATING ALONG FOR YEARS, BUT I THINK WE'VE KIND OF COME TO THE POINT WHERE IT CAN GET A SURGE. >> ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT'S GREAT TO SEE, BRUCE. WE'D BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU GUYS POPULATE IT. OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A BUNCH OF THEM HERE AND WE'D LOVE TO SEE HOW WE CAN AGAIN BETTER COLLABORATE ON THAT. >> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, ZANE. I HAD SAM NEXT, BUT ANNE, JUST FOR POSSIBLE CONTINUITY OF SUBJECT MATTER, WERE YOU GOING TO POTENTIALLY COMMENT ON THAT? >> NO, ACTUALLY I WASN'T GOING TO COMMENT ON THAT BUT I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED THAT I DIDN'T SEE NIST'S NAME -- RESPONSIBILITY TO PHANTOMS. NO, I WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO GO BACK TO THE RADX. I HAD A COMMENT ABOUT THAT. BUT IF THAT'S OFF TOPIC, I CAN WAIT. >> OKAY. ARE YOU SUGGEST ON THIS TOPIC AS WELL? THANK YOU. MARYELLEN? >> YES, I WAS GOING TO EXPAND ON THE PHANTOMS IN THAT YOBD BEYOND THE USE PHANTOM FOR PHYSICAL IMAGING QUALITY, THERE'S VARIOUS FOLKS WORKING ON VIRTUAL CLINICAL TRIALS, SO THEARS TAWRKING BUT ALSO DIGITAL PHANTOMS AND LINKING IN WITH THE VARIOUS INVESTIGATORS DOING VIRTUAL CLINICAL TRIALS COULD EXPAND THAT NETWORK. >> THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION. AND WE'RE JUST TRACKING THAT VERY CLOSELY. WOULD LOVE TO SEE AN EXPANSION IN THAT AREA, AND ONCE WE ARE ABLE TO CONVINCE THE APPLICATION ORIENTED IT'S TEUTS OF THE POWER OF VIRTUAL TRIALS, WE'VE REALLY DONE SOMETHING. SORE THAT'S A HUGE CHALLENGE FOR US, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, MARYELLEN, AND YOUR COLLEAGUES TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT BECAUSE THAT'S SUCH A CRITICAL THING FOR YOU TO DO. >> THANK YOU. THEN SAM AND THEN AMY >> AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE EXCITING UPDATES AS USUAL. THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OFF POINT. RECENTLY, WE'VE BEEN HEARING NEWS ABOUT SNIFFING DOGS. WITH COVID AT AIRPORTS. HOW DO WE STANDARDIZE THAT? BECAUSE IT'S NOT BEING ENOUGH LIGHTING. I KNOW IT'S -- WONDERING HOW YOU CAN TRAIN THE ADULTS TO SENSE COVID CONTINUOUSLY WITH NO BREAKS. THE QUESTION IS, ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT USING CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES OR THE NEW ONES IN DEVELOPMENT TO STANDARDIZE THE -- SCENT IN CAPACITY OF DOGS, FOR EXAMPLE? >> WE ARE NOT SUPPORTING THAT, BUT I'M VERY INTERESTED IN IT AND FOLLOWING IT CLOSELY BECAUSE REALLY ESSENTIALLY WHAT THEY ARE BEING INTENSIVELY TRAINED OR OR VOLATILE ORGANIZE BEAUTIFUL TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE DOING EXACTLY THAT. IN PARTICULAR, ONE I CAN MENTION WOULD RING IR. ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED -- AND I LOVE TO SAY THIS, SO THAT'S CAVITY RING DOWN SPEC PROS COPEE THAT USES SPECTROSCOPY, BUT NOW THEY'VE MANAGED TO GET THIS VERY ESOTERIC TECHNOLOGY INTO A SMALL AND AFFORDABLE BOX, AND THEY OPTIMIZED IT FOR WORKER SAFETY IN MINES, AND THEY'VE MOVED IT INTO THE VOLATILE ORGANICS AREA, AND THESE HAVE QUITE ENORMOUS POWER AND NOT NECESSARILY IN SPIS FIS IN SPECIFICITY. SO ONE CAN USE THEM FOR RAPID ASSESSMENT IN A SINGLE RAPID EXHALED BREATH, LOTS OF WORK DONE ON CAPTURING DEVICES BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED TO DO MID, YOU CAN DO MASS SPEC OR OTHER TYPES OF TECHNOLOGIES. SO THIS IS A RAPIDLY MOVING AREA AND I THINK IT WILL PLAY A ROLE IN RAPID SCREENING, AND I THINK THE LIMITATION ON THE DOGS IS JUST THE TIME THAT IT TAKES. I'VE SEEN A LOT OF SUCCESS WITH THOSE, BUT THE THROUGHPUT OF BEING ABLE TO TRAIN A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF DOGS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF LARGE POPULATIONS, I THINK HAS BEEN SOMETHING OF A LIMITING FACTOR, BUT I DEFINITELY AM ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THAT APPROACH BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING THERE. AND IT'S BEEN THE VOLATILE ORGANICS. AND THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND. >> THANK YOU, SA. , SAM. AMY. >> GOOD MORNING FROM THE WEST COAST, AND BRUCE, THANK YOU SO MUCH JUST FOR THE ALWAYS EXCELLENT OVERVIEW. REALLY KEEPING US UP TO DATE ON EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON, WHICH IS SO IMPRESSIVE AND SO HELPFUL. SO THANK YOU TO YOU AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE TEAMS THAT WORKED REPRESENTED HERE. I CAN'T EVEN COMPREHEND HOW MANY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN WORKING AN EXCELLENT QUESTION FROM GILDA ABOUT THE RAD TECH AND THE INNOVATION FUNNEL. AND I WANTED TO GET YOUR THINKING IF YOU WOULD ON THAT INNOVATION FUNNEL. SO CLARELY IN THESE AREAS CLEARLY ON THES E AREAS ON THE POINTY END OF THE SPEAR, IF YOU WILL, WITH THE INNOVATION FUNNEL, THERE'S BEEN DECADES OF RESEARCH THAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE DIAGNOSTICS. YOU KNOW THIS, EVERYONE ON THIS CALL KNOWS THIS. THE SAME IS TRUE OBVIOUSLY WITH VACCINES. ATHINK PERHAPS OF THE PUBL THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF GAP THERE WITH UNDERSTAND D STANDING HOW MANY DECADES WENT INTO MRNA VACCINES, WE SAW THEM MOVE TO THE POINTY END OF THE SPHERE. SO I REALLY HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU, AND ONE IS, BUILDING OFF GILDA'S QUESTION, AS YOU LOOK TO THE FUTURE, TO THE BEST OF YOUR CAPABILITY, I KNOW I'M ASKING A LOT IN THIS TIME, BUT AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT NIBIB SUPPORT FOR FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH, HOW DO YOU SQUARE THAT WITH MORE PRESSING NEEDS THAT RIGHT NOW ARE IN PANDEMIC, DIAGNOSTICS, PROBABLY SOON WILL BE IN ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AND OTHER KIND OF EX-EXTENSIONAL HEALTH THREATS AT WELL. SECOND QUESTION IS, IS THERE A FRAMEWORK WE CAN THINK ABOUT WITH NIBIB FOR THIS INNOVATION RESEARCH, BUT WE KNOW THINGS LIKE SHARK TANK MIGHT NOT WORK FOR CONCEPTS AND DISCOVERIES THAT ARE PICK YOUR BRAIN ON THAT FOR A MOMENT. >> OKAY. YES, THIS IS A HARD ONE. AND WE ALL REALLY RECOGNIZE THAT WE'VE GOT TO KEEP THE SOURCE MATERIAL VIBRANT. SO I THINK THE KEY FOR US IS THE WAY THAT WE LOOK AT OUR PORTFOLIO WHICH IS REALLY FUNDAMENTALLY -- YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A BIOLOGIC -- THAT'S OUR FOUNDATIONAL STRUCTURE. AND SO WE DO SUPPORT -- I WOULDN'T NECESSARILY CALL IT SUPER FUNDAMENTAL. I THINK -- I GUESS -- AND THERE ARE DEGREES OF THIS. SO OUR PARTNER INSTITUTES LIKE NIGMS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHERE I GOT MY FIRST GRANT TO TURN DIODE LASERS ON OR OFF A BILLION TIMES A SECOND, YOU MIGHT CALL THAT FUNDAMENTAL. THAT WAS MY FIRST NIH GRANT. WITH SOME THEORETICAL PROJECTIONS TO WHERE THAT COULD GO. BUT WE HAVE THAT ECOSYSTEM AT THE NIH, AND GMS HAS A WONDERFUL SUCCESS RATE AND IS A GREAT PARTNER. SO WE WORK IN COORDINATION WITH THEM. THEY DO QUITE A LOT IN TRAINING AS WELL. SO WE LOOK TO GMS TO PROVIDE THE SUBSTRATE TO SOME EXTENT FOR SORT OF THE NEXT MOVEMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES ALONG TOWARDS MORE APPLICATIONS. YOU CAN COME TO NIBIB WITHOUT AN APPLICATION, WITHOUT A DIRECT COMMERCIALIZATION TARGET, BUT WE TEND TO BE JUST A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO THE APPLICATION THAN NGS. SO NIGMS. SO THE THINK THE TWO OF US TOGETHER COVER THAT PHYSICAL ENGINEERING AND BIOLOGY SPACE IN MEDICINE. SO I THINK YOU HAVE TO THINK OF THIS AS PORTFOLIO PARTNERS IN A PORTFOLIO. IT ALSO HELPS US, BECAUSE PEOPLE ALSO AND OFTEN SAY WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU GUYS, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GM AND NIBIB. THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO -- THE PIPELINE IN TERMS OF HARD CORE OPPORTUNITIES HAPPENING HERE AT THE NIH. COULD OUR PROCESS OF RADX BE APPLIED TO MORE FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS? I THINK IT COULD. BECAUSE THE PROCESS REALLY INTRODUCES I'M AND OPEN SCIENCE OR CONTRIBUTORY PROCESSES THAT ARE NOT NORMALLY FOUND. BASICALLY IN OUR CONVENTIONAL WORLD, YOU HAVE TO BE A REALLY GOOD WRITER, WRITE A CONVINCING PROPOSAL, AND FOR PEER PEER REVIEW, IT TAKES -- I THINK WE CAN USE ELEMENTS OF WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM RADX AND JUST APPLY TO MORE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS. IT DOESN'T ALL HAVE TO BE DEDICATED TOWARDS VERY, VERY APPLIED HERE IS THE NATIONAL URGENT CRISIS TYPE OF THING. SO IT'S A VERY INTERESTING THOUGHT. I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT TRANSFERRED INTO OTHER CHALLENGES FOR OUR FIELD. >> THANK YOU. SOHI, THEN ANNE. >> I ALSO WANTED TO CONGRATULATE YOU AND THE WHOLE INSTITUTE FOR KEEPING YOUR EYE ON THE BALL THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. IT'S BEEN -- OBSERVING THE WAY YOU'RE DOING IT, IT'S REALLY, REALLY FANTASTIC, THE WAY YOU HAVE FOCUSED ON THIS AND THE WAY YOU'RE HELPING THE NATION AND THE WORLD IN THE PROCESS. BUT MY QUESTION IS, A QUICK COMMENT ON THE PREVIOUS QUERY IS THAT YOU HAVE A SAYING IN ENG ENGINEERING, JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING HAS AN APPLICATION TOANT MEAN YOU'VE DOESN'T MEAN YOU'VE DONE THE FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH. THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH THAT POPS UP AS BOTTLENECKS. SO MY QUESTION IS REALLY ON THE FACT THAT THE WAY THIS IS OPENING THE DOOR IN A BIG WAY ON AT HOME AND POINT OF CARE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES. IT'S GAINING ACCEPTANCE, PEOPLE NEED IT SO THEY WILL USE IT, SO IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR TO BE SUCCESSFUL. WE NEED FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH TO GET RID OF THE FAST TESTS THAT HAVE FALSE POSITIVE OR FALSE NEGATIVES, SO THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH THAT HAS TO BE DONE, BUT MY QUESTION IS ACTUALLY OTHER THINGS, THINKING DOWN THE LINE, OTHER RAPID TESTS, OTHER AT-HOME TESTS. THIS IS GOING TO OPEN THE DOOR FOR PEOPLE ACCEPTING OTHER ONES. SO IS THERE -- DO WE HAVE A STRATEGY TO PUT MORE FUNDS IN YOUR PROGRAMS AND REALLY PUSH THE COMMUNITY TO PUT FORWARD MORE FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH TO MAKE THOSE MORE ACCEPTED, MORE RAPID SO -- YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? SO LET'S PIVOT AND DO BIG THINGS FOR THE -- THE INNOVATION POWER IS VERY IMPORTANT BUT LET'S JUST FOCUS ON THESE AT HOME TESTS, CAN YOU FOCUS, CAN YOU MAKE ONE OF THE PROGRAMS -- MAKE IT BROAD, ALL AT HOME TESTS AND -- APPLICATIONS AND WHY WE HAVE THE ATTENTION OF THE MARKET ON THIS. >> YEAH, AND SOHI, THIS IS RIGHT TO THE POINT, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE ISSUE OF AT HOME AND TELEHEALTH AND PERSONALIZED PRECISION MEDICINE. THAT BATTLEGROUND IS IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH DOMAIN RIGHT NOW. I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD BE WAGED IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH DOMAIN. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE IN DIABETES OR METABOLIC DISEASE. THESE THINGS ARE STILL GOING ON, AND OF COURSE THE CONTINUOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR HAS BEEN A FABULOUSLY SUCCESSFUL AT-HOME TEST THAT MEASURES BIOLOGY ON THE TIME SCALE OF BIOLOGY. NEVERTHELESS, IT'S BEEN SLOW ON THE UPTAKE IN CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE, WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN QUITE A RIGOROUS SET OF INCLUSION CRITERIA FOR YOU TO BE DETERMINED BY YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS. SO WE'RE SEEING THIS REALLY INTERESTING DRAMA PLAY OUT IN PUBLIC HEALTH, AND IT GETS BACK TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT MANU ORIGINALLY SAID, IS THIS IN THE DOMAIN OF NIBIB. WE HAVE MOVED SO FAR OUT OF OUR DOMAIN AND COMFORT ZONE, HOWEVER, SOMEONE HAS TO GO THERE AND WE HAVE TO BUILD CON CONSORTIA AND COALITIONS ALONG THE WAY OR ELSE WE WILL NOT GET THESE BEAUTIFUL TECHNOLOGIES IN PEOPLE'S HANDS. FOR ALL OF YOU THAT ARE ENT ENTREPRENEURS AND HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY THAT CAME OUT OF YOUR LABS, YOU REALIZE THE FICKLENESS OF THE INVESTORS AND THE CRITICAL TIMING TO GET SOMETHING OUT AND GET A CPT CODE FOR IT SO THAT IT WORKS. WE'RE ENCOUNTERING THINGS THAT WE CAN SEE QUITE CLEARLY WILL HAVE A HUGE PUBLIC HEALTH GOOD, BUT THERE'S THE MORE CONSERVATIVE MEDICAL APPROACH, WHICH IS EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE EVALUATED AND MODERATED BY A PHYSICIAN, ANY INFORMATION CONTENT THAT'S GENERATED BY A TEST NEEDS TO BE INTERPRETED BY A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, INDIVIDUAL PATIENTS ARE NOT QUALIFIED OR POTENTIAL PATIENTS NOT REALLY QUALIFIED TO OPERATE ANY OF THESE DEVICES OR TECHNOLOGIES. SO THOSE ARE TRADITIONAL CONSERVATIVE VIEWPOINTS THAT I HAVE TO SAY I ENCOUNTER EVERY DAY. AND FOR US, TO SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT, IT HAS BEEN QUITE GRATIFYING, BUT WE HAVE BEEN REALLY PUSHING FOR THAT TYPE OF INVESTMENT. THIS CAPACITY AS YOU'VE SEEN FROM MY PRESENTATIONS HAS BEEN THERE, AND WE HAD TO WAIT UNTIL -- AND PERHAPS IT WAS THIS HORRIFYING MOVE BY ABBOTT THAT CEMENTED, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S DETERMINATION TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE HAD IT. PEOPLE HAVE RESPONDED IN THE SENSE THAT THEY'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT AND WANT TO BE ABLE TO USE AT HOME AND PERSONAL TESTS. SO TO LEVERAGE THOSE PLATFORMS TO MOVE THEM INTO OTHER AREAS LIKE SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES IS -- CLEARLY THAT'S THE NEXT MOVE, IT'S AN OBVIOUS ONE. OTHER RE SPIRE RAH TRI VIRUSES. THERE'S ENORMOUS POTENTIAL AND POWER BEHIND THAT AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE MORE OF THAT. BUT WE DO HAVE TO HAVE THESE NETWORKS, THE DIGITAL HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND PARTNER WITH NSF ON THE SEPARATE AND SPART AND CONNECTE D HEALTH SO WE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS INFORMATION, BE ABLE TO TRANSFER TO HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS SECURELY AND MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUALS TO MANAGE AND GUIDE THEIR OWN HEALTH. SO IT'S A WATERSHED MOMENT FOR SURE, AND IT'S HARD TO SAY EXACTLY WHICH DIRECTION WE'RE GOING, BUT I THINK WE'RE WINNING SOME OF THE BATTLES. INTO I MIGHT NOT HAVE SAID THAT A MONTH AGO. >> I NOTICE DR. PETTIGREW HAS ARRIVED FOR ARRIVED. >> SO BRUCE, ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE TO ALSO ADD MY CON DPRAT LAITIONS JUST PILE ON ABOUT THIS RADX SUCCESS BECAUSE TALK ABOUT MOVING OUT OF -- SWIMMING OUT OF YOUR LANE AND NOT BEING AFRAID TO DO SO IS REALLY EFFECTIVE AND IT SHOULD BE A LESSON FOR ALL OF US, WE PROBABLY NEVER WOULD HAVE HAD THAT IMPACT EXCEPT IN SOMETHING LIKE CYBERSECURITY, BUT IT'S AMAZING HOW YOU PULLED THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER AND ALSO DID SUCH GREAT PUBLIC OUTREACH, AND YOU KNOW, THAT JUST PULLS ALL THE STRINGS TOGETHER. SO ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED THEN YOU STARTED COMING BACK TO IT JUST NOW WAS ABOUT REPORTING AND THE FACT THAT EVEN IF WE HAVE ALL THIS GREAT TESTING, WE HAVEN'T DONE A GREAT JOB AS A NATION WITH RESPECT TO GETTING THIS INFORMATION COLLATED OR EVEN REPORTED. I GO BACK TO THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROD HAD SET UP SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE GATES FOUNDATION ABOUT GETTING IPHONE RELATED TESTS AND HAVE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION BE DISPERSED TO PHARMACEUTICALS OR -- I'M SORRY, TO PHARMACIES OR TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND I'M WONDERING IF THAT IS SORT OF THE NEXT STEP OF RAD X, IS TO GET ALL OF THOSE TESTS WHICH NOW A GAZILLION PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THEM IN THEIR HOMES, ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET THOSE RESULTS BACK TO SOME CENTRALIZED LOCATION? >> YES, AND A FEEL A LITTLE LIKE AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER WORKING ON A STORY. WHAT WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH OUR PRESSURE TESTING EFFORTS IS THAT THERE ACTUALLY ARE NO STRUCTURES IN PLACE TO DO THAT. THERE ARE LABORATORY STRUCTURES FOR CAPTURING COMMON DATA ELEMENTS OF LABORATORY TESTS, AND TO CREATE THE STRUCTURE LANGUAGE TO SEND THOSE COMMON DATA ELEMENTS TO ORGANIZATIONS, TO PUBLIC HEALTH VIA THE APHL NETWORK, AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES, THEY CLEAN UP THE DATA, THEY SEND IT OUT TO PUBLIC HEALTH LABS. IT'S BASICALLY AGGREGATED BY CDC, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WE OOFNTLY SEE EVENTUALLY SEE IT IN THE " NEW YORK TIMES" AND OTHER PLACES. THERE IS NO ANALOGOUS STRUCTURE AVAILABLE FOR POINT OF CARE IN OVER THE COUNTER TESTS. SO WE HAVE JUST DONE THE DIVE INTO THAT, AND THERE'S AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATOR THAT HELPS IDENTIFY AND DEFINE THOSE ELEMENTS. WE'VE NOW WORKED WITH THE ONC, AND HAVE THOSE ELEMENTS DEFINED. CAREEVO, THE COMPANY THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH, HAS MANAGED TO BASICALLY CREATE SCRIPT TO CONVERT THEM INTO FIRE HL7V2, SO THAT STRUCTURE NOW EXISTS TO SIND SEND THEM TO AHPL, THAT'S ALL BEEN DONE. OF THE 3 MILLION TESTS THAT WE'VE MOVED OUT INTO THE PUBLIC, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ABOUT 700 PEOPLE THAT HAVE USED THAT REPORTING STRUCTURE. MOST OF THE TIME -- OFTENTIMES, THE PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITIES -- I SHOULDN'T SAY MOST. MANY OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH FOLKS SAY, WELL, WE JUST DON'T WANT THAT INFORMATION. FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. SO THIS IS WHERE A LOT OF THE WORK, THE HEAVY LIFTING HAS TO TAKE PLACE. AND WE, OUR COMMUNITY, HAS TO ENGAGE PUBLIC HEALTH. PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS US, AND I THINK I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, PROBABLY THE SINGLE BOTTOM DISTILLATION LINE IS, BIOENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY REACH OUT, ENGAGE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITIES, GET A SEAT AT THE TABLE, HELP THEM MODERNIZE NOT JUST THE COMPUTER NETWORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. I THINK IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING. WE VALUE REALTIME INFORMATION CONTENT, AND ALL OF US WHO'VE MEASURED ANYTHING KNOW THE MORE FREQUENTLY YOU MEASURE IT, THE MORE YOU LEARN. AND IF YOUR FREQUENCY IS ONCE A MONTH, IT'S TOO LOW. SO WE NEED TO INCREASE THAT AND WE'LL DO BETTER, I THINK. SO IT'S A BIG LIFT, BUT ALL OF US, ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES, WE HAVE TO KIND OF ENGAGE EVERYONE TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS. >> THANK YOU. RANU, PAULA. >> HI, BRUCE. AS USUAL, I'M GOING TO DRIVE THE REST OF THE PEOPLE CONGRATULATING YOU AND CONGRATULATING THE TEAM. I'D FIRST START WITH ACTUALLY THE PHANTOMS, AND I HAD A THOUGHT ABOUT IT. THOSE PHANTOMS ARE CLEARLY VALUABLE AND I HEARD ABOUT THE REPOSITORIES AND THEN BEING SHARED. AND I WONDER WHEN NIH GIVES A GRANT OUT TO PEOPLE AND THEY HAVE TO MAKE THESE PHANTOMS AS PART OF THEIR GRANT, AND THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY DONE SO, PERHAPS THERE IS A SUPPLEMENT GRANT THAT CAN GO TO THEM, THAT THEY WOULD MAKE A COPY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT IS PUT INTO A PUBLIC REPOSITORY THAT IS AVAILABLE TO OTHER RESEARCHERS. JUST A THOUGHT, HOW TO GET ACCESS TO THESE ITEMS THAT WOULD BE OF VALUE TO EVERYBODY ELSE. >> YEAH, AND THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION, AND I DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING WITH GUEYING, THINKING OF IT AS A LAY BREAR WITH PASSAROUNDS, HOW TO PRACTICE AND SUPPORT IT WILL BE OUR CHALLENGE. BUT SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE ACTUALLY CAN ADDRESS AND SOLVE. SO THAT SOUNDS GREAT, RANU. >> OKAY. SO THAT'S ONE THOUGHT. THE OTHER IS, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE ANDREW AND KRISHNA FOR THAT HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE. I'M STILL REMINDED OF ALMOST, I DON'T KNOW, SIX MONTHS AGO WHEN THIS THING HAPPENED. AND SO I'M ALSO LISTENING TO MARYANN TALK ABOUT THE TELEHEALTH, THE VIRTUAL TRIALS AND ALL THAT WOULD HAPPEN. AND THEN THIS WHOLE NEW MED TECH PROGRAM THAT'S COMING ON BOARD, THE ARPA-H STYLE THAT'S COMING ON BOARD. SO MED TECH IS PARTIALLY BORROWING FROM THE RADX APPROACH OF THE FUNNEL, AND ARPA-H IS GOING TO HAVE THE FAST MOVE THAT RADX KIND OF GOT FROM THE DARPA. SO IT LIKE A CLOSED CIRCLE. SO I'M