I'M MICHAEL CHIANG. WELCOME TO THIS COUNCIL MEETING. CATHY ANDERSON HAS ORGANIZED A REALLY GOOD PROGRAM FOR US HERE TODAY. I'M GOING TO TURN OVER TO CATHY TO REALLY INTRODUCE ALL OF US. >> THANK YOU. ACTUALLY I HAD A LOT OF HELP WITH THE PROGRAM INCLUDING A LOT OF INPUT FROM DR. CHIANG. I WANT TO WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE 158TH MEETING OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY EYE COUNCIL. I HOPE EVERYONE IS WELL ENJOYING THE SUMMER SO FAR INCLUDING THE CICADAS, IF YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE THEM IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. THANK YOU TO THE COUNCILMEMBERS WHO ARE JOINING US TODAY. WE ARE STILL WAITING ON OUR NEW MEMBERS TO BE APPROVED SO WE ARE A BIT SHORT-HANDED AND WE APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR ADVICE AND FEEDBACK. I ALSO WANT TO EXTEND A WARM WELCOME TO THE NEI RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY COMMUNITY. NEI AND NIH STAFF INCLUDING STAFF FROM THE CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW AS WELL AS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO ARE WATCHING THE MEETING ON THE NIH VIDEOCAST. I WANT TO EXTEND A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR GUEST SPEAKERS, DRS. PAUL LE AND SCOTT PAGE WHO YOU WILL HEAR MORE ABOUT LATER THIS MORNING. WE ARE CONTINUING THE VIRTUAL MEETING THIS ROUND OBVIOUSLY, AND ARE PLEASED THAT YOU CAN JOIN US REMOTELY WHILE WE CONTINUE TO RECOVER FROM THE PANDEMIC. NIH HAS AGAIN MADE THE DECISION TO HOLD ALL COUNCIL MEETINGS VIRTUALLY IN THE FALL. SO JUST A FEW ZOOM REMINDERS. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR VIDEOS DURING THE PRESENTATION SO THAT OUR SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS CAN BE SEEN EASILY. IF YOU ARE PRESENTING, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU TURN OFF VPN, AND THAT YOU TURN ON YOUR VIDEO FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. FOR THE DISCUSSIONS, WE ASK THAT ALL COUNCILMEMBERS TURN ON THEIR VIDEOS. NEI STAFF SHOULD KEEP THEIR VIDEOS OFF UNLESS THEY ARE PRESENTING. AND AS ALWAYS, PLEASE MUTE WHEN YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING TO ELIMINATE BACKGROUND NOISE. IF YOU'D LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS AFTER EACH PRESENTATION OR DURING DISCUSSIONS, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND REMEMBER TO UNMUTE YOURSELF. I'LL REMIND YOU THAT THE OPEN SESSION IS BEING BROADCAST LIVE AND WILL BE ARCHIVED ON THE NIH WEBSITE. A SEPARATE ZOOM INVITATION FOR THE CLOSED SESSION THIS AFTERNOON WAS SENT OUT TO COUNCILMEMBERS AND RELEVANT STAFF. PLEASE EMAIL LATIFAH HILL OR NATHAN BROWN IF YOU HAVE ANY TROUBLE LOGGING IN TO THE CLOSED SESSION OR NEED THE LINK RESET. LATIFAH, NATHAN, CAN YOU PUT YOUR EMAILS IN THE CHAT BOX? NATHAN BROWN HAS RECENTLY JOINED MY COUNCIL TEAM, SO YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM BOTH HE AND LATIFAH IN THE FUTURE. AS ALWAYS, I NEED TO REMIND COUNCILMEMBERS THAT A AS SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, YOU MAY NOT ENGAGE IN ANY LOBBYING ACTIVITIES TODAY WHILE YOU ARE RECEIVING PAY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. DATES FOR FUTURE COUNCIL MEETINGS ARE LISTED ON THE OPEN SESSION AGENDA AND ON THE NEI WEBSITE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY KNOWN CONFLICT WITH THESE DATES. WE'VE ADDED DATES FOR 2023, SO PLEASE LOOK AT THOSE. OUR NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 22ND, 2021, AND AS I MENTIONED, WILL AGAIN BE HELD VIRTUALLY. I WANT TO THANK MIKE, AND LATIFAH FOR HELPING ME MANAGE LOGISTICS FOR TODAY'S MEETING. ONE MORE HOUSEKEEPING ITEM. THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER COUNCIL MEETING WERE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU IN THE ELECTRONIC COUNCIL BOOK FOR YOUR REVIEW. WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO DISCUSS THE OCTOBER COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES? MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE FROM A COUNCILMEMBER? >> I MOVE TO APPROVE. >> SECOND. >> THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A SECOND? >> SECOND. >> THANK YOU. LET ME JUST ASK, IS THERE ANYONE WHO IS NOT IN FAVOR TO APPROVE THEM, JUST LET ME KNOW VERBALLY. GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AS WE MENTIONED, WE HAVE A REALLY INTERESTING AGENDA TODAY, SO I WILL STOP THERE FOR NOW AND TURN THE MEETING BACK OVER TO DR. CHIANG FOR HIS DIRECTOR'S REPORT. >> WELL, CATHY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AGAIN, IT'S GOOD TO SEE ALL OF YOU. I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SLIDES NOW. AND I'M REALLY PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT TODAY. IN THE LAST -- IN THE FOUR MONTHS SINCE OUR PREVIOUS MEETING, ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE REALLY REALIZED IS THAT A BIG PART OF THIS -- [PLEASE STAND BY] -- COMMUNITY. IT'S JUST NOT THAT EASY TO DO. I KNOW THAT FROM MY LIFE IN THE EXTRAMURAL WORLD, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO, GOSH, I COULDN'T APPLY FOR THAT INITIATIVE BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT. AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING NOT TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. AND ALONG THOSE LINES, IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, MARIA ZACARIAS AND HER GROUP HAVE SET UP THIS TWITTER HANDLE, #NEIDIRECTOR. IF YOU'RE ON TWITTER, CONSIDER FOLLOWING THAT, GET YOUR COLLEAGUES, LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THAT. BECAUSE WE'RE HOPING TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MECHANISM TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITHIN THE EYE INSTITUTE. SO THAT SAID, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'LL TRY TO COVER TODAY. THIS DIRECTOR'S REPORT WILL TAKE US UNTIL ABOUT 10:30 EASTERN, AND WHAT I'VE DONE IS THAT -- SO WE'RE GOING TO DO THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, THEN WE'RE GOING TO DO THE DI SESSION AND THEN LATER IS GOING TO BE STRATEGIC PLAN SESSION THAT'S GOING TO BE MODERATED BY SHA FA GORDON AND ME. AS FAR AS THIS DIRECTOR'S REPORT GOES, FOR THE NEXT HOUR, THERE THERE ARE REALLY EIGHT POINTS THAT I WANT TO MAKE. IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE STUFFMENT THEN AFTER THAT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DISCUSSION. AND SO THAT DISCUSSION, ONE OF THE KEY POINTS IS THAT YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT FOR THE FOLKS ON THE COUNCIL, AT THE LAST MEETING, WE TALKED ABOUT AT EACH COUNCIL MEETING HAVING ONE OR TWO THEMES TO THAT MEETING, SESSIONS THAT WE CAN FOCUS ON, AND THE GOAL IS GOING TO BE TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING FOR US TO DO AS A GROUP OR AS A COMMUNITY. SO FOR EXAMPLE TODAY, THE THEMES ARE GOING TO BE DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION, AND STRATEGIC PLANNING MISSION STATEMENT. SO IF YOU'RE ON THE COUNCIL, THAT WILL BE ONE OF THE TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHATEVER QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT THINGS THAT I PRESENT HERE. SO THAT'S KIND OF THE IMMEDIATE ROAD MAP FOR THE NEXT HOUR. SO I HAVE EIGHT THINGS THAT I WANT TO COVER. AND THE FIRST IS JUST TO INTRODUCE YOU TO NEW STAFF. SO I'M JUST GOING TO GO THROUGH HERE. LISA APPLEWHITE WORKS WITH CATHY. SHE PREVIOUSLY CAME FROM NIMH, MENTAL HEALTH. AND HERE NA THAN BROWN, CATHY HAS TALKED ABOUT. HE'S WORKED IN GOVERNMENT FOR A WHILE AND MOST RECENTLY FROM NIMR NURSING INSTITUTE. ALEXANDRA IS THE GRANTS MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST THAT WORKS WITH CATHY AND WITH KAREN SMITH. AND SHE CAME ACTUALLY FROM SPONSORED PROGRAMS AT CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UNIVERSITY. OUR NEXT IS HOLLY. HOLLY IS ALSO A GRANTS MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST, AND SHE'S COME HERE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. AND STEPHANIE BLACKFORD, WE DON'T HAVE A PHOTO OF, BUT SHE'S A GRANTS MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST WHO'S BEEN IN THE GOVERNMENT FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS, AND CAME FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU MOST RECENTLY. SO WELCOME TO THIS GROUP. NOW THERE ARE TWO OTHER INTRAMURAL STAFF WHO YOU WILL -- WHO YOU MAY COME ACROSS. ONE OF THEM IS DEVINA FAN. DEVINA IS THE DIRECTOR OF NEHEP, THE NATIONAL EYE HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM. SHE WORKS WITH MIDS ZACARIAS' GROUP. SHE IS A NATIVE CALIFORNIAN, STUDIED AT BERKLEY AND WAS A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN PERU AND MOST RECENTLY COMES FROM THE LA CARE HEALTH PLAN, WHERE SHE WAS SUPERVISOR FOR HEALTH PROMOTERS PROGRAM. LASTLY, THERE'S DORIAN, WHO'S A PROGRAM ANALYST IN THE INTRAMURAL ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT BRANCH, IAMB, WITH BRIAN. SO WELCOME TO DEVINA AND TO DORIAN. AND THIS IS A GOOD SLIDE. BASICALLY THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. IN THIS YEAR, THE VISION RESEARCH COMMUNITY HAD A REALLY GOOD YEAR. THERE WAS SIX NEI GRANTEES ELECTED TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. THERE'S DENISE MONTELL AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, TIRIN MOORE, RACHEL WONG, ARTURO ALVAREZ -- BUYLLA, MARISA CARRASCO, AND JOHN MAUNSELL. CONGRATULATIONS. SO THE NEXT SECTION HERE IS A BUDGET UPDATE FOR ALL OF YOU. AND KAREN COBERT IS OUR BUDGET OFFICER, AND KAREN IS GOING TO DELIVER THIS. KAREN, IF YOU CAN TURN YOUR CAMERA ON AND I'LL ADVANCE THE SLIDES FOR YOU AS WE GO THROUGH. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. AGAIN I'M KAREN COLBERT, BUDGET OFFICER BE AND I'M PLEASED TO PROVIDE NEI'S BUDGET UPDATE. THIS SLADE IS A SNAPSHOT OF OUR ESTIMATED SPENDING FOR THE YEAR DIVIDED INTO THE VARIOUS FUNDING MECHANISMS THAT MAKE UP THE NEI BUDGET. THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR TURNED OUT TO BE PRETTY CHALLENGING BUDGET-WISE. IT CAN BE PRETTY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WHAT CONGRESS WILL ULTIMATELY PROVIDE AS AN APPROPRIATION. SO WE GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE POSSIBLY CAN FROM NIH, HHS, THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET, AND WE ALSO LOOK FOR CLUES IN THE PROPOSED FUNDING LEVELS PROVIDED BY THE HOUSE AND SENATE. WE ALSO LOOK AT HISTORICAL TRENDS AND ALSO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE WORLD TO GET A SENSE OF WHERE CONGRESS IS HEADED WITH THE BUDGET. FY 2021 IS A YEAR WHERE THERE WERE MANY COMPETING PRIORITIES, INCLUDING THE NEED TO ADDRESS FUNDING FOR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF. AND SO I WILL GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THE BIG PICTURE BUDGET AT THE NIH LEVEL FOR THIS YEAR, AND THEN DRILL DOWN INTO THE NEI BUDGET. SO NIH'S BUDGET AUTHORITY OF $42.7 BILLION IS A 3% INCREASE OVER THE FINAL FY 2020 ALLOCATION. THE NIH BUDGET INCLUDES AN APPROPRIATION OF $404 MILLION, AUTHORIZED IN THE 21ST CENTURY CURES ACT, WHICH WAS A DECREASE OF $88 MILLION OR 18% FROM FY 2020. THAT DECREASE WAS EXPECTED, THOSE, AS IT WAS BUILT INTO THE INITIAL AUTHORIZATION PLAN FOR FUNDING $4.8 BILLION OVER 10 YEARS, BEGINNING IN FY 2017 THROUGH FY 2026. TOTAL CURES FUNDING INCLUDES $195 MILLION TO NCI FOR THE CANCER MOONSHOT PROJECT, WHICH IS AT THE SAME FUNDING LEVEL AS FY 2020. $100 MILLION IN TOTAL TO NINDS AND NIMH FOR CURES BRAIN, AND $109 MILLION TO THE NIH INNOVATION FUND FOR THE ALL-OF-US PROGRAM, FORMERLY KNOWN AS PRECISION MEDICINE. NIH ALSO RECEIVED $1.25 BILLION IN SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FOR CORONAVIRUS ACTIVITIES. AND SO NOW BY WAY OF THE NEI BUDGET, THIS FISCAL YEAR WE RECEIVED A 1.5% INCREASE OVER FY 2020. AND AFTER ABSORBING INCREASES TO MANDATORY INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS, WE NEEDED TO MAKE CUTS WHERE WE COULD. AS YOU WILL SEE IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE REDUCED OUR ESTIMATED NUMBER OF COMPETING RPGs THAT WILL BE FUNDED THIS YEAR. GIVEN SUCH A SMALL INCREASE OF 1 POINT 1.5%, IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAINTAIN THE SAME NUMBER OF COMPETING AWARDS AS LAST YEAR. I WILL SAY, THOUGH, EVEN WITH THAT MODEST INCREASE, WE ANTICIPATE FUNDING OVER $700 MILLION IN EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH THIS YEAR. THE PERCENT SHARE OF THE TOTAL BUDGET FUNDED TO EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH, INTRAMURAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH SUPPORT IS EXPECTED TO BE 84%, 12% AND 4% RESPECTIVELY, WHICH IS IN LINE WITH HISTORICAL TRENDS. THIS SLIDE SHOWS AN ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF COMPETING AND NONCOMPETING AWARDS THAT WILL BE FUNDED THIS YEAR. AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THE NUMBER OF COMPETING AWARDS GOES DOWN FROM LAST YEAR. TO PUT THIS IN CONTEXT, LAST FISCAL YEAR, OUR TOTAL BUDGET INCREASE WAS CLOSE TO 4%. THIS YEAR, IT'S 1.5%. THE 4% INCREASE GAVE US THE ABILITY TO COVER MANDATORY COSTS AND ALSO FUND MORE COMPETING AWARDS. THE INCREASE THAT YOU SEE HERE TO NONCOMPETING AWARDS, ESTIMATED INCREASE THIS YEAR IS THE RESULT OF FUNDING MORE COMPETING AWARDS LAST YEAR. MOVING TO THE FY 2022 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST. HERE IS A VERY HIGH LEVEL LOOK AT THE VARIOUS FUNDING LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FISCAL YEAR 2020 AND 2021 BUDGET PROCESSES AS COMPARED TO THE 2022 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET. IN THE CURRENT AND PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET PROPOSED SIGNIFICANT CUTS, BUT UNDER THE NEW ADMINISTRATION, THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST, A $23 MILLION OR 2.8% INCREASE FOR NEI. THE USUAL TIMING FOR RELEASE OF THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET IS AROUND THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY. HOWEVER, WITH TRANSITION TO NEW ADMINISTRATION, THE PROCESS WAS DELAYED SIGNIFICANTLY, WITH THE BUDGET RELEASE AT THE END OF MAY. THE PURPOSE OF THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IS TO PROVIDE THE ADMINISTRATION'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONGRESS FOR SETTING SPENDING LEVELS. BUT GIVEN THE DELAYED RELEASE, WE DON'T KNOW YET HOW THAT WILL IMPACT THE TIMING OF THE CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS. THE HOUSE IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE THEIR MARKUP OF THE 2022 BUDGET BY THE END OF THE MONTH BUT THE SENATE IS LESS CERTAIN. IF THE SENATE MARK UP PROCESS IS NOT DONE BY JULY, THEN IT WILL SLIP INTO SEPTEMBER. THAT WOULD INCREASE THE POTENTIAL OF NOT HAVING AN APPROPRIATION BY OCTOBER 1, AND STARTING THE NEW FISCAL YEAR UNDER A CONTINUING RESOLUTION. A CONTINUING RESOLUTION PROVIDES BUDGET AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE OPERATIONS UNTIL AN APPROPRIATION IS PASSED AND SIGNED INTO LAW. CONTINUING RESOLUTIONS ARE NOT IDEAL BECAUSE WHILE THEY ALLOW US TO CONTINUE OPERATIONS, THEY SEVERELY RESTRICT THE FUNDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US UNTIL WE RECEIVE AN APPROPRIATION. HERE IS A HIGH LEVEL COMPARISON OF THE PROPOSED NIH INCREASE VERSUS THE INCREASE PROPOSED FOR NEI IN THE 2022 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET. $9 BILLION, OR 21%, IS THE INCREASE PROPOSED FOR NIH. WHILE THE INCREASE FOR NEI IS PROPOSED AT 2.8%. IT'S IMPORTANT TO MENTION THAT THE NIH INCREASE INCLUDES $6.5 BILLION TO ESTABLISH THE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY FOR HEALTH, OR ARPA-H, AT NIH. $9 BILLION IS A PRETTY AMBITIOUS REQUEST, AND WE REALLY DON'T KNOW YET HOW CONGRESS FEELS ABOUT THAT, AND WE WON'T UNTIL THE COMMITTEES START TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION. CONGRESS VERY WELL COULD QUESTION WHETHER THE SIZE OF THE PROPOSED INCREASE FOR ARPA-H VERSUS THE 2.5 PILL $2.5 BILLION GENERAL INCREASE FOR NIH IS APPROPRIATE. THIS SLIDE GIVES AN ESTIMATE OF HOW FUNDS WOULD BE SPREAD ACROSS ALL FUNDING MECHANISMS. ADHERING TO THE POLICY GUIDANCE IN THE 2022 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, AND USING THE SAME PERCENT SHARE OF THE TOTAL BUDGET AS EXISTS IN THE CURRENT YEAR. 84% TO EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH, 12% TO INTRAMURAL RESEARCH, AND 4% TO RESEARCH SUPPORT. THIS PLAN WOULD PROVIDE APPROXIMATELY $17 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH, AND WOULD BE USED TO COVER EXISTING COMMITMENTS, MANDATORY INCREASES AND ANY NEW AWARDS. MY FINAL TWO SLIDES PULL OUT THE NIH SPECIFIC RESEARCH PRIORITIES THAT ARE IDENTIFIED IN THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET. FOR COMBATING THE OPIOID CRISIS, THE BUDGET REQUEST INCREASES THE INVESTMENT TO $2.2 BILLION, WITH $811 MILLION FOR THE HEAL INITIATIVE, AND $1.4 BILLION FOR OTHER ONGOING RESEARCH. HEALTH DISPARITIES GETS A TOTAL INVESTMENT OF $330 MILLION. CLIMATE CHANGE GETS A $100 MILLION INCREASE, WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT NIH WILL CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. RESEARCH TO END THE HIV EPIDEMIC GETS A $10 MILLION INCREASE. IMPROVING MATERNAL HEALTH GETS A $30 MILLION INCREASE FOR THE IMPROVE INITIATIVE. FOR ADDRESSING GUN VIOLENCE, THE INVESTMENT IS DOUBLED $25 MILLION. FOR RESEARCHING THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19, $25 MILLION IS IN THE BUDGET FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH. AND $15 MILLION IN THE BUDGET -- OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. A $100 MILLION INCREASE IS PROVIDED TO ADDRESS THE PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE OR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION AND RESEARCH DATA INTEGRITY. AND FINALLY, A TOTAL OF $250 MILLION IS INCLUDED FOR RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES, AND FOR NON-HUMAN PRIMATE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE EXPANSION. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE. >> KAREN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THANKS FOR YOUR TOLERANCE OF MY INABILITY TO MOVE THE SLIDES WHEN YOU SAY SO. SO KAREN, ESPECIALLY THANKS FOR THE WORK THAT YOU DO. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, EVERYONE. >> SO THE NEXT THING THAT -- THIS IS KAREN'S CONTACT INFORMATION. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY ALL PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, BUT I'LL LEAVE IT HERE JUST FOR A SECOND. THE NEXT PIECE THAT WE HAVE IS STEVE BECKER, WHO IS GOING TO PRESENT AS HE HAS ALWAYS DONE REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, SO STEEL WILL DO STEVE, WE'LL DO THE SAME THING. IF YOU CAN TURN ON YOUR VIDEO, I'LL ADVANCE THE SLIDES FOR YOU. >> THANKS, MIKE. HI, EVERYONE. IT'S MY PLEASURE TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON OUR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE ACTIVITY. SO SINCE OUR LAST COUNCIL, I WANTED TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT THE FEBRUARY FUNCTIONAL IMAGING CONSORTIUM SYMPOSIUM THAT WE HELD IN FEBRUARY, ALL THOSE VIDEOS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ON OUR WEBSITE. ALSO WE HAVE A SUMMARY OF THOSE ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT CONSORTIUM, AND HOW THEY COULD BE USED TO AID EYE TISSUE REGENERATION. ALSO I WANT TO NOTE THAT A NEW NOTICE OF SPECIAL INTEREST HAS BEEN RELEASED IN SUPPORT OF R13 SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS. THESE ARE MEETINGS THAT CAN SUPPORT CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIUM AND WORKSHOPS THAT ARE IN SUPPORT AND ALIGNED WITH OUR AUDACIOUS GOALS INITIATIVE AND ITS OBJECTIVES. RECENTLY IF YOU ATTENDED ARVO, I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO CATCH THE SPECIAL SESSION IN WHICH OUR OTHER CONSORTIUM FEATURING SIX AGI PROJECTS DESCRIBING NEW FACTORS IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE PROVISION RESEARCH WERE PRESENTED. RIGHT NOW, THE RECORDING OF THAT SESSION IS AVAILABLE ON ARVO'S PLATFORM UNTIL JUNE 30TH. AND AT THAT TIME, IT WILL TRANSFER TO ARVO'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR OPEN VIEWING BY ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC AND WE'LL ADVERTISE THAT LINK ON THE NEI WEBSITE AS WELL. THE NEXT THING THAT IS COMING UP THAT'S EXCITING FOR US IS A PERSPECTIVE PIECE ABOUT AGI. THAT WILL BE FEATURED IN TBST'S SPECIAL EDITION FEATURING REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. THAT IS GOING TO COME OUT NEXT MONTH. PLEASE KEEP A LOOK OUT AND WE'LL HAPPY TO CIRCULATE THAT AS SOON AS IT'S PUBLISHED. IT'S GOING TO GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT AGI HAS BEEN DOING IN THE LAST SIX YEARS, AND A PREVIEW OF WHERE WE'RE GOING. AND THAT'S GOING TO EXPAND UPON THE ROAD MAPPING ACTIVITIES THAT WE HELD LAST NOVEMBER. SO IN OTHER NEWS SURROUNDING REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A NEW COLLABORATION WITH NEW YORK STEM CELL RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY WITH DR. KAPIL BHARTI, AN INTRAMURAL RESEARCHER YOU PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT WHO HAS HIS OWN CLINICAL TRIAL ON THE BETHESDA CAMPUS, BUT THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN LICENSED TO THIS OTHER GROUP, AND THEY'RE GOING TO ALSO USE HIS TECHNOLOGY OF FENT NEL PILL MEANTED EPITHELIUM PATCHES TO GENERATE A THERAPY FOR ATRIAL RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION. THERE'S INFORMATION ON NEW YORK STEM CELL'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL. RELATEDLY, WE HAVE THAT OTHER OTHER PROGRAM WITH NEW YORK STEM CELL FOUNDATION, IS OUR AMD INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY INITIATIVE. AND WE RECENTLY HAD A MARCH WEBINAR IN WHICH WE HIGHLIGHTED THAT RESOURCE, AND HOW RESEARCHERS COULD OBTAIN THESE CELL LINES THAT HAVE BEEN DERIVED FROM PATIENTS THAT WERE ENROLLED IN THE ARSES2 PROGRAM AND AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION. SO MORE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED BY EMAILING REPOSITORY@NYSCF.ORG. LASTLY, OUR PRIZE COMPETITION FEATURING THE 3-D REDIAL -- WE'RE DEVELOPING AN ECOSYSTEM OF TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES THAT CAN AID PARTICIPANTS IN THIS CHALLENGE, AND A COUPLE COMPANIES HAVE REACHED OUT TO OFFER ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS, AND SO WE'VE BEEN PERIODICALLY HIGHLIGHTING THESE NEW COMPANIES AND THEIR SERVICES AND RESOURCES, AND SO OUR LAST ONE WAS IN APRIL AND WE HOPE TO HAVE ANOTHER ONE IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS. AND I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THIS TIME TO LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT FOLKS PARTICIPATING IN THIS CHALLENGE, WE HAVE A DEADLINE COMING UP TO REGISTER FOR THIS FINAL PHASE FOR OCTOBER 1ST. AND THIS IS JUST THE WAY THAT WE GET A CHANCE TO RECRUIT REVIEWERS AND UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE NEEDS AND WHAT'S COMING -- WHAT'S GOING TO BE SUBMITTED IN THIS FINAL SUBMISSION PHASE, AND SO WE'RE ASKING FOR AN ABSTRACT, SOME PRELIMINARY DATA, A LISTING OF ALL THE TEAM MEMBERS, AND THEN THE OFFICER OF GENERAL MEDICINE WILL CONSULT WITH THEM AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS ON -- APPROPRIATE AND IN LINE WITH OUR GOALS FOR THAT PROGRAM. LASTLY, I WANTED TO LET FOLKS KNOW THAT THE OFFICE OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE HAS MADE AVAILABLE NEW TRAINEE RESOURCES WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBPAGE. IN ADDITION, WE'VE BEEN SPONSORING SPECIFIC ACTIVITY THAT ARE FOCUSING ON TARGETING SUPPORT FOR TRAINING, AND SO BACK IN MARCH, WE HELD OUR CAREER PATHWAYS FORUM IN WHICH WE FEATURED CAREER COACH AND SPEAKERS FROM ACADEMIA, INDUSTRY, AND NON-PROFITS TO DISCUSS THEIR CAREER TRAJECTORY AND HOW DIFFERENT JOBS ARE AVAILABLE WITH FOLKS WITH A VISION RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE INTEREST. TO HELP INFORM OUR FUTURE EVENTS, WE HAVE CONVENED A NEW TRAINEE COMMITTEE, AND THEY REALLY GIVE US INSIGHT ON THE NEEDS OF THAT COMMUNITY, AND WE WANT THEM TO ACT AS OUR LIAISON TO THE EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY AND TO SHARE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES SO THAT WE CAN ALIGN OUR PROGRAMS WITH THE EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS OF THAT IMPORTANT COMMUNITY. AND WITH THAT, MIKE, I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. >> STEVE, THANK YOU FOR LEADING ALL OF THIS, AND FOR GIVING THIS PRESENTATION . SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT -- IF YOU DO HAVE QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, FEEL FREE TO TYPE THEM INTO THE CHAT BOX AND WE CAN DISCUSS THEM DURING THE OPEN DISCUSSION AT THE END. WHAT I'LL MOVE ON HERE TO IS, SO WE TALKED ABOUT EIGHT THINGS. NUMBER FIVE IS THE ANTERIOR SEGMENT INITIATIVE, AND THIS IS BASICALLY AN UPDATE. YOU ALL REMEMBER THAT THE ASI REALLY CAME OUT OF -- I THINK THAT THE PORTFOLIO IS ACTUALLY VERY WELL BALANCED, BUT WE REALLY TRIED TO EMPHASIZE THE RATIONALE HERE THAT WE CARE ABOUT THE ANTERIOR SEGMENT OF THE EYE. YOU REMEMBER THERE WAS AN RFI BEFORE WHAT TOPICS WERE IDENTIFIED THAT KIND OF CAME UP TO WHAT ARE THE MOST PRESSING UNANSWERED QUESTIONS IN ANTERIOR SEGMENTS, AND ONE OF THE THEM WAS DRY EYE THAT CAME OUT, AND THERE'S A NOTICE OF SPECIAL INTEREST, A NOSI THAT WAS PUBLISHED A FEW MONTHS AGO OUT THERE ON DRY EYE, AND THERE WAS ANOTHER NOTICE OF INTENT TO PUBLISH ON PROGRAM INVOLVING PAIN AND CIRCUITRY IN THE ANTERIOR SEGMENT. AND WHAT'S HAPPENED MORE RECENTLY IS TWO THINGS. NUMBER ONE, IN APRIL, THERE WAS A WORKSHOP ON IMMUNITY AND INFLAMMATION IN THE ANTERIOR SEGMENT THAT WAS REALLY LED BY SANGITA AND -- I COULDN'T GET A PICTURE OF THEM IN TIME, SO REALLY THANKS TO THESE FOLKS FOR LEADING THIS WORKSHOP: IMMUNITY AND INFLAMMATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS WAS REALLY TO IDENTIFY GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE IN AREAS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY THE RFI. THIS WHOLE WORKSHOP WAS LED BY THEM AT HARVARD, THE TOPICS WERE HOMEOSTASIS AND REGULATION, AGING, THE MICROBIOME AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND HOW THEY INTERACT, NEUROINFLAMMATION, AND ALSO RESOLUTION OF INFLAMMATION IN THE EYE. SO RIGHT NOW OUR GROUP OF PROGRAM OFFICERS HERE, SANGITA, GEORGE AND -- I REALLY TRIED TO ANALYZE RESULTS OF THAT WORKSHOP AND JUST COME UP WITH HOW WE WANT TO ACT ON THAT. WHAT'S COMING UP IN AUGUST IS GOING TO BE ANOTHER WORKSHOP LOOKING AT THE OCULAR SURFACE MICROBIOME. AND SO RUSS VAN GELDER WHO USED TO BE ON THIS COUNCIL UNTIL TODAY IS GOING TO BE VERY CLOSELY INVOLVED WITH THAT. SO THAT'S A SUMMARY OF ANTERIOR SEGMENT INITIATIVE. OUR EXTRAMURAL RESPONSE TO COVID, THIS IS STUFF THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, AND FOR A WHILE, MIKE STEINMETZ AND HIS GROUP WERE REALLY INUNDATED WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS. IT'S THE STUFF THAT EVERYONE'S ASKING ABOUT, WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY IN THE COVID ERA. WE ARE CONTINUING TO ADVISORY SECHERS TO APPLY FOR NO COST EXTENSIONS WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE, AND NEI IS CONTINUING TO ACCEPT ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENT REQUESTS ON A CASE BY CASE CASE-BY-CASE B ASIS ON PROJECTS THAT WERE AFFECTED BY COVID. THE CAVEAT IS WE DON'T HAVE VERY MUCH MONEY TO HONOR THESE REQUESTS FOR REASONS THAT KAREN TALKED ABOUT, BUT MIKE AND HIS CREW ARE REALLY TRYING TO DO A GOOD JOB OF FOCUSING RESOURCES ON THE CASES OF EXTREME NEED. SO TRYING TO PRIORITIZE THEM. THE SIXTH THING THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS THE COUNCIL OF COUNCILS REPORT. NOW, YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT RUSS VAN GELDER IS OUR REPRESENTATIVE ON THE COUNCIL OF COUNCILS, AND HE ROTATED OFF OUR COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, JUST A MONTH OR SO AGO, ALONG WITH THE TWO OTHER FOLKS, AND NORMALLY HE WOULD COME HERE AND PRESENT THIS BECAUSE HE STAYS ON THE COUNCIL OF COUNCILS FOR THE NEXT YEAR. BUT HE JUST HAD A CONFLICT TODAY AND SO I'M PRESENTING THIS SLIDE ON RUSS' BEHALF. HERE'S THE VIRTUAL RUSS, IF YOU WANT TO PRETEND HE'S DOING IT. THE THREE CONCEPT CLEARANCES TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF, ONE OF THEM IS THE OFFICE OF DATA SCIENCE STRATEGY, ODSS, PRESENTED A CONCEPT CLEARANCE FOR ADDRESSING THE WORKFORCE GAP IN DATA GOVERNANCE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND BIOMEDICINE. WHAT THIS IS WAS, THEY REQUESTED TO CREATE THESE MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL CENTERS TO DEVELOP SPECIALISTS WHO EXPERTISE IN DATASETS FOR A.I. THE COUNCIL HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT WANTING TO DEFINE THIS A LITTLE MORE CLEARLY AND JUST MAKE SURE THERE'S -- SO YOU IDENTIFY POTENTIAL AREAS OF OVERLAP WITH THE BRIDGE TO A.I. COMMON FUND PROGRAM. SO THIS GOT REFERRED BACK FOR REFINEMENT. THE SECOND OF THESE IS THE HUMAN BIOME MOLECULAR ATLAS PROGRAM. NOW THIS WAS APPROVED, AND THERE ARE TWO PHASES OF THIS. SO THIS WAS LED BY NHLBI, NIBIB, SO HEART LUNG AND IMAGING AND ALSO NIDDK, KIDNEYS. THIS HAS TWO PHASES. PHASE ONE IS ACTIVE ALREADY. AND IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR A FEW YEARS. AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS HAS BEEN TO CREATE A HUMAN BODY MAP OF THE INTERNAL ORGANS. SO THIS IS STUFF LIKE, YOU KNOW, SPLEEN, KIDNEY, HEART, AND I THINK THERE'S 12 ORGANS TOTAL. IT'S GOING TO INCLUDE SPATIAL TISSUE MAPPING, AS WELL AS IN SITU DNA RNA PROTEIN, LIPID EXPRESSION, AND IT COMES FROM A GROUP OF 75 DONORS. AND THERE'S A WEBSITE THAT YOU CAN GO TO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED AND THERE'S TWO TOOLS THAT MINE THESE DAY DATASETS. THERE'S NOTHING UP HERE BUT IN PHASE TWO, THE GOAL IS TO EXTEND INTO A FEW OTHER ORGAN SYSTEMS AND ALSO TO DEVELOP MORE TOOLS FOR INTEGRATING, VISUALIZING AND ENGAGING IN COLLABORATION WITH THIS. GRACE SHENN HAS WORKED TO GET ON THIS PROJECT AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY, THE PI WAS JAMES SPRAGGINS, THE BIOMOLECULAR MULTIMODAL IMAGING CENTER FOR 3D TISSUE MAPPING OF HUMAN PANCREAS AND EYE. THE LAST OF THESE CONCEPT CLEARANCES IS SOMATIC MOSAICISM ACROSS HUMAN TISSUES, SMAHT PROGRAM. THIS WAS APPROVED. AND SO THE FIRST PHASE OF THIS, WHICH IS THE ONE THAT WAS APPROVED, WAS $150 MILLION FOR A FIVE-YEAR PROGRAM, AND IT'S ANTICIPATED THAT IN ANOTHER FIVE YEARS, THERE'S GOING TO BE ASK FOR PHASE TWO. BUT THE GOAL OF THIS IS TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM TO BASICALLY SYSTEMATICALLY MAP HUMAN -- BASICALLY SOMATIC GENETIC VARIATION, SO CREATE A CENSUS OF SOMATIC VARIATION IN THE HUMAN BODY. SO AGAIN, THERE'S GOING TO BE A GROUP OF DONORS, AND THERE'S 13 TISSUES, AND RIGHT NOW THE TISSUES TEND TO BE THINGS LIKE HIPPOCAMPUS AND CORTEX, THERE'S 13 OF THEM TOTAL. IT DOES NOT CURRENTLY INCLUDE THE EYE. AND THE WORKING GROUP CLAIRES WERE THESE GROUP HERE, NINDS, NIEHS, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, GENOME, DRUG ABUSE, AND NIMH MENTAL HEALTH. RUSS' RECOMMENDATION WAS TO ADVISE NEI TO JOIN THE WORKING GROUP AND TO REALLY BECOME INVOLVED WITH THIS, WITH THE RATIONALE THAT RETINAL BLASTOMA IS POSSIBLY THE MOST WELL UNDERSTOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW A SOMATIC -- OF HOW SOMATIC MOSAICISM CAN CAUSE FATAL HUMAN DISEASE, AND THAT MAY BE AN ARGUMENT TO EXAMINE RETINAL MOSAICISM, BUT BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO ABOUT THIS IS THAT MIKE STEINMETZ AND -- YOU KNOW, HAS BEEN IN TOUCH ABOUT THIS, AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK INTO FOLLOW HOW THIS GOES AND SEE IF THERE ARE AREAS WHERE WE CAN BE INVOLVED WITH IT. SO THAT'S THE COUNCIL OF COUNCIL'S REPORT. AND IN THE FUTURE, RUSS WILL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO DELIVER THIS BY HIMSELF. THE SECOND TOPIC I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS OPT THAT OPHTHALMIC IMAGING STANDARDS. I'LL JUST GO THROUGH A COUPLE MINUTES ABOUT THIS. I USED TO TEACH INTRODUCTORY INFORMATICS WHEN I WAS AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE MID 2000s, AND THESE WERE SOME SLIDES THAT I USED. THIS HAS BECOME A REAL CHALLENGE THAT'S GOTTEN ON TO OUR RADAR SCREEN. AND SO BACK IN 2003, DIGITAL IMAGING COMMUNICATIONS IN MEDICINE, DICOM, IT WAS BASICALLY USED IN ALL RADIOLOGY DEVICES AND ALL CARDIOLOGY IMAGING DEVICES, AND HAD BEEN THE STANDARD FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS. WHAT THAT DOES IS IT LETS IMAGING DEVICES, FOR EXAMPLE, MRI MACHINES, ULTRASOUND DEVICES, COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH COMPUTERS. SO IT'S IN A VENDOR-NEUTRAL WAY, SO THE IDEA IS THAT THESE DEVICES CAN SEND DATA BACK AND FORTH MORE OR LESS SEAMLESSLY. SO THAT'S WHERE WE WERE IN RADIOLOGY. IT'S LIKE HAVING A COMMON PLUG FOR YOUR DEVICE. NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, YOU USE THE SAME PLUG. WHEREAS FOR OPHTHALMOLOGY AND OPTOMETRIC BASICALLY IMAGING DEVICES, THIS IS KIND OF WHERE WE WERE. DEPENDING ON THE MACHINE THAT YOU HAD, YOU NEED TO GET A DIFFERENT INTERFACE FOR THAT MACHINE. AND SO THIS IS WHERE WE WERE IN EYE IMAGING, AND THIS IS WHERE WE WANT TO GO. AND JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF THE PERSPECTIVE, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME, OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS, WORKING WITH THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, AND IN 2011, IN RESPONSE TO THE SO-CALLED MEANINGFUL USE GUIDELINES, WE WROTE A PAPER THAT BECAME A POSITION PAPER OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY CALLED SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYSTEMS IN OPHTHALMOLOGY. AND THE GOAL WAS THAT THERE WERE THREE TARGET AUDIENCES. THERE WAS THE EYE DOCTOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT SYSTEM SHOULD I BUY AND WHAT DO I LOOK FOR, THERE WAS THE VENDOR, HOW DO I MAKE SYSTEMS THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WANT TO -- THAT ARE GOING TO DO WHAT PEOPLE NEED, AND THE THIRD TARGET AUDIENCE WAS THE POLICY MAKER, HOW DO WE CREATE POLICY THAT REALLY PROMOTES THE CORRECT THINGS. AND SO ONE OF THE BIG PARTS OF THIS PAPER WAS CONFORMING TO STANDARDS SO INFORMATION COULD BE SEPTEMBER BACK AND FORTH SEAMLESSLY AND WE BASICALLY HAVE A CHECKLIST, IS IT ESSENTIAL OR IS IT DESIRABLE. EVERY YEAR AT THE ANNUAL MEETINGS, WE WOULD SURVEY VENDORS AND ASK, DO YOU DO THIS, YES OR NO. IT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A CHALLENGE BECAUSE WHAT WAS RECORDED HERE WEANTS ALWAYS WHAT WE WERE HEARING ABOUT CUSTOMERS' EXPERIENCES. WE WORKED WITH THE ONC, THE OFFICE OF NATIONAL COORDINATOR FOR HEALTHCARE IT TO CREATE A CHALLENGE WHERE LET'S CREATE AN OPEN SOURCE APP THAT CONVERTS IMAGES TO DICOM. OF COURSE WE GOT OUT ON THE CIRCUIT AND TALKED WITH JOURNALS AND THE TRADE JOURNALS AND WE HAD PEOPLE WRITE EDITORIALS FOR WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT STANDARDS. BUT IN SHORT, IT REALLY HASN'T MOVED THE NEEDLE VERY MUCH. IN CLINICAL CARE, THE INSTITUTION WHERE I USED TO WORK ACTUALLY MAINTAINED TWO IMAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GET IMAGES TO TRANSFER FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT VENDORS IN A A VERY A SATISFACTORY WAY. ALONG THOSE LINES, WE'VE STILL GOT FAXED MEDICAL RECORDS, DEVICES THAT ARE BEING TRANSMITTED ON CDs BECAUSE OF THIS INTEROPERABILITY PROGRAM. THIS IS AN ENORMOUS BARRIER TO RESEARCH INVOLVING IMAGES. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT, ALL THESE IMAGES HAVE QUANTITATIVE DATA IN THEM THAT CAN BE USED FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES, AND IT'S BEEN REALLY, REALLY TOUGH TO GET THOSE DATA OUT. FOR EXAMPLE, IN OREGON, I HAD A REALLY GOOD PH.D. STUDENT IN INFORMATICS WHO WANTED TO DO MACHINE LEARNING ON OCT DATA AND FISH P. VISUAL VISUAL FIELD DATA AND OVER A YEAR LATER STILL HASN'T FIGURED OUT HOW TO GET THAT DATA. AND WE'VE HEARD THIS IS GOING ON AROUND THE COUNTRY. SO A MONTH OR SO AGO, THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, WITH AARON LEE AND YOU'LL NOTICE EMILY CHU'S NAME ON THIS PANEL, CREATED A POSITION PAPER SAYING WE REALLY NEED TO FOLLOW THESE STANDARDS FOR IMAGES. AND AT NEI, WE PUT OUT A STATEMENT ENDORSING THIS, AND PART OF ME FEELS LIKE WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE FUTURE, BECAUSE WE SORT OF DID THIS BACK IN 2011 AND PEOPLE HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE, BEFORE I GOT INVOLVED. AND SO THE CHALLENGE IS REALLY HOW DO WE MOVE THE NEEDLE. SO I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE AN IMAGING STANDARDS WORKSHOP THAT WE SPONSOR HERE AT NEI, AND WE'VE SPOKEN WITH CARRIE GOETZ FROM NEI AND AARON LEE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, AND THE GOAL HERE WOULD BE, IN LATE FALL 2021, WE HAVE A WORKSHOP TO GATHER PERSPECTIVES FROM KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN GOVERNMENT, FROM A POLICY PERSPECTIVE, FROM CLINICIANS, RESEARCHERS, INDUSTRY, PHARMACEUTICALS, AND MAYBE PATIENT GROUPS. AND THE GOAL WOULD BE TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES AND BARRIERS FOR ADOPTING STANDARDS FOR INTEROPERABILITY IN IMAGING FOR CLINICAL CARE AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SO WHAT WE'D BASICALLY LIKE TO DO IS TALK ABOUT, WELL, FROM THE PRESENT PERSPECTIVE, HOW CAN WE ENCOURAGE ADOPTION OF STANDARDS AND WHAT CAN NEI DO ALONG THOSE LINES, AND IN THE FUTURE, HOW DO WE STIMULATE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT ON WHAT WE NEEDED. OUR PLANNING IS TO PUT OUT A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION THIS SUMMER IN RESPONSE TO SOME OF THESE THINGS SO WE CAN GET COMMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND WE'D REALLY LIKE TO ASK FOR COUNCIL INPUT TO PURSUE AND REALLY ACT ON THE OUTPUT THAT COMES FROM THIS WORKSHOP. SO I'D ACTUALLY LIKE TO PAUSE AT THIS SECOND TO ASK IF PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS IN PARTICULAR. WHAT I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DO IS TO -- OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WE'LL WORK ON THIS AND BE ABLE TO HAVE A MORE FULL REPORT AT THE FUTURE -- AT THE OCTOBER COUNCIL MEETING. WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS. CARRIE GOETZ IN PARTICULAR HAS WORKED A LOT ON NIH'S DATA MANAGEMENT AND SHARING POLICY. NOW, YOU I THINK ARE ALL AWARE THAT THERE'S A POLICY ON DATA SHARING, IT'S BEEN PUBLISHED AND IT GOING TO BE EFFECTIVE IN JANUARY 2023. AND WHAT CARRIE IS WORKING ON TOGETHER WITH DAVID SHNEEWEISS IS A PILOT IN THE INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM HERE. BUT JUST IN A NUTSHELL, THE DATA SHARING PROGRAM APPLIES TO ALL NIH FUNDED RESEARCH THAT GENERATES SCIENTIFIC DATA. DOESN'T MATTER WHAT TYPE, HOW BIG IT IS, HOW MUCH FUNDING IT IS. AND APPLICANTS HAVE TO SUBMIT A PLAN FOR HOW SCIENTIFIC DATA IS GOING TO BE MANAGED AND SHARED. THE PLANS ARE SUPPOSED TO CONSIDER THINGS LIKE PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY VERY STRONGLY, AND RESEARCHERS HAVE TO DESCRIBE WHAT THE PRACTICE IS GOING TO BE IF RESPONSIBLY SHARING THE DATA AND MANAGING IT. ALSO IF THERE SHOULD BE EXCEPTIONS OR LIMITATIONS. THE PLANS ARE GOING TO BECOME THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE REPORT. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE WILL NEED TO DISCUSS FURTHER, BECAUSE WE REALLY HAVE TO GET THIS OUT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH, BECAUSE 2023 IS KIND OF AROUND THE CORNER. BUT THANKS TO CARRIE FOR ALL HER WORK IN THE AREA AND FOR DAVID, FOR WORKING ON HOW TO GET THIS INTEGRATED INTO THE INTRAMURAL COMMUNITY. SO THE LAST THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS A COUPLE COMMON FUND PROGRAMS THAT I'VE GOTTEN INVOLVED WITH. ONE OF THEM IS BRIDGE TO AI. WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO ADVERTISE THIS. IT'S A COMMON FUND PROGRAM THAT'S CHAIRED BY FIVE INTS INSTITUTES. ONE IS NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE, THE SECOND IS US, THEN THERE'S GENOME, COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING. THE PREMISE OF THIS IS THAT THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS LIMITED BY THE AVAILABILITY OF ROBUST AI-READY DATASETS TO TRAIN THESE ALGORITHMS. SO WE MAY NEED TO HAVE DATA FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES, IMAGING DATA, CLINIC DATA, OMICS DATA, ET CETERA. AS WE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, WE NEED TO HAVE STANDARD FOR HOW TO COLLECT THESE DATA, HOW TO REPRESENT THIM AND HOW THEM AND HOW TO EXCHANGE THOSE DATA. SO BRIDGE2AI IS LARGELY A -- IT'S $96 MILLION OVER A FOUR-YEAR PERIOD FOR DATA GENERATION CENTERS. THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS POSTED JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND THE BULK OF IT IS DATA GENERATION SITES, I WHICH THERE WILL BE FIVE TO EIGHT OF THEM, AND THERE'S ALSO GOING TO BE AN INTEGRATION SITE THAT PUTS ALL THOSE CENTERS TOGETHER. I THINK THERE ARE SO MANY GROUPS WHO DO VISION RESEARCH THAT HAVE DONE A LOT OF GOOD WORK IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S SOME INTEREST IN THE VISION COMMUNITY TO DO THIS, WHICH I THINK IS GREAT. SO THAT'S NUMBER ONE, BRIDGE2AI. THE SECOND IS THAT FRANCIS COLLINS COMPILED AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE DIRECTOR ABOUT HOW TO USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ELECTRONIC HEALTH DATA FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES. THERE WAS A GROUP OF PEOPLE AT NIH WHO PARTICIPATE IN THIS, AND I WAS ONE OF THESE FOLKS ALONG WITH QUITE A FEW OTHERS, AND THERE WERE ALSO EXTERNAL PEOPLE. THERE'S AN ACD WORKING GROUP THAT HAS A LOT OF HEAVY-HITTERS IN THE INTELLIGENCE INFORMATICS WORLD AND ALSO OTHER FEDERAL PEOPLE. AND THE CHARGE OF THIS GROUP WAS, WHAT ARE THE UNIQUE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR NIH TO APPLY RESOURCES TO REALLY USE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD DATA, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO WIDESPREAD USE OF AI AND HOW CAN NIH HELP. BASICALLY OF ALL THESE POSSIBLE UNIVERSE OF IDEAS, THE GROUP -- WE'VE SETTLE ON ONE OF THEM, WHICH IS HOW CAN WE SUPPORT AI WORK TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES OF HEALTH DISPARITY AND MINORITY HEALTH, HOW DO WE -- THE FEELING OF THIS GROUP IS THAT THIS IS BEST DONE WHEN IT'S DONE BY A DIVERSE GROUP OF RESEARCHERS. SO BECAUSE OF THAT, THERE'S REALLY A STRONG FOCUS ON HOW CAN WE ENGAGE COMMUNITY-ENABLED EFFORTS TO PROMOTE LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING. FOR EXAMPLE, IN FQHCs, IN IDEA STATES, IN HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND SAFETY NET HOSPITALS. ALSO HOW CAN WE ADDRESS BIASES IN TERMS OF, FOR EXAMPLE, RACIAL DATA OR GENDER DATA INEQUITIES IN ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD DATA. THAT COULD ACTUALLY PERPETUATE SOME OF THESE INEQUITIES. AND SO HOW DO WE IDENTIFY AREAS OF BIAS, HOW COULD WE DEAL WITH DO WE DEAL WITH THEM AND INCREASE ACCESS TO DATASETS. HOW DO WE THINK EHR DATA WITH SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH DATA. I THINK IMAGE DATA CAN PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THIS, BECAUSE NUMBER ONE, SO MUCH OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORK HAS BEEN DONE IN IMAGE DATA, FOR EXAMPLE, RETINAL IMAGES, AND ALSO ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IS THAT ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD DATA IS SUBJECTIVE. IT'S TYPED IN AND ENTERED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR OWN BIASES, AND IMAGE DATA, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS RAW DATA, SO IT COULD BE AN OBJECTIVE ANCHOR TO ANALYZE SOME OF THAT SUBJECTIVE EHR DATA. SO THE GOAL OF THIS -- OUT OF ALL THIS IS REALLY THAT DURING FY 21, SO YOU HEARD THAT CORRECT, IT'S FY 21, TO PUT OUT AN ANNOUNCEMENT WHERE THERE'S GOING TO BE A CONSORTIUM INCLUDING A COORDINATING CENTER AND PARTICIPATING SITES, AND THE COORDINATING CENTER WOULD DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE DATA ANALYTICS, TRAINING OF DIVERSE RESEARCHERS, IDENTIFYING QUESTIONS PARTICULARLY FOCUSED ON SOME OF THESE BIAS-TYPE ISSUES, AND ALSO DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE DATA SHARING STANDARDS, AND SO ON, SO YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR A LOT MORE ABOUT THIS COMING UP PRETTY SOON, BUT JAMES GAU IS THE PERSON FROM NEI WHO'S DONE A LOT OF THIS AND WITH BRIDGE TO AI. SO BIG SHOUT OUT TO JAMES FOR DOING A LOT OF THIS WORK ON A VERY SHORT TIMETABLE. SO THAT IS MY LAST SLIDE, SO WHAT I'D WANT TO DO IS JUST LEAVE 10 MINUTES OR SO IF WE CAN TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AND POTENTIALLY FUTURE COUNCIL THEMES. SO DATA SHARING AND DATA SCIENCE IS OBVIOUSLY ONE BIG ONE THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST, BUT I JUST WANT TO GET YOUR -- SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TURN YOUR CAMERAS ON NOW, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE THINGS. SO I'M LOOKING OVER HERE. TOM GARDNER, YOU'VE ASKED A QUESTION THAT LOOKS LIKE STEVE BECKER HAS ANSWERED IT, INVOLVING -- AGI INVOLVED GRANT HOLDERS. STEVE, DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT QUESTION AND THAT ANSWER? STEVE, YOU'RE MUTED. >> THANK YOU. SORRY, DR. GARDNER HAD ASKED WHETHER TRAINEES INCLUDES K GRANT HOLDERS, AND I WANTED EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT WHEN WE LAUNCHED THIS WEBPAGE AND THIS TRAINING COMMITTEE, THAT WE DID REACH OUT TO ALL CURRENTLY FUNDED TRAINEES, INCLUDING THE K GRANTEES, BUT WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANYONE ON COUNCIL OR AROUND THE COMMUNITY TO TELL THEIR TRAINEES ABOUT THESE RESOURCES TO HELP US SPREAD THE WORD. >> OKAY. THANKS, STEVE. >> CAN I ASK SOMETHING, STEVE? IS THERE GOING TO BE AN OUTREACH PROGRAM LIKE NOT JUST US TELLING OUR STUDENTS BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IT'S ANNOUNCED IN A MORE FORMAL -- OR EVEN TRAINEES THAT ARE NOT FUNDED YET, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT NEED THE MOST ADVICE. >> THANKS, KATIA. THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT. AT ALL MEETINGS THAT I'M AT AND OUR STAFF, WE'RE ENCOURAGING THEM TO LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THIS RESOURCE, SO WE'VE BEEN HEARING -- AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIND, YOU KNOW, LIAISONS AND PEOPLE AND CHAMPIONS AROUND THE NATION TO REALLY CARRY THIS MESSAGE AND TRY TO MAKE A HUB OF INFORMATION SO THAT PEOPLE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CURRENT STATUS, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE LOOKING TO BECOME A GRANTEE, A TRAINEE WITH SOME FUNDING, AND WE'LL BE DOING THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS, BUT THANK YOU FOR THE IMPORTANT QUESTION. >> THANK YOU. >> IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS OR CONCERNS OR IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BECOMING INVOLVED WITH THIS WORKSHOP ON DATA STANDARDS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ABOUT THIS. WRITE TO ME OR CATHY AND KATHY AND WE'LL KEEP YOU IN THE LOOP ABOUT THAT. DOES ANYONE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS? I SEE YOUR HAND, . >> THE ISSUES ABOUT IMAGING, IT'S SO IMPORTANT. IT'S DISCOURAGING WHEN YOU SAY THAT REALLY NOT A LOT HAS BEEN DONE WHEN YOU FIRST BROUGHT IT UP, BUT I'M VERY ENCOURAGED ABOUT THE NEW INITIATIVES. I WONDERED IF YOU -- I WOULD GET A LOT OF -- I WOULD TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY THERE WAS SUCH A DIFFICULTY, AND THE PEOPLE THAT REALLY SORT OF BROUGHT SOME OF THAT INFORMATION TO ME WERE PHOTOGRAPHERS, AND I WONDERED IF THEY'RE GOING TO BE ALSO YOUR STAKEHOLDERS, LIKE THERE'S AN OSP OPHTHALMIC SOCIETY OF PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT MAY BE HELPFUL AS WELL. AND I WONDERED ALSO IF YOU HAD INSIGHT, YOUR OWN INSIGHT INTO WHAT YOU THINK SOME OF THE BARRIERS ARE. >> I THINK THAT -- GREAT POINT ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS. I THINK THE PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE OFTEN STUCK BEING THE ONES WHO CREATE THESE ONE OFF INTERFACES, YOU KNOW, WITH THESE -- FOR THESE DEVICES. I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF BARRIERS. YOU KNOW, BUT ULTIMATELY THE QUESTION IS WHY HAVE FIELDS LIKE RADIOLOGY, HOW DID THEY FIGURE THIS OUT DECADES AGO, WHEREAS WE REALLY HAVEN'T. AND I'VE GOT MY THEORIES ABOUT THIS, BUT I THINK ULTIMATELY ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THAT CUSTOMERS -- VENDORS HAVE TO DO THE WORK OF IMPLEMENTING THOSE STANDARDS, AND CUSTOMERS HAVE TO WANT THEM. AND YOU KNOW, DOES THE AVERAGE EYE DOCTOR -- THE RESEARCHERS ABSOLUTELY NEED DATA ELEMENTS, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO RESEARCH WITHOUT THEM, AND DOES THE AVERAGE EYE DOCTOR, DO THEY FEEL LIKE THEY NEED TO SEE THAT DATA? I'M NOT SURE THEY DO, SO I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES. I THINK THAT IN THE BIG HOSPITAL SYSTEMS, THERE IS A NEED TO DO THIS, BECAUSE HOSPITALS OWN MRI MACHINES AND RADIOLOGISTS WORK FOR THE HOSPITALS, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THOSE FORCES THAT I THINK ARE AT PLAY HERE, BUT IT'S A COMPLEX ISSUE. OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS BEFORE WE MOVE INTO DIVERSITY IN THE NEXT SESSION? >> I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION. JUST A QUESTION ABOUT THE EMERGING DATA STANDARDS. VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC. AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHAT SORTS OF CULTURAL BARRIERS THERE MAY BE. SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT BE IN THE HABIT OF WANTING TO SHARE DATA FOR FEAR OF BEING SCOOPED, SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS ABOUT WHAT DATA IS SCIENTIFIC, MAYBE SOME DATA IS SORT OF PRE-SCIENTIFIC, THROWAWAY DATA. I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE WORKSHOP IS ADDRESSING. >> JIM, THAT -- I THINK STANDARDS IN DATA SHARING ARE VERY CLOSELY RELATED OBVIOUSLY, AND ARGUABLY YOU NEED TO HAVE STANDARDS FOR DATA, FOR DATA SHARING. SO MY THOUGHT WAS THAT THIS WORKSHOP WOULD JUST FOCUS ON THE STANDARDS PART, BUT I THINK THAT WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS A VERY DEEP ISSUE. THAT IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE WORLD IN TERMS OF CARROTS AND STICKS, THAT NIH DATA SHARING POLICY IS SOMEWHAT OF A STICK. ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS HOW DO WE CREATE CARROTS FOR THIS, TO REALLY ADDRESS THOSE CULTURAL ISSUES THAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE IS MET WITH MANY OF THE EDITORS IN CHIEF OF THE EYE AND VISION JOURNALS, AND THE QUESTION IS, CAN WE DO ANYTHING TO PUBLISH DATASETS, FOR EXAMPLE, SO INVESTIGATORS WOULD GET CREDIT OUT OF THAT, AND WE'VE HAD SOME MEETINGS WITH MARCO ZARBAN AND WITH THE ARVO BOARD OF TRUSTEES ABOUT THAT, AND I THINK ANOTHER ISSUE THAT I FIND PARTICULARLY INTERESTING IS THE PROMOTION OF TENURE SYSTEM WE HAVE REALLY DOESN'T -- REALLY VALUES INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS OVER DATA SHARING, AND MAYBE THERE ARE GOING TO BE WAYS TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH MEDICAL CENTERS, AND I DON'T THINK IT WOULD TAKE THAT MANY MEDICAL CENTERS. I THINK IT WOULD TAKE A FEW OF THE MAJOR ONES TO BUY INTO THIS AND THEN MANY OTHERS WOULD FOLLOW. BUT WHAT I WOULD ACTUALLY LOVE IS MAYBE ONE OF OUR FUTURE COUNCIL MEETINGS SHOULD FOCUS ON, JAMES, THE EXACT TOPIC THAT YOU MENTION, DATA SHARING, AND REALLY HOW DO WE GET THIS OUT TO THE EYE COMMUNITY. AND IF YOU HAVE -- IT'S 10:30 RIGHT NOW, SO MAYBE WE SHOULD TRANSITION TO THE DI SECTION, BUT IF YOU HAVE OTHER SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THINGS THAT WE CAN BE TALKING ABOUT IN COUNCIL, OR IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THINGS LIKE DATA SHARING AND STANDARDS WITH REGARD TO THIS WORKSHOP, PLEASE LET ME OR LET CATHY KNOW ABOUT THIS. AND WE'LL GET NEW TOUCH WITH PEOPLE LIKE CARRIE AND WITH AARON LEE. SO THANKS FOR ALL THOSE COMMENTS. WELL, LET ME INTRODUCE THE SESSION, BECAUSE IT'S 10:30 EASTERN RIGHT NOW, AND WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS SHARE MY SCREEN AGAIN. THE TOPIC OF THIS SESSION IS PROMOTING DIVERSITY IN VISION RESEARCH. AND I THINK THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TOPIC, AND WE'VE GOT A REALLY GOOD PANEL THAT'S GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS, SO PAUL LEE, SCOTT PAGE ARE TWO OF THE GUESTS THAT I'LL INTRODUCE IN A MINUTE, AND BRIAN AND MIKE WILL SPEAK, AND THEN SANTA WILL MODERATE A DISCUSSION. AND THIS WILL TAKE US UNTIL -- IT'S SCHEDULED TO GO UNTIL 11:45 EASTERN T IME, SO 75 MINUTES. I PUT THIS SLIDE UP HERE JUST TO INTRODUCE THIS FROM A BIG PICTURE. WHAT HAVE WE DONE AT THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE, AND WHY DOES THIS MATTER? WE HAD A GROUP OF STAFF LOOK INTO WHAT DOES OUR PORTFOLIO LOOK LIKE AT THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE. AND SO WHO WERE THE PEOPLE WHO DID THE WORK? LILY SADLER, KATORA WILLIAMS, CHUCK WRIGHT, AND HONGMAN SUM. THEY HELPED US DO AN ANALYSIS AND WE'RE STILL TRYING TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE DEEPLY, BUT GENDER. ROUGHLY 25 TO 30% OF OUR GRANTEES, IF YOU LOOK AT R01s, R21s AND U GRANTS, THE RESEARCH PROJECT GRANTS ARE FEMALE. IF YOU LOOK AT UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, IN OTHER WORDS, LATINO, HISPANIC, BLACK, ALASKA NATIVE, AMERICAN INDIAN, IT'S ABOUT 5%. AND SO CLEARLY WE'VE GOT SOME ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE BASELINES HERE. AND I FEEL THAT THIS REALLY NEEDS TO BE A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT IF WE'RE GOING TO MAKE PROGRESS IN THIS AREA. IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE CAN SOLVE BY OURSELVES. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT ANY INDIVIDUAL INSTITUTION CAN SOLVE, NO PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION -- I THINK WE'VE REALLY GOT TO WORK TOGETHER TO DO THAT. AT THE ARVO MEETING, WE HAD AN ARVO NEI CO-SPONSORED SYMPOSIUM ON DIVERSITY, SO BASICALLY SANTA AND I WORKED WITH IRIS RUSH AND WITH JUSTINE SMITH TO ORGANIZE THIS SYMPOSIUM. IT WAS BASE BASICALLY A PANEL OF DEPARTMENT CHAIRS AND RESEARCH VICE CHAIRS, SO YOU'LL RECOGNIZE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE. BILL HERE AND EDDIE WHO USED TO BE ON THE COUNCIL, TERRY YOUNG. SO THE PURPOSE OF THIS WAS BASICALLY TO GET THIS ISSUE TO THE FOREFRONT AND WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY. I'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT LEADERSHIP FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, FROM ARVO, FROM RESEARCH TO PREVENT BLINDNESS AND FROM ACADEMIA, A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS. THERE ARE A LOT OF ACTIVITIES GOING ON IN NEI ABOUT THIS THAT BRIAN AND MIKE WILL TALK ABOUT. BUT OVERALL, I THINK THE VISION COMMUNITY IS GOING TO THRIVE WHEN WE CAN RECRUIT THE MOST TALENTED NEXT GENERATION FROM A DIVERSE SET OF BACKGROUNDS. THAT'S NOT ONLY RACIAL AND GENDER DIVERSITY, BUT IT'S ALSO GOING TO BE ACADEMIC DIVERSITY. SO REALLY THE GOAL OF THIS SESSION IS GOING TO BE WHAT'S THE EVIDENCE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE BENEFITS WITH DIVERSITY, AND HOW CAN WE DEVELOP A CLEAR RATIONALE FOR WHY WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS, COMMUNICATE WITH ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO DO WORK ABOUT, LOOK, THIS IS WHY WE'RE DOING IT. I'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE AS TO THE WHYS. AND IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE NOT DOING IT BECAUSE SOMEBODY TOLD THEM TO DO IT. YOUR DEAN TOLD YOU TO HIRE A MORE DIVERSE SET OF FACULTY. SO THE WHYS, AND ALSO WHAT'S OUR ROAD MAP FOR HOW NEI CAN BEST WORK WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, LIKE THESE UP HERE, TO BE ABLE TO PUSH THIS FORWARD. I WANT TO INTRODUCE TWO GUEST SPEAKERS THAT WE HAVE. BECAUSE THIS IS A FABULOUS GROUP OF GUEST SPEAKERS, AND PAUL AND SCOTT, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. SO PAUL LEE, EVERYBODY IN THE EYE AND VISION COMMUNITY KNOWS. PAUL IS THE CHAIR OF OPT MALG AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, HE'S DONE WORK WITH -- HE'S BEEN THE CHAIR OF THE FOUNDATION WITH THE CDC, WHOA, WITH RAND. HE HAS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA. HE'S LEADING AN AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY TASK FORCE INVOLVING DIVERSITY, AND SCOTT PAGE, SCOTT, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. SCOTT IS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AND HAS DONE WHAT I THINK IS AN UNBELIEVABLY FASCINATING SET OF WORK INVOLVING THE ROLE THAT DIVERSITY PLAYS IN A COMPLEX SYSTEM. HE'S LOOKED AT THIS QUESTION OF HOW DIVERSITY BENEFITS ORGANIZATIONS AND HE'S CONSULTED WITH MAJOR GROUPS IN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY. AND SO I'VE ALWAYS SAID THAT IT GOOD TO UNDERPROMISE AND OVERDELIVER, AND JUST FROM HAVING KNOWN PAUL AND FROM HAVING TALKED WITH SCOTT, I THINK I STILL AM UNDERPROMISING A LITTLE BIT HERE. SO I'M GOING TO TURN THIS OVER HERE, SO BASICALLY PAUL IS GOING TO SPEAK, SCOTT IS GOING TO SPEAK, AND THEN BRIAN IS GOING TO SPEAK AND MIKE IS GOING TO SPEAK, SO WE'LL GO THROUGH THESE ONE BY ONE AND AFTER THAT, WE'LL HAVE A DISCUSSION SECTION. AND SANTA IS GOING TO MODERATE THAT. SO PAUL, IF YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD HERE. >> GREAT. THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. CAN YOU SEE MY SCREEN? EXCELLENT. THANK YOU AGAIN, MIKE, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITH SUCH A DISTINGUISHED GROUP AND TO BE ON THE SAME PANEL AS SCOTT. THE REASON WHY WE WANTED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IS TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE, BECAUSE I THINK ALL OF US ARE REALLY EXCITED BY ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AND THAT WE'RE AT THE CUSP OF REALLY FUNDAMENTAL AND CONTINUING TRANSFORMATIVE WAYS OF RESTORING PEOPLE'S VISION. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FUTURE, WE CAN SEE A FEW DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS. ONE IS THAT WE'RE ALL AGING, SO THAT MEANS ALL OF OUR CHRONIC CONDITIONS THAT WE RESEARCH ARE GOING TO BE MUCH MORE COMMON, AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE TOP THE GENDER IMBALANCE THAT MIGHT EXIST -- >> PAUL, SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU. WHAT WE SAW WAS A SLIDE SORT REVIEW. >> OH, SORRY. LET ME SEE IF I CAN TURN THIS -- THAT WILL GET US THAT. MY APOLOGIES, I'VE GOT MULTIPLE SCREENS HERE. >> NOW IT'S BIGGER. >> I WILL TRY RESTARTING THIS. I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THIS. SO I WILL TRY TO DO IT THIS WAY. IT'S POPPING UP ON MY OTHER SCREEN. >> RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT SEEING THE SCREEN AT ALL. >> OKAY. SO WHAT I WILL WHILE I WILL TRY TO FIX TH IS, HOW ABOUT NOW? >> LOOKS GREAT. >> OKAY, GREAT. SO I WAS REFERRING TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE IN TERMS OF THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE FOR GENDER DIVERSITY AND FOR AGE, AND THEN ALSO BY DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP. AND I AM GOING TO TRY ONE MORE TIME. I'M SO SORRY, EVERYONE, FOR THIS. >> PAUL, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, IN THE POWERPOINT VIEW, WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM, WE CAN SEE THE SLIDES PRETTY BIG, SO IF YOU NEEDED TO, IT WOULD BE OKAY, I THINK, TO PRESENT THAT WAY. >> OKAY. LET'S DO IT THAT WAY. SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THIS SLIDE? >> LOOKS GREAT, PAUL. >> OKAY. SO I WILL GET BACK TO THE FIRST ONE. ON THE BOTTOM, YOU CAN SEE THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES THAT ARE OCCURRING BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS IN THIS COUNTRY, SO THE UNITED STATES WILL BECOME MAJORITY NON-WHITE SOMETIME IN THE 2040s. SO THE PURPOSE IS TO TALK ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF THE CURRENT STATE OF VISION WORKFORCE AND SOME RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND DEMOGRAPHY. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE RATIOS OF WOMEN HAVE BEEN INCREASING SLOWLY OVER TIME, BUT ON THE BOTTOM, THE PROPORTIONS OF FOLKS THAT COME FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MEDICINE BACKGROUNDS HAVE REMAINED FLAT AND IN SOME CASES HAVE GONE DOWN, AND TYPICALLY OPHTHALMOLOGY GETS LESS THAN HALF THE GRADUATING STUDENTS FROM AMERICAN MEDICAL SCHOOL, SO WE'RE GETTING HALF OF THE RATIO WE SHOULD BE GETTING IF WE WERE JUST GETTING PROPORTIONATE AMOUNTS OF INDIVIDUALS. IF WE LOOK AT OPHTHALMOLOGY RESIDENTS, THAT ALSO DOES NOT ARGUE WELL FOR THE FUTURE, AND THAT'S WHY SO MANY OF OUR INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIETIES LIKE THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY AND AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSORS OF OPHTHALMOLOGY AND OTHERS HAVE REALLY FOCUSED ON WAYS THAT WE CAN APPROPRIATELY INCREASE THE DIVERSITY OF STUDENTS ENTERING OPHTHALMOLOGY, INCLUDING PROGRAMS LIKE THE MINORITY OPHTHALMOLOGY MENTORING ORGANIZATION THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE SPONNED. SPONSORED. THIS IS THE CURRENT STATE OF UNDERREPRESENTED FACULTY AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS, YOU CAN SEE OPHTHALMOLOGY CURRENTLY SITS THIRD FROM THE BOTTOM, AND WE DO SOMEWHAT BETTER IN THE CHAIR LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE. ON THE VISION SCIENCES SIDE, THIS IS DATA FROM THE VISION SCIENCE SOCIETY THAT SHOWS THAT OVER TIME, THERE'S BEEN GREATER DIVERSITY IN TERMS OF WOMEN ATTENDING THESE MEETINGS, ESPECIALLY IN THE JUNIOR RANKS. THIS IS DATA FROM WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, AND IT'S A BUSY SLIDE. AND SO I WOULD REFER PEOPLE TO THIS PAPER IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN MORE DETAILS. BUT A FEW SALIENT POINTS, IF WE SEGMENT FOLKS IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT STAGES WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR PH.D. COMPLETION, WE KNOW THAT NON-MAJORITY WOMEN IN PARTICULAR ARE LESS LIKELY TO PURSUE NON-RESEARCH CAREERS. AND SO THAT SUGGESTS THAT NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE A OPPORTUNITY TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO ENTER THE FIELD, BUT WE CAN ALSO DO BETTER IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING THEIR INTEREST IN A CAREER IN ACADEMICS AND IN RESEARCH. SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US GOING FORWARD IN TERMS OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE CHARGED WITH AS A COMMUNITY AND WITHIN THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE? ONE IS BASED ON POPULATION-BASED STUDIES FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE AND VARIOUS ANALYSES. VAR MA DEMONSTRATED NICELY THAT IF WE CONTINUE ON OUR CURRENT PATH AND NOTHING CHANGES, THE PROPORTION AND PREVALENCE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT IN THE UNITED STATES WILL GROW SIGNIFICANTLY IN VIRTUALLY EVERY STATE BY 2050. SO THIS IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL OF US. THE CDC FOLKS AND DAVID RYAN JUST RECENTLY PUBLISHED A PAPER THAT SHOWS THE PREVALENCE OF VISUAL ACUITY LOSS OR BLINDNESS, VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, BY MAJOR GROUPS. YOU CAN SEE HERE IN ORANGE THAT THE HISPANIC OR LATINO BACKGROUND INDIVIDUALS WILL HAVE THE HIGHEST RATES OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT OR BLINDNESS GOING FORWARD IN TERMS OF POPULATION PREVALENCE. AND THAT ALL OF THE GROUPS THAT ARE CONSIDERED MINORITY GROUPS HAVE RATES THAT ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. WHAT CAUSES THE KIND OF VISION LOSS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? AGAIN, THERE ARE DIFFERENCES IN THE KINDS OF DISEASES THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND BLINDNESS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT THE LEADING CAUSE OF IRREVERSIBLE BLINDNESS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS AND BLACKS IS GLAUCOMA, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE. RIGHT HERE. PART OF THE ISSUE MAY DEAL WITH HOW WE TAKE CARE OF PATIENTS. THIS SHOWS THAT MEDICAID PATIENTS GET LESS DIAGNOSTIC TESTING FOR GLAUCOMA, AND THAT EVEN WITHIN THE MEDICAID COHORT, BLACK PATIENTS RECEIVE LESS TESTING THAN WHITE AND LATINO PATIENTS. SO THERE ARE ISSUES WITH RACE AND INSURANCE COVERAGE THAT INTERACT. SO THIS LEADS TO SOMETHING YOU MENTIONED, THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. THESE LIST THE VARIOUS FACTORS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. AND SO WE MIGHT LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, WELL, THIS IS ANYTHING THAT IS WITHIN OUR PURVIEW, BUT IT REALLY IMPACTS THE ABILITY FOR ALL OF US TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TREMENDOUS RESEARCH THAT THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE HAS ACCOMPLISHED OVER MANY DECADES, AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET APPLIED TO INDIVIDUAL IN THIS COUNTRY SO THAT WE CAN PREVENT VISION LOSS AND RESTORE VISION. AS PART OF THIS, THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY HAS COMMISSIONED TWO TASK FORCES, WITH YOU LED ONE LED BITTERY YOUNG TO LOOK AT DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION AT THE ACADEMY AND A SECOND TO CREATE A WHITE PAPER ON THE STATE OF VISION DISPARITIES IN THE UNITED STATES WITH MANY OF THE FOLKS THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED ON THIS. AND COLEMAN IS ON THIS COMMITTEE AS WELL AS AARON LEE, AND THESE ARE AREAS WE'RE WORKING ON, ON THE LEFT, AND THESE ARE SOME THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR FUTURE CARE ON THE RIGHT. AND I'LL END WITH A CASE EXAMPLE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WILL HELP BRING THINGS TOGETHER BACK TO THINGS THAT WE'RE ALL USED TO IN TERMS OF MORE TRADITIONAL ASPECTS OF SCIENCE. JUST RECENTLY THERE WAS A WONDERFUL PAPER PUBLISHED THAT DEMONSTRATES PREDOMINANTLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, NON-WHITE POPULATIONS, HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER EXPOSURE TO THE PARTICULATE MATTER OF 2.5 MICRONS OR LESS OF AEROSOLIZED DIAMETER. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? IT BECAUSE IN CARDIOVASCULAR CONVENIENCE AND ALSO MON KLEIN SHOWED IN OPHTHALMIC DISEASE THAT IT IMPACTS RETINAL ARTERIAL DIAMETER AND CALIBER. AND WE KNOW THAT RETINAL ARTERIAL DIAMETER AND CALIBER IS ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND ALSO WITH SIGNIFICANT OCULAR DISEASE. AND SO I'LL WRAP UP BY SAYING THAT ACROSS EVERY DIVERSE GROUP IN THE COUNTRY, BLINDNESS IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE WORST POSSIBLE CONDITIONS, ONE OF THE TWO WORST POSSIBLE CONDITIONS, OFTEN THE LEADING WORST CONDITION BY EVERY SEGMENT OF OUR POPULATION. AND SO WITH THESE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE TO SHAPE THE FUTURE, WE'RE IN A GREAT POSITION TO HAVE SCOTT PAGE TALK TO US ABOUT THE VALUE OF A DIVERSE WORKFORCE. SO THANK YOU AGAIN, AND SORRY ABOUT THE BLIPS ON THE PRESENTATION FORMAT. >> PAUL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I THINK THAT THAT'S -- THAT WAS AWESOME. YOU KNOW, SO SCOTT, WE'LL LET YOU GO AHEAD AND SHARE YOUR SLIDES. AND THANK YOU AGAIN TO BOTH OF YOU FOR COMING HERE. >> THANKS, IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE AND I JUST WANT TO THANK MICHAEL FOR THIS JUST AMAZING OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE A LOT OF STUFF ON YOUR PLATE AND THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MEETING FOR YOU, SO GIVING TIME AND SPACE TO THIS, I THINK IS REALLY VALUABLE, AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK PAUL FOR THE AMOUNT OF EFFORT HE PUT IN IN COMMUNICATING TO ME WHAT HE THOUGHT THE KEY ISSUES WERE, AND REALLY TEEING THIS UP IN A REALLY NICE WAY. SO WHAT I WANT TO DO, USING SORT OF AN ENORMOUS NUMBER OF SLIDES HERE, AND HOPEFULLY THIS SHOULD WORK. ARE WE GOOD? OKAY. SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS IDEA THAT PAUL MENTIONED DIVERSITY BONUSES. THE IDEA HERE IS TO THINK ABOUT HOW IS IT THAT DIVERSITY MAKES US BETTER AT WHAT WE DO. AND SO WE THINK ABOUT WHY DIVERSITY HISTORICALLY, TYPICALLY, THERE'S SEVERAL ARGUMENTS THAT ARE OUT THERE, AND I WANT TO THINK ABOUT THESE WITHIN A LARGER FRAME. SO THERE'S A RECENT ARTICLE IN POE HE TICS, WHICH IS A MAJOR JOURNAL IN SOCIOLOGY, TALKING ABOUT CULTURAL LO JIX. CULTURAL LOGICS HAS BECOME THIS HUGE THEME IN THE FIELD OF SOCIOLOGY. IT GETS AT THIS IDEA THAT THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE IN IS INCREDIBLY DIMENSIONAL, LIKE WE'RE PLAYING 37 DIMENSIONAL PING-PONG. ANY ONE OF US LOOKS AT DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS AND DIFFERENT CRITERIA AND APPLY DIFFERENT WEIGHTS TO THOSE. SO THE DIVERSITY OF OUR LIVED EXPERIENCES, THE DIVERSE OF OUR PURPOSES, CAUSES US TO LOOK THROUGH PARTICULAR LENSES. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY, THERE ARE A HUGE SET OF PEOPLE WHO FRAME THIS PURELY EE IN NORMATIVE TERMS. THESE TEND TO BE PEOPLE, OFTEN PEOPLE HISTORIANS, HUMANITIES, PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE FIELD OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND INEQUALITY. AND CAN YOU SEE SOME DATA ON HERE AND I'LL SHARE THE SLIDES, PAUL PUT SOME DATA UP AS WELL. THERE'S ALSO PEOPLE -- THESE ARE MORE SO THE ECONOMISTS WHO VIEW THIS ENTIRELY IN DEMOGRAPHIC TERMS AND SAY, LOOK, WE'RE GOING TO BE -- PAUL HINTED AT THIS -- MAJORITY MINORITY COMPANY SO WE HAVE TO BE INCLUSIVE TO SORT OF TAP INTO ALL THE POTENTIAL TALENT OUT THERE. THEN THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LOOK AT IT THROUGH THE LENS THAT SORT OF COMBINES THESE TWO THINGS, MIXING THE NORMATIVE AND THE DEMOGRAPHICS, AND WE'RE GOING TO GET THIS HUGE SORT OF INCREASE IN OPPORTUNITY AND SORT OF ECONOMIC ADVANCES. SO THE KELLOGG FOUNDATION HAD A RECENT REPORT SHOWING THERE'S PROBABLY $2 TRILLION LEFT ON THE TABLE IF WE'RE NOT INCLUSIVE. I WANT TO LOOK THROUGH A DIFFERENT CULTURAL LENS. SO A DIFFERENT LOGIC THAT'S GOING TO BE BASED PURELY PRAGMATICALLY ON PRODUCING BETTER OUTCOMES FOR WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR DISCIPLINES. SO THIS IS SOMETIMES A SELF SERVING LOGIC FOR YOUR DISCIPLINE BUT WE'LL PULL THAT BACK OUT AND TALK ABOUT HOW THERE'S SYNERGIES BETWEEN THAT AND THESE OTHERS. DIVERSITY IMPROVES PERFORMANCE ON COMPLEX TASKS. I'M A SOCIAL SCIENTIST SO IF YOU ASK MY SONS, THEY'LL SAY IF YOU ASK ME ANYTHING, I'M GOING TO SAY "IT DEPENDS. " AND WHEN DIVERSITY REALLY WORKS, WHEN IT REALLY ADDS VALUE, IS WHEN THE PROBLEMS ARE COMPLEX. NOW WHAT I MEAN BY DIVERSITY IS TWO THINGS. IDENTITY DIVERSITY, DIFFERENCES IN KIND OF WHO WE ARE, AND COGNITIVE DIVERSITY, DIFFERENCES IN HOW WE THINK. IDENTITY DIVERSITY IS THINGS LIKE GENDER, RACE, AGE, GENDER ORIENTATION. I WANT TO BEGIN BY TALKING ABOUT HOW COGNITIVE DIVERSITY, MAKING MAKES US BETTER AT WHAT WE DO. SO FIRST AS NOTED, I THINK IN SOME OF THE EARLIER CONVERSATIONS WHEN MICHAEL WAS TALKING ABOUT USE OF MACHINE LEARNING DATA, RISE OF LASER DATA IN EYE SURGERY, YOU JUST GET A HUGE INCREASE IN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ACROSS THE SCIENCES, SO THE NUMBER OF DISCIPLINES ON ANY ONE PAPER IS GOING UP. IF YOU LOOK AT A PARTICULAR HEALTH ISSUE LIKE OBESITY, IF I BLOW THIS UP, YOU'LL SEE EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT COLORS IS A DIFFERENT ECONOMIC DISCIPLINE. SO THERE'S NO SILVER BULLET FOR CURING OBESITY, INSTEAD YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE A DIALOGUE ACROSS PEOPLE IN A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES. SO IF YOU LOOK AT ACADEMIC RESEARCH PAPERS IN 1960, MOST HAD ONE OR TWO AUTHORS. IF YOU LOOK NOW, MOST HAVE MORE THAN FIVE AUTHORS. IF YOU PICK UP JUST A RANDOM JOURNAL, A RANDOM ARTICLE IN A LEADING JOURNAL, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE WORKING ON THE ARTICLE AND THAT'S BECAUSE THERE'S ALL DIFFERENT SORTS OF TECHNIQUES INVOLVED. SO IF YOU JUST TAKE YOUR HIGHEST IMPACT JOURNAL AND YOU JUST PULL OUT THE LAST FIVE OR SIX PUBLISHED ARTICLES, THEY HAVE SIX, SIX, 16, SIX, AND THREE AUTHORS. THERE'S NO ONE-AUTHORED PAPERS. WHY IS THAT? PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD, AS WE LIKE TO SAY IN THIS AREA, TEAMS WIN, TEAMS WIN, TEAMS WIN. IF YOU LOOK AT THE PROBABILITY OF WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER OF 100 CITATIONS, THAT'S THE KIND OF THING YOU LOOK FOR IN THAT SORT OF A BIAS, HOW MUCH ARE THINGS CITED, TEAMS ARE 4 1/2 TIMES AS LIKELY TO WRITE A PAPER WITH 100 CITATIONS AS AN INDIVIDUAL. 4 1/2 TIMES. THIS ISN'T A SMALL STUDY. THIS IS 24 MILLION PAPERS THIS IS EVERY PIECE OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH EVER PUBLISHED OVER ALL TIME, 4 1/2 FOLD INCREASE. IF YOU LOOK ACROSS THE GIANT NIH STUDY, TEAMS ARE MORE INNOVATIVE, BUT THERE'S AN INVERTED U OF DIVERSITY. SO NO DIVERSITY, DON'T DO VERY WELL, MORE DIVERSITY, BETTER, TOO MUCH DIVERSITY, YOU DON'T DO AS WELL, AND TO BE HONEST, THE RESEARCH THAT'S COMING OUT ON THIS IS BASICALLY SHOWING -- THIS IS KARA HALL AT THE NIH, IT'S BECAUSE THEY REALLY HAVEN'T LEARNED HOW TO WORK TOO WELL WITH SUPER DIVERSE TEAMS. AS WE GET BETTER, THE PEAK OF THAT INVERTED U IS GOING TO MOVE TO THE RIGHT. WHY? THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO GET AT. IT CAN'T BE MAGIC STUFF HAPPENING. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THIS SCIENTIFICALLY. SO AGAIN, LOOKING AT THESE 20 MILLION PAPERS, THEY FIGURED OUT THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SEEMS TO BE DRIVING THIS IS ATYPICAL COMBINATIONS. THE BLUE BOX IS KIND OF LIKE ARE YOU WORKING IN AREAS THAT ARE IMPORTANT? THE RED BOX IS KIND OF ARE YOU COMBINING IDEAS THAT HAVEN'T BEEN COMBINED BEFORE, SO USING MACHINE LEARNING TOGETHER WITH SORT OF MAYBE STANDARD TECHNIQUES. SO IT'S THESE ATYPICAL COMBINATIONS THEY FIND THAT ARE DRIVING THINGS. NOW WU AND WANG FOUND THAT WHAT'S REALLY KIND OF GOING ON, IF YOU LOOK AT EVERY ARTICLE EVER PUBLISHED, 2 1/2 MILLION PATENTS, 26,000 PIECES OF SOFTWARE, 24 MILLION ARTICLES, THAT LARGE TEAMS DEVELOP -- ONCE AN IDEA IS OUT THERE, YOU NEED LARGE TEAMS TO WORK ACROSS ALL THESE DISCIPLINES, ON LIKE OBESITY. BUT IT'S SMALL DIVERSE TEAMS THAT DISRUPT. SO INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE AREN'T HAVING THE BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS. IT'S TEAMS, BUT THOSE ARE SMALLER TEAMS. THREE, FOUR, FIVE. SO WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THAT ISSUE, WE SAW TEAMS OF THREE AND TEAMS OF 16, THE TEAMS OF THREE ARE DISRUPTIVE. THE TEAMS OF 16 ARE DEVELOPING. THE WAY THEY MEASURE THIS IS BY LOOKING AT SORT OF DISRUPTING PAPER AFTER YOU WRITE YOUR PAPER, NOBODY CITES THE STUFF YOU CITED BEFORE THAT BECAUSE YOU CREATED SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW. IN ADDITION, WHEN YOU LOOK ACROSS SORT OF ALL THESE PAPERS AND YOU SAY WHAT'S MORE EVIDENCE FOR COGNITIVE DIVERSITY, IT EVEN MATTERS WHAT SCHOOLS YOU'RE WORKING FROM. SO HOLD EVERYTHING ELSE CONSTANT AND ASK WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY OF WRITING ONE OF THESE PAPERS, IF I JUST SWITCH THE SCHOOL OF ONE CO-AUTHOR, AND IT GOES UP 12% IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND 7% IN THE SCIENCE, MEDICAL SCHOOL PROBABLY BETWEEN THESE TWO, JUST BY ME WORKING WITH SOMEONE FROM WISCONSIN AS OPPOSED TO JUST WORKING WITH MICHIGAN PEOPLE. SO WHY? WHAT'S THE LOGIC? HERE'S WHERE WE WANT TO BREAK THIS DOWN INTO WHAT'S THE TASK. SO LET'S START OUT BY THINKING ABOUT A TASK THAT'S PREDICTING. FAMOUS EXAMPLE, THE EXPERIMENT WITH FRANCIS DALTON WHERE PEOPLE GUESSED THE WEIGHT OF A STEER. 1197 -- THE AVERAGE GUESS WAS 1197 POUNDS. THE ACTUAL WEIGHT OF THE STEER WAS 1198 POUNDS. BUT THIS IS AN ANECDOTE, THIS ISN'T SCIENCE. SO IF YOU'RE MAKING PREDICTIONS, THE CROWD ERROR, SO HOW WELL THE GROUP DOES, EQUALS THE AVERAGE ERROR MINUS THE DIVERSITY IN THE FOLLOWING SENSE. SO THE CROWD PREDICTION -- THE SQUARE AREA OF THE CROWD AVERAGES THE AVERAGE SQUARE ROOT OF THE PEOPLE IN IT, MINUS THE DIVERSITY OF THOSE PREDICTIONS. LET'S GO BACK TO THE CULTURAL LOGIC SORT OF THINGS. IF WE SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY, WE'RE GOING TO MAKE DIFFERENT PREDICTIONS. SO HOW DO YOU GET SMART CROWDS? YOU NEED SMALL PEOPLE, SMALL AVERAGE ERROR BUT YOU NEED THEM TO BE DIVERSE. BY THE WAY, THE CROWD IS OFF BY 1.4 POUNDS SO WHEN YOU SQUARE IT, IT'S 2, AVERAGE PERSON IS OFF BY ABOUT 70 POUNDS, WHICH IS PRETTY GOOD. IF THOSE PEOPLE WERE DIVERSE, BECAUSE THEY WERE DIVERSE THAT THEY WERE SMART. SO WHY DOES COMPLEXITY MATTER? IF YOU'RE PREDICTING SOMETHING COMPLEX, AVERAGE ERROR IS GOING TO BE BIG. IF I WANT THE CROWD ERROR TO BE SMALL, THE ONLY WAY I CAN DO THAT IS FOR DIVERSITY TO BE BIG. AND SO WHAT YOU WANT -- YOU THINK ABOUT THIS, GUESSING THE WEIGHT OF A STEER, YOU WANT REALLY SMART, DIVERSE TEAMS OF SCIENTISTS GOING AT THINGS IN DIFFERENT WAYS IF YOU'RE TRYING TO PREDICT STUFF. SO THIS IS ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES AT MICHIGAN, NOW ONLY KIND OF PART-TIME. HE WAS INVOLVED IN THIS EXPERIMENT FUNDED BY THE NIH WHERE THEY TOOK THREE TEAMS, ONE FROM THE ELI BROAD INSTITUTE AT MIT, ONE FROM THE SANGER INSTITUTE AT HARVARD AND ONE FROM MICHIGAN. MICHIGAN IS THE BLUE LINE HERE. ALONG THE HORIZONTAL AXIS, YOU'RE SEEING THE NUMBER OF ALLELES THAT WE CAN LOOK AT, AND THE VERTICAL AXIS IS THE ERROR RATE. SO IF YOU LOOK AT FEWER ALLELES, YOU MAKE MORE MISTAKES. IF YOU LOOK AT FEWER, YOU DO BETTER. MIT TAKES THIRD. SECOND THING TO NOTE IS MICHIGAN WINS, OTHERWISE PAUL AND I WOULDN'T BE HERE, BUT THE MORE IMPORTANT THING IS WHEN YOU AVERAGE ALL THREE OF THEM, YOU HAVE THREE MODELS HERE, WHEN YOU HAVE THEM VOTE, THAT'S THE DARK BLUE LINE, THAT'S THE BEST. SO EVEN THOUGH -- THERE REALLY IS NO BEST PREDICTOR BECAUSE THE BEST IS THE COMBINATION OF THE SETS. THIS IS SOMETIMES THE FOUNDATION FOR WHY WE USE MULTIPLE DIAGNOSES. THIS IS WONDERFUL WORK ON PATIENT DECISION ANALYSIS, WE HAVE A BUNCH OF SURGEONS MAKING DIAGNOSES, AND THE LOGIC HERE THAT'S SO IMPORTANT IS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT A PORTFOLIO OF STOCKS, I GET THE AVERAGE. SO THE REASON I WANT DIVERSITY IN MY PORTFOLIO STOCKS IS TO MITIGATE RISK. BUT HERE'S THE SURGEON'S DATA. IF YOU LOOK AT SORT OF HOW WELL EACH SURGEON DOES AND THEN COMPARE IT TO THE CROWD, BECAUSE OF THAT DIVERSITY PREDICTION -- THERE'S A BONUS FROM THE DIVERSITY. IT'S GIVING YOU A BONUS. SO THE CROWD BASICALLY GETS A SCORE OF 14.7 USING THIS FANCY SCORING RULE, WHEREAS THE BEST PERSON WAS ONLY 10.2. SO BRINGING IN PEOPLE NOT AS SMART AS THE BEST PERSON BUT DIFFERENT MAKES THE CROWDS SMARTER. SAME IS TRUE, WONDERFUL WORK INVOLVING 48,000 PREDICTIONS BY SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST ECONOMISTS. THE BEST COMMISSION IS ECONOMIST -- THE C ROWD IS 22% BETTER THAN AN AVERAGE ECONOMIST. SO AGAIN WHEN YOU'RE PREDICTING, THERE'S BONUSES. SAME IS TRUE WITH INTERVIEWS. GOOGLE GETS 4 MILLION APPLICANTS A YEAR. THEY LOOKED AT WHAT HAPPENS IF WE ADD MORE INTERVIEWERS? THEY GET BETTER AND BETTER AND BETTER. NOW THE KEY THING TO NOTE HERE, THIS IS ALSO TRUE OF THE SURGEON DATA, AND IT'S TRUE OF THE ECONOMIST DATA, THERE'S A LIMIT, RIGHT? SO HERE IT'S 4, WITH THE ECONOMIST IT'S 7, WITH THE SURGEONS IT SEEMS TO BE ABOUT 6. THE MORE COMPLEX THE PROBLEM IS, THE MORE INFORMATION YOU'VE GOT, THE MORE MODELS YOU'VE GOT, THE MORE YOU NEED TEAMS AND THE MORE TEAMS BENEFIT. BUT THAT'S PREDICTION. LET'S THINK ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING FOR A SECOND. PROBLEM SOLVING IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TASK THAN PREDICTION. PROBLEM SOLVING IS SOMEBODY GIVES YOU A PROBLEM, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN IMPROVING SOLUTION, YOU'RE NOT MAKING A NUMERICAL ESTIMATE. SO HERE YOU CAN WRITE DOWN MODELS, SO WE SAY WHAT PEOPLE DO IS YOU SORT OF LIKE REPRESENT A PROBLEM IN SOME WAY AND THEN WE FIND IN THIS SERIES OF MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELS IS THAT RANDOMLY SELECTED TEAMS OF COMPETENT PEOPLE SEEM TO DO BETTER THAN TEAMS OF THE BEST INDIVIDUALS BECAUSE THE BEST ON THE PROBLEM TEND TO BE SIMILAR. KLEINBERG AND RAGU DO THE SAME THING AND THEY SORT OF SAY THINK OF PROBLEM SOLVERS OF A DISTRIBUTIONS OF OUTCOMES. SO SOMEBODY POSES A PROBLEM TO US, WE ALL COME INTO THE ROOM, WE DUMP A BUNCH OF POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ON THE TABLE, AND THEY SHOW THAT IF THERE'S ANY SORT OF NON-LINEAR INTERACTION AMONG THOSE IDEAS, THEN THERE'S NO TEST THAT YOU CAN APPLY TO INDIVIDUALS TO DETERMINE THE BEST TEAM. SO WHAT THEY SHOW IS THAT THIS NOTION OF SOMEONE BEING THE SMARTEST DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE. IT MAKES SENSE TO RUN THE OLYMPICS AND SEE WHO'S FASTEST AT THE HUNDRED METER DASH BUT THERE IS NO BEST OPHTHALMOLOGIST ONCE THE PROBLEMS BECOME TOO HARD FOR ONE PERSON TO SOLVE, AND WHAT YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT IS DIVERSITY. SO THERE IS NO TEST. IF WHAT YOU'RE DOING IS COMPLEX, WE'RE OUT THERE SOLVING THE WORLD'S HARDEST PROBLEMS, THEN IT NO LONGER MAKES SENSE TO TALK ABOUT "THE SMARTEST PERSON" IN TERMS OF WHO YOU WANT TO HIRE. WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS PUT TOGETHER CONSTELLATIONS OF TALENT. SO PEOPLE LIKE -- I MEAN, THERE'S PEOPLE THAT REALLY WANT TO HOLD FIRM ON, NO, IQ TESTS MUST WORK, RIGHT? SO THE BEST IQ TEST IS RAVENS' PROGRESSIVE MATRIX TEST, HIGHEST SORT OF CORRELATION WITH OTHER IQ MEASURES, HERE'S WHAT'S WILD, AN IQ TEST DOESN'T EVEN WORK FOR A TEAM TAKING AN IQ TEST. SO IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE BEST TEAM TO TAKE AN IQ TEST, I SHOULDN'T PICK THE PEOPLE WITH THE HIGHEST IQ. WHAT I SHOULD PICK AND WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE FROM THIS SLIDE, PEOPLE WHO HAVE HIGH CONTENTION ACTUAL IQ, CONTEXTUAL IQ, IT'S OKAY IF THEY MISS SOME OF THE EASY PROBLEMS ON AN IQ TERS. TEST. THERE'S NO WAY IT WORKS IN OPHTHALMOLOGY. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT SORT OF THE AMAZING PROGRESS THAT'S HAPPENED IN MEDICAL RESEARCH, THIS IS THE VERMONT OXFORD NETWORK WHERE YOU LOOK AT THE HOSPITAL RATE PERCENTAGES IN TERMS OF YEAR OF BIRTH, THIS IS A GROUP THAT WORKS WITH NEONATAL INFECTIONS, YOU JUST SEE THESE DOWNWARD CURVES, IF YOU LOOK ANYWHERE ACROSS MEDICINE, YOU CAN SEE CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT. THIS IS HAPPENING BY DIVERSE DOCTORS WITH DIVERSE EXPERIENCES, DIVERSE TRAINING, TALKING TO ONE ANOTHER AND ADVANCING THE DISCIPLINE. LAST SORT OF PROBLEM I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HERE AND THAT'S THIS: CREATIVITY. IF YOU THINK ABOUT PEOPLE GENERATING IDEAS, SO THE WAY WE TEST KREE ACTIVITY IS SOMETHING CREATIVITY , THE BRICK TEST, HOW MANY ALTERNATIVES CAN YOU COME UP WITH. SUPPOSE YOU HAVE 10,000 BOXES OF PLASTIC STRAWS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THEM? ONE PERSON THOUGHT OF 31, ONE THOUGHT OF 20, SO EACH PERSON THOUGHT OF 31 IS THE MOST -- PERSON, BUT WE PUT THEM ALL TOGETHER, THES THOUGHT OF 130 DIFFERENT IDEAS. SO THERE'S THIS HUGE BONUS FROM COGNITIVE DIVERSITY, WHETHER YOU'RE PREDICTING, SOLVING PROBLEMS, COMING UP WITH DIFFERENT IDEAS. JUST EXPOSURE TO MEN AND WOMEN CAN AFFECT THE RATS WE WORK WITH. SO ONE THING WE WANT TO DO IS BE VERY OPEN MINDED THAT IDENTITY CAN BE DIFFERENT THAN WE ANTICIPATED. BUT THE REAL REASON, WHEN YOU LOOK ACROSS A WHOLE BUNCH OF ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES WORK, YOU FIND THAT MORE -- THE IDENTITY OF RISK IS MORE INNOVATIVE THAN HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS. IT'S NOT OBVIOUS WHY THAT SHOULD BE THE CASE. MAYBE IT MAPS TO COGNITIVE DIVERSITY. BECAUSE WE KNOW, WE'VE GOT THIS LOGIC IN DATA SHOWING COGNITIVE DIVERSITY WORKS, SO IT USED TO BE THAT WHAT WE DO IS WE SAY LET'S TRY AND FIGURE THAT OUT, LET'S SEE IF PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT CAUSAL MODELS, THAT KIND OF STUFF. NOW WE REALIZE THAT WAS A MISTAKE BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETIMES CALLED INTERSECTIONALITY, BUT WE WANT TO THINK OF PEOPLE WITH BUNDLES OF CHARACTERISTICS, SO YOU CAN'T PULL OUT MY GENDER, MY RACE, BUT IT TERMS OUT THERE'S INCREDIBLY STRONG EVIDENCE THAT THE BUNDLE WHO I AM AFFECTS ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS. SO IF YOU LOOK AT TWO ECON MAJORS OR TWO CHEMISTRY MAJORS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. , IF I ALSO KNOW THEIR GENDER, RACE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, ETHNICITY -- IT LITERALLY AFFECTS THE CLASSES I TAKE PRIMARILY FOR CULTURAL REASONS BUT IT AFFECTS THE MOVIES I WATCH, WHERE I GO ON VACATION, WHERE I VISIT, THE LENSES THROUGH WHICH I SEE THE WORLD. SECOND GROUP EFFECT, PEOPLE THINK HARDER WHEN YOU'RE AROUND DIVERSE PEOPLE. THIS IS ONLY THE SCIENCE PAPERS, UP TO 2008, OR SORRY 2013, WHAT I FIND IS THERE'S A 5 TO 10% INCREASE IN THE MEAN NUMBER OF CITATIONS IF A PAPER WITH FOUR OR FIVE AUTHORS HAS MULTIPLE ETHNICITIES, AND MAKE SURE YOU GET THIS 5 TO 10% LIFT JUST BY HAVING AN ETHICALLY DIVERSE TEAM. THIRD EFFECT, SO THERE'S THIS LOGICAL CONNECTION, GROUP EFFECT, IS IDENTITY REALLY DOES DRIVE PURPOSE. SO I SOMETIMES CALL THIS THE MARY OLIVER QUESTION. WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH YOUR ONE WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE? HOW DO YOU ANSWER THIS QUESTION? SO YOU MEET PEOPLE LIKE U.C. DAVIS MEDICAL DOCTOR DEVOTED HIS LIFE TO REDUCING GUN VIOLENCE IN CALIFORNIA. RESEARCHER RUNNING INTO THIS -- MY FRIEND VICTOR CARSEY A WHO WORKS AT CINCINNATI CHILDREN'S IS WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE GETTING SHOT AS OPPOSED TO JUST OPERATING ON THEM AFTER THEY'VE BEEN SHOT. ERICA NEWMAN WHO RUNS PROJECT HOPE, WORKING IN SORT OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED HEALTH. THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO YES, THEY'VE GOT THEIR MEDICAL DEGREES, BUT ONCE THEY GOT THEIR MED WILL MEDICAL DEGREES, THEY DECIDED I WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH MY LIFE. IF YOU BRING IN MORE DIVERSE PEOPLE, BECAUSE OF THEIR CULTURAL LOGICS AND WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT, THEY'RE GOING TO DO DIFFERENT STUFF. STRONG EVIDENCE FROM THIS, NOT JUST SOME ANECDOTES, IF YOU ASK PEOPLE WHAT'S THE PROBABILITY YOU WANT TO SERVE IN THE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY, IT VARIES A LOT BY RACE, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE PEOPLE ARE FROM. IF WE WANT TO LAND DOCTORS IN THE UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN, WE NEED TO BRING IN MEDICAL STUDENTS FROM THE UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN. AT THE SAME TIME, WE'VE GOT TO BE VERY AWARE THAT THE CULTURES IN WHICH AFFECT WHO WE ARE, SO IF YOU LOOK AT VETERINARY STUDENTS, 30% COME IN WANTING TO WORK IN RURAL AREAS. BY THE TIME THEY LEAVE THE PROGRAM, ONLY 10% DO, AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE VETERINARY SCHOOLS AREN'T IN RURAL AREAS NECESSARILY, AND BECAUSE THEY GET ABSORBED INTO THIS CULTURE OF WHAT ACTUALLY THE DEAN OF AUBURN'S SCHOOL IS CALLED LAB DOODLE CHARDONNAY CULTURE OF VETERINARY SCHOOL AND MAKES THEM WANT TO BECOME SUBURBAN VETS. THIS RELATES TO I THINK A VERY, VERY DEEP QUESTION THAT GETS AT THE HEART OF WHAT MICHAEL AND PAUL AND I TALKED ABOUT IN AN EARLIER CONVERSATION IN SETTING THIS UP. THERE'S A BIG DISTINCTION THAT PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE AREA OF SORT OF INNOVATION BETWEEN PROBLEM SEARCH, AND SOLUTION SEARCH. SO WHEN MICHAEL TALKED ABOUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO USE AI, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO, THAT'S A QUESTION OF PROBLEM SEARCH. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THAT ONE WILD AND BEAUTIFUL LIFE. SOLUTION SEARCH, WE'RE GOING TO USE TO STUDY MACULAR DEGENERATION, THEN YOU'RE LOOKING FOR -- WITHIN THAT PROBLEM. HOW MUCH IDENTITY DIVERSITY MATTERS, DIFFERS ACROSS THESE TWO CONTEXTS. IT SEEMS TO MATTER MORE IN PROBLEM SEARCH, AND IT SEEMS TO MATTER A LITTLE BIT LESS IN SOLUTIONS SEARCH. HOWEVER, THERE'S HUGE SYNERGIES BETWEEN THE TWO. A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE WHO USED TO RUN DARPA IS A BIG PROPONENT OF ARPA-H. THE THING ABOUT DARPA AND HOPEFULLY ABOUT ARPA-H IS IT'S ALLOWING GREATER DIVERSITY IN PROBLEM SURGE BY SORT OF REDUCING THE LAYER RSES IN S IN THE HIERARCHY IN THE NIH. THIS IS WHERE THIS COMES INTO PLAY SO MUCH BECAUSE EACH OF US WORKS -- THIS WAS AN ARTICLE IN TODAY'S "ECONOMIST." CICADAS ARE GOING TO LEAD TO HUGE INCREASES OF NEONATAL DEATHS BECAUSE CICADAS LEAK PESTICIDES AND PESTICIDE REDUCE CHILD HEALTH. VERY QUICKLY TO SUM UP, WHAT DO WE DO? EFFECTIVENESS IN THE WORLD MEANS CARRYING THESE IDEAS OUT THERE AND CHANGING THE WORLD IN POSITIVE WAYS. SO THE FIRST THING IS TO HAVE A MINDSET TO NOT JUST THINK OF DIVERSITY AS MORALLY AND NORMTIVELY THE RIGHT THING TO DO OR SORT OF DEMOGRAPHICALLY SOMETHING WE BETTER DO OR WE'RE GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE. YOU CAN ALSO THINK OF IT -- THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN -- BUT EUCH GOT TO ACT TO MAKE THAT SO. THAT MEANS NOT JUST WORKING ON PIPELINES, CREATING NEW PROBLEMS, THAT SORT OF THING. THERE'S NO WATER, SO THE PIPELINE ISN'T GOING TO WORK, SO YOU'VE GOT TO WORK SORT OF MOLECULE BY MOLECULE. THIS IS ANOTHER ARTICLE IN THE ECONOMIST THIS WEEK, JUST LIKE IF YOU PLUG IN FIREFIGHTER, YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO GET MEN, MY GUESS IS IF YOU DID THIS FOR OPT OPHTHALMOLOGISTS, YOU'D BE MORE LIKELY TO GET LIGHT SKINNED MEN RATHER THAN DARK SKINNED WOMEN COME UP. ONE OF THE NICE THINGS, THIS IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT'S VERY DETAIL ORIENTED, AND YOU CAN FIX THIS STUFF, IF YOU FIX IT MOLECULE BY MOLECULE AND BUILD THE PIPELINES, IT'S GOING TO WORK. THIS MEANS ENGAGING, LISTENING, ATTRACTING, AND ENCOURAGING. AND CREATING SPACES WHERE IT'S OKAY TO DIFFER. SO ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING PIECES OF RESEARCH IN THIS WHOLE SPACE, AND THIS IS BY KATHRYN PHILLIPS, IS IF YOU ASK PEOPLE HOW ACCURATE WAS YOUR GROUP, HOMOGENEOUS GROUPS -- THIS IS THE FIGURE ON THE RIGHT. IF YOU SAY HOW EFFECTIVE WERE YOU, THEY THINK THEY'RE MORE EFFECTIVE, BUT ACTUALLY DIVERSE GROUPS ARE MORE EFFECTIVE. AND THE REASON WHY IS WHEN I'M IN A HOMOGENEOUS GROUP, EVERYBODY AGREES WITH ME, SO I'M NOT CHALLENGED IN ANY WAY, MY CULTURAL LOGIC IS NEVER CHALLENGED. SO WE MAY THINK, OH, DIVERSE GROUPS ARE HARDER AND THEY SEEM LESS EFFECTIVE, BUT THE REALITY IS, THEY'RE MORE EFFECTIVE. SO WE HAVE TO SORT OF GET TO THIS SPACE THAT IS KNOWN SORT OF IN THE MANAGEMENT LITERATURE AS SORT OF RADICAL CANDOR SPACE. IF WE JUST CHALLENGE PEOPLE AND WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM OR HAVE AN OBNOXIOUS AGGRESSION BOX. IF WE CARE ABOUT PEOPLE, SAY WE'RE IN THE RUINOUV EMPATHY BOX. WHEN WE SAY I HAVE A SHARED CONCERN ABOUT EYE HEALTH, I CARE ABOUT YOU PERSONALLY, I CARE ABOUT YOUR CAREER, I'M PROMOTING YOU, AND WE'RE ALSO CHALLENGING PEOPLE'S IDEAS. IT'S IN THIS RADICAL CANDOR BOX THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET SUCCESS. WHAT WE NEED IS A CULTURE THAT SI PORTS COGNITIVE DIVERSITY AND IDENTITY DIVERSITY TO GET THESE BONUSES. THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH. I REALIZE THAT WAS A LOT. I REALIZE IT WAS A BIT OF A HIRE FOAZ BUT I WANTED TO GET ACROSS THESE BIG IDEAS, THAT THERE IS A BONUS THERE, AND THERE'S A HUGE BONUS FROM THE SYNERGIES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> SCOTT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I THOUGHT THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. IF BRIAN WILL SPEAK NEXT, FOLLOWED BY MIKE, AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POPULATE THE CHAT BOX. WE'LL HAVE YOU SAY THEM OUT LOUD. AFTERWARDS. BRIAN, ARE YOU READY? >> THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. I'M REALLY EXCITE TODAY SHARE WITH EVERYONE WHAT WE'RE DOING AT THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE REGARDING DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION. WE KNOW THAT DEI MAKES BETTER SCIENCE. NEI'S COMMITMENT TO DIWORK WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO ALL FACETS OF OUR ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT IT BY THE FOUR PILLARS SHOWN HERE. OUR DEI JOURNEY IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVE AND NEVER ENDING. DR. CHIANG, AND THE REST OF THE NEI LEADERSHIP IS DEEPLY COMMITTED TO CREATING ENVIRONMENTS WHERE EVERYONE FEELS SEEN, HEARD, AND VALUED. WE ARE COMMITTED AS A LEADERSHIP TEAM TO BUILDING THE FOUNDATION TO MAKE THE DEI SUBSTANTIVE AND INTRICATELY CONNECTED TO OUR MISSION, VISION, AND STRATEGY. WE KNOW THIS IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF TIME, AND WITH OUR ORGANIZATION MATURING, DEI WILL REQUIRE VERY MUCH LONG TERM THINKING. REGARDING CULTURE, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE INCLUDES BOTH EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE AND HOW WORK GETS DONE ACROSS MANY DIMENSIONS. IB COLLUSIVE CULTURES PRODUCE THE BEST OUTCOME. PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE POSITIONED TO SUCCEED, AND HAVE COLLEAGUES THAT SUPPORT THEIR COLLECTIVE SUCCESS. DEI INFORMS OUR CULTURE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS. NEXT IS TALENT. TO DO GREAT VISION RESEARCH, TRANSLATION, POLICY MAKING AND ADMINISTRATION REQUIRES COMMITTED PEOPLE, CONSTANTLY EXPANDING THEIR CAPACITY TO CONTRIBUTE. THE DEI LENS ENABLES THIS TO BE DONE IN A SUBSTANTIVE MANNER. OUR DEI STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS EVALUATES TALENT PROCESSES, PRACTICES, AT EACH PHASE OF THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE. NEXT, SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES. OUR GOAL IS TO HARD WIRE EQUITY AND INCLUSION INTO ALL WE DO AT NEI. THIS MEANS WE HAVE TO LOOK AT OUR SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURES AND MECHANISMS TO NORMALIZE EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN WHAT WE DO EACH AND EVERY DAY. DEI IS RELATIONAL WORK THAT TAKES TIME TO BUILD ALIGNMENT AND CREATE SPACE FOR EVERYONE TO GROW TOGETHER ON THE JOURNEY. TRUST IS AT THE CENTER OF ANY SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE. BUILDING TRANSFORMATION EFFORT. EVERY VOICE AND EVERY PERSPECTIVE IS VALUABLE. AS A SPONSOR OF THIS EVIDENT, I'M WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANTS AND OUR NEWLY FORMED DEI EMPLOYEE COUNCIL OF 13 DEDICATED INDIVIDUALS TO COLLABORATE THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP BUILDING AND DELIVERING ON THE PLAN ACTIVITIES AND DELIVERABLES. DR. CHIANG AND DRL -- ARE COMMITTED TO THIS, AS ARE THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM. WE WILL ENGAGE IN EARLY JULY FOR OUR FIRST DEI STRATEGY LAB. OUR THREE PHASE PROJECT APPROACH FOR DEI WORK THROUGH LATE 2021 FOCUSES ON THREE KEY OBJECTIVES. DEVELOP A STRONG PROJECT FRAMEWORK SUPPORTED BY THE CREATION OF THE DEI EMPLOYEE COUNCIL, CONDUCT A DEI AND CULTURE ASSESSMENT, CREATE A STRATEGIC PLAN TO BUILD AN INTERNAL ARCHITECT, AND FOR FUTURE INVESTMENTS IN DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION. THE COUNCIL KICKOFF WAS IN LATE MARCH. 