WONDERING IF STRATEGIC PLANNING OF HOW THIS DIGITAL HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE IS GOING TO SHAPE THE METRIC EVOLUTION AND THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE PUT INTO IT, AND THE ROLE NIBIB WOULD HAVE IN THE ARPA-H. SO GOING BACK TO THIS FUTURE, WHERE IS NIBIB GOING TO GO IN THE FUTURE, AND AS YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT STRATEGY. >> OKAY, RANU. YOU JUST ASKED ME TO SOLVE THE GRAND UNIFIED FIELD THEORY, SO -- OR AT LEAST I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO GO TO THE BLACKBOARD AND START WITH F EQUALS NA. [LAUGHTER] >> BUT YOU'RE GOOD AT THAT! >> YEAH. WELL, BUT I THINK YOU VERY CORRECTLY POINT OUT THAT ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE REALLY QUITE CONNECTED AND SYNERGISTIC AND KIND OF INSPIRING EACH OTHER, SO IT'S PRETTY CLEAR, THE PUBLIC RECORD CLEAR, DR. COLLINS HAS SAID THAT RADX'S SUCCESSES HAVE HELPED INSPIRE CONFIDENCE THAT THE NIH WOULD BE A TERRIFIC SPOT FOR ARPA-H. THE ACTIV PROGRAM, THE VACCINE PROGRAM. THESE HAVE BEEN VERY NEW MECHANISMS. SO WE ARE IN A DIFFERENT ERA. HOW IT WILL LOOK ONCE EVERYTHING IS LAUNCHED, YOU KNOW, ONCE AR MA IS ARPA IS LAUNCHED AND WE HAVE FULLY OPERATIONALLY -- AND OTHER INSTITUTES WILL BE EMPLOYING RADX PROCESSES, IT'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. AND HOPEFULLY MORE RESPONSIVE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND WHAT WE CAN CONTRIBUTE. BECAUSE IN A SENSE, WE'VE BEEN INSUFFICIENTLY UTILIZED TO HAVE THE KIND OF IMPACT AT THE SCALE THAT WE COULD. SO I'M HOPING THAT THESE PROGRAMS IN AGGREGATE REALLY CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN. AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU POINTED OUT, ANDREW AND KRISHNA'S WORK TO BUILD THAT INFRASTRUCTURE. IT HASN'T EXISTED BEFORE, SO WE WILL WORK WITH MANUFACTURERS WHO ALL HAVE APPS TO TRY TO HARMONIZE HOW DATA ELEMENTS ARE COLLECTED AND TRANSMITTED SO THEY COULD BE USED. THIS WILL BE A FIRST. IT'S ENTIRELY ANALOGOUS TO WHAT GOES ON IN LABORATORIES, BUT ONCE THAT HAPPENS, THEN IT OPENS THE WAY FOR EVERY OTHER APP-BASED, HOME-BASED TECHNOLOGY. >> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, RANU. SO I HAVE PAULA AND THEN I'M THINKING WE'LL HAVE TAJAL AS OUR CLEAN-UP HITTER AFTER. >> ALL RIGHT. THEN I'LL BE REALLY QUICK. I FIRST OF ALL AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT EVERYTHING WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY AND I THINK IT'S ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT DIRECTION, BUT I DID WANT TO PUT A HAND UP FOR THE PART OF THE BIOENGINEERING AND BIOMATERIAL SPACE THAT IS NOT REPRESENTED BY TESTING AND DIAGNOSTICS. I JUST -- I KNOW THAT THIS IS A PART OF NIBIB'S MISSION IS ALSO TO SUPPORT NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES OR MATERIAL SYSTEMS THAT DELIVER DRUGS, OR THAT ENABLE VACCINE FORMULATIONS, OR THAT ENABLE PLATFORM TECHNOLOGIES FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, AND I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON THAT BECAUSE THE AMPLIFICATION OF RADX, WHICH IS JUST INCREDIBLE, I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT, AND THE CONNECTION WITH ARPA-H AND WITH MANUFACTURING IS WONDERFUL, BUT IT WOULD BE VERY EASY FOR US TO MISS OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING THESE AREAS FORWARD, AND I HEARD THE EXPRESSION RADXIFICATION, I'M NOT SURE IF I SAID THAT CORRECTLY. IS THERE A WAY OF BRINGING THIS ENERGY TO THESE OTHER AREAS THAT ARE ALSO CRITICAL, BUT HAVE ALSO HAD IN THE PAST DIFFICULTY IN TRANSLATION AND MOVING FORWARD? >> ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IN GORDANA'S CONFERENCE ON THE 23RD, IN MY TALK, AND SO I'VE DONE THIS NOW A BIT TO TRY TO REALLY INSPIRE AND ENCOURAGE COMMUNITIES EXACTLY LIKE YOU'VE BEEN DESCRIBING, WHERE THERE'S ENORMOUS INNOVATION AND TECH LOGIC ADVANCE THAT IS JUST BENEATH THE SURFACE, AND IT WOULD BENEFIT TREMENDOUSLY FROM A SURGE THAT RADXIFICATION, ACTUALLY YOU CAN PRONOUNCE IT ANY WAY, IT'S JUST BECOMING INTO THE LEXICON RIGHT NOW, COULD REALLY MAKE THIS HAPPEN. BUT IT DOES REQUIRE A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE RADX PROCESS HAS BEEN BROAD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND A KIND OF GENEROSITY FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMPETED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES AND GO FASTER AND TO HELP MULTIPLE GROUPS MOVE ALONG TO BE SUCCESSFUL. WE HAVE LIKE A THOUSAND PEOPLE WORKING ON RADX IN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY AND NOT FOR PROFITS. ACROSS THE GOVERNMENT. SO OF COURSE IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AT THAT SCALE. IT CAN BE SCALED APPROPRIATELY, BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO. AND ANOTHER INTERESTING STATISTIC, I'LL MENTION THIS IN GORDANA'S CONFERENCE, IS THAT SOMETHING LIKE 16 TO 18% OF ALL RADX APPLICATIONS THAT HAVE COME IN HAVE BEEN NANOSCIENCE-BASED, FROM NANOPORES TO GOLD AND SILVER NANOPARTICLES, WE HAVE QUANTUM DOTS ON THE SHELVES OF CVS NOW, THAT'S WITH THE ELUM TEST. NEVER THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO SEE THESE IN DIAGNOSTIC TESTS. THERE'S BEEN SPECTACULAR MOVEMENT OF NANOSCIENCE ADVANCES. NOW, INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. AND THE SAME THING CAN BE DONE WITH OTHER TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY, BUT IT DOES REQUIRE SOME ORGANIZATION FROM -- NOT JUST FROM US, BUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. >> THANK YOU, PAULA. TAJAL? >> I'LL BE QUICK BECAUSE ACTUALLY I HAD A VERY SIMILAR THOUGHT TO PAULA. SO THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT, PAULA, BECAUSE I DO THINK AS WE TREAT AND MEASURE AND RECORD, THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT IS WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY DELIVER PATIENT CARE, TREATMENTS AND IMAGING MODALITY. SO REALLY COVERING THE WHOLE SPECTRUM. BUT THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD, AND JUST TO MAYBE, I GUESS, WRAP UP IS, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THE COMMUNITY HAS THIS ABILITY TO BE NIMBLE AND FORWARD THINKING, AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE ALSO BRING IN A LOT OF DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES AND THIS IS A VERY UNIQUE ATRI PEUT ATTRIBUTE THAT WE BRING TO THE TABLE. SO JUST WONDERING IF YOU CAN COMMENT ON HOW WE CAN SORT OF STRIVE TO MAINTAIN THAT AS WE TAKE THESE NEW PROGRAMS AND THEY BECOME SORT OF MORE INSTITUTIONALIZED, AND HOW CAN WE KEEP REINVENTING THIS MINDSET, PARTICULARLY AS WE ALSO TRANSITION OR HOPEFULLY BECOME PART OF SOME INITIATIVES WITH REGARD TO ARPA-H? >> YEAH, AND THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT QUESTION BECAUSE WE'RE IN A TURBULENT WORLD RIGHT NOW, AND FROM THIS CHAOS, WE'RE GOING TO BRING NEW STRUCTURES. ARPA-H IS ONE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT. THAT WILL BE AN ENDURING STRUCTURE, IF IT'S 3 BILLION OR MORE THAT GOES TO ARPA-H. THAT IS EMBEDDED IN THE CONCEPTION OF ARPA-H, IS BUILDING IN FROM THE GROUND FLOOR DIVERSITY AS A FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT. SO NOT TRYING TO ATTEND ONLY TO THE SCIENCE AND THE TECHNOLOGY ASPECTS OF IT, BUT ALSO THINKING OF INCLUSIVENESS FROM INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL BE WITHIN THE STRUCTURE AND ENGAGING DIVERSE INDIVIDUALS TO BE PARTICIPATING AND CONTRIBUTING ON THE EXTRAMURAL SIDE. SO YOU THINK THAT'S BEEN A POWERFUL DRIVER OF MUCH OF THIS CHANGE THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING, AND YOU'LL SEE, IT'S A GOOD SEGUE INTO OUR NEXT PART OF THE COUNCIL MEETING BECAUSE THAT'S OUR COMMUNITY, AND AS WE GET OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGED MORE IN SORT OF THE BROADER BIOMEDICAL MISSION, THAT -- VIE AT CONDUIT OF THE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING COMMUNITY AND THAT ALL OF YOU ARE DOING. SO WE NEED YOUR HELP IN MAKING SURE THAT IT IS WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO GOING FORWARD. >> THANK YOU, TEJAL. SO DAVID, SHOULD WE MOVE TO THAT -- >> WE HAVE ALL THE HANDS RAISED HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK, SO -- OH, I SEE A HAND. DR. PETTIGREW. >> THANKS, DAVID, AND GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY. AND THANKS, BRUCE, FOR INVITING ME TO PARTICIPATE, AND DAVID FOR RECOGNIZING ME EARLIER. JUST A QUICK COMMENT. I SEE THAT BRUCE, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD A GENEROUS AMOUNT OF TIME SCHEDULED FOR YOUR REMARKS AND FOR DISCUSSION, YOU STILL -- [INAUDIBLE] THAT WAS A CHALLENGE THAT DAVID KNOWS AND WON'T QUITE ADMIT. HE'S LAUGHING. BUT I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU, I THINK THE LAST COMMENTS BY PAULA AND TAJAL ARE REALLY ON POINT AND LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD. THIS CONCEPT OF RATIFICATION, OR RADXIFICATION AS A NEW WORD I'VE HEARD OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY BROADLY CAN TO TO DO TO REALLY ADVANCE AND ACCELERATE THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGIES INTO THE WHOLE MEDICAL LANDSCAPE BROADLY SPEAKING, IS RIGHT ON POINT. AND THAT'S REALLY, AS I SEE IT, WHAT ARPA-H IS ABOUT, THE POTENTIAL THAT IT BRINGS. SOMEBODY MENTIONED THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING NIBIB PLAY A SYNERGISTIC ROLE CERTAINLY MAKES SENSE TO ME. BUT I THINK THIS IS RIGHT ON POINT. LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE HAD TREMENDOUS SUCCESS WITH RADX. YOU CAN LEVERAGE THIS TO HAVE EVEN GREATER SUCCESS WITH THE WHOLE PANOPLY OF THE WHOLE HEALTHCARE ECOSYSTEM. SO I'D SUPPORT THAT. AND THEN JUST ON A PERSONAL NOTE, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, I THOUGHT THAT I WAS A BREAKTHROUGH CASE WITH COVID. AND I WAS SO DELIGHTED TO BE ABLE TO GO TO CVS AND PICK UP A POINT-OF-CARE TEST AND COME HOME AND USE THIS QAW TUM QUANTUM DOT TECHNOLOGY TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION MYSELF RIGHT AT HOME. SO JUST WONDERFUL. AND AS ANNE MENTIONED, WHAT A MEMO REA YOU HAVE, ANNE, I DON'T REMEMBER HOW LONG AGO IT WAS, BUT BRUCE, WE DID HAVE THIS TET-A-TET WITH THE GATES FOUNDATION AND VARIOUS FEDERAL AGENCIES RIGHT THERE AT NIBIB WHERE WE ALL SAT AROUND THE TABLE AND WE HAD THIS VISION OF HAVING SUCH A TEST, BUT ALSO CONNECTED WITH YOUR CELL PHONE SO THE DATA WOULD BE UPLOADED TO YOUR CELL PHONE AND THEN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THAT DIGITAL DATA AND BE ABLE TO USE IT. BUT THIS QUANTUM DOT POINT OF CARE TECHNOLOGY IS CERTAINLY A STEP FORWARD. SO MARVELOUS JOB, THE WAY YOU'VE LEVERAGED YOUR PART. I DON'T KNOW IF TIFFANY IS IN THIS GROUP NOW, BUT SHE WAS A PART OF THAT GROUP. AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S IMPORTANT. SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR CHAIR, GILDA. >> THANK YOU, ROD. I'M JUST GOING TO SHOW A COUPLE OF SLIDES TO HELP MOTIVATE THAT. IF I CAN JUST REMIND EVERYBODY OF WHERE WE WERE AUGUST 30TH, WE HAD OUR COMBINED WORKING GROUP MEETING, AND WE UPDATED ON THE CENTER, DISCUSSED THEMES FROM THE MAY COUNCIL MEETING, WHICH WAS AN INCREDIBLE SESSION, THE LANDSCAPE OF OUR CURRENT MECHANISMS AND DISCUSSED NEW PROGRAMS TO FILL GAPS AND EXPAND WHAT WE'RE DOING. SO THESE ARE THE AREAS THAT EMERGED. PIPELINE ISSUES, NEW RESOURCES AND TRAINING FOR STUDENTS AND RESEARCHERS, GRANT REVIEW AND FUNDING CONSIDERATIONS, HOW WE IMPROVE OUR OUTREACH AND GET EVERYONE ENGAGED. PRIZES, CONNECTING TO INDUSTRY AND CONNECTING TO OTHER AGENCIES. SO JUST ON A QUICK UPDATE, WE'VE HAD ACTIVITY HERE. GRIFF RODGERS, WHICH I ANNOUNCED LAST TIME, IS THE CHAIR OF THE SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR THE BETA CENTER. AND ALL OF OUR NOMINATIONS TO BE ON THE SEARCH COMMITTEE HAVE BEEN APPROVED. IT IS NOW FORMED, LETTERS OF INVITATION HAVE GONE OUT. WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF SCHEDULING OUR FIRST SEARCH COMMITTEE MEETING WHERE THE SEARCH COMMITTEE AS EVERYONE KNOWS HOW THIS PROCESS WORKS, WE'LL JUST REVIEW THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE POSITION AND THEN WE'LL GET THAT OUT IN ADVERTISEMENT HOPEFULLY BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH. SO THERE'S OUR TIMETABLE, AND THIS IS, OF COURSE, A DUAL POSITION AS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR SCIENTIFIC DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION. SO WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS HERE. EVEN SINCE AUGUST 30TH, WITH ALL OF THESE APPROVALS, AND DR. GILDA BARBARINO IS OUR OUTSIDE MEMBER OF THE SEARCH COMMITTEE, AND WE'RE VERY, VERY GRATEFUL TO HAVE GILDA AS A MEMBER OF THE SEARCH COMMITTEE. THE LANDSCAPE OF CURRENT MECHANISMS IS QUITE EXTENSIVE. AS MANY OF YOU SAW IN OUR WORKING GROUP WITH A LOT OF AMBITION AND ACTIVITY GOING ON, THESE HAVE MADE ENORMOUS PROGRESS, SO I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO CONTACT JOAN GREVE TO GET DETAILS ON EXACTLY WHERE THESE ARE, AND TO HELP RESPOND TO THESE. AND I THINK AT THIS POINT, IT'S REALLY BEST TO HAND OVER TO GILDA BECAUSE I THINK THIS REALLY RAISES THE ISSUES AND THE TOPICS THAT GILDA WANTED TO DISCUSS WITH EVERYONE. >> OKAY, GREY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. FIRST OF ALL, LET ME JUST SAY THANKS ON BEHALF OF MY CO-CHAIR, ROD PETTIGREW, AND THANKS ON BEHALF OF THE WORKING GROUP. IT'S JUST FANTASTIC. AND THIS DISCUSSION WE'VE HAD SO FAR IS SUCH A GREAT LEAD-IN. I WAS THINKING AS WE WERE TALKING, CAN WE HAVE DEIIFICATION OF EVERYTHING AS WE MOVE FORWARD? WHAT WE WANTED TO DO AT THIS TIME WITH YOU TODAY, THOUGH, IS TO SPEND THE BULK OF OUR TIME IN DISCUSSION. SO WHAT I WANT TO DO IS JUST LEAD THE DISCUSSION AND FRAME IT FOR YOU. WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR, BUT I ALSO WANT TO REMINE YOU OF A COUPLE THINGS ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF THE DEI WORKING GROUP, AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH SO THAT WE CAN HAVE PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSION TODAY, REALLY AROUND ACTIONS, LIKE WHAT IS IT WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO DO AROUND THESE SHARED IDEAS. SO BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, JUST REMINE EVERYONE, IT WAS MAY THIRD OF 2021 WHEN BRUCE GAVE US A CHARGE, AND WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT THAT TIME WAS THAT WE WOULD CREATE THROUGH THE WORKING GROUP THE INTERNAL FOLKS AND OUR EXTERNAL FOLKS AND LUCKILY FOR OUR EXTERNAL PART OF THE WORKING GROUP, IT'S EVERY ONE OF US ON COUNCIL. WHEN WE'VE REACHED OUT AND SAID WHO WANTS TO BE PART OF THE WORKING GROUP, EVERYONE DID. SO WE HAVE SUCH TALENT IN LEADERS AMONGST US. BUT WE TALKED ABOUT CREATING A REGULAR SPACE FOR DISCUSSION, DIALOGUE AND DISSEMINATION. WE TALKED ABOUT THE WORKING GROUPS AS A MECHANISM AND A VEHICLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND DEPLOYMENT. WE TALKED ABOUT HOW DO WE USE THESE WORKING GROUPS INTERNAL TO NIBIB IN OUR EXTERNAL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, HOW DO WE WORK TOGETHER TO ACTUALLY ENGAGE THE BROADER COMMUNITY, THE BROADER BIOMEDICAL AND -- BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING AND BIOMEDICAL IMAGING, LIKE HOW DO WE USE THE WORKING GROUP THAT WAY? SO BRUCE REMINDED YOU OF SOME OF THE THEMES THAT CAME OUT OF THE MAY MEETING. SO FAR WE'VE MET A COUPLE TIMES AS A WORKING GROUP, WE HAVE THE IDEA THAT WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO MAKE SURE WE'VE HAD SOME TIME TO GET TOGETHER IN ADVANCE OF EVERY COUNCIL MEETING SO THE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS ARE SCHEDULED, ALIGNED WITH AND PRIOR TO THE COUNCIL MEETINGS. SO I'M JUST GOING TO QUICKLY REMIND YOU OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE ALREADY COME OUT OF OUR DISCUSSIONS. AS EARLY AS OUR CHARGE MEETING. AND IT'S COME UP IN DISCUSSIONS SINCE THEN, AND IT CAME UP IN OUR DISCUSSION IN THE MAY COUNCIL MEETING. THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY SUGGESTED AND I'D LIKE US TO GET SOME EXPANDED DISCUSSION ON THAT WAS HOW DO WE IN OUR COMMUNITY PUT PRESSURE ON OUR INSTITUTIONS? HOW DO WE EXTERNALLY DO A BETTER JOB WORKING ON NETWORKING AND MENTORING AND PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT ACROSS INSTITUTIONS WITH THE HELP OF NIBIB, HOW DO WE GET THE WORD OUT, AND THE WORD COULD BE GOTTEN OUT IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. HOW DO WE SPEAK IN DIFFERENT VENUES? HOW DO WE HELP PROPAGATE AND EXPAND ON MESSAGING THAT'S COMING OUT OF NIBIB? WE TALKED ABOUT WHEN THERE'S A NEW DIRECTOR, HOW DO WE ACTUALLY HELP ENGAGE WITH AND PROMOTE THE WORK THAT'S COMING OUT OF THE CENTER. WE TALKED ABOUT THINGS LIKE THE DEBUT PROGRAM, EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT HOW FANTASTIC THAT PROGRAM IS AND HOW IT COULD EVEN BE BETTER UTILIZED AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE. I THINK BRUCE MENTIONED TODAY THAT THERE WERE -- I'M TRYING TO THINK, BRUCE, I THINK YOU SAID THERE WERE LIKE 76 APPLICATIONS FROM 47 UNIVERSITIES IN 26 STATES. BUT JUST THINK ABOUT IT. WE'RE NOT FULLY TAPPING ALL THE TALENT THAT'S OUT THERE THAT COULD BE TAKING PART IN A PROGRAM-LIKE DEBUT. I HAD ONE OTHER EXAMPLE TO GIVE YOU IN TERMS OF HOW THE WORKING GROUP IS HEARING IDEAS, SHARING THE IDEAS, THE EXCHANGE BETWEEN NIBIB STAFF AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS THAT CAME UP IN THE WORKING GROUP DISCUSSION WAS WHAT IF WE HAD A PROGRAM THAT DID RECOGNITION, LIKE CREATE AN AWARD PROGRAM. AND OUR STAFF POINTED OUT TO US THERE ARE MOTTLES MODELS THAT EXIST AND WHAT IS IF THAT WE MIGHT LEARN FROM THEM AND DO. SO THERE'S AN EXAMPLE, THE OFFICE FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN'S HEALTH HAS ALREADY LAUNCHED A PROGRAM THAT'S CALLED THE NIH PRIZE FOR ENHANCING FACULTY GENDER DIVERSITY IN BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE. THEIR GOAL IS TO RECOGNIZE INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS IN THIS AREA. AND THEY ALSO WANT TO COLLECT DATA AND COME UP WITH INSTITUTIONAL APPROACHES. SO THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT ARE OUT THERE. I'M SHARING WITH YOU THINGS WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, AND AGAIN, THE GOAL TODAY IS TO ENGAGE IN SOME FURTHER DISCUSSION AROUND WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC THINGS THAT WE WOULD ACTUALLY DO, WHAT FORM WOULD THIS ACTION TAKE FOR US TO DO THE IMPLEMENTATION PART IN PARTICULAR. SO I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT AT THAT FOR FRAMING THE DISCUSSION, AND I'M GOING TO ASK ROD TO CHIME IN AND THEN AFTER ROD HAS HAD SOME COMMENTS, THEN OPEN IT UP TO GET SOME BROADER DISCUSSION. ROD, CAN I ASK YOU TO CHIME IN AS WELL? >> WELL, AGAIN, GILDA, THANK YOU, YOU'VE DONE A BEAUTIFUL JOB IN NOT ONLY SUMMARIZING THE ISSUE, BUT POINTING TO PARTICULAR ACTION ITEMS THAT COUNCIL CAN TAKE AND WE CAN TAKE AND THOSE ARE VERY PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. THE OWN THING THAT I WOULD ADD IS THAT ON A NATIONAL LEVEL, MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS, PARTICULARLY THE ACADEMIES, REALLY HAVE AND HAVE HAD A SUSTAINED FOCUS ON THIS TOPIC. AS GILDA WELL KNOWS. EVEN TO THE POINT THAT FRANKLY IT KIND OF SURPRISED ME OF HOW SUSTAINED IT'S BEEN. IT'S LIKE ALMOST EVERY OTHER MONTH OR SO, THERE'S ANOTHER DISCUSSION ON SOME VARIATION OF THIS TOPIC. SO THIS IS A REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR NIBIB TO TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE ON THIS, AND BRUCE, AS YOU HAVE BEEN OUT FRONT IN ENVISIONING IT, AND AS THE BIOENGINEERING COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY TAKEN A STEP IN THIS REGARD WITH THE ARTICLE THAT WAS WRITTEN BY TEJAL AND SOME OF HER COLLEAGUES AND MANU AND OTHERS OF US, BUT THOSE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN LAID OUT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS EMERGED THAT AMPLIFIES THIS, AND IT MAY BE A BIT BEYOND THE INITIAL ACTIONS OF THIS COMMITTEE, BUT IT MIGHT BE WORTH HAVING IN MIND, AT LEAST BEING AWARE OF, IS THAT THERE IS A DISCUSSION EVEN AROUND THE TERMINOLOGY THAT'S BEING USED AND HOW IT'S BEING USED AS REGARDS RACE. SO FOR EXAMPLE, RACE AS AN IDENTIFIER IS OFTEN MISUSED IN MEDICINE. IT'S USED AS A BIOLOGICAL SURROGATE. WHEN IT ISN'T, IT'S A SOCIOLOGICAL DESCRIPTOR. IT DOES HAVE VALUE, BECAUSE IT SPEAKS TO THE LIVED HISTORY OF INDIVIDUALS THAT COME FROM DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES AND ARE SOCIOLOGICALLY CHARACTERIZED DIFFERENTLY, AND CONSEQUENTLY, THE LIVES THAT THEY LIVE ARE DIFFERENT. THE EXPOSURES AND THE KIND OF OBSTRUCTIONS