13 STAFF MEMBERS REPRESENTING DIFFERENT DIVISIONS AND LEVELS ACROSS NEI. RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE PARTICIPATING IN REGULAR DEI COUNCIL AND SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS, CO-CREATING NEI'S DEI STRATEGIC PLAN WITH OUR CONSULTING TEAM, SERVING AS CHAMPIONS FOR NEI'S DIE'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, AND ENGAGING PROJECT ACTIVITIES THAT WILL ARISE OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. WE ARE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE TIME AND ENERGY THAT THIS GROUP WILL DEDICATE TO THE IMPORTANT WORK AHEAD ON BEHALF OF THE ORGANIZATION. A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO DEI REQUIRES ROBUST COMMUNICATION, ENGAGEMENT, ACTIVITIES, AND CONSTANT LISTENING FOR EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCES. WE HAVE THREE KEY COMMUNICATION GOALS TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT. GROW VISIBILITY OF THE DEI COUNCIL AND OVERALL INITIATIVE BY CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION, SUPPORT LEADERS TO BE CHAMPIONS, ADVOCATES, ALLIES OF DEI BY ENGAGING THEM IN THE DEI STRATEGY AND KEEPING THEM UP TO DATE WITH PROPHECIES AND OUTPUTS FROM THE DEI COUNCIL, CREATE HIGH TOUCH OPPORTUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH NEI EMPLOYEES, CROSS DEVELOPMENTAL CONVERSATIONS AND CHAMPION DEI PROJECTS. THERE ARE SEVERAL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW. THESE CLUL A MONTHLY INCLUDE A MONTHLY ME SSAGE THAT GOES OUT TO ALL NEI STAFF. EACH MESSAGE USUALLY FOCUSES ON A DEI THEME, AND SHARES LATEST UPDATES ON ORGANIZATIONAL-WIDE DE ACTIVITIES. NEXT YEAR ESTABLISHES DEI COFFEE CIRCLES WHICH ARE A HIGH TOUCH OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO MEET WITH A SMALL GROUP OF STAFF MEMBERS FROM ACROSS VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS WITHIN NEI AND AT ALL LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION. THE GOAL IS TO BUILD MORE CONNECTIONS, SHARE DEI UPDATES ABOUT PRIORITIES, AS WELL AS CAPTURE STAFF MEMBERS' IDEAS, STORIES AND FEEDBACK. A PULSE SURVEY THAT GIVES US A POINT IN TIME SNAPSHOT ABOUT HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THE CURRENT CLIMATE AND PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE FEEDBACK ON TOPICS SUCH AS COMMUNICATION, ACCOUNTABILITY, ABILITY TO BRING YOUR FULL SET TO WORK, RESPECT, AND COLLABORATION. THE DEI CONSULTANT TEAM WILL LEAD A DEI SENIOR LEADERSHIP LAB IN JULY, ENGAGING THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM AND -- OUR ROLE IN BUILDING AND MAINTAINS MOMENTUM FOR THIS IMPORTANT WORK. THERE'S NO QUESTION THAT OUR DEI EFFORT WILL REQUIRE TIME AND RIGOR. THAT SAID, WE HAVE THE INTERNAL COMMITMENT, PROJECT PLAN, AND LEADERSHIP SUPPORT TO MAK AN IMPORTANT IMPACT OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. WE'RE ON A STRONG TRAJECTORY AND I'M REALLY EXCITED AND HOPEFUL ABOUT THE WORK AHEAD AND I LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING UPDATED ON OUR PROGRESS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> BRIAN, THANK YOU. AND THANKS FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'RE DOING IN THIS AREA. IN THE -- JUST SO THE AUDIENCE KNOWS, IN THE DEI LEADERSHIP MESSAGES, THE FIRST ONE WE SENT, WE INCLUDED A SENTENCE SAYING THAT WE ARE REALLY PROUD TO WORK ON A TEAM THAT HAS BRIAN, SANTA AND MIKE THAT AL COME FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, AND I THINK WE WORK REALLY WELL TOGETHER. I DIDN'T KNOW THE TERMS, IDENTITY DIVERSITY AND COGNITIVE DIVERSITY BACK THEN, BUT I THINK THAT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF TYING TOGETHER WHAT YOU SAID AND WHAT SCOTT SAID. SO MIKE, YOU'RE THE FINAL PERSON HERE. YOU WANT TO SHARE? THANK YOU. >> YES, THANK YOU, MIKE, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION WITH OUR COUNCIL AND OUR GUESTS HERE TODAY. CAN YOU SEE MY SCREEN OKAY? >> YEP. >> WHAT WE'VE LETTERED TODAY IS THE HEARD TODAY IS A REAL NEED FOR US TO EXPAND THE DIVERSITY OF OUR WORKFORCE AND THE VALUE OF EXPANDING IT, THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AT NEI, AND MY GOAL HERE IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES IS TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH PROGRAMS AT NIH THAT NEI PARTICIPATES IN IN ORDER FOR YOU ALL TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON THIS IMPORTANT PROBLEM. THE FIRST THING THAT I WANT TO REALLY EMPHASIZE HERE IS THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY, WE'RE NOT SIMPLY TALKING ABOUT UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN THE WORKPLACE. IT ALSO INCLUDES THE ISSUES OF SEX AND ALSO THAT OF DISABILITIES AND EVEN ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED FOLKS. NIH HAS SORT OF SETS THE PARAMETER SPACE HERE, BUT THE INDIVIDUAL-BASED INSTITUTIONS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING AND CERTIFYING THAT ANY INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED IN APPLYING FOR THESE PROGRAMS MEET THESE STANDARDS. SO MY NEXT SLIDE HERE SHOWS A LIST OF NINE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY AREAS THAT NEI PARTICIPATE IN THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYBODY HERE. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT FOA NUMBERS HERE. SOME OF THEM ARE CLINICAL TRIALS AND SOME OF THEM ARE FOR NO CLINICAL TRIALS, SOME OF THEM ARE FOR REGULAR RFAs AND SOME FOR SMALL BUSINESS, BUT A VARIETY OF THEM FOR EACH OF THESE TYPES OF ANNOUNCEMENTS. AND THE OTHER THING TO NOTICE OVER HERE IN THE FAR RIGHT BY THE ACTIVITY CODES IS THAT IT'S A FULL RANGE OF THE WORKFORCE THAT IS REPRESENTED IN THESE OPPORTUNITIES RANGING ALL THE WAY FROM OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERGRADUATES THROUGH PRE-DOCS, POSTDOCS, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, AND EVEN EARLY STAGE FACULTY AWARDS. SO WHAT I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE AND SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, AND IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THESE, WHERE YOU CAN GET CONTACT WITH THAT AT NEI AND THEN OF COURSE THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT, WE'LL GIVE YOU ALL OF THE DETAILS. SO THE FIRST AREA ARE RESEARCH SUPPLEMENTS TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY AND HEALTH-RELATED RESEARCH. SO THESE ARE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENTS TO YOUR ONGOING GRANT. AND THEY'RE BASICALLY AVAILABLE FOR ALL STANDARD GRANT MECHANISMS THAT YOU CAN APPLY TO US USING A DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT FOA THAT IS LISTED ON THAT TABLE. THESE SUPPLEMENTS PROVIDE ONE TO TWO YEARS OF SUPPORT TO RECRUIT INDIVIDUALS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS THAT ARE CERTIFIED AS MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS BY THE INSTITUTIONS. THESE FUNDS CAN'T BE USED TO REPLACE OTHER FEDERAL FUNDING SOURCES. SO THE REAL GOAL OF THESE ARE TO RECRUIT NEW INDIVIDUALS NOT TO MOVE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ALREADY ON OTHER SOURCES, EITHER YOUR GRANT OR TRAINING GRANTS OR ET CETERA FROM FEDERAL FUNDING ON TO AN ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENTS. SO IT'S A TRUE EFFORT TO TRY TO USE THIS MONEY TO EXPAND THE WORKFORCE IN THIS AREA. THE SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS CAN'T BE REBUDGETED FOR OTHER PURPOSES, THEY HAVE TO BE USED TO SUPPORT THE PERSON. THEY'RE AVAILABLE FOR INDIVIDUALS AT ALL STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS, THE CANDIDATE MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN OR A PERMANENT RESIDENT. AND WHAT WE ASK IS THAT A MENTORING PLAN BE PROVIDED WITH THE APPLICATION THAT'S REALLY AIMED AT ACHIEVING INDEPENDENT SUPPORT FOR THIS INDIVIDUAL BECAUSE WE HAVE FOUND IN ANALYZING DATA THAT INDEPENDENT SUPPORT IS ONE OF THE MAIN PREDICTORS OF WHETHER PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPORTED IN THIS WAY STAY IN SCIENCE AND IN VISION SCIENCE AND SUCCEED. SO THESE SUPPLEMENT REQUESTS ARE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE STANDARD SUPPLEMENT MECHANISMS, AND THEY'RE REVIEWED BY NEI STAFF. THE SECOND MECHANISM IS THE F31 PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP. THIS IS A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY IN HEALTH RELATED RESEARCH. SO THE IDEA OF THIS IS REALLY TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY IN THE RESEARCH BY TRAINING PREDOCTORAL STUDENTS THAT COME FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. SO THE CANDIDATE MUST HAVE A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE OR THE EQUIVALENT AND CURRENTLY BE ENROLLED IN A PH.D. PROGRAM, AND BE A U.S. CITIZEN OR PERMANENT RESIDENT. THE EXPENSES THAT ARE ALLOWED LIKE THE REGULAR F31 ARE STIPENDS, TUITION FEES AND INSTITUTIONAL ALLOWANCE. AND THERE IS A MAXIMUM FIVE-YEAR AGGREGATE OF NRSA SUPPORT, SO IF SOMEONE IS SUPPORTED ON A TRAINING GRANT FOR A YEAR, THEY CAN HAVE FOUR ADDITIONAL YEARS OF F31 SUPPORT. SO THESE APPLICATIONS ARE PEER REVIEWED IN CSR, IN THE STANDARD FELLOWSHIP STUDY SECTIONS ALONG WITH THE OTHER F31 APPLICATIONS THAT COME IN ON THE PARENT ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS PAST YEAR, THE NEI PUBLISHED A SPECIAL NOTICE OF INTEREST FOR F32 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. BECAUSE UNLIKE THE F31 PROGRAM, WHERE NIH HAS PARENT ANNOUNCEMENTS PLUS THE SPECIAL DIVERSITY ANNOUNCEMENT, THERE'S NO PARALLEL IN THE F32 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP FUNDING. SO WE PUBLISHED A NOTICE OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO POINT PEOPLE TO OUR INTEREST IN RECRUITING INDIVIDUALS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, AND ALSO IT ALLOWS A WAY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY AND TRACK INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE COME IN ON THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. BECAUSE AS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW, IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US IN EXTRAMURAL TO PROVIDE THESE CONSIDERATIONS BECAUSE DIVERSITY STATUS IS NOT INDICATED ANYWHERE IN THE APPLICATION. THE ONLY PLACE IT EXISTS IN NIH FILES IS IF YOU SELF-DECLARE IN YOUR ERA COMMONS ACCOUNT, ABOUT 25% OF INDIVIDUALS DO NOT DECLARE. AND ALSO THIS INFORMATION IS HIGHLY PROTECTED AND NOT AVAILABLE TO US, SO WE HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING IN ADVANCE WHETHER PEOPLE WHO ARE APPLYING TO THESE PROGRAMS ARE COMING FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS UNLESS WE HAVE THESE SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS LIKE THIS WHERE WE CAN TELL BY THE FOA NUMBER OR IN THIS CASE A NOTICE OF SPECIAL INTEREST NUMBER. SO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT PARALLELS THE F31 DIVERSITY ANNOUNCEMENT, AND IT USES THE PARENT F32. SO THE CAPPED DATE HAS TO CANDIDATE HAS T O HAVE A DOCTORAL-LEVEL DEGREE AND BE A U.S. CITIZEN OR PERMANENT RESIDENT, EXPENSES INCLUDE STIPEND, TUITION AND FEES AND INSTITUTIONAL ALLOWANCE AND MAXIMUM FIVE YEARS OF AGGREGATE NRSA SUPPORT, AND THERE ARE ALSO PEER REVIEWED IN THE CSR STUDY SECTIONS. THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY IS ONE THAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED BY THE NIH BLUEPRINT AND THE BRAIN INITIATIVE THAT NEI PART PAITS PARTICIPATE S IN. IT'S SPECIALIZED PREDOCTORAL TO POSTDOCTORAL ADVANCEMENT IN NEUROSCIENCE AWARD CALLED D-SPAN. THE MECHANISMS THAT ARE USED ARE F99 AND K00. SO THE IDEA OF THIS SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT IS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR A DEFINED PATHWAY ACROSS CAREER STAGES FOR OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENTS WHO COME FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. SO THE CANDIDATE RECEIVES ONE TO TWO YEARS OF SUPPORT IN A PREDOCTORAL PHASE FOLLOWED BY UP TO FOUR YEARS OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT AS A POSTDOCTORAL TRAINEE. SO IT PROVIDES FUNDING TO THE APPLICANT TO COMPLETE THEIR DISSERTATION, AND IT FACILITATE THEM SECURING AN OUTSTANDING POSTDOCTORAL POSITION BY THEM HAVING FUNDING IN HAND BEFORE THEY REACH OUT TO FIND LABORATORIES TO DO POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING. THE BUDGET IS EQUIVALENT TO THE F31 IN THE PREDOCTORAL PHASE, AND IT PROVIDES UP IF $8,000 IN SALARY AT $4,000 IN INSTITUTIONAL ALLOWANCE FOR THE POSTDOCTORAL PHASE. SO THESE ARE PEER REVIEWED IN A SPECIAL EMPHASIS PANEL THAT IS SET UP BY THE BRAIN AND BLUEPRINT INITIATIVE EACH YEAR. THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY IS A K99/H # K99/R00 OPPORTUNITY SPECIALLY FOCUSED ON DIVERSITY. IT'S VERY EQUIVALENT TO THE K99 PARENT R00, 1 DIFFERENCE, IT ALLOWS FIVE YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY VERSUS 4 YEARS ON THE PARENT FOA. SO IF YOU'VE BEEN A POSTDOC FOR FOUR YEARS ON THE PARENT K99/R00, IF YOU'VE ALREADY HAD FOUR YEARS OF POSTDOCTORAL FUNDING, YOU'RE NOT AVAILABLE -- ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THE PARENT FOA, BUT FOR THIS DIVERSITY, SPECIAL DIVERSITY AWARD, THEY ALLOW AN EXTRA YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY. ONE CAVEAT IS THAT THEIR RESEARCH PROPOSED HAS TO RELATE TO THE GOALS OF THE BRAIN INITIATIVE CANDIDATES, AGAIN MUST BE U.S. CITIZENS OR PERMANENT RESIDENTS. AND THIS PROGRAM ALLOWS TWO YEARS OF PREDOCTORAL SUPPORT PLUS THREE YEARS OF INDEPENDENT RESEARCH SUPPORT. THE BUDGET HERE IS $249,000 PER YEAR IN THE INDEPENDENT PHASE IN THE FINAL TWO YEARS. IN ORDER TO TRANSITION FROM THE POSTDOCTORAL PHASE TO THE INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PHASE, THE APPLICANT MUST OBTAIN A TENURED TRACK APPOINTMENT WITH A COMPETITIVE STARTUP PACKAGE PRIOR TO THAT CONVERSION. AND THIS GROUP OF K99/R00s WITH -- REQUIRING DIVERSE APPLICANTS ARE REVIEWED ALSO IN A SPECIAL EMPHASIS PANEL THAT IS SET UP BY BRAIN. THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY IS ONE FOR MAXIMIZING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDEPENDENT CAREERS IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE MOSAIC PROGRAM TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY, AND IT IS ALSO A K99/R00 PROGRAM. SO AGAIN, IT'S EQUIVALENT IN EVERY WAY TO THE PARENT K99/R00, EXCEPT IT ALSO ALLOWS THIS EXTRA YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY. WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR AWARD IS THAT ALL THE MOSAIC SCHOLARS FORM A SCIENTIFIC COHORT AND PARTICIPATE IN MENTORING, NETWORKING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY THAT ARE COORDINATED BY MOSAIC INSTITUTIONAL AWARD GRANTS THAT USES A UE5 MECHANISM. SO IN ADDITION TO SIMPLY GIVING THIS K99/R00 TRANSITION, IT ALSO PROVIDED FOR WORKING TOGETHER AS GROUPS AND FOR MENTORING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. A CANDIDATE MUST BE A U.S. CITIZEN OR PERMANENT RESIDENT. AGAIN, IT HAS TWO YEARS OF F32 EQUIVALENT POSTDOCTORAL SUPPORT PLUS THIS THREE YEARS OF INDEPENDENT SUPPORT. IT HAS A 249,000 PER YEAR INDEPENDENT PHASE BUDGET LIMIT, AND AS WITH THE REGULAR K99, YOU MUST HAVE A TENURE TRACK APPOINTMENT WITH A COMPETITIVE STARTUP PACKAGE PRIOR TO THE CONVERSION OF THE INDEPENDENT PHASE. IF SOMEONE FROM AN NEI FOCUS AREA WOULD APPLY, THESE WOULD BE REVIEWED AT NEI IN A SPECIAL EMPHASIS PANEL ALONG WITH OUR REGULAR K99/R00 APPLICANTS. AND THEN THIS NEXT ONE IS SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE CALLED THE SURE-FIRST PROGRAM THAT USES AN R16 MECHANISM. SO WHAT THIS SPECIAL PROGRAM DOES IS SUPPORTS BUILDING RESEARCH CAPACITY AT INSTITUTIONS THAT ENROLL A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF STUDENTS FROM BACKGROUNDS THAT ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. SO THE CANDIDATES MUST HAVE NO PRIOR INDEPENDENT RESEARCH GRANTS TO APPLY FOR THIS PROGRAM, SO THEY HAVE TO BE EARLY STAGE OR NEW INVESTIGATORS. AND IT REQUIRES THEM TO DESIGNATE A RESEARCH MENTOR WHO CAN COME FROM THEIR OWN INSTITUTION OR COULD COME FROM ANY OTHER INSTITUTION. THEY MUST HAVE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT THEY ARE PROPOSING, AND THE PROGRAM GIVES THEM UP TO FOUR YEARS OF SUPPORT AND $125,000 PER YEAR IN DIRECT COSTS, AND THESE ARE NOW RENEWABLE FUNDING, SO SOMEONE WHO RECEIVES THIS KIND OF GRANT AFTER FOUR YEARS CAN REAPPLY. AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCE ARE THE ONE WHO HAD SPONSORED THIS PROGRAM AND THEY CONDUCT THE REVIEW OF THESE AWARDS IN THIS SPECIAL EMPHASIS PANEL AT NIGMS. TWO MORE PROGRAMS HERE, ONE IS THE NIH BLUEPRINT PROGRAM FOR ENHANCING DIVERSITY THROUGH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EDUCATION, CALLED THE BLUEPRINT ENDURE PROGRAM. THIS IS AN R25 PROGRAM, AND IT PROVIDES INSTITUTIONAL AWARDS TO THE INSTITUTION TO DEVELOP NEUROSIGH INS RESEARCH EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN EDUCATIONS FOCUSING ON EDUCATION OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND A RESEARCH-INTENSIVE INSTITUTION THAT ALREADY HAS AN ESTABLISHED PROGRAM. SO IT SUPPORTS EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS TO PRODUCE -- TO PURSUE FURTHER STUDIES OR CAREERS IN RESEARCH. SO THE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, MENTORING ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL COURSES FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT THAT ARE GENERATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCHOOL THAT IS FOCUSED ON UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND THE RESEARCH INTENSIVE INSTITUTION. THEN THE LAST PROGRAM I'D LIKE TO POINT TO IS THE NIH INSTITUTIONAL RECRUITMENT FOR SUSTAINED TRANSFORMATION OR FIRST PROGRAM, WHICH IS A U54 MECHANISM. AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS REALLY TO TRANSFORM THE CULTURE AT NIH FUNDED EXTRAMURAL INSTITUTIONS BY BUILDING A SELF-REINFORCING COMMUNITY OF SCIENTISTS COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE. SO THE GRANT PROVIDES SUPPORT TO AN INSTITUTION FOR RECRUITING A DIVERSE GROUP OF EARLY CAREER FACULTY WHO ARE COMPETITIVE FOR ANY ADVERTISED RESEARCH OR TENURE-TRACT OR OR EQUIVALENT FACULTY POSITION. EACH INSTITUTION HAS TO RECRUIT A COHORT THAT'S A MINIMUM OF 10 SCIENTISTS, IF IT'S A HIGHLY RESOURCED INSTITUTION, OR SIX SCIENTISTS FOR MORE LIMITED RESOURCED INSTITUTION. SO THE BUDGET TO THE INSTITUTION IS UP TO 300,000 IN DIRECT COSTS FOR THE FIRST YEAR, 3.275 MILLION IN DIRECT COSTS PER AWARD FOR YEARS 2 THROUGH 4, AND THEN 120,000 IN DIRECT COSTS IN THE FIFTH YEAR. SO THIS IS A NIH COMMON FUND PROGRAM. AND I MUST ADD THESE LAST TWO PROGRAMS THAT I TALKED ABOUT, THEY ARE ONGOING PROGRAMS, THE FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR BOTH OF THEM HAVE EXPIRED, THE NEW ONES HAVE NOT YET BEEN PUBLISHED BUT WE DO EXPECT THEM TO BE SO SOON. SO AT NEI, IF YOU HAVE INTEREST IN THE DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENTS THAT , THE CONTACT IS HOUMAM ARAJ AND FOR TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS, IT'S DR. NEERAJ AGARWAL. THANK YOU. MICHAEL, I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU. >> ACTUALLY, I'M TAKING OVER NOW. THANK YOU, MICHAEL. I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR PANELISTS TODAY. I KNOW WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THE TIME THAT WE ALLOWED FOR THIS DISCUSSION, BUT WE CAN KEEP THE DISCUSSION GOING FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER IF IT IS ROBUST AND IF THERE ARE A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR OUR PANELISTS. SO IF ANY OF OUR COUNCILMEMBERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANY OF OUR PANELISTS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EITHER POST THEM IN THE CHAT OR RAISE YOUR HAND AND I WILL BE SCANNING THE PARTICIPANT SECTION FOR YOUR RAISED HANDS. WHILE PEOPLE ARE THINKING, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR SCOTT. YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT BEFORE, AND IT'S -- PEOPLE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH HOW THEY THINK AND WITH OTHERS THAT THINK LIKE THEM. THEY DON'T NECESSARILY LOVE THE WHOLE DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT. THEY FEEL CHALLENGED. SO THINKING ABOUT SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY, HOW DO WE GET AROUND SOME OF THOSE BARRIERS? CLEARLY YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH. DO YOU HAVE SOME TOOLS THAT WE COULD LOOK AT OR SOME IDEAS THAT WE CAN DISCUSS? >> I THINK, AGAIN, MY RESEARCH IS PRIMARILY TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THEORETICALLY WHY THESE THINGS WOULD BE THE CASE, AND THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH ON THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE FRAME SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT. LIKE IF I WALK INTO A ROOM AND I SEE THAT IT'S DIVERSE, WHETHER IT'S IDENTITY OR BASED ON BACKGROUND OR PEOPLE IN THE FIRM, SUPPOSE WE'RE PICKING A NEW PROVOST FOR THE UNIVERSITY AND THERE'S SOMEONE FROM THE UNION OF CUSTODIAL ENGINEERS AND I THINK, OH, GREAT, WE'RE BEING INCLUSIVE FOR NORMATIVE REASONS. IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK. BUT IF MY MINDSET IS, WOW, IT PROBABLY REALLY MATTERS THAT WE HIRE A PROVOST THAT KNOWS HOW TO HANDLE THE UNION, EVEN IF THEY'RE GOING TO SAY THINGS I DISAGREE WITH, YOU DO BETTER. SO SO MUCH IS CREATING A MINDSET THAT -- TASK CONFLICT IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD. PERSONAL CONFLICT IS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BAD. SO IF YOU CHART SUCCESSFUL GROUPS AND UNSUCCESSFUL GROUPS AND YOU JUST LOOK AT LEVEL OF CONFLICT, THEY'RE KIND OF THE SAME. BUT IF YOU BREAK THE CONFLICT INTO CATEGORIES, PERSONAL VERSUS TASK, ONE IS GOOD, ONE IS BAD. SO, THEREFORE, THIS IS WHERE LEADERSHIP JUST REALLY COMES INTO PLAY, AND WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING A MEETING AND PEOPLE IN THE MEETING ARE RECOGNIZING -- THIS IS STANDARD -- RECOGNIZING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THOSE TWO AND REWARDING ONE AND REALLY CALLING PEOPLE OUT ON THE OTHER. >> THANK YOU. WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM MARYANN. >> THANK YOU. CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? >> YES. >> GOOD. THIS WAS A QUESTION FOR MIKE. I REALLY APPRECIATED THAT DESCRIPTION OF ALL THOSE PROGRAMS. IT'S REALLY TERRIFIC. ON THE SURE PROGRAM, YOU IMPLIED THAT THERE'S A LIST OF SCHOOLS THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR SUCH GRANTS AND BASED ON SOMETHING ABOUT MINORITY REPRESENTATION, SOMETHING OF THAT SORT. IS THERE A SET LIST OF SCHOOLS/INSTITUTIONS THAT CAN APPLY FOR THOSE AWARDS? AND IF SO, WHERE CAN WE FIND IT? >> SO THERE ISN'T A SET LIST OF SCHOOLS. THERE ARE A SET OF PARAMETERS THAT HAVE TO BE MET, LIKE WHAT PERCENT OF YOUR UNDERGRADUATE POPULATION ARE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, YOUR COMMITMENT TO THEM AND ET CETERA. AND THAT INFORMATION IS ALL LAID OUT IN THE FOA. UNFORTUNATELY THERE ISN'T AN FOA YET TO APPLY TO, BUT IF YOU WERE JUST TO GOOGLE THIS ONE, THE OLD ONE WOULD COME UP AND YOU COULD SEE WHAT THAT PARAMETER SPACE IS. >> OKAY, THANK YOU. BECAUSE WE WANT TO KNOW WHETHER OUR INSTITUTION WAS ELIGIBLE OR NOT. >> SO YOU COULD BE ELIGIBLE ON EITHER SIDE HERE, BECAUSE THE IDEA REALLY IS TO PAIR UP THE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE LARGE UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS WITH THOSE THAT HAVE FANTASTIC RESEARCH RESOURCES. AND WHAT WE SEE IN THESE PROGRAMS ARE THE STUDENTS FROM THE UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS OFTEN SPEND THEIR SUMMERS AT THE RESEARCH-INTENSIVE LABS AND BREAKS AND OTHER TIMES AND THEN TAKE WORK BACK WITH THEM TO THEIR INSTITUTIONS TO WORK ON DURING THE REGULAR ACADEMIC YEAR. SO THESE HAVE BEEN REALLY EXCITING AND PRODUCTIVE PROGRAMS. >> THANK YOU FOR THAT. >> WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM RENU. >> MY QUESTION IS FOR SCOTT. THIS MAY SOUND REALLY NAIVE, IS THAT MORE THE MERRIER APPLIES FOR DIVERSITY ALSO IN TERMS OF A TEAM HAVING MORE DIVERSE PEOPLE, OR IF THERE IS LIKE -- IF YOU HAVE TOO MANY DIVERSE PEOPLE, IS THERE LARGER CONFLICT? >> THIS IS A GREAT QUESTION. SO THERE'S SOME WORK OUT OF DUKE, THE LAST NAME IS CUMMINGS, AND IF YOU HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE FROM TOO MANY UNIVERSITIES, AND LOOK AT SORT OF NIH GRANT SUCCESS, YOU GET THIS INVERTED U. BUT THE PEAK OF THAT U APPEARS TO BE MOVING OVER TIME AS WE GET BETTER AT MANAGING THESE THINGS. SO IF YOU'VE NEVER MANAGED A DIVERSE TEAM AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU BRING IN PEOPLE FROM MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES, YOU MIGHT ALL OF A SUDDEN MIGHT NOT HAVE LEADERSHIP SKILLS TO BE SUPER EFFECTIVE. -- WOULD ARGUE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY, SHE WOULD SAY WHEN SOMEBODY HAS AN IDEA, YOU IMMEDIATELY KNOW WHETHER IT'S A GOOD IDEA, WHICH HAPPENS A LOT IN MACHINE LEARNING AND ENGINEERING, THEN JUST CRANK THAT DIVERSITY KNOB ALL THE WAY TO 11, YOU'RE FINE, BECAUSE YOU CAN JUST TEST IT. WHEN YOU SORT OF LEAVE ORACLE LAND, THERE'S A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW WELL YOU'VE REALLY GOT TO THINK THROUGH HOW GOOD AN IDEA IS, THAT'S WHEN YOU SORT OF GET INTO THE AMAZON SORT OF LIKE PIZZA -- ONE PIZZA RULE. IF YOU CAN FEED THE ROOM WITH ONE PIZZA, YOU'RE GOING TO BE OKAY. SO THERE'S NO CLEAR ANSWER ON THIS. IN FACT I JUST STARTED A NEW JOURNAL AT NYU, MIT, COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE. ONE OF THE FIRST ISSUES, WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE WRITING ABOUT THIS, IN TERMS OF JUST LIKE HOW DOES GROUP SIZE DEPEND ON ORACLENESS AND HOW DOES STRUCTURE DEPEND ON ORACLENESS? IT WAS A GREAT QUESTION. >> THANK YOU. >> WE HAVE A QUESTION NEXT FROM TERATE. >> THIS IS FOR MIKE. HOW BIG OR HOW SMALL IS THE POOL OF AVAILABLE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES AT THE POSTDOCTORAL LEVEL? MY FEELING IS THAT THERE'S NOT AT MANY, BUT I MAY BE WRONG. >> SO I THINK YOUR FEELING IS CORRECT. THERE IS, AS WE HEARD FROM PAUL LEE, WHEN YOU GET TO THE TOP END OF THE PIPELINE, THERE IS A REAL SHORTAGE OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IN OPHTHALMOLOGY IN GENERAL. AND IT'S TRUE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PIPELINE. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO WORK ON AT ALL STAGES, AND ESPECIALLY AT THE EARLIEST STAGES TO TRY TO IMPROVE THAT PIPELINE. >> THAT'S WHAT I THINK THAT REALITY EMPHASIS, LIKE THAT PROGRAM THAT IS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS, MAYBE IT SHOULD BE UNBALANCED TOWARDS THAT END BECAUSE THAT WAS GOING TO BE THE SOURCE OF THE NEXT ONE. BECAUSE I'M LOOKING THROUGH THAT SOMETIMES AND I DON'T FIND ANY. AT THE POSTDOCTORAL LEVEL. >> YES, AND IT'S SORT OF A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD, BECAUSE WHAT WE FIND IS THAT IF YOU MAKE INVESTMENTS IN PEOPLE AT THE HIGHER LEVELS, AT THE POSTDOC AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT STAGE, THEY'RE FAR MORE LIKELY TO STAY IN SCIENCE AND IN VISION SCIENCE AND EVENTUALLY BE SUCCESSFUL AS DEFINED BY GETTING THEIR OWN R01. IF YOU MAKE THAT INVESTMENT AT THE EARLY STAGE, THOSE PEOPLE ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO GO IN OTHER DIRECTIONS. SO WE REALLY NEED TO HAVE A BALANCED APPROACH HERE TO TRY TO PUT MORE PEOPLE IN AT THE LOWER END AND TO TRY TO KEEP THEM IN AT THE UPPER END. IT'S NOT A CASE OF BEING ABLE TO JUST INVEST IN ONE SPOT TO TRY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. >> THANK YOU. >> I HAVE A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION FOR MIKE. YES, I WAS INTERESTED IN THE -- ON THAT PREDOC/POSTDOC TRANSITION. IT SEEMS LIKE THIS PROGRAM IS QUITE NEW, OR DO WE HAVE ANY DATA ON HOW MANY APPLICANTS, WHAT IS A POOL AND WHAT IS THE SUCCESS RATE? >> SO THIS IS A VERY NEW PROGRAM SO WE REALLY DON'T HAVE SUCCESS RATE. THE RFA CAME OUT IN 20 2019, I THINK THE FIRST GRANTS WERE JUST AWARDED LAST YEAR, SO NO DATA ON THAT YET. >> WHAT ABOUT THE POOL SIZE? >> ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE APPLYING FOR IT? NEAJ, CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THIS? ARE YOU ONLINE? >> I AM. REMEMBER WE DIDN'T PARTICIPATE IN MOSAIC SO WE JUST SIGNED ON ACTUALLY, SO WE DON'T -- >> WHAT ARE THE OVERALL NUMBERS? >> IT'S NOT VERY BIG, I DON'T THINK SO. IT WAS LIKE IN TEENS, I THINK, THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR ALL THE INSTITUTES WHICH WERE PARTICIPATING. SO IT COULD BE ONE REASON THAT THE PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT AS WE TALKED EARLIER. AND NOW MAYBE IT'S GETTING POPULAR AND I'M ADVERTISING WHATEVER I'M GIVING MY TALK SO I HOPE WE SEE AIN CREASE IN THE NUMBER AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS, AND ESPECIALLY FOR NEI. >> AND THERE'S AN EXPANDED AVAILABILITY HERE IN THE SENSE THAT ORIGINALLY THIS MOSAIC PROGRAM WERE FOR SCHOOLS THAT HAD THE LARGE MOSAIC GRANTS TO SET UP THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THEN THE INDIVIDUAL AWARDS WERE GOING TO PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THOSE INSTITUTIONS. BUT NOW THERE'S -- THIS HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO INCLUDE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT AT THOSE INSTITUTIONS, BUT CAN STILL PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTIVITIES SPONSORED BY THE OTHER INSTITUTIONS. SO WE HOPE TO SEE THIS GROW. >> I WAS WONDERING, WITH THE D-SPAN PROGRAM AS WELL, IS THIS THE SAME? >> CAN I JUMP IN FOR ONE SECOND? THERE IS -- I DON'T HAVE IT AT MY FINGERTIPS, BUT THERE IS DATA FROM THE PERSON WHO COORDINATES THAT PROGRAM OVERALL, THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO REPORT AT THE PREDOCTORAL LEVEL DO MOVE ON TO THE POSTDOCTORAL LEVEL, BUT I WILL TRY AND ROUND UP SOME OF THAT DATA FOR YOU, BUT SO FAR IT LOOKS GOOD, BUT IT'S TOO SOON TO TELL WHAT IMPACT IT HAS ON KIND OF THEIR LONGER TERM CAREERS. >> AS SOMEONE WHO'S HAD PEOPLE IN THESE CATEGORIES BEFORE, I DON'T THINK THE SUCCESS SHOULD BE MEASURED BASED ON WHETHER THEY ENTER DPRAD WATT GRADUATE SCHOOL OR ARE A POSTDOC AND BECOME A FACULTY MEMBER. THEREOF ARE MANY CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THESE PEOPLE, TO ALL OF US, AS THEY ADVANCE, AND THE PEOPLE I'VE MENTORED HAVE SOUGHT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THEM AND DID NOT GO INTO FACULTY POSITIONS BUT ARE VERY PRODUCTIVE SCIENTISTS WORKING IN THE COMMUNITY. AND I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD OBJECTIVE AND CONSIDERED A USEFUL -- OF THE FUNDING MECHANISM, BUT NOT JUST WHETHER THEY WENT ON TO GET A GRANT LATER ON OR GET A TENURE TRACT POSITION SOMEWHERE. >> MARYANN, THAT'S TRUE WHEN WE LOOK AT STATISTICS OUT OF THESE PROGRAMS AND LOOK AT THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T GO ON INTO ACADEMIC CAREERS, WE SEE A LARGE NUMBER OF THEM WHO GO ON TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AND BECOME PHYSICIANS. AND WE CONSIDER THAT A SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM AS WELL. >> ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? >> I HAVE A QUESTION, SANTA, FOR SCOTT AND PAUL. >> SURE. >> THE TOPIC OF DIVERSITY HAS BECOME SUCH A POLARIZING TOPIC IN TODAY'S SOCIETY. I MEAN, REGULAR SOCIETY HAVING NOTHING TO DO WITH ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH. AND I WANT -- I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR ADVICE ABOUT ARE THERE WAYS THAT YOU FOUND TO MESSAGE THIS IN A WAY THAT IT DOESN'T CREATE THAT SAME SORT OF POLARIZATION THAT WE'RE SOMETIMES SEEING IN SOCIETY, AND, IN FACT, NOT ONLY THAT IT DOESN'T CREATE THAT POLARIZATION, BUT THAT IT REALLY GETS PEOPLE TO FEEL THIS IS WHY WE'RE DOING THIS, AND THIS IS HOW WE MAKE OUR RESEARCH BETTER. LIKE WHAT IS THE -- THE OBVIOUS ONE IS TO BE TO TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THAT, BUT HOW CAN WE BEST DO THIS AS A COMMUNITY? >> SCOTT, YOU'RE OUR SOCIAL SCIENTIST. MAYBE I CAN ASK YOU TO TAKE THAT ON FIRST? >> I WOULD SAY LISTENING MATTERS A LOT HERE. MOST PEOPLE, WHEN THEY -- IF SORT OF ASKED THROUGH TO THINK HOW THEY REALLY FEEL ABOUT IT, WILL HAVE A SET OF LIFE EXPERIENCES IN WHICH PEOPLE WHO WERE SORT OF TRAINED DIFFERENTLY FROM THEM, PEOPLE THAT COME FROM DIFFERENT IDENTITY GROUPS FROM THEM ENRICH THEIR LIVES IN MEANINGFUL WAYS, AND PIVOTING FROM THAT POINT, AND MAKING SURE YOU'RE NOT MAKING PEOPLE FEEL DEFENSIVE. THERE'S A SET OF PAPERS COMING OUT ON THE INCREASING POLARIZATION IN AMERICAN SOCIETY, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO COMMENT ON THAT. I'M WRITING SOME COMMENTARY ON THAT. SOME OF THIS, I THINK, IS THAT WE ARE GIVEN VOCABULARIES FROM THESE TWO EXTREMES, AND SOCIETY IS -- WE'RE KIND OF BEING ASKED TO CHOOSE ONE OR THE OTHER. SO I THINK CREATING SPACES WHERE WE HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF MISSION AND THE SENSE OF MISSION IS THE CORE THING, AND THEN WE SAY, OKAY, GIVEN THE SENSE OF MISSION, HOW DO WE PURSUE THIS IN A MEANINGFUL WAY? I THINK IN A WAY THAT'S GOING TO BE PRODUCTIVE? I THINK PEOPLE ARE LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT YOU NEED THREE THINGS. YOU NEED REALLY TALENTED PEOPLE, WHO ARE DIVERSE WHO SHARE THAT SENSE OF MISSION. BUT SO IF YOU'RE FOCUSING ON THE MISSION AND GETTING PEOPLE TO SORT OF EXPLAIN WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BRING SO PEOPLE HAVE AN AWARENESS OF THE DIVERSITY AND HOW THAT'S SUCCESSFUL IS A GOOD WAY TO START, I THINK LISTENING AND PURPOSE ARE PROBABLY THE TWO THINGS WE NEED MORE. >> I WOULD JUST REINFORCE SCOTT'S POINT THAT STARTING WITH THE WHY, THAT WE HAVE A SHARED PURPOSE TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT AND MEANINGFUL, SETTING THE GROUND RULES FOR SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON HOW WE BEHAVE WITH EACH OTHER AND HOW WE INTERACT, THAT TENDS TO MINIMIZE WHAT SCOTT REFERRED TO AS THE PERSONAL CONFLICT. AND SETTING CLEAR BOUNDARIES ABOUT WHAT'S ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR. AND THEN ENCOURAGING, AS SCOTT POINTED OUT, THE TASK CONFLICT OR THE INTELLECTUAL DISCUSSION, IN GETS EVERYONE IN THIS ZOOM CALL REALLY EXCITED, AT OUR MEETINGS AND OUR INTERACTIONS. AND IF WE FOLLOW THOSE RULES, WE CAN ACTUALLY MOVE FORWARD, AND I THINK THAT MANY OF US IN OUR DAILY LIVES REALLY ENJOY THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM, INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER, AND PART OF THIS IS JUST EXTENDING THE GRACE TO EACH OTHER WHEN WE MAKE A MISTAKE, INSTEAD OF BECOMING HOSTILE AND ANGRY RIGHT AWAY, IS UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE ALL HUMAN BEINGS, AND I THINK THAT GETS BACK TO THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF IT'S NOT PERSONAL. SCOTT, YOU MAY WANT TO EE WILL ELABORATE ON THAT. >> I THINK YOU SAID IT BEAUTIFULLY. >> I THINK ONE OF THE CHAL EPTION IS THAT THERE'S A CHALLENGES IS THAT THERE'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HUMAN NATURE THAT LEADS PEOPLE TO STICK WITHIN THEIR COMFORT ZONES. YOU KNOW, THIS PERSON WAS IN MY FRATERNITY IN COLLEGE, THEREFORE, THEY'RE A GOOD PERSON. I TRUST THEM. OR AT EVERY INSTITUTION I'VE BEEN IN, THERE'S A SENSE OF, THIS PERSON WOULD FIT IN WELL HERE. YOU KNOW, THAT'S MEANT TO BE A GOOD THING THAT PERPETUATES ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, AND I'VE SEEN IN MY OWN CAREER, BECAUSE I DO A LOT OF INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK, THAT, SCOTT, EVERYTHING THAT YOU MENTIONED HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY TRUE IN MY CAREER, THAT WHEN YOU GET THE -- FOR ME, IT HAPPENS TO BE ENGINEERS, NEONATOLOGISTS TOGETHER WITH THE EYE DOCTORS, THAT'S WHEN WE MADE ADVANCES. AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT PAINFUL TO GET EVERYONE TOGETHER LIKE THAT, BECAUSE THEY'RE DIFFERENT. BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THAT THAT IS -- I HOPE WE CAN MESSAGE. LIKE I THINK THAT -- I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT WHETHER DATA OR ANECDOTES ARE THE BETTER WAY TO DELIVER THAT MESSAGE TO PEOPLE. I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND SOME ANECDOTES. I HEARD A GREAT ONE IN THE ARVO SYMPOSIUM WE HAD, WHICH IS BASICALLY THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO MAKE DRUGS, AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS OF EYE DROPS, AND WHEN THEY HAD ESSENTIALLY DISCUSSIONS WITH THE BLACK COMMUNITY THAT IS AT VERY HIGH RISK FOR GLAUCOMA, THEY WERE SAYING THAT IT'S REALLY NOT GOOD FOR RED EYES TO BE ONE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS BECAUSE IN THAT COMMUNITY, PEOPLE WOULD THINK THAT THEY WERE USING DRUGS IF THEY HAD RED EYES. AND THAT WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT THE MAKERS OF THESE DRUGS WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT. AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS A FASCINATING ANECDOTE. AND NOT REALLY DATA-DRIVEN, BUT ANECDOTAL. AND SO I WOULD JUST SORT OF LOVE YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF DATAVERSE US ANECDOTE IN THESE TYPES OF ISSUES. I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO GRAPPLE WITH AT NEI AS WE WORK WITH THE PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES. >> I THINK IN JUST GENERAL, THIS WOULD BE -- SKIP LUPIA, HEAD OF THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE GROUP AT THE NSF RIGHT NOW THINKS A LOT ABOUT HOW DO YOU PERSUADE PEOPLE OF THINGS. ONE CAN MAKE -- BUILDING SOME OF SKIP'S IDEAS, I WOULD SAY THREE THINGS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT HERE. ONE IS A REALLY COMPELLING NARRATIVE OR ANECDOTE OR A SET OF THEM IF YOU'LL GET THE MAIN IDEA, IT ELUCIDATES THE MAIN CONCEPT, BUT THAT CONCEPT HAS TO LINE UP WITH FUNDAMENTAL LOGIC. PEOPLE NEED A LOGIC AS WELL. AND THEN YOU NEED TO HAVE DATA SUPPORTING IT, AND THAT DATA HAS TO BE, AND THE LOGIC HAVE TO BE CONDITIONAL IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE CASES WHERE DIFFERENT TYPES OF -- ARE REALLY, REALLY USEFUL AND THERE ARE CASES WHERE THEY'RE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, NOT GOING TO BE USEFUL. SO PEOPLE SAY TWO HEAD ARE BETTER THAN ONE, TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BROTH. NOBODY EVER SAYS TOO MANY ENGINEERS SPOIL THE BRIDGE. THE REASON WE SAY TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BROTH -- IT LIKE TOO MANY SURGEONS SPOIL THE OPERATION, BECAUSE IT'S -- YOU'RE GOING TO DISRUPT SOMETHING THAT HAS A PATH. AND SO THE MILITARY IS REALLY SMART ABOUT THIS, LIKE STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL'S TEAM OF TEAMS BOOK. HE SAYS WHEN WE'RE STANDING ON THE SIDELINE DECIDING WHAT TO DO, WE ALL SHARE AND TRY TO -- BUT ONCE WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ENGAGEMENT, THERE'S A LEADER. RIGHT? AND IN KEEPING THOSE TWO -- WISDOM, AS MANY PEOPLE HAVE SAID, COMES FROM HOLDING TWO CONTRADICTORY THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEAD AND SO THIS DIVERSITY IS BETTER, DIVERSITY IS HARMFUL, WE NEED TO ALL SORT OF BE ON THE SAME PAGE IN A COMMON CULTURE, THESE ARE CONTRADICTORY IN A SENSE, BUT THEY'RE NOT WHEN YOU GET DOWN TO CONDITIONALLY WHEN ARE THEY TRUE. SO I THINK GETTING BACK TO YOUR PREVIOUS POINT WHICH I THINK IS SO PRESCIENT IN THIS CASE IS THAT IF WE TAKE AWAY SOME OF THE HEAT AND THE SORT OF POLITICAL STUFF ON THIS AND PUT LIGHT ON THIS AND THINK OF THIS LIKE SCIENTISTS, HOW DO WE DO BETTER, I THINK THAT WE MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AND I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS JUST SPECTACULAR. AND I'M SUPER PROUD THAT THIS IS HAPPENING. >> THANK YOU FOR THOSE VERY INTERESTING PRESENTATIONS. AS THE NEI LAUNCHES THIS INITIATIVE, HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS AND OVER WHAT PERIOD OF TIME? >> TOM, I'M GUESSING YOU'RE DIRECTING THAT TOWARD ME. AND I THINK THIS IS A VERY TOUGH ISSUE BECAUSE OF THE ISSUES THAT MIKE STEINMETZ RAISED. THAT THERE ARE FACTS AND THERE ARE OPINIONS, AND WHAT I'M ABOUT TO SAY IS MY OPINION. I THINK THAT IF WE WANT TO MOVE THE NEEDLE