IN SOCIETY THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE IDENTIFIED BASED ON THE WAY THEY LOOK, THOSE EXPERIENCES THEY ENCOUNTER ARE DIFFERENT. AND WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THOSE IN ORDER TO OVERCOME THEM. BUT THERE ARE ALSO INSTANCES WHERE RACE IS USED AS AN IDENTIFIER OF HAVING BIOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE THAT IT REALLY DOAN HAVE, AND IN THOSE INSTANCES, IT CAN SOMETIMES BE DELETERIOUS BECAUSE IT REINFORCES STEREOTYPES AND MYTHS THAT HAVE EXISTED FOR QUITE SOME TIME THAT DATE BACK TO COLONIALIZATION, AND HOW THE WORTH OF DIFFERENT CULTURES WERE REALLY STRIPPED AWAY WHEN AMERICA BEGAN AND STARTED ITS COLONIALIZATION, COLONIZING, THAT'S RIGHT, COLONIZING, WHEN THE SETTLERS CAME OVER AND STARTED COLONIZING THE U.S., THEY DID SO IN A FASHION THAT REALLY STRIPPED THE CULTURE AWAY FROM INDIGENOUS PERSONS. IT STARTED WITH INDIGENOUS AMERICANS, AND JUST DEVALUE THE CULTURE OF INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS. AND THAT CONTINUED WITH OTHER PEOPLE THEY BROUGHT OVER, SPECIFICALLY FOLKS FROM AFRICA. THAT HAS CONTINUED TO THIS DAY, AND THOSE SORTS OF PREJUDICES THAT HAVE EMERGED FROM THAT STILL EXIST. SO SOMETIMES WHEN YOU USE RACE AS A CALLOUT, PARTICULARLY IN A MEDICAL AND CLINICAL SETTING, IT CAN BE DELETERIOUS IN THAT IT REINFORCES THAT, AND REINFORCES THE IDEA THAT THEY ARE BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES THAT DON'T REALLY EXIST. AND THESE HAVE REALLY, REALLY ARE SURFACE DIFFERENCES. WE ALL LOOK DIFFERENT IN SOME WAY, SHAPE, FORM AND FASHION, AND COLOR IS JUST ONE OF THEM. AND THOSE SMALL DIFFERENCES DON'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THEY HAVE BIOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE. SO WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW IS THE BIOLOGICAL DATA TO ACT ON, AND NOT JUST WHETHER OR NOT SOMEBODY IS BLACK OR WHITE. SO I THINK THAT SORT OF CONVERSATION AND UNDERSTANDING IS BEGINNING TO EMERGE ALSO, JUST TO BE AWARE OF THAT AS WE GET DEEPER AND DEEPER INTO THE ISSUE AND THE CHALLENGES THAT GILDA HAS LAID OUT. >> SO ROD, THANKS SO MUCH FOR SHARING AND PROVIDING THAT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT, BECAUSE THAT IS CRITICAL AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO ACT. PARTICULARLY HOW WE'RE ACTING WITHIN OUR INSTITUTIONS, OUR COMMUNITY, AND MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN AGENCIES, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNMENT AND SO ON. SO WITH THAT -- GO AHEAD. >> I'M LOOKING AT SOME OF THE FACES, AND YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY IS BIOMEDICAL AND ENGINEERING RELATED, BUT SOME PEOPLE MAY SORT OF BE WONDERING EXACTLY WHAT I'M REFERRING TO. SO I'LL GIVE YOU ONE EXAMPLE. IN CLINICAL MEDICINE, THERE IS OFTENTIMES A NEED TO ESTIMATE HOW WELL THE KIDNEY IS FUNCTIONING. AND YOU ESTIMATE THE GLOMERULOFILTRATION RATE AND THERE'S AN ALGORITHM THAT'S USED FOR THAT. WELL, IN SOME PLACES, IF THE PERSON IS SAID TO BE BLACK, THEY USE A DIFFERENT FACTOR, A DIFFERENT MULTIPLIER IN THE CALCULATION. AND IT'S JUST PURELY BASED ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE PUT IN THIS BLACK BOX. AND IT MAY NOT HAVE ANY REAL SOUND BIOENGINEERING OR PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS AT ALL. MAYBE BIOENGINEERING CAN EVALUATE AND EXPOSE SOME OF THOSE MYTHS, YOU KNOW? AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CLASSIFIED AS BLACK CAN BE SO DIFFERENT AND SO WIDELY DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW? AND TO ASSUME THAT EVERYBODY IN THAT CATEGORY NEEDS THE SAME FUDGE FACTOR IN ESTIMATING WHAT YOUR KIDNEY FUNCTION IS, IT IS FRANKLY LUDICROUS. BUT NONETHELESS, THAT HAS BEEN THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE FOR DECADES. ALL RIGHT, GILDA, I TURN IT BACK OVER. >> THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE. I CAN'T HELP BUT GIVE ANOTHER ONE. FOR WOMEN AND LOOKING AT THE RISK OF OSTEOPOROSIS, AND THE BONE DENSITY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN USING CHARTS THAT WERE JUST FOR WHITE WOMEN, AND EITHER OVER OR UNDERPREDIBT WHAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING FOR BLACK WOMEN. SO I'M SURE THERE'S LOTS OF EXAMPLES. BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT IT SPEAKS TO IS THE COMPLEXITY THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF USING A DEI LENS, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT MEANS. SO YOU KNOW, WE DO WANT TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU AND JUST THINK LIKE WHAT IS COMING TO YOUR MIND ABOUT, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING, WHAT FORM WOULD THAT TAKE, WHAT'S AN ACTUAL MECHANISM? ESPECIALLY WHEN IT TALKS -- WHEN WE THINK ABOUT EVEN PUSHING OUR OWN INSTITUTIONS. THE I SEE A HAND UP. MARYELLEN? >> RIGHT. SO I AGREE, I THINK WE HAVE TO START IN OUR OWN BACKYARD AND THEN KEEP GETTING BIGGER AND BIGGER AND CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON THIS. MEDRIC, ONE OF THE NIBIB INITIATIVES, HAVE REALLY TAKEN DIVERSITY, ESPECIALLY LOOKING AT BIAS, THERE CAN BE ALL SORTS OF BIAS BUT ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO A LOT OF ETHNICITY, RACE, GENDER AND ALL THAT, BUT AS WELL AS OTHER BIAS SUCH AS ACQUISITION SYSTEM, BUT WE TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY, WHERE WE'RE -- WE LOOK INTERNALLY, WE LOOK AT WHAT IS THE DIVERSITY OF OUR OWN INVESTIGATORS. WE HAVE ABOUT A HUNDRED OF THEM NOW. HOW IS THAT, WE LOOK AT THE DATA COMING IN, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE DIVERSITY OF THE DATA COMING IN, AS WELL AS HOWL DOES IT AFFECT -- ARE WE GOING TO END UP WITH BIASED ALGORITHMS. OF COURSE ALGORITHMS ARE BIASED ONE WAY OR OTHER, BUT IS IT -- HAVE WE DONE ALL WE CAN SO THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO CAUSE HEALTH DISPARITY OR ON THE OTHER HAND CAN WE USE THE A.I. TO FIND OUT IF THERE'S HEALTH DISPARITY OUT THERE, AND WHILE WE ARE VERY -- WE HAVE A BIASED AND DIVERSE WORK GROUP, WE ARE BEING VERY CONSCIOUS OF THIS. WE ALSO LOOK TO WHO MIGHT BE USING THIS RESOURCE IN THE FUTURE, AND TO PUT OUT WHITE PAPERS OR NOTES ON THE WEBSITE TO HELP EDUCATE THE NEW AI INVESTIGATOR WHO'S GOING TO BE DEVELOPING MACHINE INTELLIGENT METHODS ABOUT THE ROLE OF BIAS AND DIVERSITY. SO WE HAVE THAT EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT. SO I THINK WE HAVE TO START IN OUR OWN BACKYARD, AND THEN KEEP MOVING IT ON EVERYTHING WE PARTICIPATE IN. >> THANKS FOR THAT. PAULA, I SEE YOUR HAND UP. >> FIRST I WANT TO ECHO WHAT MARYELLEN JUST SAID. I DO THINK THERE ARE WAYS TO INCENTIVIZE OUR RESEARCHERS WHEN WE THINK ABOUT NIBIB AND THE POOL OF RESEARCHERS THAT ARE FUNDED TO BROADEN THE SCOPE OF MODELS THAT THEY LOOK AT FOR EVERYTHING FROM CANCER TO, YOU KNOW, KIDNEY DISEASE OR ALZHEIMER'S, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF DISEASE STATES, AND ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE MODELS THAT ARE MORE INCLUSIVE WHEN THAT'S POSSIBLE, SO THERE MAY BE A WAY OF EDUCATING OUR OWN RESEARCHERS ABOUT THAT. THE OTHER THOUGHT I HAD IS SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED WITH THIS GROUP BEFORE, BUT INCREASING THE NUMBER OF AWARDS THAT ENABLE A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SCIENCE AND UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES, BE IT ON DISPARITIES OR BE IT ON, FOR EXAMPLE, APPROACHES THAT ARE MODELED FOR SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES OR GROUPS. I THINK MORE OF THAT, AND ANNOUNCING MORE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, WILL BE HELPFUL IN DIVERSIFYING OUR OWN COMMUNITY OF RESEARCHERS AS WELL AS IMPROVING MEDICINE FOR EVERYONE. >> SO PAULA, JUST PUSHING A LITTLE BIT MORE ON WHAT YOU WERE SAYING, DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA LIKE HOW YOU COULD ACTUALLY GET THE COMMUNITIES INVOLVED? LIKE CONNECTING THE RESEARCHERS WITH THE COMMUNITIES? >> YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. I THINK THAT WHEN WE SUBMIT -- SO RESEARCHERS WHO APPLY FOR GRANTS ARE VERY RESPONSIVE TO WHAT IS REQUESTED OR ENCOURAGED. SO I THINK -- >> RIGHT. >> WE BEGIN TO ASK IF SOMEONE IS TALKING ABOUT USING PDX MODELS FOR A GIVEN CANCER APPLICATION, IF THERE MAY BE ZOMBO NUSS POINT OR FUNDS ALLOWED, IF THEY ARE ABLE TO REACH COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AS A PART OF THE COLLECTION OF PDX MODELS THAT THEY USE TO DEVELOP, LET'S SAY, A CANCER DIAGNOSTIC. MIGHT BE ONE EXAMPLE. BUT ACTUALLY INCORPORATING IN OUR -- PROPOSALS, ELEMENTS OF FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IF THERE IS AN ASPECT OF THE WORK THAT ENABLES THE RESEARCH TO INCLUDE A MORE -- A BROADER GROUP OF TARGET POPULATIONS. AND THERE MAY BE -- DEPENDING ON THE CALL, DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH YOU DO THAT. >> THAT'S QUITE HELPFUL. THANK YOU. AND I SEE THE NEXT HAND WAS BRUCE AND THEN SIMON. >> THANKS SO MUCH. I REALLY JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW ON ON EXACTLY THIS THEME THAT PAULA AND MARYELLEN BROUGHT UP, JUST THIS MORNING, I WAS SPEAKING TO ONE OF OUR DATA SCIENTISTS WHO REALLY WAS INTERESTED IN SETTING UP A CENTER SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE ISSUE OF AI, DIVERSITY ESSENTIALLY THAT KIND OF ETHICAL USE OF AI TOOLS BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS APPLIED WITH UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR LIMITATIONS OR A FULL APPRECIATION OF THEIR ETHNICITY, THE IMPACT OF DIVERSITY IN ETHNICITY, HOW THEY FOLLOW ON THROUGH. JUST FOLLOWING UP ON PAULA'S SUGGESTION, THE NOTION FOR BONUSES FOR PEOPLE WHO BRING THESE ELEMENTS IN IS A GOOD ONE, BUT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IF THIS INVESTIGATOR, SAY, IN OUR GROUP WANTED TO STUDY SPECIFICALLY THE ROLE OF ETHNICITY OR BIOLOGICALLY OR SOCIOLOGICALLY DEFINED AS ROD SAID, DO WE HAVE MECHANISMS THAT WOULD ACTUALLY SUPPORT THAT? HOW WOULD SUCH A PROPOSAL FAIR IN A STUDY SECTION? THEN OF COURSE THAT RAISES THE QUESTION, WELL, IF THERE'S NO REAL PLACE FOR IT IN TODAY'S CALLS AND TODAY'S STUDY SECTION, MAYBE WE NEED TO CREATE THAT. SO EVEN GOING BEYOND JUST ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO INCLUDE IT IN THEIR ROUTINE PROJECTS, CAN WE ACTUALLY BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT FUNDING RESEARCH SPECIFICALLY IN THAT AREA TO UNDERSTAND HOW THESE MODELS PICK UP OUR SOCIOLOGICAL PREJUDICES AND BIAS INTRINSICALLY IN HOW THEY'RE BUILT AND OF COURSE THEN THINK ABOUT WAYS THAT WE COULD BUILD MODELS THAT MITIGATE THAT. IT'S AT LEAST SOMETHING THAT WE COULD CONSIDER AND TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN TRYING TO CREATE SUCH OPPORTUNITIES. >> SO THANKS FOR THAT COMMENT TOO. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL ARE PICKING UP BUT THE KINDS OF COMMENTS THAT YOU'RE SHARING, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT OUR LEADERSHIP AT NIBIB WANTS TO HEAR FROM US. LIKE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE THINGS THAT THEY CAN HEAR IDEA-WISE, THEY CAN GEL GET INCORPORATED AS THEY'RE SEGHT UP THE PROGRAM REQUEST OR JUST THINKING ABOUT THE PROGRAMMING. I WILL SAY THIS QUICKLY, IF YOU LISTEN TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT BRUCE AND HIS COLLEAGUES HAVE BEEN PRESENTING TO US, THEY'VE BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE IN HEARING WHAT WE'VE BEEN SAYING, SO THE ROLE THAT WE PLAY IN THIS ADVISORY CAPACITY I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT. SIMON, YOU'RE UP NEXT AND THEN TEJAL. >> GILDA, LET ME JUST CHIME IN BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. >> GO AHEAD, ROD. >> I THINK THIS LAST SUGGESTION FROM BRUCE WHICH ECHOED THE PREVIOUS COMMENTS FROM PAULA ARE RIGHT ON, DEVELOPING RESEARCH AND APPROACHES THAT LOOK INTO AND DEVELOP WAYS TO AVOID REPEATING THE KINDS OF PREJUDICES THAT EXIST IN ALL OF US, AND AREN'T REPLICATED IN THE TOOLS THAT WE DEVELOP. BECAUSE IF WE AREN'T CAREFUL, SOME OF THOSE WILL BE CARRIED OVER INTO THESE TOOLS. I'M SORT OF REMINDED OF BEING AT A MEETING IN NEW YORK A COUPLE YEARS AGO WHERE ONE OF THE SPEAKERS WENT ON STAGE AND TALKED ABOUT HOW SHE DID A GAGGLE SEARCH GOOGLE SEARCH FOR BEAUTY, AND WHEN SHE SEARCHED FOR BEAUTY, EVERYBODY THAT CAME UP, YOU KNOW, LOOKED AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE SORT OF ANGLO- SAXON AND IT JUST DIDN'T HAVE A BREADTH OF REPRESENTATION OF ALL THE KINDS OF BEAUTIES THAT EXIST AROUND THE WORLD. AND I THINK THAT REFLECTS THE ALGORITHMS THAT WE USE THAT POURED OVER PREJUDICES THAT EXIST IN US THAT MAKE THOSE ALGORITHMS. SO I THINK BRUCE'S POINT IS WELL TAKEN. >> WELL SAID. SIMON, YOU'RE UP. >> GILDA, COULD I JUST INTERJECT ONE PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT EVERYBODY MAY NOT BE AWARE. SO THE TWO MAJOR AI INITIATIVES, THE COMMON FUND BRIDGE TO AI WHICH WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, I KNOW WE THROW A DIZZYING ARRAY OF OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE FOR YOU GUYS, BUT THAT HAS A COMPONENT OF THAT, AND SO CONNECT WITH GRACE, SHE IS THE NIBIB LEAD ON THAT COMMON FUND INITIATIVE, AND THEN THERE'S A NEW INITIATIVE CALLED AIM AHEAD, WHICH HAS COME FROM THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, AND THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF SESSIONS TO COMMUNICATE INFORMATION ON THAT. I BELIEVE THE APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED IN BOTH OF THOSE, BUT THIS IS -- IT'S GOOD TO TAKE A LOOK AT THEM. THERE MAY BE REISSUANCE, AND AS YOU HAVE IDEAS AND BELIEVE THESE ARE POPULAR, THAT'S IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE TO THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR WHERE THERE IS INVESTMENT IN THIS AREA AND COVFEFEMENT WITH INSTITUTES. SO AIM AHEAD IF YOU JUST GOOGLE THAT, NIH AND BRIDGE TO AI, WHICH YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN. I DON'T KNOW IF AIM AHEAD IS ON THE NIBIB FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES PAGE, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY IN THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR. >> THANKS FOR THAT, BRUCE. >> MM-HMM. >> JUMP IN THERE, SIMON. >> I GET MY CHANCE NOW. SO I'M GOING TO CHANGE THE TOPIC A LITTLE BIT AND PERHAPS TALK ABOUT DISSEMINATION AND HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP IN THAT REGARD. THIS WAS TRIGGERED BY BRUCE SHOWING THAT INCREDIBLE MATRIX OF OPPORTUNITIES, AND THAT'S ONLY GOING TO GROW AND HE JUST MENTIONED THE DIZZYING ARRAY OF POSSIBILITIES ARE OUT THERE, AND IT'S A FAIRLY SEASONED NIH INVESTIGATOR, I FIND IT PRETTY HARD TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE. SO I'M WONDERING HOW WE HELP TO FIND WAYS TO GET THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE RIGHT PERSON AT THE RIGHT TIME IN THEIR CAREER. BECAUSE I THINK FOR THE YOUNGER FOLKS, IT'S REALLY HARD TO NAVIGATE ALL THESE POSSIBILITIES, AND HOW DO THOSE OF US ON COUNCIL AND THOSE OF US IN NIBIB, AGAIN, TAKING IT BACK TO OUR OWN INSTITUTIONS, STARTING THERE, WHAT ARE THE TOOLS THAT WE CAN DEVELOP TO HELP FOCUS ON YOUNGER COLLEAGUES, THOSE THAT WE'RE MENTORING ON THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITIES AT THE RIGHT STAGE OF THEIR CAREERS. AND WHETHER THAT BE THROUGH -- I CAN IMAGINE JOHN DOING A FANTASTIC WEBINAR, FOR EXAMPLE, WHICH WOULD SORT OF REALLY LAY OUT THE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES. THERE ARE ALSO MATERIALS WE CAN BRING BACK TO OUR INSTITUTIONS AND SPREAD AMONGST THE COMMUNITY. SO I JUST WANT YOU TO EXPLORE THAT AND GET -- FOCUS INPUT AND IDEAS ON THAT TOPIC. >> THAT'S A GOOD CONCRETE SUGGESTION, ESPECIALLY SINCE THERE IS SO MUCH OUT THERE. AND WE PUT THINGS OUT THERE, WE EXPECT PEOPLE TO FIND THEM. SO THAT'S A CONCRETE THING THAT WE CAN FOLLOW UP ON THROUGH THE WORKING GROUP TO SEE WHAT KINDS OF TOOLS CAN WE ACTUALLY DO. I LIKE THAT. TEJAL, YOU'RE UP. >> HI, GILDA. THANK YOU FOR YOU AND ROD AND EVERYONE ELSE, FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. AS THIS DISCUSSION IS GOING ON, AND IT'S REALLY FOCUSED ON -- IT'S BEEN FOCUSED ON THESE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE AND HOW DO WE HAVE SOME CONCRETE SUGGESTIONS, I WAS THINKING ABOUT WHAT BRUCE MENTIONED IN TERMS OF THE UNDERGRADUATE DESIGN INITIATIVES AND DEBUT SPECIFICALLY. THERE ARE -- THERE IS SORT OF A SETASIDE AWARD FOR TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO UNDERRESOURCED SETTING, BUT I WONDER WHETHER WE MIGHT NOT BROADEN THAT TO REALLY THINK ABOUT PUTTING, AS YOU SAID, SORT OF THE DEI LENS ACROSS ALL OF THOSE TEAMS AND AWARDS, BECAUSE AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY BEING DEVELOPED LATER ON, WHICH REALLY AMPLIFIES BIAS, TO ME IT SEEMS THAT AT THE UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL IS REALLY WHERE WE START TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE FORM THOSE TEAMS, AND I JUST THINK THERE MAY BE SOM EASY ACTION ITEMS AT THAT LEVEL THAT CAN BE, AGAIN, SORT OF SYSTEMATIZED AS OPPOSED TO MAYBE PICKING OUT ONE SAYING GOOD JOB, REALLY SORT OF PUTTING IT ACROSS THE BOARD. >> ANOTHER GREAT SUGGESTION. THANK YOU FOR THAT. SAM. >> AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'M GRATEFUL TO NIBIB AND BRUCE FOR LEADERSHIP IN THIS AREA. PAULA DID MENTION SOMETHING ABOUT PDX, AND I KNOW BRUCE TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE PHANTOMS THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED. I WONDER HOW MUCH DIVERSITY IS INCORPORATED INTO THE PHANTOMS THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED TODAY. WE KNOW THAT ONCE YOU ARE LOOKING AT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE AREA OF OPTICAL -- A LOT OF DETECTION AND SCREENING TOOLS ARE AT THE LEVEL TODAY, SKIN TONES HAS A ROLE TO PLAY. I WONDER HOW MUCH EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON THAT. >> YOU DEFINED THAT LENS WELL. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AMY, YOU'RE NEXT. >> THANK YOU SO MUCHMENT I THINK MUCH. I THINK WE'RE OVER TIME SO I'LL MAKE MY COMMENTS SHORT. I WANT TO ECHO THE SUGGESTION THAT TEJAL MADE, HAVING TAUGHT 150 OR 200 SENIOR PROJECTS TO THE COURSE THAT I RUN AT UC BERKLEY, I THINK THE SPECTRUM OF CRITERIA KIND OF INCLUDED ACROSS ALL OF THE AWARDS WOULD BE A WONDERFUL WAY TO SUPPORT THIS FOCUS. THE SECOND ITEM I WANTED TO MAKE WAS IN RESPONSE TO SIMON'S SUGGESTIONS, I WONDER IF THERE MIGHT BE SOME WAY TO EMBED OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS THAT WE USED WUR WITH OUR POSTDOC AND PH.D. RESEARCHERS THAT MIGHT SORT OF POP OUT AND INDICATE AT THIS TIME YOU MIGHT BE THINKING ABOUT THIS, OR IF THERE'S SOME WAY TO KIND OF SYSTEMICALLY INTEGRATE SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES INTO THE MENTORING PROCESS. THANKS. >> THANKS FOR THAT, AMY. AND RANU. >> VERY QUICKLY TO THAT LAST POINT THAT AMY JUST MADE, WE DO PH.D. STUDENTS WHEN THEY DO THEIR PROPOSAL EXAM HAVE TO PUT TOGETHER A DEI PLAN THAT IS PART OF THEIR EXPECTATION OF WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE DOING WHILE THEY'RE DOING THEIR PH.D. SO THAT STARTS TO MAKE THEM -- THE IDEA IS NOT WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY DONE, BUT THINKING ABOUT IT AND GETTING THERE, AND THAT'S PART OF THE PROPOSAL KIND OF DECEIVES THEM. SO THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT IS THAT -- I JUST WENT TO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE -- HEALTH PAGE, MANY OF THESE CALLS ARE ONE TIME CALL FOR SETTING UP COLLABORATION OR WHATEVER IT IS. SOME OF THE INSTITUTIONS THAT ALREADY HAVE THINGS GOING FOB THEM MAY SUBMIT THINGS EARLY, BUT REALLY WE NEED TO HAVE A BROADER SET OF INSTITUTIONS, THOSE THAT MAY NOT BE AS SAVVY AT SUBMITTING THINGS TO NIH WITH LARGER CONSORTIUMS, WE NEED THEM ON BOARD. SO THIS IS AN NIH WIDE QUESTION BUT NIBIB ITSELF CAN LOOK AT OUR OWN SUBMISSIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE NOT IN THESE ONE-TIME PAUSE OR THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO IMPACT OR CAN IMPACT A LONG TERM SOCIAL STRUCTURE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PROPOSALS OR DEVELOPMENT OF A RESEARCH AREA, ET CETERA. >> THANKS FOR THAT, RANU. SO WE ARE AT TIME. WE GOT WHAT WE WANTED, WE WANTED TO ENGAGE YOU IN DISCUSSION. YOU CAN SEE MORE IDEAS HAVE BEEN GENERATED. ROD AND I HAVE TAKEN UPON OURSELVES TO SAY THAT WE WILL KEEP THE THINGS MOVING. PART OF OUR JOB IS TO PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE AND LEADERSHIP AROUND WHAT WE DO IN BETWEEN OUR MEETINGS AS WELL, AND TO HELP, AGAIN, ACTUALIZE SOME OF THESE IDEAS THAT WE'RE COMING UP WITH. I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THAT, AND I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO LET ROD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME FINAL COMMENTS AS WELL BEFORE WE TURN IT BACK OVER TO BRUCE AND DAVID. ROD? >> THANKS, GILDA. AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, SOME OF THE COMMENTARY FROM SOME OF YOU KIND OF CAME AND WENT FROM ME. WE HAD THIS CATEGORY 1 HURRICANE THAT ZIPPED THROUGH THE AREA, AND HAS HAD SOME CONNECTIVITY CONSEQUENCES, SO MY INTERNET HAS BEEN A LITTLE BIT UNSTABLE, AND I MISSED SOME OF THE THINGS. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK I HEARD, GILDA, AND THAT I CERTAINLY ENDORSE IS TAKING THIS BROADER LOOK, LOOKING AT ALL OF THE AWARDS THAT WE GIVE, AND WITH A DEI LENS AND LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPACT AWARDS IN GENERAL FROM A DEI PERSPECTIVE, I THINK IS A GREAT OVERARCHING PERSPECTIVE, AND A NEW ELEMENT TO THE CONSIDERATION OF A BASIC ISSUE ON THE TABLE OF BEING MORE EQUITABLE AND MORE INCLUSIVE. >> THANKS FOR THAT. AND AGAIN, THANKS TO EVERYONE. SO BACK TO YOU, BRUCE AND DAVID. >> DAVID IS DRIVING THE CAR, SO DAVID, WHAT'S OUR -- >> TRY TO ADDRESS COMMUNICATIONS FROM MY -- SO NEXT ON THE AGENDA IS THANK YOU VERY MUCH, GILDA AND ROD. NEXT ON THE AGENDA, WE HAVE TWO CONCEPT CLEARANCES TO BE PRESENTED BY NIBIB STAFF. THESE ARE FOR TWO INITIATIVES WE ARE ISSUING. ONE OF THEM WITH A MODIFICATION. THE FIRST ONE IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED BY NIBIB PROGRAM DIRECTOR GEORGE ZUBAL, WHO WILL BE PRESENTING A CONCEPT CLEARANCE ON BIOENGINEERING RESEARCH -- I'M SORRY, BIOENGINEERING PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY. GEORGE? >> YES, THANK YOU. LET ME PRESS THE APPROPRIATE BUTTONS TO GET MY SCREEN UP. OKAY. IT LOOKS LIKE THAT WORKED. >> YES, THANK YOU. >> ALL RIGHT. SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO REPORT ON THE CONCEPT CLEARANCE FOR A NEW BIOENGINEERING PARTNERSHIP WITH INDUSTRY, WHICH WE ARE GIVING THE LETTERS OF BPI. SO THE CURRENT ACTIVE PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS WITH SPECIAL RECEIPT REFERRAL AND/OR REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS OR PARS ARE LISTED HERE ON THIS SLIDE. BIOENGINEERING RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS, BRPs NUMBERED 19-156 AND 19-157 ENCOURAGE BIOENGINEERING APPLICATIONS THAT WILL ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF PROMISING TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN ADDRESS IMPORTANT BIOMEDICAL PROBLEMS. THESE TWO BRP FOAs ARE EXPIRING THIS YEAR AND WE FORMED A TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE WHETHER WE SHOULD CONTINUE PARTICIPATING IN THESE BRPs. AND THE LOWER TWO ACADEMIC INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP AIPs, PAR20-155 AND 21-166 INTEND TO STIMULATE TRANSLATION OF ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENTS THAT ADDRESS CON CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS IN UNDERSTANDING BITOLOGY, TREATMENT AND/OR DISEASE STATUS. A DISTINGUISHING FEATURE OF THESE ARPs -- AIPs IS THE FORMATION OF AN ACADEMIC INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP. I SHOULD MENTION THAT THE LOWER AIPs ARE STILL ACTIVE AND WILL REMAIN ACTIVE INTO NEXT YEAR. SO WE HAVE DECIDED TO PROPOSE REPLACING THE BRPs THAT ARE EXPIRING WITH A BIOENGINEERING PARTNERSHIP WITH INDUSTRY OR BPI, WHICH WILL MAINTAIN PRIMARY BRP FEATURES, WHICH ARE U01 FUNDING MECHANISM, DELIVERABLES AND REQUIRED MILESTONES, THE NEW BPI WILL BE ENHANCED WITH THE REQUIREMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS, WHICH IS MEANT TO EMPHASIZE COMMERCIALIZATION AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS, AND WE WOULD THEN WITHDRAW PARTICIPATION IN THE ONGOING AIP FOAs, IE, WE WOULD NOT RENEW OUR PARTICIPATION WHEN THIS HE DO EXPIRE. THR PROPOSED THIS PROPOSED BPI WOULD HENCE BE A HYBRID OF THE TWO WE'VE LOOKED AT, THE BRP AND THE AIP. SO HERE IN TABLE FORM ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CURRENT BRP AND AIP PROGRAMS. THEY ARE SIMILAR IN THAT THEY BOTH ARE INITIALLY FUNDED FOR FIVE YEARS. ANY BUDGETS EXCEEDING $500,000 PER YEAR MUST BE APPROVED BY THE FUNDING INSTITUTE. AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS ARE OPTIONAL, HOWEVER, IN THE CASE OF BRPs, THEY ARE ENCOURAGED. THEY DIFFER IN THAT THE BRP IS FUNDED AS A UO1, AIPs ARE FUNDED AS AN R01. BRPs DO NOT REQUIRE AN INDUSTRIAL PARTNER, AIPs DO REQUIRE AN INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP. BRPs REQUIRE MILESTONES, DELIVERABLES AND INTERIM REPORTS. AIPs DO NOT HAVE THIS REQUIREMENT, AND BRPs PERMIT ONLY ONE RENEWAL WHILE AIPs CAN RENEW WITHOUT LIMIT. TO REVIEW THE PREVIOUS ACTIVITY IN THESE PROGRAMS, THIS PIE CHART SHOWS THE FUNDED AWARDS OF BRPs OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. YOU SEE THAT NIBIB HAS ENJOYED THE LION'S SHARE OF THE FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM AND HAS BEEN AWARDED 27 GRANTS COMPARED TO 34 AWARDS FOR ALL OTHER INSTITUTES, AND NIBIB HAS SUPPORTED THESE 27 GRANTS WITH A TOTAL OF $177 MILLION COMPARED TO $234 MILLION FOR ALL OF THE OTHER INSTITUTES. I THINK IT'S NOTABLE TO SEE THAT HEART, LUNG AND BLOOD COMES IN SECOND FOR THESE GRANT AWARDS BUT HEART LUNG AND BLOOD ENDED ITS PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROGRAM IN 2015. SO THE PAST FIVE YEARS OF ACTIVITY HERE HAVE BEEN NCI, NIA, NINDS, AND NEI. AS SHOWN IN THIS PIE CHART FOR AIP AWARDS, THE CANCER INSTITUTE HAS CLEARLY BEEN MOST ACTIVE IN AWARDING ACADEMIC INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS OVER THE PAST SIX-YEAR HISTORY OF THIS PROGRAM, AND NIBIB REPRESENTS ONLY SOME 10 TO 15% OF THE TOTAL SUPPORT IN NUMBERS AND DOLLARS FOR THESE AWARDS. SO NIBIB'S PROPOSED BIOENGINEERING PARTNERSHIP WITH INDUSTRY WILL RETAIN THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS FROM THE CURRENT BRP AWARD. IT WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH THE UO I MECHANISM. CLINICAL ARRANGEMENTS WILL REMAIN OPTIONAL BULL CONTINUE TO BE ENCOURAGED. MILESTONES, DELIVERABLES AND INTERIM REPORTS WILL BE REQUIRED AND FUNDING DURATION WILL BE FOR FIVE YEARS, AND WILL ALLOW ONE COMPETITIVE RENEWAL. BUDGET APPLICATIONS REQUESTING OVER $500,000 PER YEAR REQUIRE INSTITUTIONAL IMPROVEMENT, AND THE BPI FUNDING WILL REQUIRE AN INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP. WE HOPE THAT THIS NEW FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT WILL ENCOURAGE EARLY STAGE AND MID CAREER INVESTIGATORS TO APPLY AND ARE RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN THE FOLLOWING NEW TOOLS AND ACTIVITIES THAT ACCELERATE THE APPLICATION OF BIOMEDICAL TAXICAB NOLGS, TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING FIRST IN HUMAN TESTING LEADING TO FDA APPROVAL THE, INVESTIGATIONAL NEW DRUGS, INVESTIGATIONAL DEVICE EXEMPTIONS, FIRST OF ITS KIND SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT, PRECOMMERCIAL PROTOTYPES, ESTABLISHING PROOF OF NEW CONCEPTS AND RELEASE OF SOFTWARE PACKAGES. REGARDING THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS, REVIEW WOULD BE CONDUCTED VIA CSR STANDING STUDY SECTIONS AS IS CURRENTLY THE PRACTICE. I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS. >> THANK YOU, GEORGE. IF YOU DON'T NEED YOUR SLIDES EXCEPT PERHAPS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, YOU CAN SHUT THEM OFF AND WE CAN DO OUR HOLLYWOOD SQUARES. >> OKAY. >> HI, THIS IS MANU. I THINK IT'S FANTASTIC. I ACTUALLY LIKE THIS MODIFICATION TO THE BRP WITH INDUSTRY. I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE, WHAT PROMISE OR CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD INDUSTRY MAKE WHEN THE APPLICATION GETS SUBMITTED? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM THE INDUSTRY PARTNER, WHAT LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT AND WHAT COMMITMENTS DO THEY NEED TO MAKE THAT IN YOUR WORLD WOULD MAKE IT A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION? >> WELL, I GUESS WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING UP THE FINAL FOA, BUT I THINK THE PRIMARY FOCUS IS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DRIVE AN INCREASE THE PATHWAY TO COMMERCIALIZATION. WE'VE LOOKED AT SOME OF THE PAST APPLICATIONS, AND -- BY DIVISION, AND THOSE THAT DID INVOLVE AN INDUSTRIAL PARTNER DID HAVE A HIGHER PROBABILITY OF COMMERCIALIZATION, GETTING A NEW PRODUCT OUT TO THE MARKETPLACE, HAVING SOFTWARE PACKAGES THAT COULD BE USED BY THE COMMUNITY. SO IT'S THIS STEP TOWARDS USE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO EMPHASIZE. AS FAR AS THE DETAILS OF HOW WE DESCRIBE THAT, THAT'S STILL IN THE PROCESS OF BEING WRITTEN UP IN THE FOA, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS OF THE BEST WAYS TO DESCRIBE THAT? THAT'S GOOD. WHAT CONCERNS ME -- I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA BUT I WONDER WHAT LEVEL OF COMPANIES, STARTUP COMPANIES, CONFLICT OF INTEREST WITH FACULTY LIKE A FACULTY STARTER COMPANY, JUST SOME OF THOSE THINGS, BUT THEN THE OTHER PIECE WOULD BE IF IT HAS TO GO THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY'S TECH TRANSFER OFFICE, SOMETIMES THAT CAN BE A BARRIER HURDLE FOR SOME INVESTIGATORS, SOME TECH TRANS FER FER TRANSFER OFFICES PICK AND CHOOSE. BUT I LOVE THE IDEA. >> THANK YOU. AS YOU SAW IN THE SLIDE, THE AIPs WERE QUITE SUCCESSFUL FOR THE CANCER INSTITUTE, AND WE HAVE GOTTEN SOME INPUT AND DISCUSSIONS FROM THEM. IN THOSE MEETINGS, I DON'T REMEMBER THERE WAS A BARRIER AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL FOR TECH TRANSFER, BUT WE ARE SENSITIVE TO THAT, AND WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T CREATE BARRIERS TO INCLUDE INDUSTRY AS OPPOSED TO MAKING A SMOOTHER PATHWAY FOR COMMERCIALIZATION. >> THANK YOU, MANU. I SEE RANU AND THEN ZANE. >> THANK YOU FOR THIS CONCEPT CLEARANCE. AND IT IS DEFINITELY A POSITIVE IDEA TO THINK AND I LIKE THE FACT THAT IT'S BEING COMBINED. I WOULD LIKE SOME COMMENTARY ON, ONE, HOW DOES THIS -- HOW COULD THIS LEVERAGE THE MED TECH PROGRAM THAT IS ALREADY BEING PUT IN PLACE, AND FOR SOME OF THOSE RESOURCES, ET CETERA, THAT ARE BEING OFFERED IN THE TWO STAGES OF THE MED TECH PROGRAM BE AVAILABLE TO THIS SET OF DEVICE GROUPS, AND ALSO THE NEUROTHERAPEUTICS PROGRAM, FOR THE DEVICES AND -- COULD SOME OF THAT HAVE -- HELP THE COMMUNITY HERE, AND ALSO THE CTI COMMERCIALIZATION ASPECT THAT NIBIB HAS, WOULD YOU PLEASE COMMENT ON HOW PEOPLE WHO GET A BPI MIGHT BE ALMOST REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH THAT CTI PROCESS. >> I MIGHT CALL FOR SOME HELP ON GETTING ANSWERS BACK TO THOSE SPECIFICS. >> MIKE WOLFS IS ON THE PHONE. >> THE SHORT ANSWER, RANU IS, THANK YOU FOR THE SHOUT OUT ON THE PROGRAM, I APPRECIATE THAT. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THAT THE INTERSECTION OF INSTITUTES PARTICIPATING IN BPI THAT WE HAVE LIKE TENTATIVE PARTICIPATION FOR AND FOR MED TECH ARE NOT OVERLAPPING. SO THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING -- I HATE TO GET INTO THE BUREAUCRACY BUT EFFECTIVELY THEY WOULD EACH HAVE TO SIGN ON TO EACH OTHER'S INITIATIVE AND THAT MAY BE A PRETTY STEEP UPHILL CLIMB. SO APPRECIATE IT. WE ARE THINKING LONGER TERM ABOUT HOW TO APPLY THE RADXIFICATION OF EVERYTHING WE DO AT NIBIB, BUT THIS IS JUST ONE STEP IN THAT PROCESS, NOT A COMPLETE IMMEDIATE OVERHAUL OF EVERYTHING WE DO. SO I KNOW IT'S NOT A GREAT ANSWER, I KNOW IT'S NOT MOVING AS FAST AS YOU'RE SUGGESTING THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY A STEP FORWARD. AS FOR CTI, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN AVAILABLE TO NON-SBIR GRANTEES. SO NOT EVERYONE CAN BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A C3I SUPPLEMENT AND WE WOULD CERTAINLY EXPECT OUR BPI AWARDEES WOULD BE PUT AT THE FRONT OF THE QUEUE FOR THOSE SORTS OF DISCUSSIONS. >> AND MICHAEL, I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT IF A BPI APPLICATION SEEMED READY FOR THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH EITHER MED TECH OR -- THERAPEUTIC, THEY COULD PUT IN AN APPLICATION THROUGH THOSE PROGRAMS, SO THE NIBIB CONNECTION IS THE FLEW THAT WOULD KIND OF KEEP THOSE PROGRAMS IN COMMUNICATION TO EACH OTHER. >> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. WE HAVE THESE DIALOGS WITH POTENTIAL APPLICANTS ALL THE TIME, YOURSELF INCLUDED, WHERE WE DIRECT APPLICANTS TO WHAT WE BELIEVE IS THE MOST APPLICABLE FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENTS TO SUPPORT THEIR INTERESTS. >> THANK YOU. AND REGARDING THE COMMERCIALIZATION, WE'RE ACTUALLY DEVELOPING ANOTHER PROGRAM TO DETECT HEALTH DISPARITIES, AND WE'RE FACTORING THAT IN, SO THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTION. WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT ALSO FOR THIS PROGRAM. SOL ZANE. >> THANKS, DAVE. GEORGE, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION ON THIS. I GUESS NOT BEING INTUITIVELY FAMILIAR WITH THESE FUNDING MECHANISMS, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD, YOU'RE TAKING TWO FUNDING MECHANISMS, COMBINING THEM INTO ONE. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME LIMITATION WITH THE BRP AND AIP, LOOKS LIKE NHLBI GOT OUT OF ONE OF THEM FOR SOME REASON. HOW DOES THIS NEW FUNDING MECHANISM IMPROVE OVER THE FORMER TWO? I MEAN, ARE YOU TAKING THE BEST, DO YOU HAVE METRICS ON WHAT YOU ALL ARE LOOKING FOR FOR SUCCESS BY COMBINING THIS INTO ONE FUNDING MECHANISM AS OPPOSED TO THE TWO THAT PREVIOUSLY EXISTED? >> I THINK THE QUICK SHORT ANSWER IS THAT THE BRPs -- WELL, FIRST WE BELIEVE WE'RE TAKING THE BEST OUT OF THESE TWO AND COMBINING THEM INTO AN IMPROVED FUNDING OPPORTUNITY. THE BRP FOCUSES ON DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN BE USED ACROSS THE BOARD THROUGH OTHER INSTITUTES AT THE NIH, AND WE FELT THAT THE AIP SUCCESS WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE FACT THAT THEY REQUIRED AN INDUSTRIAL PARTNER. SO WE TOOK THOSE TWO HIGHLIGHTED KIND OF PORTIONS FROM THE BRP AND THE AIP, POINTED THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGIES, AND INCLUDED THE INDUSTRIAL PARTNER IN ORDER TO DRIVE COMMERCIALIZATION AND MOVEMENT OF ANY OF THE RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH INTO A -- EITHER TSH INTO THE MARKETPLACE OR APPLICATION FOR CLINICAL USE. >> THANK YOU. >> SOHI, THEN GORDANA. >> I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IMPROVEMENT ON BRP. I COMPLETELY SUPPORT THAT. ONLY I HAVE A QUESTION BECAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE OF AIP, I'M WONDERING IF AN AIP ALLOWS INDEFINITE RENEWALS, DOES THAT SERVE AS COMPETITION FOR YOU IN TERMS OF -- TALENTED SUBMITTERS, INVESTIGATORS GOING TO AIP RATHER THAN COMING TO BPI, AND HOW WILL YOU DEAL WITH THAT? THAT'S MY ONLY -- AND I'M SUPPORTIVE OF ONE-TIME RENEWAL, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT THING. I'M JUST CURIOUS WHETHER THAT'S AN ISSUE. >> WELL, AS WE SAW IN THIS -- THANKS FOR THAT QUESTION. AS WE SAW IN THE AIP PIE CHART, A LARGE PORTION OF THE SUPPORT WAS GOING TO THE CANCER INSTITUTE, AND I THINK ONE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THAT IS THERE WAS SOME INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TECHNOLOGY OR A NEW TECHNIQUE, BUT THEN GOING YEARS FORWARD, IT IS USED FOR CLINICAL TRIALS, FOR CONTINUED FOLLOW-UP WITH PATIENTS BEING TREATED FOR CANCERS, AND SO IT WAS UNDERSTANDABLE THAT IT WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH A CONTINUED PROGRESS TOWARD UNDERSTANDING NEW THERAPIES OR NEW DIAGNOSES AS THE YEARS WENT ON. HENCE HAD NO LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF RENEWALS. THE BRP -- THE PORTION OF THE BRP THAT WE'RE TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT WE DO WANT TO DRIVE NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN BE USED FOR A VARIETY OF OTHER CLINICAL APPLICATIONS. SO WE WERE HOPING THAT IN THE FIRST 10 YEARS, THE FEASIBILITY COULD BE DEMONSTRATED AND AT MOST IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, PERHAPS SOME VALIDATION CLINICAL STUDIES, BUT NOT A CONTINUING SET OF CLINICAL TRIALS THAT FOLLOW PATIENTS FOR MANY YEARS GOING FORWARD. YOU SO THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT WE SAW IN THE AIP'S CONTINUED CLINICAL APPLICATIONS AND WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO EMPHASIZE IN THE BRP PORTION OF THIS HYBRID AS A DELIVERABLE, A PROTOTYPE, A DISTRIBUTION OF SOFTWARE THAT ANALYZES IMAGES AND CAN BE PASSED ON TO OTHER INSTITUTES FOR A VARIETY OF USES. >> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. GORDANA. >> GEORGE, I THINK IT'S A VERY NICE IDEA. I WILL BE INTERESTED IN WHAT IS YOUR EXPECTATION OF THE BALANCE OF SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT? IN OTHER WORDS, HOW MATURE SHOULD BE THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION? ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IDEAS THAT ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, SO THEY'RE NOT THAT RISKY, AND THEN YOUR FUNDING PEOPLE TO WORK WITH INDUSTRY AND ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING THAT'S VERY TANGIBLE, OR ARE YOU ALSO PUTTING SOME FUNDING INTO THE RESEARCH? I THINK THIS WILL REALLY DETERMINE THE WAY HOW YOU JUDGE THE SUCCESS OF THESE PROJECTS AND WHAT NIBIB WILL GET OUT OF THE PROGRAM AT THE END OF THE DAY. >> THANK YOU FOR THAT. IT'S AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION. ONE OF THE BULLET POINTS WAS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE EARLY AND MID CAREER APPLICANTS FOR THE BPI. AND I THINK THAT EMFA SIDES THAT WE WANT NEW IDEAS, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX, NOT JUST CONTINUING IT INCREMENTALLY, IMPROVING ALREADY ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGIES, AND WITH NEWER TO MID CAREER APPLICANTS, WE WOULD HOPE THAT SOME NEW IDEAS WOULD EMERGE AND WOULD AT THE SAME TIME, WITHIN THE FIVE OR 10 YEARS, DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH INDUSTRY AND FINDING A WAY OF GETTING SOME OF THESE NEW INNOVATIVE IDEAS THROUGH INDUSTRY INTO THE MARKETPLACE INTO CLINICAL APPLICATION. SO WE WERE NOT HOPING TO INCREMENTALLY IMPROVE ALREADY WELL ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGIES IMAGING TAXICAB TECHNOLOGIES, DIAGNOSES, BUT TO FIND NEW IDEAS IN EARLIER APPLICANTS COMING TO NIBIB FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT. A LITTLE BIT OF -- >> SORRY. >> A LITTLE BIT OF THE RADX IDEA, OF FINDING NEW WAYS TO SOLVE NEW PROBLEMS. >> JUST ALONG THESE LINES, WOULD IT MAKE SENSE TO DO SOMETHING THAT YOU DO UH3 MECHANISM THEN YOU NEED TO DEMONSTRATE SUCCESS OVER RELATIVELY INITIAL PERIOD OF TIME FOR LESS MONEY AND THEN THERE IS A GATE THAT LETS YOU CONTINUE IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE THERE'S NO OUT THESE NEW OUT OF B OX IDEAS MAY OR MAY NOT WORK, AND THE IDEA IS THAT -- TIME WOULD BE BENEFICIAL. >> WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD THAT INTO THE FIRST FIVE YEARS AND THE SECOND FIVE YEARS FOR THE RENEWAL, THAT WE WOULD EXPECT AT THE END OF THE FIRST FIVE YEARS, THERE WOULD BE A DEMONSTRATION OF FEASIBILITY, SEEING THINGS ARE WORKING AND PERHAPS A PROTOTYPE IS AVAILABLE FOR NICHE INITIAL TESTING, AND ONLY GIVEN AT THE TIME OF THE RENEWAL FOR YEARS SIX TO 10 WOULD WE THEN BASE OUR DECISION AND HOPEFULLY THE REVIEWERS WOULD AGREE, THAT IT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AND VERIFIED IT COULD WORK AND PERHAPS THE FIRST STUDIES ANIMALS OR HUMANS OR ON A DATABASE COULD BE INITIATED AND FULLY DEVELOPED THROUGH YEARS 6 TO 10. SO THE RENEWAL WOULD BE THAT KIND OF GATEWAY BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT, PROOF OF CONCEPT AND MOVING ON TO AN ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS OF APPLICATION AND VERIFICATION STUDIES. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? >> THANK YOU, GORDANA. WE'RE ABOUT HALF-HOUR BEHIND AND I SEE TWO MORE QUESTIONS, SO IF IT'S OKAY, WE'LL LET SAM AND BRUCE, BRUCE TROMBERG AND THAT WILL BE OUR FINAL. >> JUST A QUICK QUESTION. ONE OF THE ATTRACTIONS OF THE OLD BRG IS THAT -- OR BRP IS THAT IT ALLOWED MULTIPLE INVESTIGATORS TO ENGAGE -- WE THOUGHT THIS WAS REALLY GOING THROUGH U54 MECHANISMS. WE DID ILLUMINATION OF THAT AND FORCING EVERYBODY TO GO THROUGH [INAUDIBLE] WHERE DO THOSE INVESTIGATORS GO DOWN IS THIS >> YOU MENTIONED THE BRG, WHICH IS NOT AN AIP. WE HAVEN'T -- THE BRG IS AN R01 MECHANISM WHICH IS STILL ACTIVE THROUGH NEXT YEAR. WE HAVEN'T MADE A DECISION ON OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE BRG. I THINK THAT WILL FOLLOW IN THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS. SO THAT IS STILL AVAILABLE. AND THE AIP IS KIND OF OUR DECISION THAT FOR DEVELOPING NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT COULD BE MARKETABLE OR MOVE TOWARDS CLINICAL APPLICATION, WE FEEL THAT INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP IS ESSENTIAL AND WOULD REQUEST THAT FOR APPLYING FOR THE BPI. >> THANK YOU, SAM. THEM BRUCE ROSEN, FINAL QUESTION OR COMMENT? >> I'LL WITHDRAW MY QUESTION IN THE INTEREST OF TIME BUT JUST SAY THAT I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS PLAN, I THINK IT'S GREAT AND THE OVERALL CONCEPT IS BEING PUSHED FORWARD AND I LIKE THE MODIFICATIONS YOU MADE. >> THANKS, BRUCE, VERY MUCH. I MEAN, THE R01 STILL IS AVAILABLE IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT FORMS, BUT THE BPI WOULD EMPHASIZE INDUSTRIAL INVOLVEMENT AND WE THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT NEW CONCEPT THAT WE WANT TO BRING TO LIGHT. LIGHT. THANK YOU. >> GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INPUT AND COMMENTS AND THEY WILL BE WELL FACTORED IN AS WE MOVE FORWARD. THANK YOU, EVERYONE. SO THE NEXT CONCEPT CLEARANCE WILL BE GIVEN BY DR. JOAN GREVE FROM OUR TRAINING DIVISION WHO WILL BE PRESENTING THE REISSUANCE OF TEAM-BASED DESIGN FOR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION. THANK YOU, JOAN. >> WONDERFUL. IF IT'S ALL RIGHT WITH YOU GUYS, I'LL START WITH OUR TWO FAVORITE QUESTIONS, IS CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY AND CAN YOU SEE MY SLIDES? DAVID, I SEE YOU IN MY BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER. THANK YOU. HIGH HIGH THERE. JOAN GREVE, I'M SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY ABOUT THE REISSUANCE OF THE TEAM BASED DESIGN IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOA. AND THIS IS JUST ONE TOOL THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE FOR WHAT I BELIEVE IS OUR MISSION, SYNOPSIZED AS PRECISION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND SIMON, MAYBE THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE ALLUDING TO EARLIER, WHICH IS THE RIGHT TRAINING OR OPPORTUNITY AT THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE RIGHT PERSON. AND THAT PERSON IS FACTORING IN THE FACULTY MEMBER WHO MIGHT APPLY FOR THE AWARD AS WELL AS THE STUDENTS WHO MIGHT BENEFIT FROM IT. SO BEFORE I JUMP IN, I'D ALSO LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE NICHD WHO IS A CURRENT PARTNER ON THE F OSM A, THERE'S A LIKELIHOOD THEY'LL CONTINUE TO PARTNER ON THIS FOA BUT NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE AND I DON'T SPEAK FOR THEM HERE. SO AS WE PREPARE FOR THE FEW TEU IT'S ALWAYS CRITICAL TO REFLECT ON THE PAST. AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE'LL START. IF I MAY ALSO FIRST SHARE FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NOT BE AS FAMILIAR, THE R25 MECHANISM IS A MECHANISM TO SUPPORT RESEARCH EDUCATION PROGRAMS. THIS FOA WAS FIRST ANNOUNCED IN 2010. IT'S BEEN THROUGH FOUR ITERATIONS, AND ONCE THE DEBUT CHALLENGE WAS CREATED, WE'VE ALWAYS HOPED FOR SEEING SOME OF THESE TEAM-BASED PROJECTS ENDING UP AS SUBMISSIONS TO THE CHALLENGE. THE APPLICATIONS ARE REVIEWED BY NIBIB'S OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND THE CURRENT AMAZING SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OFFICER THAT I HAD THE HONOR OF PARTNERING WITH RIGHT NOW IS DR. RUIKIA ZHOU. THE KEY FEATURES WERE TO SUPPORT NEW OR EXISTING TEAM-BASED DESIGN COURSES FROM UNDERGRADUATE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS OR PROGRAMS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS BEING PRIMARILY SENIOR BUT ALSO JUNIORS AND POSSIBLY EVEN FIRST YEAR GRADUATE STUDENTS, AND THE ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGED FACTORS, WHICH WE'LL COME BACK TO THAT NOMENCLATURE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE, WERE COURSES THAT INCLUDE INNOVATIVE AND/OR GROUNDBREAKING ACTIVITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING, AND DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT. IN 2013, THE UPDATES THAT WERE INCLUDED THERE WERE EMPHASIS ON CLINICAL IMMERSION. IN 2016, WE SEE THAT APPLICATIONS WERE ALLOWED FROM OTHER DEGREE-GRANTING PROGRAM WITH BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING TRACKS OR MINORS AND WE SEE THE -- AS WELL AS THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF MEDICAL DEVICES. IN 2019, WE SEE THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN EDUCATION AN THE RECOGNITION THAT ENGINEERING DESIGN EDUCATION IS NOW A MATURE FIELD THAT IS CRITICAL TO DEVELOPING -- PREPARING A FUTURE WORKFORCE FOR CAREERS IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGIES. THE FOA IS NOW FOCUSED ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND VERY IMPORTANTLY, FOCUSED ON A TEAM-BASED ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE AS WE ALL KNOW, GREAT SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH GREAT TEAMS OF PEOPLE. SO A LITTLE BIT OF DATA ON THE -- OVER THE LIFETIME OF THIS AWARD. THERE HAVE BEEN 48 AWARDS, TWO THIRDS OF WHICH HAVE HAD THE CLINICAL IMMERSION PIECE, WHICH IS GENERALLY A 6 TO 10 WEEK PROGRAM OUTSIDE OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR, SO WE OFTEN SEE THIS IN THE SUMMERTIME. AWARDS HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO 21 STATES INCLUDING FOUR IDEA STATES. APPROXIMATELY 90% OF THE WORDS HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO BIOENGINEERING OR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS. APPROXIMATELY 12 OF THE AWARDEES' UNIVERSITIES HAVE SUBMITTED TO OUR DEBUT CHAL ECK. AND FOR THIS AWARD, THE DIRECT COST RANGES BETWEEN 20 AND $40,000. THE ADDITION OF SUMMER SALARY SUPPORT FOR FACULTY IN 2019, WE HAVE RECEIVED FEEDBACK THAT THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT POINT FOR SUCCESS IN THIS FOA. THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL $5,000 FOR TECHNICAL STAFF AND ADMINISTRATION, AND THEN THE REMAINDER OF THE FUNDS ARE TO SUPPORT THE CLASS OR PROJECT'S NEEDS. IF THERE'S A CLIN AL IMMERSION -- AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT THE PARTICIPANTS THAT CAN RECEIVE UP TO $4,000 PER PARTICIPANT PER YEAR. SO OVER THE LIFESPAN OF THIS FOA, THE TOTAL AWARD HAS BEEN A LITTLE OVER $1.4 MILLION. SO WHERE MIGHT WE WANT TO GO INTO THE FUTURE? THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT THE ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGED ASPECTS, AND I BELIEVE PAULA AND GILDA ALLUDED TO THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO MOVE OUR COMMUNITY IN SOME WAYS, AND THE FIRST THREE BIG BUCKETS THAT WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HERE ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO, I BELIEVE, WHAT TEJAL AND AMY HAD SAID, WHICH IS TO APPLY THE DEI LENS EARLY AND OFTEN, AND SO THE FIRST BUCKET IS EXPANDING DESIGN -- THE DESIGN THINKING PERSPECTIVE. FOR EXAMPLE, BY INTEGRATING HEALTH EQUITY INTO DESIGN, FROM THE BEGINNING. ALSO TO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE DESIGN FOR LOW RESOURCE SETTINGS, HONESTLY, OUR PROGRAMS HAVE ACTUALLY HELPED TO LEAD THIS ASPECT ALREADY. THE SECOND BUCKET TO CONSIDER IS EXPANDING THE CLINICAL IMMERSION PERSPECTIVE, GOING BACK TO WHAT PAULA AND GILDA SAID EARLIER, WHICH IS COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. SO CAN THERE BE COMMUNITY-BASED CLINICAL IMMERSION -- HOW CAN THERE STILL BE A STRONG IMMERSION EXPERIENCE FOR THE STUDENTS BECAUSE IN A LOT OF COMMUNITY-BASED ENGAGEMENT, THE LEADERSHIP IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DISSEMINATED. THEN ALSO DRIVEN TO PROBLEM -- WHICH IS A STEP BEYOND CLINICAL IMMERSION. LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, THE THIRD BUCKET IS ENCOURAGING MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS. EACH FIELD AS WE KNOW BRINGS A NUANCE TO BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING. FOR EXAMPLE, NURSING IS ONE OF THE MOST TEAM-BASED FIELDS I CAN PERSONALLY THINK OF, AND THEN MOVING INTO THE FUTURE, OUR BIOMEDICAL ENG ENGINEERS, IT'S GOING TO BE CRITICAL TO UNDERSTAND BIOENGINEERING SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH. WE PLAN ON KEEPING A SIMILAR DUE DATE IN LATE MAY. AND WITH THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. >> THANK YOU, JOAN. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THIS CONCEPT CLEARANCE? I SEE ROD AND THEN JENNIFER. >> ACTUALLY, I THINK JENNIFER'S HAND WAS UP FIRST. >> OKAY. JENNIFER, THE COURTEOUS GENTLEMAN HAS OFFERED YOU THE FIRST CHANCE. >> GREAT. I JUST WANTED TO SAY CONGRATULATIONS ON ALL THE SUCCESS WITH THIS PROGRAM. IT'S JUST AN AMAZING PROGRAM. I THANK YOU. IN TERMS OF BANG FOR THE BUCK, YOU CAN'T BEAT IT. IT'S REALLY HAD AN OUT SIZED IMPACT ON THE PROGRAMS THAT IT'S SUPPORTED AND I THINK ON THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED. SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE GOING FORWARD, AND I LOVE YOUR NEW CONCEPTS OF GETTING THE FUTURE STUDENTS ENGAGED MORE, ESPECIALLY WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND NURSING, I THINK THAT WILL BE GREAT. I IMAGINE A LOT OF THE UNIVERSITIES HAVE MECHANISMS FOR WORKING WITH PHYSICIANS AT THEIR MEDICAL SCHOOL WHO ALSO HAVE APPOINTMENTS AT COMMUNITY-BASED CLINICS AND PERHAPS THAT COULD PROVIDE A MORE FORMALIZED WAY OF GETTING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY. >> THANK YOU. THAT'S A WONDERFUL SUGGESTION. >> AGREE WITH JENNIFER, THE BANG FOR THE BUCK IS TREMENDOUS, BUT I ALSO WANT TO UNDERSCORE THE COMMENTS THAT JOAN MADE, ECHOING COMMENTS FROM PAULA AND GILDA ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING HEALTH EQUITY BE A COMPONENT OF THE DESIGN. I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT'S BEEN A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR FIELD TO IMPACT THE NEED TO BE MORE EQUITABLE IN HOW WE DELIVER HEALTHCARE BY HAVING THE ENGINEERING COMMUNITY REALLY TAKE THIS ON AS A BOUNDARY CONDITION. YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT NOT ONLY WHAT SOMETHING DOES, BUT WHO IT'S GOING TO BE APPLIED TO, WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE APPLIED, AND HOW IT'S GOING TO BE APPLIED. SO NOT ONLY THE WHAT, BUT THE TO WHOM AND THE WHERE AND THE HOW. AND THAT'S WHERE THE ENGINEERING COMES IN. AND HAVING THAT BUILT INTO THE DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING AS YOU'VE POINTED OUT, JOAN, I THINK IS KEY. CONSIDERING THE SETTING IN WHICH IT'S GOING TO BE UTILIZED, LOW RESOURCES BEING A MONIKER THAT DESCRIBES THAT. JUST AS A SPECIFIC POINT OF INFORMATION, IN MY OWN SCHOOL NOW, THE NEW SCHOOL THAT I'M IN, WHICH, BY THE WAY, HAS A NEW NAME, WE'RE NOW OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED THE INTERCOLLEGIATE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING MEDICINE IS OUR NAME NOW, BRUCE, SO WE HAVE THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING MEDICINE TO TRAIN CONVERGED PHYSICIANS AND ENGINEERS WHO WE THERM PHYSICIANEERS, REQUIRED TO INVENT A SOLUTION TO A HEALTHCARE PROBLEM. BUT THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES HAVE PROPOSED A PERIOD OF TIME DURING THE SUMMER, BECAUSE THEY GET 10 WEEKS OFF DURING THE SUMMER. SO THE STUDENTS HAVE PROPOSED SPENDING SEVERAL OF THOSE WEEKS GOING AND LIVING IN A LOW RESOURCE SETTING AND STUDYING HOW MEDICINE IS DELIVERED IN THOSE SETTINGS TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM. COMING BACK WITH THAT INFORMATION AND BEING ARMED WITH THAT INFORMATION TO DESIGN SOLUTIONS THAT WOULD BE OPERATIVE IN THOSE SETTINGS. AND YOU KNOW, THAT IS WHERE WE'RE HEADED. A PROGRAM LIKE THIS THAT SUPPORTS THAT KIND OF ACTIVITY IS FANTASTIC. I YIELD. DAVID. >> THANK YOU, RANU. >> I WANT TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON A FANTASTIC PROGRESS AND HOW IT IS MOVING FORWARD. THERE'S A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS THAT I HAD WAS SOMETIMES THERE ARE UNIVERSITIES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU LOOB AT HBCUs LOOK AT HBCUs, THEY DO NOT HAVE A MEDICAL SCHOOL, THEY MAY HAVE LINKS TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND TO NURSING, BUT SO SOMEHOW MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T LOSE THOSE SCHOOLS AND THOSE SETS OF -- THAT GROUP FROM APPLYING TO THESE BIGGER PROGRAMS. SO THIS IS WHERE I'M HAVING THE SAME THOUGHT THAT I HAD BEFORE, THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS ABLE TO APPLY TO THESE PROGRAMS AND KNOW ABOUT IT. SECOND IS, IF WE COULD BE GETTING SOME DATA AS PART OF THEIR COMMITMENT TO THESE PROPOSALS, THESE GRANTS OF WHAT HAPPENS TO THE STUDENTS AFTER THEY GL THROUGH THIS GO THROUGH THIS PROG RAM, WHAT PATHWAY THEY ARE TAKING, AND THIRD, IF THEY HAVE PROGRAMS COMING OUT OF NON-BIOLOGICAL PROGRAMS, HOW IS THAT INFLUENCING THE OVERALL STATE OF THOSE STUDENTS FOR A LIFELONG ENGAGEMENT, AND KNOTS JUST ONE PROJECT I DID THERE AND THEN I'M OFF TO DOING SOMETHING ELSE? >> THANK YOU. FIRST OF ALL, CAN I ADDRESS SOMETHING, I WILL PASS YOUR CONGRATULATIONS ON TO MY FEARLESS LEADER, WHO COULD NOT BE HERE TODAY. I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR 18 MONTHS AS A FACULTY MEMBER, I WAS VERY MUCH INVESTED IN OUR SENIOR DESIGN PROGRAM, SO ALL CONGRATULATIONS TO ZENUP AND I JUST HOPE TO CONTINUE ALONG AND FILL HER BIG SHOES AS WE MOVE FORWARD. I REALLY LIKE YOUR POINT, RANU, ABOUT HBCUs. I HAVE THE HONOR OF HAVING A FEW IN MY PORTFOLIO FOR THIS MECHANISM, AND IT'S ONE OF THE SILVER LININGS I MIGHT PROPOSE FROM THE LAST 18 18 MONTHS OF OUR LIFE, BECAUSE WE'VE HAD TO PIVOT SO HARD TO GO TO VIRTUAL, THERE'S BEEN SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SMALLER SCHOOLS TO ACTUALLY START CONNECTING WITH PLACES THAT ARE ACTUALLY FARTHER AWAY BUT MIGHT HAVE THE MEDICAL SCHOOLS OR THE NURSING OR THINGS LAKE THAT. SO TO YOUR POINT, YES, I THINK ALL OF US WOULD AGREE, IN-PERSON FOR MANY, MANY THINGS, INCLUDING CLINICAL IMMERSION OR COMMUNITY-BASED -- IS THE IDEAL SITUATION BUT WE SHOULDN'T MAKE PERFECT THE ENEMY OF GOOD ENOUGH. AND IF THE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TWO PARTNERING PLACES HAPPEN TO MAKE IT A VIRTUAL INTERACTION BUT THEY CAN SHOW THAT IT IS FUNCTIONAL FOR THE STUDENT OUTCOME, THEN I THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO THINK ALONG THOSE LINES TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS A MORE INCLUSIVE FOA. AND WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING ABOUT HOW TO TRACK STUDENTS AFTERWARDS. IT GETS A LITTLE BIT HITCHY ONLY BECAUSE THE STUDENTS OFTEN ARE GRADUATING, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT TOOLS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY TRACK THEM A BIT BETTER. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. >> I WOULD JUST COMMENT THAT THE PROPOSAL GRANTS SHOULD GO TO THE HBCUs, MSM SIs A AS THE PRIME AND NOT THE OTHER BECAUSE NSF HAS HAD THIS ISSUE WHERE YOU GET CALLED, CAN YOU PLEASE BE ON MY GRANT, BECAUSE YOU'RE MSI OR HBSU, THAT'S NOT WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN. >> TOTALLY AGREE. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. BEFORE I GO ON, I'D LIKE TO ASK THE COUNCILMEMBER THAT PAM HAS SENT YOU AN EMAIL CONCERNING YOUR SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY. IF YOU COULD TAKE A MOMENT TO REPLY TO THAT, AND THEN I SAW HANDS UP FROM CATHY AND GILDA. >> DO YOU WANT TO GO FIRST? >> I'LL GO ONLY BECAUSE I'LL BE REALLY QUICK BECAUSE I ACTUALLY WAS GOING TO MAKE THE POINT THAT RANU JUST MADE. BUT I'LL SAY QUICKLY, JUST TO ADD ON TO THAT, THOSE STUDENTS IN PARTICULAR WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITIES AND BE SO INTERESTED IN THE HEALTH DISPARITIES AND THE EQUITY LENS IN THIS SPACE TEND TO BE UPREPRESENTED IN THE PLACES THAT AREN'T USUALLY CONNECTED. SO BEING ABLE TO CONNECT THEM AND HAVE PARTNERSHIPS THAT ACTUALLY WORK REALLY CAN 50 A LONG WAYS BECAUSE I'M TELLING YOU, THOSE ARE THE STUDENTS THAT WE REALLY ARE TRYING TO REACH AND WE DON'T USUALLY DO A GOOD JOB OF REACHING THEM. SO I'M TO YIELD BECAUSE I THINK THE POINT WAS MADE WELL ALREADY. >> THANK YOU, GILDA. CATHY? >> FIRST OF ALL, I DO THINK THIS IS A TERRIFIC PROGRAM, AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS. HI TWO THOUGHTS. ONE, [INAUDIBLE] I KNOW A LOT OF PROGRAMS ARE MOVING TO DESIGN ACROSS ALL FOUR YEARS AND I WONDER IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THIS ALSO JUST TO SOPHOMORE YEAR BECAUSE THERE ARE GOING TO BE A LOT OF PROGRAMS I THINK WILL START MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION THAT COULD LOOK AT THIS. AND THEN THE SECOND THING I NOTICED WAS, YOU SAID THERE WERE 48 GRANTS AWARDED AND 12 SUBMITTED TO THE DEBUT PROGRAM. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WOULD BE A WAY TO ENCOURAGE MORE SUBMISSIONS TO THE DEBUT PROGRAM TO KIND OF MAKE THAT CONNECTION. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I CAN BE BRIEF. YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, SO THE ORIGINAL FOA WAS FOCUSED AGAIN ON SENIORS, JUNIORS AND EVEN INCLUDED FIRST YEAR GRADUATE STUDENTS. RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR A FRESHMAN DESIGN PROGRAM TO LINK IN TO YOUR SENIOR DESIGN. BECAUSE ABSOLUTELY, MIND BLOWING, ENGINEERS ARE SEEING DESIGN FROM FRESHMAN TO SENIOR YEAR. MY GOODNESS, I WISH HI TO THAT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ENGINEERING IS. AND I'VE FORGOTTEN YOUR SECOND POINT. >> IT WAS ABOUT MAKING -- POTENTIALLY MAKING A STRONGER LINK WITH THE DEBUT PROGRAM. >> YES, YES. OKAY. SO ABSOLUTELY, AND I THINK THAT WE WANT TO TRY TO ENCANS LATE THAT ENCAPSULATE THAT TO SUBMIT TO THESE PRIZE CHALLENGES BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER ONES OUT THERE BESIDES OURS. IT A GOOD WAY TO ACTUALLY INTEGRATE THE ENGINEERING DESIGN WITH THE OTHER KEY -- COMMUNICATION. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. >> DAVID, I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE. >> THANK YOU. TEJAL? >> JUST A QUICK QUESTION OR MAYBE POINT, JUST WONDERING, JOAN, HAS THERE BEEN ANY CONSIDERATION FOR POSTBAC PROGRAMS AS WELL, JUST BECAUSE I THINK WHAT WE'RE SEEING INCREASINGLY IS THOSE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT VEHICLES FOR THOSE COMING FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGES OR STATE UNIVERSITIES TO ENGAGE PERHAPS IN ENGINEERING OR CURRICULUM THAT THEY WEREN'T SORT OF EXPOSED TO EARLY ON, AND WONDER IF THAT COULD BE INTEGRATE NEIGHBORHOOD THE PROGRESSION THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT. >> THAT IS A REALLY FASCINATING SUGGESTION. WE HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THE POSTBACS USING A DIFFERENT MECHANISM THAT I ALSO HAVE THE HONOR OF MANAGING OUR DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENTS. WE HAVE NOTNESS SAIR LEGAL HAD THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT POSTBACS IN THIS PARTICULAR FOA. I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT THING TO CONSIDER. >> DAVID, IF I COULD JUST ADD A COUPLE OF POINTS ON TO THIS AND FOLLOW ON THE POSTBAC. I KNOW THAT THAT'S AN EMERGING DISCUSSION IN A LOT OF PLACES. MANY UNIVERSITIES HAVE SORT OF RESORTED TO MENG PROGRAMS FOR POSE BACKS OR SOMETHING SIMILAR, AND THERE ARE ALSO THOUGHT TO BE REVENUE GENERATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR IT WENTS AND SCHOOLS. SO WE'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE YOU FROM ALL ON WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT -- I SEE WITH IMPACKTION THAT WE SEE IN MANY SCHOOLS OF ENGINEERING THAT POSTBACS ARE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT, AND ANOTHER PATHWAY TO GET DESPERATELY NEEDED BIOENGINEERS INTO THE WORKFORCE. SO THIS COULD BE AN INTERESTING OPPORTUNITY. IN TERMS OF HBCUs, WE WOULD NOT ONLY LIKE TO SORT OF JUST GIVE AWARDS. WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE BIOENGINEERING PROGRAMS AT HBCUs, SO TIFFANY JUST RECENTLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A WHITE HOUSE HBCU2-DAY SYMPOSIUM. WE DO A LITTLE HOMEWORK FOR THAT. THERE ARE ONLY THREE BIOENG FEARING BIOENGINEERING PROGRAM, BUT WAVE GOT FLORIDA A & M AND UDC, SO WE'VE SORT OF LAID DOWN THE CHALLENGE TO THE HBCUs, EVERYBODY WAS ON THE CALL AND SAID WE'D LOVE TO SEE MORE BIOENGINEERING ACTIVITIES, WE'D LOVE TO BE U.S. SUPPORTIVE OF THAT. AND REALLY, THESE DESIGNED -- THE ATTRIBUTES THAT JOAN IS TALKING ABOUT ARE REFLECTIVE OF THE DYNAMICS, THE CHANGES IN DESIGN. OUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN DRIVING THE TECHNOLOGIES TO GO INTO LOW AND UNDERRESOURCED SETTINGS AND IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY AT ALL THE APPLICATIONS, THAT'S THE DOMINANT THEME OF THE APPLICATIONS. PUTTING IT IN AS A DESIGNATED JUDGING CRITERIA, I THINK IS A GREAT IDEA. IT'S SORT OF ALWAYS BEEN THERE UNDER THE SURFACE, AND THAT'S BEEN THE ENORMOUS BUTTE TESTIMONY RESPONSE IN FROM OUR COMMUNITY. WE HAVE THAT ONE SPECIFIC AWARD WITH NIMHD BECAUSE WHEN I GOT HERE AND MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR OF NIMHD, ELISEO PEREZ, HE WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS ENORMOUS ACTIVITY THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEEN GENERATING IN ACCESSIBLE TECHNOLOGIES. AND THAT'S BEEN A BIG DISSIDENCE POINT BETWEEN US AND SORT OF CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE. CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE MAINSTREAM THINKS OF THE TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSE AS THE COST INCREASING SIDE, THE INACCESSIBLE SIDE, AND OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S PART OF OUR STORY, BUT THE BIG STORY IS THE ENERGY, DRIVE, RADX IS WHERE KIND OF THE RUBBER HIDZ HITS THE ROAD, MAKING TECHNOLOGIES TRULY ACCESSIBLE AT SCALE. WE NEED YOUR HELP IN EXPANDING THIS MESSAGE AND COMMUNICATING THAT TO OUR COLLEAGUES THROUGHOUT SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE, THROUGHOUT SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH, AND NURSING ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY TO BUILD THESE NEW PARTNERSHIPS. >> DAVID, I TURN BACK TO YOU. >> OKAY. THANK YOU. >> DAVID, IF I COULD JUST BRIEFLY ECHO WHAT BRUCE SAID, AND ONE PARTICULAR POINT IS THAT THE WORLD STILL THINKS OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY AS A COST DRIVER, PARTICULARLY NEW TECHNOLOGIES. AND IN SOME INSTANCES, IT MAY BE A CONTRIBUTOR, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE MORE ACCESS AT CAUSING IT, AT SCALE, PARTICULARLY WHEN THAT IS A DESIGN FEATURE. AND I THINK THAT IS A COMPONENT TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS OVERARCHING APPROACH. >> ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO COUNCILMEMBERS, IF THOSE WHO HAVEN'T RESPOND COULD PLEASE RESPOND TO PAM'S EMAIL ABOUT YOUR AVAILABILITY FOR EXTENDING CLOSED SESSION, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. SO WITH THAT THEN, WE'LL MOVE INTO OUR NIH DATA SCHOLARS WHO WILL BE INTRODUCED BY MY NIBIB COLLEAGUES, SO WE'LL START OFF WITH DR. GRACE PENG, WHO WILL BE INTRODUCING MOHAMMAD GHASSEMI. >> THANK YOU, DAVID. HELLO. MY NAME IS GRACE PENG. AND I DIRECT THE NIBIB PROGRAMS FOR MATHEMATICAL MODELING, SIMULATION, ANALYSIS, AND COORDINATE THE EFFORTS FOR THE INTERAGENCY MODELING AND ANALYSIS GROUP MULTI-SCALE MODELING PROGRAM, THE NEW BRIDGE -- AND THE NIH BRAIN INITIATIVE. MOHAMMAD, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND SHARING YOUR SLIDES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. SO THE NIH BRAIN INITIATIVE CO-SPONSORED DR. MOHAMMAD GHASSEMI TO SERVE AS THE NIH DATA SCHOLAR. I'M HERE REPRESENTING DR. JOHN NGAI, THE NIH BRAIN INITIATIVE, TEAM EXCELLENT. SHOWN HERE ARE SOME OF THE TEAM E MEMBERS REPRESENTING THE 10 INSTITUTES OF THE BRAIN INITIATIVE. WE ARE ALL IN MANY WAYS SUPPORTING MOHAMMAD'S EXPERIENCE HERE AT THE NIH. SO DR. MOHAMMAD GHASSEMI COMES TO US WITH EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY BACKGROUND AND IS CURRENTLY AB AN SAYS AN ASSISTANT -- MOHAMMAD HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING BRAIN DATA SCHOLAR SINCE DAY ONE. HE LITERALLY HIT GROUND RUNNING. MOHAMMAD CREATED AND IS IMPLEMENTING A VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT YET AMBITIOUS PLAN TO WORK WITH OUR ENTIRE BRAIN TEAM. IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO WORK WITH HIM AND LEARN FIRSTHAND ABOUT ALL THE STEPS AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDING AN AI PLATFORM FOR INTEGRATING THEORIES OF THE BRAIN, WHICH WE CALL BRAINWORKS. HE HAS ENGAGED WITH OUR BRAIN INVESTIGATORS AND MEET WITH THEM ON A REGULAR BASIS TO RECEIVE THEIR FEEDBACK. YOU CAN SEE HIS WORKING ACTIVITY ON THE NIBIB SUPPORTED WIKI PAGE FOR BRAINWORKS SHOWN HERE ON THE SLIDE. HE HAS ORGANIZED MULTIPLE BRAIN RELATED MEET TOTION SHOWCASE HIS WORK AND EVEN MODERATE A ONE ON ONE DEBATE, THE QUESTION OF CAN WE GENERATE A RECOGNIZED -- WHICH YOU CAN ALSO FIND IN THE LINK ON THIS PAGE. APART FROM HIS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WORK ETHICS, MOHAMMAD HAS A GENEROUS AND LIKABLE PERSONALITY. HE'S ALWAYS WILLING TO EXPLAIN DATA SCIENCE CONCEPTS TO US, BRAINSTORM IDEAS, AND I HAVE PERSONALLY LEARNED SO MUCH FROM HIM AND REALLY ENJOY OUR INTERACTIONS, BUT HERE ARE SOME OTHER COMMENTS, MOHAMMAD, I'LL LET YOU GUESS WHO SAID WHAT. SO MOHAMMAD HAS BROUGHT TO OUR BRAIN PROGRAM A HIGHLY PROGRESSIVE COMPREHENSIVE AND SOPHISTICATED APPROACH TO APLAY APPLYING MACHINE LEARNING -- I LIKE HIS PICTURE WITH THE BIRD ON HIS SHOULDER. I AM ENJOYING WORKING WITH HIM. HE'S EXTREMELY PRODUCTIVE AND APPROACHABLE. ONE OF THOSE FEW PEOPLE THAT CAN FOCUS ON SMALL DETAILS WHILE ADDRESSING THE BIG PICTURE, "BEAUTIFUL MIND" HE HAS. IT HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE JOY WORKING WITH HIM, EXTREMELY HARD WORKING, INTELLIGENT AND HUMBLE PERSON. IT HAS BEEN GREAT WORKING WITH MOHAMMAD AND HE ALWAYS HAS HIS INTERESTING ANECDOTES. I FEEL LIKE I LEARN SOMETHING NEW FROM EVERY CONVERSATION WITH HIM. I THINK THE SITUATION OF BEING ENTIRELY REMOTE IS EXTREMELY SENSEFUL AND IT'S ERT HE'S -- WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE IS KNOW HAM. MOHAMMAD. >> MOHAMMAD, I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE. I THINK YOU'RE STILL ON MUTE. >> CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY NOW? >> YES. >> OH, GREAT. I WAS JUST SAYING THAT -- GRACE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT INCREDIBLY WARM INTRODUCTION AND TO ALL OF YOU ON THE CALL. IF I STAMMER A LITTLE BIT DURING THE PAREN TAI IT MIGHT BE FROM BLUSHING DUE TO ALL OF THAT PRAISE WHICH WAS CERTAINLY VERY GENEROUS OF GRACE AND THE TEAM. SO WHAT I'LL DO, I KNOW WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OTHER DATA SCHOLARS, SOME OF MY EXCELLENT COLLEAGUES ON THE CALL TODAY AS WELL. AND I'LL TRY TO JUMP INTO THIS AND MOVE THROUGH THIS QUICKLY SO THAT YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ONLY HEAR FROM ME, BUT TO HEAR FROM OTHERS AND THE EXCELLENT WORK THAT MANY HAVE BEEN DOING. SO GRACE ALREADY INTRODUCED THE NAME OF THE PROJECT I'LL BE WORKING ON AND I'D LIKE TO SPEND THE NEXT 15, 20 MINUTES MAX TAKING YOU THROUGH THE APPROACH THAT WE USED TO DEVELOP THIS PLATFORM, WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF PROGRESS, AND WHERE IT'S GOING. GRACE ALREADY DID A VERY KIND JOB INTRODUCING ME AS A PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE WHO HAS HAD THIS OPPORTUNITY THIS YEAR TO WORK WITH HER TEAM AT THE BRAIN INITIATIVE AND I'M REALLY, REALLY DELIGHTED TO BE HERE AND JOINING YOU ALL AND HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TODAY. AT THE VERY HIGHEST LEVEL, I'D LIKE TO START MY PRESENTATIONS BY SPEAKING ABOUT THE MISSION THAT I WAS TASKED WITH. AND AS A DATA SCHOLAR, I WAS ASKED TO DELIVER A FUNCTIONAL CONCEPT FOR THE BRAIN NICHE'S WORK SPACE INITIATIVE'S -- THE HIGHEST ORDER WAY TO THINK ABOUT BRAINWORKS. SO IT'S A SCHOOL TOOL FOR THE DISCOVERY OF MORE COMPREHENSIVE THEORIES OF BRAIN FUNCTION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE INTEGRATION. THERE'S A COUPLE HIGH LEVEL CONSIDERATIONS WE HAD WHEN WE THOUGHT ABOUT THE DESIGN OF THIS BRAINWORKS PLATFORM. FIRST IS THAT BRAIN DATA IS REALLY HETEROGENEOUS. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT BRAIN DATA, IT'S EXISTING AT MULTIPLE LEVELS, MULTIPLE MODALITIES, SCALES, AND LEVELS OF RESOLUTION. AND THIS HETEROGENEITY OF THE DATA REQUIRES THOUGHTFUL APPROACHES TO STORAGE ANALYSIS AND REPRESENTATION OF COURSE. AND VERY CRITICALLY, TO GET FROM SILOED EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND THIS VERY, VERY COMPLICATED SYSTEM TO A HOLISTIC APPROACH, IT'S GOING TO TAKE INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE ACROSS THESE DOMAINS, ALL OF WHICH HAVE THEIR OWN VERNACULAR, THEIR OWN EXPERTS, WHICH TO A GREAT DEGREE, I THINK, WORK TOGETHER BUT TO SOME EXTENT DON'T ALWAYS CROSS POLLINATE. OUR BET IN ALL THIS WAS THAT DATA SCIENCE TECHNIQUES AND AI AND MACHINE LEARNING MIGHT HELP WITH AUTOMATING SOME OF THE TASKS AND INVESTIGATING SOME OF THE INVESTIGATOR CAPABILITIES SO THAT WE COULD DISCOVER MORE HOLISTIC THEORIES OF BRAIN FUNCTION, MAYBE HELP DEFINE SOME NEW RESEARCH HORIZONS. THE WAY WE DECIDED TO GO ABOUT DOING THIS AS A TEAM WAS IN FIVE PHASES THAT I'M SHOWING YOU HERE IN THIS CHART. I'M GOING TO STEP YOU THROUGH EACH OF THESE PHASES, STARTING WITH THE FIRST ONE, WHICH WAS EFFECTIVELY SPECIFICATION OR A REQUIREMENTS CAPTURE WHERE WE HAD THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH SEVERAL INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EXPERTS, TRY TO DEFINE THE VALUE WE REALLY WANTED TO ACHIEVE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRAINWORKS, SO WHAT'S THAT END GOAL THAT WE REALLY WANT AND ALSO SPEAK ABOUT SOME OF THE INTERMEDIATE DATA SCIENCE OUTCOMES AND TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATIONS THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO GET TO THAT STATEMENT OF VAL UNITED VALUE. I DIDN'T COME UP WITH THAT VALUE AR TICK LACE ON ARTICULATION ON MY OWN, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM ALL OF THE WONDERFUL SMILING FACES YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE, WHICH ARE A COLLECTION OF EXPERTS WITHIN NIH, SEVERAL MEMBERS OF TEAM -- MAKE AN APPEARANCE HERE AS WELL AS SEVERAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS OUTSIDE OF THE NIH WHO REALLY INFORMED AND GUIDED ME THROUGH THE VALUE THAT WE WANT TO OBTAIN AS WE'RE BUILDING THE PLATFORM. TO MAKE THAT CONCRETE, TO SPEAK ABOUT WHAT THE ALPHA -- IS AND WHAT SORT OF THE OBJECTIVE IS. SO AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, THE GOAL OF THIS FIRST VERSION OF BRAINWORKS IS TO CONVERT A BUNCH OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS INTO A -- GRAPH. YOU LOOK AT THAT FIGURE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, THOSE ARE THE SAME IMAGES THAT SHOWED BEFORE. EACH OF THEM SORT OF INFORM OR PROVIDE KNOWLEDGE THAT WOULD HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE BRAIN IN A A HOLISTIC SENSE. OF COURSE EACH OF THE APPLICATION AREAS HAVE FINDINGS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT -- THE QUESTION IS CAN WE INTEGRATE ACROSS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT'S CONTAINED WITHIN THOSE DISCIPLINES AS INDICATED WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS AND COME UP WITH SOMETHING LIKE A KNOWLEDGE GRAPH THAT I'M SHOWING YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIGURE ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN THERE. NOW WE REALLY THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE VOLUME OF SCIENTIFIC OUTPUT, PARTICULARLY IN RECENT TIMES, HAS REALLY -- IT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE JUST HOW MUCH SCIENTIFIC OUTPUT THERE'S BEEN TO A POINT THAT IT'S REALLY NOT TRACTABLE FOR INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATORS TO KIND OF GRAPPLE WITH ALL OF THAT KNOWLEDGE. ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN THERE, I'M SHOWING THE NUMBER OF NEURO-RELATED ARTICLES AND IF YOU SORT OF HOVER YOUR EYES TO THE MOST RIGHT-HAND PART OF THAT CURVE THERE, WHAT THAT ILLUSTRATES IS IN CONTEMPORARY TIME, SO AROUND 2020, WITH ALL THE ARTICLES BEING PUBLISHED, YOU'D HAVE TO READ SOMETHING ON THE ORDER OF 70 PAPERS A DAY EVEN FOR THE MOST PRODUCTIVE AMONG US, SOMETHING NOT TRACTABLE, SO WE REALLY THINK THIS FIRST STEP, BUILDING AN ENGINE TO CONVERT ALL OF THIS SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AS EMBEDDED IN PAPERS OF THE KNOWLEDGE GAP IS GOING TO PROVIDE SOME VALUE. SO OUR NEXT STEP ONCE WE HAD ARTICULATED THIS CLEAR VISION OF WHAT WE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH WAS TO COLLECT THE NECESSARY DATA TO ENABLE THE REALIZATION OF THE PLATFORM, INSTEND SPEAK VERY BRIEFLY OF WHAT CAME OUT OF THAT. WE BUILT A PIPELINE THAT IS VERY EASY TO SORT OF EXTEND, ACCOUNTING FOR SOMETHING ON THE ORDER OF HALF A TRILLION INVESTMENT OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. WE TIED THOSE TO THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS AND SCIENTIFIC TEAM THAT WORKED ON THOSE PROJECTS. WE MAPPED THOSE SCIENTISTS TO THE INSTITUTIONS THEY WERE WORKING AT AND, OF COURSE, FROM THE SCIENTISTS, WE LOOKED AT ALL THE PAPERS THAT WERE A CONSEQUENCE IN PART OR WHOLLY OF THOSE AT NIH FUNDING AND ANY OF THE THINGS THAT THOSE PAPERS CITED. THAT'S SORT OF THE GREEN BOX UP THERE. WITH THAT UNIVERSAL SORT OF 10 PAPERS, WE THEN ASKED, LET'S GO MAP EACH OF THOSE PAPERS IN A MANY TO ONE SENSE TO ALL OF THE TOPICAL -- CONTAINED IN THERE AND THE PARTICULAR TOPICAL DOMAIN WE'RE USING FOR THAT MAPPING IS THE MEDICAL SUBJECT SETTING OR MESH. SO AFTER WE HAD COLLECTED THIS VERY LARGE DATABASE OF MATERIALS, WE EMBEDDED IT IN AN ONLINE ECOSYSTEM, WHICH WE'RE HOPING TO PUBLICLY RELEASE AT THE END OF THE YEAR FOR OTHERS TO USE AS WELL AND THE FIRST ORDER QUESTION WAS, OKAY, WELL, WITH THIS GIANT DATA ASSET THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER, ROUGHLY BY THE END OF MAY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOOLS THAT WE CAN DEVELOP TO ANALYZE AND VISUALIZE THIS DATA THAT WILL PROVIDE VALUE AS PER THE DISCUSSIONS WE HAD IN THE JANUARY TIME FRAME. SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS SPEND A COUPLE MINUTE TAKING YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE DYNAMIC NETWORKS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO VISUALIZE WITHIN THAT DATA THAT I ILLUSTRATED TO GIVE YOU JUST A TASTE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE POSSIBLE WITH BRAINWORKS TODAY. SO THE FIRST THING I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS THIS ILLUSTRATION OF BRAIN AWARDEE TOPICS FROM 2014 TO 2020. IT PROBABLY LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A LOT GOING ON HERE SO I'LL QUICKLY SPEAK ABOUT THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WHICH ARE THE NODES, THOSE ILLUSTRATE TOPICS, DOWNSTREAM PORTFOLIO KIND OF INVESTIGATED OR USED IN THE TOPIC OF RESEARCH. MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING SHOWS UP, SINGLE CELL ANALYSIS AND SO ON, AND AN EDGE HERE ILLUSTRATES THE COOCCURRENCE OF TWO TOPICS WITHIN A DOMAIN. THERE'S A RED EDGE, THIS MEANS THERE WAS SOME WORK THAT WAS DONE BY THESE BRAIN AWARDEES TO ADVANCE OUR KNOWLEDGE ON NEUROPATHWAYS. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE ABLE TO DO IS VISUALIZE NETWORKS OF SCIENCE LIKE THIS. AREAS WHERE INVESTIGATORS HAVE BEEN INVESTING THEIR SCIENTIFIC TALENT, BUT WE CAN GO BEYOND JUST TOPIC MAPS LIKE THIS TO LOOK AT HOW THESE TOPICS ARE CHANGING OVER TIME. WE COULD ZOOM IN, FOR EXAMPLE, ON NEUROPLASTICITY, THE PUBLICATIONS WHICH PROVIDE SOME INTUITIONS OR UNDERSTANDING OF TRENDS WITHIN THE RESEARCH. WHAT I'VE DONE HERE AS AN EXAMPLE IS, AGAIN, HAVING ZOOMED IN ON NEUROPLASTICITY AS A TOPICAL AREA, ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN, THE NEUROPLASTICITY PAPERS THAT WERE PUBLISHED, THAT'S THE Y AXIS, AND THE X AXIS IS THE YEAR, FROM 1980 AGAIN FROM 2020, THAT WAS THE DOMAIN WE WERE LOOKING AT. I'VE SPLIT THESE TWO BASED ON THE TOPIC OCCURRENCES BETWEEN WHETHER THE STUDIES USED HUMANS OR ANIMALS TO ADVANCE THEIR SCIENTIFIC AIMS OR ANSWER THEIR SCIENTIFIC QUESTION. WHAT YOU CAN SEE, YOU GET A STORY HERE THAT SAYS WHILE ANIMAL RESEARCH WAS PREDOMINANTLY USED, LET'S SAY, PRE2000, AS TIME GOES ON, YOU SEE A FUSION OF HUMAN SORT OF STUDIES IN THE DOMAIN OF NEUROPLASTICITY. BUT WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THE WAY THAT WE'VE ORGANIZED THE KNOWLEDGE HERE IS NOT JUST THAT WE CAN THINK ABOUT TOPICS, BUT THE TOPICS ARE HIRE ARCLY -- I'M UNABLE TO DO THINGS LIKE TAKE THE ANIMALS AND TO BREAK THEM INTO THEIR CONSTITUENT PARTS. IN THIS CASE, WE CAN SEE NOW THAT THE GREEN BARS REPRESENT RATS VERSUS THE ORANGE BAR REPRESENTING MICE. OBVIOUSLY THE BLUE BARS HAVE STAYED THE SAME. AND YOU GET A MORE NUANCED STORY HERE NOW, TELLING YOU THAT AMONG THE ANIMAL RESEARCH THAT'S BEEN DONE IN NEUROPLAS PLASTICITY, YOU'VE SEEN A SHIFT AWAY FROM RATS TO MICE THE EARLY DAYS. WE CAN DRILL EVEN DEEPER AND ASK WHAT WERE THE STRAINS OF RATS THAT WERE USED TO DO THE STUDY OF NEUROPLASTICITY WITHIN THESE TIME FRAMES. NOW ALL OF THIS INFORMATION TO A PERSON WHO MAYBE DOES NEUROPLASTICITY RESEARCH AND IS FAMILIAR WITH THE LITERATURE OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, SOME OF THIS MIGHT BE OBVIOUS, BUT I THINK PARTICULARLY FOR TRAINEES, AND FOR FOLKS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WORKING AT INTEGRATIVE OR INTERFACES OF SCIENCE, WE HOPE THAT THE ABILITY TO KIND OF ACCESS THIS KNOWLEDGE LANDSCAPE WILL HELP THEM WITH SOME OF THEIR EXPLORATORY RESEARCH AT A MINIMUM AND MAYBE EVEN FORMING STRATEGIC RESEARCH DIRECTIONS PROSPECTIVELY. SO RETURNING TO THIS PLOT OF THE TOPICS THAT CAME OUT OF BRAIN AWARDEES FROM 2014 TO 2020, THERE'S OF COURSE AN ADDITIONAL ANGLE TO THINK ABOUT THAT I MENTIONED ON THE DATA COLLECTION SIDE BUT I DIDN'T TALK ABOUT YET, AND THAT IS THE AUTHORS, THE SCIENTISTS, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE DOING THE WORK TO CREATE THE PROGRESS THAT YOU'RE SEEING IN EACH OF THE NODES AND EACH OF THE EDGES YOU HAVE BECAUSE THIS GRAPH REALLY REPRESENTS PROGRESS THAT WAS MADE IN THE DIFFERENT DOMAINS. AND SO ANOTHER THING THAT WE CAN DO IS, WE CAN LOOK AT AUTHORS AND HOW INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SETS OF AUTHORS IMPACT DOWNSTREAM SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTIVITY AND IMPACT. ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE DECIDE TO DO THAT IN THE SHORT TERM WAS, WE SAID, HEY, LET'S GO TAKE A POPULATION OF 30 LABS WHO RECEIVE AN AWARD FROM NIH THAT WAS SPECIFICALLY -- LET'S CONTRAST THOSE AGAINST 30 OTHER LABS WHO WERE INCREDIBLE RECORD OF R01 ACQUISITION, VERY, VERY PRODUCTIVE, PHENOMENAL SCIENTISTS, AND LET'S SEE IF THERE'S A DIFFERENCE IN HOW THE COLLABORATIVE STRUCTURES LOOK AS WELL AS SOME OF THE DOWNSTREAM RESEARCH CONSEQUENCES THAT COME OUT OF THOSE COLLABORATIONS. TO SEE HOW -- SO WE CAN GET TO A QUANTITATIVE SORT OF WAY OF ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THESE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS. SO WHAT I'VE GOT HERE JUST TO ILLUSTRATE KIND OF WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO WITH THE TOOL IS ANOTHER NETWORK VISUALIZATION, BUT THIS TIME THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT THIS PLOT IS AGAIN AS NODES AND EDGES. NODES HERE REPRESENT INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE. IF THERE'S AN EDGE BETWEEN THEM, IT MEANS THOSE PEOPLE HAD AN INCREASE IN THEIR COLLABORATION OVER A CONTRAST PERIOD OF TIME. PERIOD. ABOUT TWO YEARS. SO THESE ARE ENTITIES WHO EVERY TIME YOU SEE AN EDGE BETWEEN THEM, THEY INCREASE THEIR COLLABORATION. NOW THE COLOR OF THE NODE TELLS YOU THESE PEOPLE WERE IN THE SAME GROUP. SO IF THIS BIG GREEN CLUSTER HERE ARE ALL FROM ONE GROUP, YOU KNOW, THIS -- I DON'T KNOW -- SLIGHTLY BROWNISH CLUSTER UP HERE IS FROM ANOTHER GROUP AND SO ON AND SO FORTH. NOW WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO IS, WE CAN LOOK AT THESE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS BETWEEN SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES AGAINST DIFFERENT CONTRAST PERIOD. HERE I'M SHOWING YOU TWO YEARS. I CAN COMPARE THAT TO FOUR YEARS. WHAT YOU CAN SEE IF I JUMP BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO IS THE GROUP THAT HAD RECEIVED THE GRANTS THAT ARE MEANT TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION, YOU SEE A LOT MORE HETEROGENEITY IN GENERAL, AND COLLABORATIONS, AS INDICATED BY THE VARIETY OF COLORS THAT SHOW UP IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. THERE'S LESS SORT OF SILOIZATION OF RESEARCHERS WITHIN THEIR GROUPS AS IS INDICATED BY THIS PLOT IN THE TWO-YEAR VERSUS THE FOUR-YEAR PERIOD OVER THE COURSE WHEN THE COLLABORATIVE GRANTS WERE ISSUED. WE CAN ALSO NOT ONLY LOOK WITHIN GROUPS OF COURSE BUT COMPARE AGAINST A CONTROL, RIGHT? SO I MENTIONED AT THE START OF THIS SEGMENT OF THE PRESENTATION THAT WE WERE INTERESTED IN CONTRASTING THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED A GRANT SPECIFICALLY MEANT TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION AGAINST A GROUP WHO HADN'T RECEIVED THOSE. THIS IS THE CONTROL GROUP IN THAT CASE. THESE ARE THE FOLKS WHO DEPARTMENT RECEIVE IT. AND WHAT YOU MIGHT NOTICE HERE IS THAT OVER A FOUR-YEAR CONTRAST PERIOD, NOTICE THAT ALL THE DOTS THAT ARE SIMILAR COLORS ARE CLOSE TOGETHER, RIGHT? BLUE DOTS ARE WITH BLUE DOTS, GREEN DOTS ARE WITH GREEN DOTS, BROWN DOTS ARE WITH BROWN DOTS. YOU DO HAVE SOME CONNECTION WITH THEM, SIGH SENSE COLLABORATIVE BY NATURE, BUT FOR THE MOST PART OVER THE EIGHT-YEAR PERIOD THAT YOU KIND OF LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE'S ACTIVITIES, A VAST MAJORITY OF THE INCREASE IN THE COLLABORATIVE OUTPUT HAS OCCURRED WITHIN THOUGH CLUSTERS. IF YOU CONTRAST THAT AGAINST THE INTERVENTION GROUP, YOU GET SOMETHING MORE LIKE THIS. IF I ASKED YOU TO, AGAIN, LOOK AT THIS GRAPH VERSUS THIS GRAPH, AND THINK ABOUT THIS FROM A COLLABORATIVE PERSPECTIVE, WHICH ONE IS THERE MORE DIVERSE COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN THIS AND THIS? WELL, IT'S CLEARLY THE LATTER, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALL SORTS OF COLORS CONNECTING WITH EACH OTHER, THEY'RE NOT SORT OF EXISTING WITHIN THEIR LABORATORY SILOS OR THEIR DOMAIN SILOS AS MUCH AS YOU SEE WITH THE -- CONTROL. SO IT ALLOWS YOU VERY DIRECTLY AND QUANTITATIVELY START TO MAKE ASSESSMENTS ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF OUR COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS BOTH AT THE LEVEL OF THE GRANTS AS WELL AS THE DOWNSTREAM RESEARCH THAT IT ENABLES. NOW WE'RE SORT OF IN THE FINAL STRETCH OF MY ONE YEAR HERE AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. I THINK MY LAST DAY WILL BE DECEMBER THE 31ST. AND WHAT I'M WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT ARE STEPS TO DEVELOP A USER INTERFACE SO THAT INSTEAD OF FOLKS HAVING TO LOOK AT SLIDES THAT I PRESENT IN A CONVERSATION LIKE THIS, YOU'D BE ABLE TO ACCESS A TOOL THAT WOULD ALLOW YOU TO DO SOME OF THESE VISUALIZATIONS COMPLETELY ON YOUR OWN AND TO EXPLORE THESE OUTCOMES INDEPENDENT OF ME. AND SO WHAT I WANT TO DO IS SHOW YOU THE CONCEPTUAL WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TO DEVELOP THAT USER INTERFACE TO SORT OF CLOSE OFF THE CONVERSATION. THIS IS SORT OF A MOCK-UP OF WHAT THE USER INTERFACE LOOKS LIKE. IT'S DONE IN HTML AND CSS SO BUT WHAT I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU FROM A DATA PERSPECTIVE -- TYPE IN A SEARCH TERM LIKE STRESS INTO OUR INTERFACE HERE, AND TO BRING UP A KNOWLEDGE GRAPH THAT USES THE SEMANTIC AND SIN TACTIC CONTENTS OF THE TEXT, SO NATURAL LANGUAGE IN THIS CASE, TO ILLUSTRATE YOU KNOW, CONNECTIONS ACROSS CONCEPTS THAT SHOW UP WITHIN THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. FROM THESE, WE'D LIKE TO NOT JUST SHOW THIS TO PEOPLE, BUT TO ALLOW THEM TO DO THINGS SUCH AS CLICK ON AN EDGE AND TO SEE THE PAPERS THAT SUBSTANTIATED THE EXISTENCE OF THE EDGE WITHIN THE PLATFORM SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO SORT OF TAKE THE PLATFORM AT FACE VALUE, YOU CAN TAKE A DEEPER DIVE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THESE CONNECTIONS ARE COMING FROM THAT HAVE EMERGED FROM THE LITERATURE. AND TO BE ABLE TO DO MODIFICATIONS TO THE CRITERIA THAT WE USE TO, FOR EXAMPLE, CONSTRUCT THESE EDGES SO THAT YOU CAN CHANGE PROPERTIES OF THE GRAPH AS PER YOUR PARTICULAR SEARCH -- SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO PUT MY CONTACT INFORMATION HERE IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE PLATFORM AND FINALLY, TO ONCE AGAIN ACKNOWLEDGE THE WONDERFUL TEAM OF PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED ME. THIS STUFF HAS CERTAINLY NOT HAPPENED IN ISOLATION AND I'VE ONLY MANAGED TO MAKE THIS AMOUNT OF PROGRESS WITH THE INCREDIBLE SUPPORT OF GRACE PENG, JIM AND ALL OTHER WONDERFUL SMILING FACES TO SEE HERE ON THE SCREEN WHICH ARE ONLY A SUBSET TO BE VERY CLEAR OF EVERYBODY WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED. SO WITH THAT, HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. INTO . GLL DAVID, I >> DAVID, I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE. >> THANK YOU. I REALIZED I WAS DOUBLY MUTED. SO WE WERE THINKING IF EVERYONE IS OKAY THAT WE'LL HOLD OFF ALL THE DATA SCHOLAR QUESTIONS AT THE END TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO SPEAK, AND THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR EMAILING YOUR TIME, SO WE'RE GOING TO LOSE A QUORUM AT 5:00. SO WE'D LIKE TO GET IN TO CLOSED SESSION BY LIKE 4:30ISH. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE. OUR NEXT PRESENTATION WILL BE BY DR. RUI SA AND INTRODUCTION BY CHRIS KANDARPA. >> I'M DELIGHTED BECAUSE HE'S OUR OWN NIBIB DATA SCHOLAR AND HE HAS SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATED HIMSELF INTO THE NIBIB AND MIDRC, AND HE'S DONE THIS REMOTELY OVER THE LAST TUMULTUOUS YEAR. FOR ALL WE KNOW, RUI IS A ROBOT OR MAYBE EVEN A CLEVER VIRTUAL REALITY AVATAR SINCE NONE OF US HAS REALLY MET HIM, EXCEPT MARYELLEN, I THINK SHE HAS, SO SHE CAN ATTEST TO WHETHER HE'S A REAL PERSON OR NOT. ALL KIDDING ASIDE, RUI IS A VERY ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN SOME OF THE MIDRC PROJECTS AND ALSO HELPED AS THE COORDINATOR ALONG WITH GUOYING. HE COMES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAND SAN DIEGO. HE HAS A DOCTORATE FROM THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AND PHARMACOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT THE FREE UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS, AND HIS POSTDOC WAS IN RESPIRATORY PHYSIOLOGY AND MICROGRAPH IT AND I THINK MICROGRAVITY. HIS MAIN RESEARCH INTERESTS ARE IN PULMONARY MEDICINE, WHICH ALIGNS VERY NICELY WITH MIDRC. I'M GOING TO PASS IT ON TO HIM, BUT I'M GOING TO REMIND YOU THAT HE'S ALSO A FATHER OF TWO TODDLERS, AND DEVOTED HUSBAND AND NO SURPRISE HE'S A FORMER LONG DISTANCE RUNNER. SO RUI, TAKE IT AWAY. >> THANK YOU, CHRIS. AND THE KEYWORD THERE ON THE LAST ONE WAS FORMER, AND SEAMLESS INTEGRATION ALSO HAS A LOT TO DO WITH WHAT'S GOING TO SHOW UP IN MY SLIDE. I DECIDED TO SHOW YOU MY RESEARCH INTEREST. OVER THE LAST YEARS I'VE BEEN DEVELOPING MRI TECHNIQUES THAT CAN MAP OUT PERFUSION AND THE HOLY GRAIL OF OUR FIELD, THE MAIN DETERMINANT OF GAS EXCHANGE. THIS IS WHAT I WAS DOING ALL THE WAY TO THE PANDEMIC AND HAPPILY DOING IT. A LOT OF VALIDATION OF THESE TECHNIQUE, A LOT OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, A LITTLE BIT OF AI TOO. FLEUR THEN THE PANDEMIC HIT AND THE MAINSTAY I REALLY WANTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE RESPONSE, THE MAINSTAY OF THE RESPONSE IS WHAT'S IN THE CLINIC ALREADY, AND THAT WAS X-RAYS AND CTs. LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, I SAW POTENTIAL ROLE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING THAT COULD RANGE FROM IDENTIFYING INFECTION ALL THE WAY TO PREDICTIONING OUTCOME AND IN THE WORST MOMENTS OF THE PANDEMIC ALSO THAT MEANS ALLOCATING RESOURCES. AND THE KEY ELEMENT OF THE NEED FOR AI IS RADIOLOGY IS LIMITED RESOURCE IN THE U.S., EVEN WORSE THAN THAT, AT THE WORLDWIDE LEVEL. OF COURSE I WAS THE ONE TO SEE IT COMING, RESPONDED TO IT, WITH THE CREATION OF THE MEDICAL IMAGING AND DATA REA SOURCE CENTER, A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA, THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICISTS IN MEDICINE, IT IS GOVERNED OUT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, MARYELLEN GIGER IS THE PI, HOSTED BY GEN3. THE GOAL OF MIDRC IS TWOFOLD, TO CREATE A LARGER REPOSITORY OF DATA, AND THE SECOND GOAL, DEVELOP ALGORITHMS THAT ARE APPLICABLE TO MEDICAL IMAGING. AND TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, THERE'S TWO ESSENTIAL PILLARS, THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY THE FOCUS OF THE FIRST HERE, AND 12 COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS WHO ARE DEVELOPING NEW ALGORITHMS WHO WORK ON EXPLAINABLE OF AI/ML, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE DISCUSSED TODAY, ALSO PHANTOMS IN RELATION TO IMAGE QUALITY THROUGH AIPM. MIDRC WAS CREATED AT THE END OF AWK 2020, AND SO IT'S BEEN A YEAR AND IT'S A GOOD TIME TO MAKE ACHIEVEMENT LIST OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THAT YEAR. SO FIRST WAS TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE. INFRASTRUCTURE MEANS TAKING A HOSPITAL, TAKING A RADIOLOGY SITE SOMEWHERE AND BRINGING THAT DATA FROM THERE ALL THE WAY TO THE PUBLIC. THE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT,NESS SAIR' CONDITION FOR EVERYTHING THAT COMES AFTER. SO WHAT WAS CONSTRUCTED WAS WHAT FOR INSTANCE IS CALLED THE MI DRIK MIDRC UMBRELLA, EITHER HAS A PRE-EXISTING RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE OF THE TWO AND CREATES A HARMONIZED STANDARDIZED PROCESS THAT DEPOSE THROUGH DEIDENTIFICATION, CURATION, QUALITY CONTROL, ANNOTATION, HARMONIZATION ALL THE WAY TO THE PUBLIC FACING SIDE, GEN3. THE DATA THAT GETS TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS FIGURE WILL BE READY FOR MACHINE LEARNING, WILL BE FAIR IN THE SENSE OF FIND ACIALTION ACCESSIBLE, INTEROPERABLE AND USABLE, IT HAS GONE THROUGH QUALITY CONTROLS AND LEVELS THAT MAKES IT TRUSTWORTHY AND WITH A GOAL OF BEING REPRESENTATIVE. AND A PORTION OF DATA GETS -- I'LL COME BACK TO THAT LATER, THAT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF MIDRC. SO LIKE I SAID, ONE YEAR LATER, WHAT HAS MIDRC ACHIEVED? WELL, THE BIG THING IS TO GET THIS PIPELINE FLOWING. AND THIS IS DATA THAT I COLLECTED AS OF YESTERDAY FROM THEIR WEBSITE, MIDRC.ORG, AND ESSENTIALLY AS OF YESTERDAY, THERE WERE 62,000 ROUGHLY CHEST X-RAYS AND CTs THAT WERE INGESTED INTO MIDRC, A LOT OF THEM WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PROCESS, AND 10,000 WERE PUBLIC FACING, WHICH MEANS YOU CAN GO THERE TODAY AFTER 5:00 IF YOU NEED DATA, REGISTER AND DOWNLOAD CTs, CHEST X-RAYs AND START DOING AI WITH THEM. ACTUALLY THIS NEEDS A CORRECTION BECAUSE THIS IS CORRECT OF THE DATA AS OF YESTERDAY AT THE SAME TIME AS NOW, BUT NOW THERE'S 12,370 IMAGES AS I LOOKED ABOUT 50 MINUTES AGO. SO THE BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT IS GETTING THIS IMAGE TO FLOW, GETTING IMAGES COLLECTED AT SITES AND GETTING THEM ALL THROUGH HARMONIZED PROCESS ALL THE WAY TO THE PUBLIC FACING SIDE AND MAKE THEM AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. THAT WAS ESSENTIALLY THE MAIN TASK FOR YEAR ONE. OF COURSE THE DIFFERENT COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS -- IN THIS FIRST YEAR, THEY ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPING ALGORITHMS AND I'LL HIGHLIGHT IN MORE DETAILS LATER TWO OF THEM, BUT ALGORITHMS, AI AND ML ALGORITHMS DO THINGS LIKE DETECTION OF OPACITIES,, SEVERITY AND LENGTH OF THE HOSPITAL STAY. WHEN MIDRC WAS CREATED, MANY LINKED TOMIDRICK TO -- ONE OF THEM WAS PART DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY OF TODAY'S DISCUSSION WAS THE EXISTENCE OF BIAS AND THE LACK OF DIVERSE REPRESENTATIVE DATA. ONE OF THEM IS WELL-KNOWN, THE LACK OF GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. CALIFORNIA WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW, NEW YORK CORE SPOANDZ CORRESPONDS TO TWO THIRDS OF ALL THE DATA THAT'S BEING USED, THEIR POPULATION REPRESENTATION -- SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF DATASETS ARE TOO SMALL IN THE SENSE THEY DO NOT HAVE THE REAL WORLD VARIATION THAT IS NEEDED. MANY OF THEM ARE SINGLE SITE, WHICH AGAIN LIMIT THE ABILITY OF THE ALGORITHM TO GENERALIZE TO OTHER SITES. THIS WAS ALL KNOWN AT THE TIME OF -- IT'S ALL PART OF THE CHART THAT MIDRC NEEDS TO ADDRESS AND MARYELLEN HAD A STATEMENT ABOUT THAT EARLIER TODAY. MORE RECENTLY, WORKING BY MY -- JUDY GICHOYA, AI SOMEHOW IN THEIR PROCESS RECOGNIZES RACIAL IDENTITY. AND CAN USE THAT AS A POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF BIAS. ONE OF THE CONCLUSIONS FROM JUDY'S WORK THAT I PARAPHRASED IS THAT ALL PERFORMANCE METRICS OF AI SHOULD BE REPORTED WITH THE RELATIVE -- WHICH POINTS OUT TO THE HEADER AGAIN, THERE IS A NEED FOR REPRESENTATIVE DATASET. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT WITH MIDRC AND HOW IS MIDRC FARING ON THIS LINE. ON THE TOP RIGHT, IT'S A MAP OF THE U.S. WITH EVERY DOT REPRESENTING A SITE THAT IS EITHER ALREADY CONTRIBUTING OR IN THE PROCESS OF ESTABLISHING DATA CONTRIBUTION THROUGH MIDRC. THERE'S MORE THAN 40 SITES, RIGHT NOW 23 DIFFERENT STATES WITHIN THE U.S. ON THE BOTTOM LEFT, YOU HAVE WHAT I WOULD CALL HERE NOT SELF-REPORTED RACE BUT CLINICAL RACE AS IT COMES FROM THE MEDICAL DATA THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH -- CLINICAL DATA, I'M SORRY, ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMAGES THAT GOT TRANSMITTED TO MIDRC. I MUST ALSO SAY THIS DATA IS ABOUT TWO MONTHS OLD AND WILL CHANGE WITH INCOMING DATA, AND THIS IS THE PERCENTAGE OF THAT SELF-REPORTED RACE OR CLINICALLY REPORTED RACE. IN ORANGE, YOU HAVE MIDRC DATA AND IN BLUE YOU HAVE THE CENSUS DATA. AND A QUICK GLANCE SHOWS YOU THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE OVERREPRESENTED, UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS ALSO TRUE FOR COVID. SOME OTHER GROUPS HAVE TO BE UNDERREPRESENTED, SO SOME SELF-REPORT AT ASIANS OR TWO OR MORE RACES OR OTHER ARE UNDERREPRESENTED AS THE DATA WAS AT THE END OF MAY, I BELIEVE. MIDRC CONTINUES TO TRY TO INCREASE THE DIVERSITY AND I'LL START BY THE GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY. NAMELY, EARLY DISCUSSIONS WITH NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MED CANNED MEDICAL SCIENCES, CLINICAL TRIAL CENTERS THAT WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND THE GEOGRAPHIC PRESENCE OF MIDRC FOR DATA COLLECTION. BUT ALSO WITH OTHER NIH AND FEDERAL LINKED ENTITIES LIKE NCATS, NHLBI, AND THE KEYWORD FOR THESE TWO COLLABORATIONS AT LEAST IS INTEROPERABILITY. IS THE IDEA THAT MIDRC HAS IMAGING DATA, MIDRC HAS A SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE IN THE AI AND ML FIELD, AND COLLABORATIONS WITH INTEROPERABLE DATA ARE MUTUALLY BENEFIT IN THE SENSE THAT YOU CAN ENRICH CLINICAL DATA AND OMICS DATA ACROSS SCALES IF YOU CAN GET EXTRA INFORMATION FROM THE IMAGING DATA AND VICE VERSA, IMAGING DATA CAN BE ENRICHED FROM HEALTH RECORDS AND OMICS DATA BY DATA CAL LISTS. MIDRC IS ALSO TO DISCUSS AND HAVE COLLABORATIONS WITH OTHER SOCIETIES THAT CAN BRING IN NEW EXPERTISE SUCH AS THE AMERICAN -- EXPAND FROM A CHEST CENTRIC RESOURCE IT IS TODAY TO OTHER ORGANS, THAT MAY BRING EXPERTISE TO EXTEND MID TRICK TO OTHER MIDRC TO OTHER MODALITIES. LET ME HIGHLIGHT THREE ALGORITHMIC ACHIEVEMENTS FROM YEAR ONE THAT ARE MY SELECTION. IN THE FIRST ONE IS RAD GRAPH. RAD GRAPH IS ESSENTIALLY A COLLECTION OF DATA AND SOFTWARE THAT'S PUBLICLY AVAILABLE THAT ALLOW US TO EXTRACT FROM RADIOLOGIC REPORTS. THE ACTIONABLE INFORMATION IN THE CLINICAL SETTING IS OFTEN IS WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE RADIOLOGICAL REPORT. AND IT'S FULL OF QUALIFIERS, WE JUST HEARD A PRESENTATION BY MOHAMMAD ON NLP THAT CAN BE LARGE OTHER LARGER AND THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR DEVELOPING CLINICAL IMPACTFUL AI. SO THIS ALGORITHM WHICH IS NOW PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IS IMPORTANT TO ENRICH THE IMAGING INFORMATION AND CLINICAL INFORMATION THAT IS TRAPS MITTED TRANSMIT TED TO MIDRC AND OTHER REPOSITORIES. THE SECOND ALGORITHM IS AN ALGORITHM TO DETERMINE COVID SEVERITY FROM CHEST CT AND I HIGHLIGHTED THIS ONE FOR THE PARENTHESES OVER HERE. THE ALGORITHM WAS DEVELOPED ENTIRELY ARE DATA FROM WUHAN, WHICH MEANS THAT ALL THE DATA THAT IS IN MIDRC RIGHT NOW WHICH CONTAINS NO FOREIGN DATA AT THIS STAGE, IS AN INDEPENDENT DATASET THAT CAN BE USED TO ESTIMATE THE REAL WORLD EFFICACY OF THE ALGORITHM. IN EFFECT FOR VALIDATION OF THE ALGORITHM. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND IT'S A GOOD WAY FOR FOR THE THIRD ALGORITHM I CHOOSE TO HIGHLIGHT WHICH IS NOT MACHINE LEARNING OR AI, BUT IT IS -- THAT TAKES THE INCOMING DATA AND BEFORE IT GETS PUT ALL THE WAY TO THE PUBLIC, A QUANTITY OF DATA, MAKING SURE THAT DATA IS DIVERSE AND REPRESENTATIVE OF THE U.S. POPULATION SO THEY CAN BE SEQUESTERED SET THAT IS NOT SHARED WITH THE PUBLIC BUT THEY CAN BE INDEPENDENT OF THE EXISTING DATA AND THEN USED TO VALIDATE REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE OF ALGORITHMS, VALIDATE THE PERFORMANCE OVER TIME AS TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICAL PRACTICE CHANGES. SO WHAT'S UP NEXT FOR MIDRC? I WOULD START BY MORE OF THE SAME, KEEP COLLECTING AND DISSEMINATING DATA BUT WITH A FEW TWISTS LIKE EXPANDING TO OTHER ORGANS AND SYSTEMS, I BRIEFLY MENTIONED THAT, OTHER MODALITIES, AND OF COURSE SINCE AUGUST OF 2020, WE HAVE BECOME KEENLY AWARE THAT MIDRC IS NOT AN ACUTE DISEASE, IT HAS A CHRONIC OR A LONG TERM ELEMENT TO IT, THE LONG COVID, I'M SURE ACUTE COVID, IT WOULD ALSO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN REPORT AND RESPONSE TO LONG COVID. ONCE THE PANDEMIC IS BEHIND US, MIDRC AND ALL THIS IS COMPLETED IN A WAY, MIDRC HAS EVERYTHING IN PLACE TO EXPAND TO OTHER -- DISEASE, IN FACT, ANY DISEASE WHERE MEDICAL IMAGING PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE, DIAGNOSTIC TREATMENT OR FOLLOW-UP. AND OF COURSE KEEP DOING ALL THIS WHILE HIGHLIGHTING HERE VALIDATING DEVELOPING AND DEPLOYING, WORD DEPLOYING HERE, ALGORITHMS THAT ARE CLINICALLY USEFUL IN MEDICAL IMAGING. MY LAST WORD IS ABOUT MI TRICK SUSTAINABILITY AND MI DRIK AS A NATIONAL RESOURCE. I'LL START BY SAYING THAT MID TRICK HAS APPLIED TO SEVERAL GRANTS, COVID DATA REPOSITORIES, AIM AHEAD, BRIDGE TO AI, AND ALSO BEEN AWARDED A SUBCONTRACT ON A DOE GRANT LINKED TO PRIVACY PRESERVING DISTRIBUTED LEARNING APPROACHES. BUT MORE THAN GOING THROUGH THE SLIDE, I WANT TO SAY THAT I BELIEVE THAT MIDRC OR A MIDRC-LIKE STRUCTURES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR ANY HEALTHY AI AND ML SYSTEM. THEY DEMOCRATIZE THE ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY DATA. AND THAT, AGAIN, IN LINE WITH DISCUSSIONS WE HAD TODAY, INCREASES INCLUSIVENESS, LOWERS THE BARRIER TO ACCESS, FOR INSTANCE, FOR UNIVERSITIES THAT DO NOT HAVE A MEDICAL SCHOOL, WHERE DATA CAN BE EASILY COLLECTED, AND IT OPENS THE AI/ML FIELD TO MORE PLAYERS AND SMALLER PLAYERS THAT DO NOT HAVE THE FINANCIAL OR ABILITY TO JUST START BRAND NEW PROGRAMS. WHAT MID DRIK OR IT NEEDS TO DO IS CREATE A COMMUNITY, BECAUSE BRINGING IN EXPERTISE IS ESSENTIAL. IN THIS CASE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RADIOLOGY, AI, SOFTWARE SCIENCE, ALSO BUT KNOW KNOLL GISTS PULMONOLOGISTS, NEUROLOGISTS THAT CAN ADDRESS THE TOUGH PROBLEMS FROM ALL THE ANGLES IN A WAY, AND ESSENTIALLY REMOVE BIAS. BIAS IS REALLY WHAT I THINK THESE NATIONAL REPOSITORIES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO DO, IS THAT THEY ADDRESS BIAS IN ALL ITS FORMS, TRYING TO REDUCE IT IN THE DATA THAT IS COLLECTED AND MADE PUBLIC, TRYING TO REDUCE IT BY PROMOTING GOOD BEHAVIOR IN ALGORITHMS BUT ALSO LOOKING INWARDS, LOOKING AT THE DREAMS AND PRO HE PROMOTING INCLUSIVE TEAM WORK ESSENTIALLY. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I COME BACK TO THE SEQUESTER DATASET, WHICH I BELIEVE IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MIDRC DOES, IS DEVELOPING TRANSLATION. SEQUESTERED DATASET ALLOWS TO TEST ANY ALGORITHM DEVELOPED IN THE BENCH SOMEWHERE INTO THE REAL WORLD, TESTING REAL WORLD VALIDATION, AND IF YOU COME BACK A YEAR LATER AND THERE'S NEW DATA, THIS OF COURSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE FDA, BUT ALSO FOR RESEARCHERS AND COMPANIES THAT ARE TRYING TO BRING ALGORITHMS TO MARKET. AND WHAT I'VE JUST LISTED TO REPRESENT -- WE NEED COMMUNITY AND HIGH QUALITY DATA AND WE NEED THE BIAS BEING ADDRESS SOD THAT ALGORITHMS CAN SO THAT ALGORITHMS CAN BE -- TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN PUBLIC TRUST IN ALGORITHMS AND ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT AND ON THE POSITIVE IMPACT THAT AI HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DEPLOY BY PROMOTING HEALTH EQUITY. AND MY LAST SLIDE IS JUST SAYING THANK YOU WILL BECAUSE I'M BECAUSE I'M HE RE IN THE SPOTLIGHT OF ZOOM BUT I COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT KRIS'S MENTOR SHIP, PEOPLE THAT HELPED US AT ODSS, MOHAMMAD AND JUDY, AND EVERYONE AT MIDRC REPRESENTED HERE BY THE SEVEN PIs. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> ALL RIGHT, GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, RUI. AS WAS MENTIONED IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, WE'LL SEE IF WE HAVE TIME AT THE END FOR QUESTIONS. SO OUR NEXT SPEAKER, DR. JUDY GICHOYA, WILL BE INTRODUCED BY MY NIBIB COLLEAGUE, DR. TIFFANY BAILEY. >> THANK YOU, DAVID. I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF INTRODUCING DR. JUDY GICHOYA. JUDY IS WORKING WITH US ON THE NIH COMMON FUND'S HARNESSING DATA SCIENCE FOR HEALTH DISCOVERY INNOVATION AFRICA PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM LEVERAGES DATA SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES AND PRIOR NIH INVESTMENTS TO DEVELOP SOLUTIONS TO THE CONTINENT'S MOST IMPRESSING HEALTH PROBLEMS THROUGH A ROBUST ECOSYSTEM OF NEW PARTNERS FROM ACADEMIC, GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE SECTORS. JAW DEIS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCHER, TRAINED AS BOTH AN INFORMATICIAN AND CLINICAL RADIOLOGIST, AND WORKS IN INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY AND INFORMATICS. WE VAUGH VIEW JUDY AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR TEAM FOR THE OPEN DATA SCIENCE PLATFORM. HER CAREER FOCUS IS ON VALIDATING MACHINE LEARNING MODELS FOR HEALTH IN RURAL CLINICAL SETTINGS, FAIRNESS AND BIAS IN MACHINE LEARNING IN MEDICINE, AND A SPECIFIC FOCUS ON HOW ALGORITHMS FAIL. WITH HER EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WITH OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITIES AND CONTEXTUAL KNOWLEDGE IN AFRICA, SHE HOPES TO LEVERAGE HER SKILLS TO BUILD CAPACITY FOR DATA SCIENCE IN AFRICA. ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT JUDY IS SHE SPEAKS FIVE TRIBAL LANGUAGES. SO ON BEHALF OF THE GROUP, OUR LEADERSHIP GROUP WITH MYSELF AND THE OTHERS, WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO WORK WITH JEW TEE, AND I'D LIKE HER TO PRESENT HER WORK. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH, TIFFANY, FOR A VERY KIND INTRODUCTION. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE COUNCIL FOR ALLOWING ME TO PRESENT MY WORK. A DISCLAIMER IS THAT I ACTUALLY -- MY PROJECT IS JUST AT THE BEGINNING AS YOU'VE SEEN MOHAMMAD AND RUI HAVE JUST BEEN DOING A TON OF WORK AND IT'S BEEN AMAZING TO LEARN FROM THEM. SO I'M GOING TO SPECIFICALLY SPEAK ABOUT MY INTEREST AND MY EXPERIENCE AND HOW THAT SORT OF RELATES AND SORT OF LIKE THE GRAND CHALLENGE FOR THE -- WHICH IS WHAT THE NIBIB IS GOING TO BE SUPPORTING FOR THE DATA SCIENCE AFRICAN PROGRAM. SO WHEN I'M NOT DOING INFORMATICS AND THIS IS NOT NEW TO THE NIBIB BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGISTS LIKE ME THAT -- IN THE FIELD LIKE KRIS, YOU KNOW, I DO MINIMAL INVASIVE SURGERY, AND UNDER IMAGING GUIDANCE. I WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THE -- MY HOME IS IN THE CENTRAL PART OF KENYA, BUT I WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL IN UNIVERSITY IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE COUNTRY. AND THERE ARE MANY THINGS AT THE UNIVERSITY THAT WERE HAPPENING WHEN I WAS A MEDICAL STUDENT THERE. ONE WAS A VERY BLOSSOMING PARTNERSHIP FOR CAPACITY BUILDING WITH MULTIPLE NORTH AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES, AND THEN THIS FOCUS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AN LEARNING, AND THAT REQUIRED FOR US TO ALWAYS GO TO THE COMMUNITY EVERY YEAR AND BE EMBEDDED AND LOOK AT THE PROBLEM, LISTEN TO THE ELDERS. I REMEMBER THE FIRST YEAR MED SCAL MEDICAL SCHOOL WAWS ALL ABOUT COMMUNITY ENTRY. WHICH ENCOURAGED A LOT OF PEER TEACHING SO IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL TO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER, AND ALSO AN EMPHASIS -- WHICH TURNS OUT THAT IT SUPER IMPORTANT. AS YOU START TO THINK ABOUT GAINING NEW SKILLS ONCE YOU'VE ALREADY -- YOU'RE DONE WITH FORMAL EDUCATION, AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF AN OXYMORON BECAUSE KENYA HAD JUST DECLARED HIV AS A PANDEMIC. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT COLLECTION ACTUALLY AND WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE WOULD BE THE PEOPLE, AND WHAT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD LUCK WHICH WOULD SEE ME AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. I DON'T KNOW IF THESE PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT HIM, HE'S A FANTASTIC HUMAN BEING. HAD RETIRED FROM INDIANA UNIVERSITY AND MOVED TO WESTERN KENYA. WHEN -- PEOPLE WOULD CALL HIM GOD BECAUSE WHEN HE CAME, WE WERE -- ALL OUR PARENTS PARENTS WERE PATI ENTS WERE DYING FROM HIV/AIDS. THE PANDEMIC WAS -- THIS EMPHASIS WE HAVE TO LEAD WITH CARE WAS REALLY JUST A FUNDAMENTAL WAY TO THINK ABOUT DATA SCIENCE. SOMETHING ELSE WAS ALSO HAPPENING AT THIS TIME. ONE OF THESE WAS, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS ACTUALLY IN 2001, WHERE THE HONORABLE ANDREW -- THE USA ADMINISTRATOR, REPORTED TO CONGRESS AND SAID, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE REASON WHY WE CAN'T GIVE MEDICINES FOR AFRICA BECAUSE IF WE DID THAT TODAY, WE COULD NOT ADMINISTER THEM, WE COULD NOT ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE THE DOCTORS, WE DO NOT HAVE THE RHODES, AND AFRICANS DO NOT KNOW WHAT WATCHES AND CLOCKS ARE. THEY DO NOT USE PERSON MEANS FOR TELLING TIME THEY USE THE SUN. THESE DRUGS HAVE TO BE ADMINISTERED DURING A CERTAIN SEQUENCE OF TIME TOURING THE DAY AND WHEN YOU SAY TAKE IT AT 10:00 P.M., PEOPLE WILL SAY WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 10:00 P.M.? SO THESE ARE THINGS WE'LL START TO LOOK AT IN TERMS OF DATA. -- THIS CONTEXTUAL THAINGS WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT TATA SCIENCE BEFORE WE ENLIST IT FOR HELP, IT WILL BE AB INTERESTING LEARNING LESSON FOR ALL OF US AS WE START TO SCALE UP DATA SCIENCE EFFORTS IN AFRICA. SPECIFICALLY I WOULD ACTUALLY THEN START TO WALK WHEN MY CLINICAL EARS ARE -- TO WORK ON TO FIGURE OUT WHO WAS ACTUALLY TAKING THE MEDICATION, WHO HAD DIED, WHO WAS LOSING WEIGHT, HOW DID THEY GET TO THE HOSPITAL? THEY FOUND US USING EXCEL SPREADSHEETS AND LATER DATABASES BUT THE COMPUTERS THEN HAD A LIMITED AMOUNT OF RA MSM M MEMORY AND YOU HAD TO HAVE A MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ROWS IN YOUR SPREADSHEET. AS YOU HAVE A HUGE NUMBER OF PATIENTS, IT WASN'T ENOUGH, SO THINGS AGAIN HAPPENING TER RIGHT TIME, IT TURNS OUT THAT ONE OF -- SONS SITTING HERE ON THE LEFT -- IS ALSO A FIS WHO -- AMERICAN INFORMATICS ASSOCIATION MEETING AND FOUND OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE STRUCK ELING WITH THE SAME ISSUES IN ROWAN TA AND IN RWANDA AND IN KENYA SO WHY DONE WE WALK TOGETHER? THEY SAID UTS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE LARGE E. OPEN SOURCE MEDICAL RECORD SYSTEM. SO WHY AM I TELLING YOU ALL THIS? THIS JOURNEY WILL TAKE ME TO MULTIPLE CONTINENTS, OUTLINE THE CHALLENGES OF DATA COLLECTION AT THE POINT -- FOR EXAMPLE, HOW WE IMPLEMENTED PREVENTION OF MOTHER TO CHILD PROGRAMS AND DATA CENTRIC PROGRAMS BUT FOR GOT THAT THESE CHILDREN ARE GOING TO GO TO A DIFFERENT CLINIC SO PART OF THEIR RECORDS WERE ON PAPER BASED SYSTEMS. OR HOW WOULD YOU PRESENT AND HAVE JUST A YELLOW CARD THAT WOULD VIEW TOWARD -- YELLOW WOULD MEAN THAT THIS IS A PATIENT WITH STDs AND YOU WOULD JUST BE CALLING THE PATIENT FOR THE YELLOW CARD. WE LEARNED HOW PEOPLE ASSIGNED MEDICAL RECORDS NUMBERS THAT WOULD CON OWE TATE TATE THIS PATIENT HAS AN UNDERLYING POSITION AND THOSE THINGS WE'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH THEM AS WE THINK ABOUT DATA SCIENCE. BUT THERE ARE AMAZING THINGS THAT HAPPEN. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S THE GROSS OF THE -- THAT PROVIDES TERMINOLOGIES TRANSLATED IN OVER 16 LANGUAGES, ALLOWS US IN DIFFERENT REGIONS TO START TO LOOK THE A THINGS TOGETHER. FROM EVEN SOME OF THIS IMPLEMENTATIONS ARE GOING TO BE SUPER IMPORTANT AND BE THE GLUE THAT REALLY HELPS US SCALE DATA IN AFRICA. IN 2017, 2018 -- THE PEOPLE WHO HAD FOUNDED THIS AMAZING SUCCESS STORY TAKING CARE OF OVER 15 MILLION PATIENTS, GROWING INTO OTHER NEW SYSTEMS. WHAT WAS INTERESTING, REMEMBER SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS WERE FUNDED BY OTHER PEOPLE, BUT FUNDAMENTALLY IT WAS THIS INNOVATION THAT WAS SEEN IN THE COMMUNITY AROUND A PROBLEM THAT REALLY GREW PEOPLE AND BROUGHT NEW RESOURCES AND KEPT GROWING THIS OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT. SO HOW DOES OPEN INNOVATION WORK IN THIS SETTING TO ADDRESS SOCIETY CHALLENGE? A STRONG FOUNDER ATTRACT PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN THEIR VISION AND COMING AND PRESENT AND ALIGN TO THEM, AND THEN IT GROWS THROUGH A COMMUNITY, BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE AND HOW YOU MANAGE DIFFUSING COMPETING INTERESTS AND THIS IS GOING TO BE SUPER IMPORTANT AS WE GO THROUGH THE ODSP COMPONENT OF THE AFRICA PROGRAM. SO LATER ON, BE PART OF A PROGRAM THAT IS ACTUALLY FUNDED BY NIBIB WHICH IS THE FUSION NET, AND THIS EXPERIENCE WOULD THEN ALLOW ME TO BUILD MY OWN GROUP TO LOOK AT BIAS IN MEDICAL IMAGING, AND USUALLY START OFF WITH A QUIZ THEN ASK YOU WHAT'S MEDICAL IMAGE THIS IS, AND MOST PEOPLE CANNOT GUESS THAT THIS IS A CHEST X-RAY WHERE -- HAS BEEN APPLIED AND IT'S A LITTLE SURPRISING THAT IN THIS TYPE OF IMAGE, THE MODELS CAN TELL YOU WHAT THE SELF-REPORTED RISK OF THE PATIENT IS SO THIS WOULD ALLOW ME TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO HAVE A SENSE OF BELONGING, TO HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM, AND IF MY JOURNEY TO INFORMATICS HAD BEEN BEING AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME I WOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANT TO PROVIDE THOSE STEPS OF METRICS BUT I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO I CAN SAY THAT MY STORY IS UNIQUE BECAUSE LATER ON, WE WOULD SHARE SOMEONE WHO WOULD SHARE A MENTOR WHO WAS VERY, VERY INTERESTED IN LOOKING IN THE MEDIA HOW -- WHY PATIENTS WERE DEVELOPING ANEMIA IN THEIR FIRST THREE MONTHS OF ANTIVIRAL TREATMENT, AND I REMEMBER MY MENTOR SAYING THIS IS A TERRIBLE PROJECT, IT'S NOT FEASIBLE, BUT SHE WAS SO DETERMINED AND LATER USING A PAPER BASED SYSTEM WOULD LINK AN ELECTRONIC DISPENSING TOOL AND ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD SYSTEM AND LABORATORY DATABASE AND THIS DATASET WOULD LATER BE USED TO FIND OUT THE ANEMIA THAT THE PATIENT HAS DEVELOPED WITHIN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS WAS SHORT TIME AND WOULD BE RESOLVING IF YOU JUST SUPPORTED THE PATIENT WELL. BUT IT SHOULDN'T REALLY TAKE ALL THIS TREMENDOUS SELF ASSISTANCE OF PEOPLE WHO -- FOR AFRICA, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THIS IS THE EXACT ONE THAT WE HAVE TO -- AS WE START TO SEE THIS PROGRAM COME TO LIFE ESPECIALLY AS WE HAVE SURVIVED THROUGH A PANDEMIC THAT HAS DISRUPTED TRAVEL, HAS COMPETED FOR MORE RESOURCES IN LIMITED RESOURCE SETTINGS AND EVEN IN WELL RESOURCED SETTINGS AND WE OBSERVE THAT 110 APPLICATIONS WERE SUBMITTED CORRESPONDING TO THE FOUR AREAS OF FUNDING WITH REPRESENTATION FROM 28 COUNTRIES WITHIN AFRICA AND YOU CAN SEE THE DISTRIBUTION ON THIS MAP AND COLLABORATING PARTNERS ACROSS MULTIPLE COUNTRIES BUT ALSO IN THE NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE AREA. AND SO IT'S AMAZING THAT IF WE DO THIS RIGHT, THAT WE WILL ACTUALLY LOWER THE BARRIER FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE REALLY AMAZING QUESTIONS TO ANSWER FOR THE PROGRAM. AND SO A LOT OF WORK WILL BE DONE BY THE RESEARCH HUBS, THEY ALL HAVE TWO PROJECTS AND THEN THEY WILL PROVIDE THE DATASETS, THEN THE TRAINING HUBS ARE ALSO ANOTHER AREA WHERE A LOT OF CAPACITY BUILDING WOULD BE PERFORMED. WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY -- THERE'S A LOT OF DIVERSITY -- IN PLACES WE WORK IN, SO WE ALSO HAVE THESE CENTERS OF ETHICS AND LEGAL FOCUS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ADVISING US AND PROVIDING INSIGHT TO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS. THE WORK THAT IS GOING TO BE SUPPORTED BY NIBIB IN MY ROLE WILL BE THE OPEN DATA SCIENCE PLATFORM AND HERE IT'S NOT JUST TO THINK ABOUT THE -- JUST THE DATA ITSELF BUT ALSO THE COMMUNITY OF DATA USERS AND HOW TO STRENGTHEN THAT. I'LL GIVE YOU, YOU KNOW, AN EXAMPLE THAT IT'S GOING TO BE HOW DO WE SCALE THIS, HOW DO WE MAKE IT MORE SUSTAINABLE AND HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE AVAIL THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF AND IN A MUCH, MUCH LESS PAINFUL WAY AND PROVIDE THEM A SENSE OF BELONGING WHICH AS SOMEONE WOULD WORKS AS A STEM MINORITY, IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT AS YOU IDENTIFY YOUR STEM IDENTITY. I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE WORK THAT I'VE DONE WHERE WE LOOK AT DOING THE SAME FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN INDIANA, AND RHODE ISLAND SPECIFICALLY IN THE BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS, AND WHERE WE ACTUALLY -- BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT TO TELL A TEACHER WHO HAS TO WORK TWO JOBS TO BRING FOOD TO THE TABLE TO ACTUALLY GO BACK AND NOW TEACH -- YOU BUILD THE TYPE OF SYSTEM WHERE YOU HAVE -- YOU BUILD VERY CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO WORK AND FEEL THAT THIS IS THEIR SPACE, YOU INVEST IN DEVELOPING SOFT SKILLS, YOU EMPOWER, INCLUDING THINGS THAT MAY SEEM LIKE VERY TRIVIAL BUT EVEN JUST SEEING MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF HAVE TURNED OUT TO BE A SUPER IMPORTANT AREA FOR BUILDING CONFIDENCE. SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT NOT ONE SOLUTION FITS EVERYTHING, BUT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE ARE FACING AS WE START TO THINK ABOUT CAPACITY BUILDING, SPECIFICALLY FOR DATA SCIENCE IN AFRICA AROUND A BIG DEBATE NOW ABOUT -- WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT A LOT OF MOVEMENTS AROUND THOSE, AND IF WE CAN LEVERAGE WHAT WE SAW IN THE LAST YEAR, THEY ARE AMAZING, IT'S Q.US THAT WE WE REALLY HAVE THE POTENTIAL, THIS IS REALLY A BIG COMPONENT OF WHAT NIBIB WILL BE SUPPORTING. SO MY TIME HERE HAS BEEN FANTASTIC, AND ONE IS JUST BECAUSE OF TIMING, I'M A THIRD YEAR ATTENDING SO VERY JUNIOR ATTENDING, MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE A SABBATICAL, SORT OF FOCUSING WHAT MY CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE WILL BE, AND ALSO IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING TIME TO WALK ACROSS THE FOGARTY CENTER, AND NIBIB, AND ALSO TO FIND FINALLY A PLACE WHERE THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO COMBINE BOTH OF MY SKILLS, I'M INSPIRED BY -- NETWORKING IS OUR OBLIGATION. YOU'RE ALWAYS THINKING 10 YEARS LATER, WHAT WOULD MAKE THE MOST DIFFERENCE. SO THIS WAS MY LAST YEAR OF RESIDENCE SEE WHERE I WENT. I WAS A LITTLE HEART BROKEN. WHAT I'M HOLDING HERE IS A BOX THAT IS USED TO STAICIALIZE DILATORS THAT I USE FOR INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY PROCEDURES IN KENYA. I WAS VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED AND THIS IS SORT OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT PROVIDES THE X-RAYs SO VERY HIGH RADIATION DOSE, AND THIS PATIENT HAD -- YOU KNOW, THIS TUBE AND TRAVELED MILES TO COME TO RECEIVE THEIR CARE, AND IT TURNS OUT THAT THE UROLOGIST HAD ACTUALLY REMOVED THE OTHER KIDNEY FOR REFLUX DISEASE AND OBVIOUSLY ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE, LANDS UP IN INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY. IT'S GOING TO BE AN AMAZING TIME TO THINK AND CHANGE HOW MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY WHERE ANESTHESIA IS -- IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH EQUIPMENT, BUT WE HAVE AGING POPULATION WITH DISEASE THAT WILL COMBINE MEDICAL IMAGING AND CLEAR AND LIMITED RESOURCE SETTINGS. TONIGHT I'M SPEAKING TO YOU AS I AM ABOUT TO ADMINISTER EXAMS TO THIS GROUP OF TRAINEES HERE WHO ARE THE FIRST THREE TRAINED IN THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA REGION IN INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY. THESE ARE GOING TO BE OUR FIRST INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY FELLOWS FROM TANZANIA. THIS WAS THEIR FIRST INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY TABLE THAT WE USED FOR PROCEDURES, AND THIS CHICKEN WIRE MESH IS WHAT THE GRID THAT WE USED TO BE ABLE TO MARK OUR POINT FOR BIOPSY. THIS IS AMAZING AND JUST AMAZING ENERGY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE AND I HOPE THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO MATCH MY EXPERIENCE AT FIC AND NIBIB TO MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT HERE. MY TIME HERE WILL NOT BE -- I MEAN, THESE FIVE PEOPLE HAVE JUST BEEN FAST TACTIC. FANTASTIC. THEY SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH ME, I HAVE LEARNED A TON ABOUT THE WORKINGS OF NIH. I HAVE LEARNED A TON AND LOVE MY CO-DATA SCHOLARS WHOM I'VE NEVER MET IN PERSON BUT REALLY FEEL LIKE FAMILY TO ME, YOU KNOW, RUI AND MOHAMMAD AND ALSO APPRECIATIVE FOR EMORY FOR ALLOWING ME TO COME TO THE NIH THROUGH AN A MECHANISM THAT STILL ALLOWS ME TO KEEP MY POSITION AND TREMENDOUS SERVICE IMPORTANT FOR PROMOTION OF THOSE LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE VERY UNDERREPRESENTED. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MY ATTENTION. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE LOOKING OUT FOR THEM JUST TO REALLY SEE WHAT AMAZING WORK THEY'LL BE WORKING ON. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU TO JOW DEAND JUDY AND ALL TH E DATA SCHOLARS. I'M OUT OF BREATH WITH YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. FANTASTIC. SO BRUCE, WE ONLY HAVE A FEW MINUTES LEFT. DID YOU WANT TO HAVE ANY CLOSING REMARKS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO CLOSED SESSION? >> YES, UNFORTUNATELY BECAUSE WE WILL LOSE FOLKS AT 5:00 AND WE HAVE TO GET TO CLOSED SESSION, DAVID REMINDS ME OF THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING INTO CLOSED SECTION, SO WE CAN DO VOTING AND BE ABLE TO SPEND MONEY. LET ME JUST SAY A FEW REMARKS AND COMMENT. THANK YOU TO ALL THE DATA SCHOLARS FOR YOUR WONDERFUL PRESENTATIONS, FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT, FOR YOUR ENERGY, YOUR ENTHUSIASM. THIS IS REALLY PART OF WHAT WE HOPE IS KIND OF THE NEW NIH. WE ARE AVID PARTICIPANTS IN THIS. IN THE OLD DAYS, WHEN MANY OF US WHO -- WELL, MANY OF YOU WHO ARE ON COUNCIL, MANY OF US STARTED WORKING WITH GRANTS FROM THE NIH, THERE WAS A WALL AND THERE WAS THE NIH, AND THEN THERE WAS EVERYBODY ELSE OUTSIDE THE WALL. AND YOU CAN SEE WITH ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE BUILDING, WHETHER IT'S A RADX PROGRAM OR A CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, THE DATA SCHOLARS PROGRAM, WHICH IS AN NIH-WIDE PROGRAM, THERE IS TREMENDOUS INTEREST, ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM IN TEARING DOWN THOSE WALLS. I MEAN, WE ARE ONE COMMUNITY, AND IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE ARE, AS WE HAVE EMPHASIZED MANY TIMES THROUGHOUT THE DAY, COLLABORATING AND WORKING WITH EACH OTHER. THAT'S WHEN GREAT THINGS HAPPEN, WHEN WE BRING IN DIVERSE IDEAS, TRAINING, BACKGROUND, EXPERIENCES, THE DATA SCHOLARS PROGRAM AS YOU'VE JUST SEEN FROM THESE THREE PRESENTATIONS, WHERE WE'VE GONE FROM INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY TO THE LUNG TO THE BRAIN, NETWORKS, NODES, REALLY VERY BEAUTIFUL WORK THAT IS ABSOLUTELY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CURIOSITY AND AMBITION OF OUR FIELD. AND YOU'RE PLAYING A CRITICAL ROLE, SO DATA SCHOLARS, AS YOU WIND UP YOUR TOURS OF DUTY HERE AT THE NIH, YOU WILL GO OUT AND BE EMISSARIES AND ESSENTIALLY BE ABLE TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD AND THE MESSAGE OF THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT REALLY GILDA WAS EMPHASIZING IN HER PRESENTATION, WHICH IS THE NIH IS PART OF THE STORY, BUT OUR COMMUNITY, GAUGING OUR COMMUNITY, HAVING FULL PARTNERSHIPS WITH REALLY THE OTHER PART OF THE STORY. AND SO THIS IS ALL KIND OF INTEGRATED INTO THAT PLAN. AND SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, DATA SCHOLARS, AND I'M SO GLAD THAT OUR COUNCIL GOT TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU THAT BEFORE MOHAMMAD LEFT, WHICH IS AT THE END OF THE YEAR, BUT WE DO HAVE JUDY AND RUI, I THINK, FOR ONE MORE YEAR. >> YES. >> FANTASTIC. >> THANK YOU, BRUCE. >> YES. THANK YOU. SO LET GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO OUR DATA SCHOLARS ONE MORE TIME. [APPLAUSE] AND DAVID, I HAND IT BACK TO YOU FOR THE OPERATIONAL -- NEXT OPERATIONAL STEP. >> THANK YOU. SO I'D LIKE TO REMIND COUNCILMEMBERS THAT IT'S A DIFFERENT ZOOM LINK WHICH HOPEFULLY YOU'VE GOT FROM PAM BY EMAIL. SO WE'LL GO STRAIGHT INTO CLOSED SESSION, SO JUST TAKE THE BRIEFEST OF BREAKS IF YOU NEED, AND SO AT THIS POINT THEN, I'D LIKE TO ADJOURN THE OPEN SESSION OF COUNCIL. I'D LIKE TO THANK OUR SPECIAL COUNCIL GUESTS, BOTH IN THE VIDEO CONFERENCE ROOM AND THE VISITORS ON THE WEBCAST, AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, SO THIS OPEN SESSION OF THE 57TH MEETING OF THE NIBIB NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL IS HEREBY ADJOURNED. THANK YOU, EVERYONE.