MY OPINION IS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO GET MORE PEOPLE INTO THE PIPELINE. AND INSPIRE PEOPLE TO GET INTO CITIZEN SCIENCE AND HOPEFULLY VISION SCIENCE EARLY. I THINK THAT THAT'S NOT GOING TO LEAD TO A QUICK CHANGE. IN OTHER WORDS, LIKE OUR PERCENTAGES AREN'T GOING TO GO UP NEXT YEAR IF WE GET PEOPLE IN THE PIPELINE 10 YEARS EARLY, BUT I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IF WE WANT TO MAKE MEANINGFUL CHANGE, I THINK WE HAVE TO DO THAT. NOW, I PERSONALLY KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME VERY TALENTED PEOPLE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS, INCLUDING A COUPLE THAT PAUL MENTIONED IN HIS TALK WHO ARE OUT THERE, AND I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO INSPIRE THEM TO DEVELOP THEIR CAREERS IN THIS FIELD. BUT TOM, I HOPE, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THAT WE CAN TAKE A BROODER BROADER PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT SUCCESS MEANS, THAT IT'S GOING TO BE BROADER COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, BECAUSE I THINK WE HAVE DEEPER SOCIETAL ISSUES THAT MAY NOT BE SOLVED BY A GRANT PROGRAM. >> I WOULD SAY THAT'S EXACTLY THE POINT OF MY QUESTION. I AGREE WITH YOU, MIKE. SO IT'S NOT LIKELY TO BE SIMPLY A NUMERICAL END POINT. BUT MAYBE SOME CONSIDERATION OF WHAT METRICS, SOFT ONES AND HARD ONES, THAT COULD BE MONITORED TO LET ONE KNOW WHETHER THE ACTIONS BEING PUT IN PLACE ARE WORKING OR NOT WORKING, AND SO WHILE THE NUMBERS MAY NOT CHANGE IN THREE TO FIVE YEARS BUT ARE THERE OTHER -- IT'S JUST LIKE TAKING CARE OF A PATIENT. PART OF IT'S THEIR PHYSICAL METRICS, PART OF IT'S JUST HOW THE PATIENT LOOKS AND HOW THEY SOUND, WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE WASHED AND COMBING THEIR HAIR. SO THE QUESTION WAS MEANT TO BE CONSTRUCTIVE AND TO INCREASE THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS. >> THANKS, TOM. >> DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR PANELISTS? WE HAVE LOST SCOTT. HE HAD ANOTHER COMMITMENT. >> MARY? >> I JUST HAD A COMMENT AND THIS IS PROBABLY WHAT MICHAEL WAS ALREADY DOING. I THINK IT'S GREAT, THE SORT OF ORGANIZATION OF HOW NEI IS WORKING ON DIVERSITY AND SOME OF THE ANECDOTES THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT WHICH CAN BE VERY HELPFUL AND SORT OF UNDER -- YOU KNOW, JUST PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE AS UNDERSTANDING OF THE DATA, BUT IT'S ALSO A STARTING PLACE, IT'S LIKE YOUR WORKSHOPS IN A WAY ARE LIKE FOCUS GROUPS WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE STAKEHOLDERS TO REALLY FIGURE OUT MAYBE REFINE WHAT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ARE AND WHAT SOME OF THE WHY IS, WHERE WE'RE GOING. AT LEAST THAT'S HOW IT SEEM TO ME. SO I THINK THAT YOU HAD THE COMBINATION, YOU KNOW, SORT OF QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE? AM I GETTING THAT, AM I UNDERSTANDING THAT CORRECTLY? >> WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS FIGURE OUT WHAT THE RIGHT BALANCE IS TO COMMUNICATE MESSAGES JUST LIKE THIS. AND I REALLY APPRECIATED WHAT SCOTT MENTIONED ABOUT FRAMEWORK, WHICH IS SORT OF TYING IN OVERALL MISSION TOGETHER WITH THE QUANTITATIVE AND WITH THE QUALITATIVE STUFF TO BACK IT UP, REALLY. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HOPE TO DO, AND YOU KNOW, PAUL, I KNOW THAT YOU AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, IS WHAT CAN NEI DO TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, BECAUSE SANTA AND I HAVE ALSO TALKED A LOT, BUT I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE CAN DO THIS IN ISOLATION FOR THE REASONS THAT HAVE COME UP IN THIS DISCUSSION, BUT I DO THINK THE COMMUNITY CAN DO THIS TOGETHER, BUT WE REALLY HAVE TO GET THE COMMUNITY ON BOARD AND WORKING TOGETHER. AND THAT'S WHAT I'LL MOSTLY LOOK FORWARD TO. >> I HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT. I THINK -- I REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF THINKING OF COGNITIVE DIVERSITY. I MEAN, THIS WORD DIVERSITY IS NOW -- HAS A DIFFERENT DEFINITION IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC. AS WE THINK OF EMBRACING COGNITIVE DIVERSITY IN OUR RESEARCH PROGRAMS, WE CAN DO THAT EVEN IF WE CAN'T INCREASE THE DIVERSITY OF -- GET MINORITY PEOPLE INTO OUR GROUPS, BUT BY RECOGNIZING THAT WE WILL BE STRONGER BY BRINGING IN PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, IT ENHANCES OUR RESEARCH EFFORTS THERE, BUT IN DOING SO, WE DON'T GIVE UP ON THE LONG TERM GOAL OF INCREASING OVERALL DIVERSITY IN OUR GROUPS, BUT WE CAN DO CERTAIN THINGS NOW WITH WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THERE ARE ENGINEERS INTERESTED IN DOING BASIC RESEARCH AND WE CAN EMBRACE THOSE PEOPLE IN OUR GROUPS. >> MARY ANNE, COMPLETELY AGREE. SANTA, THANK YOU FOR ORGANIZING THIS. PAUL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS AND FOR INTRODUCING US TO SCOTT. DEFINITELY LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE GOING TO BE. CATHY, IF KATHY, I'LL ASK YOU TO SORT OF TRANSITION US BUT WE'LL FIGURE OUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TIMING WISE FROM HERE ON. SO LET ME TURN THIS OVER TO YOU. >> YEAH, SO I MEAN, WE ARE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND, BUT IT WAS SO WELL WORTH TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AND TO HEAR FROM THEM. SO LET'S PLAN TO TAKE A 10-MINUTE BREAK TOPS BECAUSE I KNOW WE'VE BEEN AT IT FOR A WHILE. WE'LL MAKE UP SOME TIME LATER. SO TAKE IT TAKE A 10-MINUTE BREAK, BUT PLEASE COME BACK FOR OUR NEXT SESSION PROMPTLY AT 12:21. THANK YOU, EVERYONE. THANKS FOR THE GREAT DISCUSSIONS. THANK YOU, SANTA, FOR MODERATING. >> YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. >> WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE. SO RIGHT NOW IT'S 12:21, AND I'M GOING TO PLAN TO JUST START THIS OFF JUST BY WAY OF OVERVIEW, WHEN WE PLANNED THE TIMING, WE HAD INTENTIONALLY LEFT THE DISCUSSION ON STRATEGIC PLAN AND MISSION STATEMENT FAIRLY LONG, AND SO MY GUESS IS THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO TAKE THE ENTIRE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WE HAD ALLOCATED TOWARD BECAUSE WE ALLOCATED 75 MINUTES FOR MISSION STATEMENT AND STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH I KNOW THAT WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT AT SOME LENGTH LAST TIME AND YOU'VE ALL SEEN, BUT LET'S SEE HOW THAT GOES, BECAUSE I'D LOVE IF WE CAN STILL FINISH THIS SESSION AROUND 1:30, WHICH IS -- WELL, AROUND 1:15, AND THEN JIMMY LEE AND DON EVERETT GO AFTER THAT. SO WE WON'T CUT SHORT THE DISCUSSION IF IT'S REALLY GOING ON, BUT MAYBE WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN MAKE UP SOME OF THE TIME DURING THIS SESSION. SO THE TOPIC, SHEFA AND I ARE GOING TO BE DOING THIS TOGETHER AND THE TOPIC IS MISSION STATEMENT, I'LL START WITH THIS AND TRANSITION TO SHEFA. I HAVE ONLY TWO SLIDES. AND MY FIRST ONE DEALS WITH THE NEI MISSION STATEMENT. YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THIS GROUP HAS HELPED TO WORK ON AND THERE ARE THREE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN OUR ORIGINAL WORK GROUP THAT TOGETHER WITH NEI PEOPLE WORKING WITH COMMUNICATE HEALTH ON SORT OF THE ORIGINAL CRAFTING OF IT, AND THEN ALL OF YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED IN WAYS THAT HAVE REALLY LET THIS MISSION STATEMENT EVOLVE, AND SO NUMBER ONE, THANK YOU TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS. THIS THE STATEMENT THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE READ. AND I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE SOME OF THE RATIONALE BEHIND IT. THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE IS TO ELIMINATE VISION LOSS AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE THROUGH VISION RESEARCH. WE REALLY FELT STRONGLY THAT FLFS SOME QUESTION THERE WAS SOME QUESTION ABOUT ARE WE TRYING TO ELIMINATE IT, ARE WE TRYING TO REDUCE IT. WE SETTLED ON THIS WORD TO MAKE IT ASPIRATIONAL. I THINK MISSION STATEMENTS ARE REALLY MEANT TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE IN WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND IF THIS MISSION STATEMENT LASTS FOR 50 YEARS LIKE THE LAST ONE DID, MAYBE 50 YEARS FROM NOW, WE'RE REALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO ELIMINATE CAUSES OF VISION LOSS. AND THE OTHER PIECE OF RATIONALE FOR THIS IS IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE, WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN. TO ME, IT REALLY MEANS THAT WE SEE OUR MISSION AS FOCUSING NOT JUST ON ELIMINATING THE DISEASE, BUT THINKING OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THOSE DISEASES. AND SO THAT'S WHAT I THINK OF IN TERMS OF QUALITY OF LIFE, THAT WE REALLY WANT TO THINK OF WHAT'S THE IMPACT OF OUR WORK HOLISTICALLY. WE'RE NOT JUST FIGHTING DISEASE, WE'RE FIGHTING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE THESE DISEASES. AND SO TO ACHIEVE THIS MISSION, WE'VE GOT FOUR BULLET POINTS. WE DRIVE INNOVATIVE RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND, TO PREVENT AND TO TREAT AND TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES. FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THIS. AND REALLY, WHAT THIS MEANT TO ME IS THAT WE HAVE TARGET CONSTITUENCIES THAT REALLY SPAN THE ENTIRE POPULATION. ONE IS PEOPLE WHO HAVE NORMAL VISION, WE WANT TO KEEP THEM NORMAL. THE SECOND IS PEOPLE WHO HAVE VISUAL DISEASE, WE WANT TO IMPROVE THEIR DISEASE, AND THE THIRD IS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE DISEASE THAT'S NOT CURRENTLY TREATABLE, WE WANT TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM. THE NEXT BULLET POINT IS TO FOSTER COLLABORATION IN VISION RESEARCH AND CLINICAL CARE TO DEVELOP NEW IDEAS AND SHARE KNOWLEDGE ACROSS OTHER FIELDS. THE NEXT BULLET POINT HERE IS TO RECRUIT, INSPIRE AND TRAIN A TALENTED AND DIVERSE NEW GENERATION TO STRENGTHEN THE VISION WORKFORCE. AND WHAT I PERSONALLY HAD IN MIND WITH THIS IS TALENTED AND DIVERSE REFERS BOTH TO INDIVIDUAL DIVERSITY AND COGNITIVE DIVERSITY. ALTHOUGH I DIDN'T KNOW THOSE TERMS WHEN WE CAME UP WITH THIS MISSION STATEMENT. AND THE LAST OF THESE IS TO EDUCATE HEALTH PROVIDERS, SCIENTIST, POLICY MAKERS AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT ADVANCES, AND WHAT THEIR IMPACT IS ON HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE. I'M A LITTLE HESITANT TO NAME ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED IN THE DRAFTING OF THIS, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO LEAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT, BUT MARIA ZACARIAS WAS REALLY THE PERSON WHO MOST SHEPHERDED THIS WITH THE COMMUNITY HEALTH GROUP, BUT WHEN I READ THIS, I WOULD JUST SAY THAT MANY, ALMOST ALL OF YOU LEFT SOME COMMENTS IN THE TEAMS CHAT GROUP, AND WHEN I LOOK AT THIS, I CAN REMEMBER WHAT A LOT OF THE COMMENTS WERE THAT INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE SAID SO THANKS FOR THAT WENT OBVIOUSLY WE COULD NOT INCORPORATE EVERYTHING THAT PEOPLE SUGGESTED. AND I THINK THE RATIONALE FOR THAT, I PERSONALLY TRIED TO EXPLAIN ALONG THE WAY BUT IT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH TRYING TO KEEP IT CONCISE AND ALSO IF WE SAY TOO MUCH, THEN WE LEAVE OUT THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T MENTION. IT'S A LOT OF THOSE ISSUES, BUT I HOPE THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT GROUP THINK THAT SCOTT PAGE WAS TALKING ABOUT. BECAUSE THAT'S HOW I VIEW THIS. BUT LET ME JUST SORT OF -- I'M GOING TO STOP SHARING HERE AND JUST ASK PEOPLE WHAT COMMENTS OR WHAT CONCERNS YOU HAVE ABOUT THIS. RIGHT NOW, THIS IS UP -- IT OUT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, AND WE GOT ONLY TWO COMMENTS ABOUT -- THAT DEALT WITH THIS MISSION STATEMENT, AND ONE OF THEM HAD TO DO WITH WORDSMITHING AND ONE OF THEM HAD TO DO WITH JUST SUGGESTING A REWRITE OF THIS THAT I FELT LIKE DIDN'T -- THAT I THOUGHT WAS ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, GOOD BUT IT DIDN'T INTRODUCE NEW IDEAS THAT WEREN'T COVERED AND IT HAD A PERSPECTIVE THAT FOCUSED ON NOT REALLY RESEARCH BUT SORT OF LOW VISION PERSPECTIVE ON IT, AND SO FROM THAT, I WAS PRETTY HAPPY THAT I FELT LIKE WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT COVERS THE BASES, BUT I'M GOING TO STOP SHARING RIGHT NOW AND ASK PEOPLE IF YOU CAN COMMENT. SPECIFICALLY ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THIS? >> I DON'T HAVE ANY CONCERNS. I THINK IT CAME TOGETHER NICELY. I THINK IT INCLUDES THE IDEAS THAT -- THE SORT OF -- WE ARE DOING RESEARCH IN PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND THEN WE ARE COLLABORATING ACROSS MANY FIELDS, SO I THINK IT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHAT SCOTT WAS TALKING ABOUT, AND I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THAT PROCESS. >> WELL, EMME, THANKS. WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THAT, I REMEMBER ONE OF YOUR EDITS SPECIFICALLY HAD TO DO WITH THE COLLABORATION LINE IN THAT, AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT REALLY TAUGHT ME A LITTLE BIT AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK MADE THIS A LITTLE BIT BETTER. BUT ANY OTHER COMMENTS? >> I ALSO THINK IT'S FANTASTIC. YOU BROUGHT UP SOMETHING, MICHAEL, THAT HADN'T OCCURRED TO ME BEFORE WHICH I'M EMM BEARED ABOUT, I HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT COMPARING IT TO THE EXISTING MISSION STATEMENT. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW ON YOUR COMPUTER, WE COULD ALL JUST SORT OF EYEBALL THAT. >> LET ME PULL UP THE CURRENT MISSION STATEMENT. IT'S GOING TO TAKE ME A SECOND. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS THAT THERE ARE ACTUALLY SEVERAL VERSIONS OF THE CURRENT NEI MISSION STATEMENTS, AND LET ME ME -- IT'S FUNNY, THE LINK I WAS USING BEFORE GOT CHANGED BECAUSE WE USED IT -- >> HOW OFTEN HAS IT CHANGED? >> NO, THE MISSION STATEMENT HAS NEVER CHANGED, BUT OUR LINK, THE LINK THAT WE USE GOT CHANGED BECAUSE WE USED IT FOR GETTING PUBLIC COMMENT. SO I'M GOING TO HAVE TO FIND IT AGAIN. >> YOU SAID SEVERAL VERSIONS OF, SO -- >> OH, NO, THERE ARE -- THERE ACTUALLY -- WHEN I STARTED THIS POSITION, I REALIZED THAT THERE WERE AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE MISSION STATEMENT THAT WERE -- THAT WERE PUBLISHED. ON THE WEB. YEAH, LET ME -- THIS IS PROBABLY -- THERE'S A LONG VERSION AND A SHORT VERSION, AND THIS IS THE SHORT VERSION THAT'S UP NOW. IT'S ON THE LINKEDIN PAGE HERE. >> I'M NOT SURE I LIKE THE "IN QUOTES," BUT OTHERWISE. >> YEAH, AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A SECOND. LET ME -- MAYBE WHAT I'LL DO IS PUT -- JUST TO JUXTAPOSE WHAT WE HAVE, AND I'LL JUST PUT THIS BACK UP HERE. AND SO TO HELP THAT ADDRESS THOSE -- >> IT DOES, IT GIVES ME A NICE PERSPECTIVE ON HOW THE MISSION AS IT WAS INITIALLY WRITTEN WAS NARROWER. YOU KNOW, THERE'S -- I THINK THE QUALITY OF LIFE MIGHT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED TO BE EXPLICIT, BUT IT'S MUCH MORE IMPLICIT NOW, BUT THE DIVERSE STAKEHOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS IS NEW, AND I THINK THAT'S FANTASTIC. I MEAN, IT REALLY -- I ADMIT OFTEN WHEN I SEE A MISSION STATEMENT, I KIND OF EXPERIENCE A TUNNEL VISION OF, YEAH, THIS -- I MEAN, ANY WELL CRAFTED MISSION STATEMENT IS COMPELLING IN ITS OWN WAY, AND SO, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE NEW VERSION, THE NEW DRAFT, I THINK THAT'S GREAT, AND I KIND OF FORGET HOW THE OLD VERSION WAS ALSO COMPELLING BUT IN A VERY DIFFERENT WAY. AND OLDER WAY. >> I WANT TO ECHO THAT, AND IT'S COMPREHENSIVE BUT IT'S A NICE PACKAGE THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY DIGEST IT JUST BY LOOKING AT IT. IT'S VERY IMPACTFUL. >> THANKS, KATIA. AND THANKS, JAMES. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT THIS? CATHY, DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH AN APPROVAL? >> WELL, WE HAVE TO DO A LITTLE BUSINESS. SO AS DR. CHIANG MINGED, WE MENTIONED, WE DEVELOPED THIS REVISED MISSION STATEMENT BY CREATING A COUNCIL WORK GROUP. WE DID THAT LAST COUNCIL, AND A NUMBER OF MEMBERS FROM COUNCIL WERE ON THE WORK GROUP ITSELF AND THEN EVERYBODY ELSE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT AND PROVIDE INPUT. THE WORK GROUP ALSO INCLUDED NEI STAFF AND WE RECEIVED PUBLIC INPUT. SO FIRST I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE IDEAS AND INPUT, BUT BECAUSE THIS WAS A COUNCIL WORK GROUP ACTIVITY, WE DO NEED TO TAKE A FORMAL VOTE TO ACCEPT AND APPROVE THE WORK GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS REVISED NEI MISSION STATEMENT WHICH BASICALLY IS THE STATEMENT THAT DR. CHIANG JUST PRESENTED ALONG WITH THE BULLET. SO COULD I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? >> I MOVE TO APPROVE. >> THANK YOU. CAN I HAVE A SECOND? >> SECOND. >> THANK YOU. SO ALL IN FAVOR -- IS THERE ANYONE WHO IS OPPOSED TO ACCEPTING THIS RECOMMENDATION? HEARING NONE, I WILL SAY THE MOTION TO APPROVE HAS PASSED. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR INPUT ON IT. THAT'S ALL I NEEDED FOR NOW. >> WELL, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, AND THANKS, CATHY, AND ESPECIALLY MARIA FOR REALLY SHEPHERDING THIS. CATHY POINTED OUT TO ME THAT WE ANNOUNCED A LIST OF NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AWARDEES, AND IT WAS POINTED OUT THAT RACHEL CLEVIK FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON WAS ALSO ELECTED TO THE NAS, AND I DIDN'T HE ACTUALLY RELIEDZ THAT RIZE THAT SHE WAS AN NEI GRANTEE, SO I'M SORRY FOR THAT OMISSION BUT JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THERE WAS ONE OTHER PERSON ON THE LIST. SO LET ME JUST SHARE MY SECOND SLIDE HERE. WHICH IS REALLY AN INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGIC PLAN. AND SHEFA GORDON WAS THE PERSON THAT SHEPHERDED THIS IN THE WAY, AND THIS PRE-DATES WHEN I WAS HERE. THAT SANTA WAS THE ACTING DIRECTOR DURING THAT YEAR WHEN THIS PROCESS REALLY KICKED OFF, AND SO JUST A BIG SHOUT OUT TO SHEFA AND TO SANTA. OF COURSE THE TWO OF THEM, THERE WERE ABOUT 150 PEOPLE WHO REALLY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS, AND SO I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS WELL. BUT WHAT HAPPENED JUST AS A REFRESHER IS THAT ABOUT A MONTH AFTER I STARTED, WE HAD THESE INITIAL WRITE-UPS THAT CAME FROM THESE SEVEN GROUPS, THESE CROSS-CUTTING AREAS OF EMPHASIS, AND I BASICALLY REVIEWED ALL OF THEM TOGETHER WITH SHEFA AND HIS GROUP AND I FELT LIKE I WAS REALLY SLAMMED WITH A LOT OF THINGS. AND WE WENT BACK AND FORTH ON A NUMBER OF THEM THROUGH ACTUALLY FOR SOME OF THEM QUITE A BIT OF ITERATION. AND YOU'LL REMEMBER AT THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING, BEFORE THIS, WE PRESENTED ALL OF YOU WITH THE VERSION OF 1.0 OF THIS, AFTER IT HAD GONE THROUGH THAT INITIAL REVIEW PROCESS. AND YOU ALL HAD COMMENTED AND THEN WE COMMENTED MORE ON IT AND GAVE IT ANOTHER SERIES OF PRETTY CAREFUL READS, AND THEN NOW HAVE ANOTHER VERSION THAT WAS CIRCULATED TO YOU ABOUT A MONTH AGO. AT THE SAME TIME THAT IT WAS CIRCULATED TO ALL OF YOU, IT WENT OUT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. SHEFA WILL TALK ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THEN, AND REALLY WHERE WE'RE HEADED, BUT THAT'S KIND OF THE OVERVIEW OF THIS PROCESS. WHAT WE'D REALLY LIKE TO DO IS TAKE IN ALL OF THESE COMMENTS AND THEN GO THROUGH ANOTHER ROUND OF ITERATION AND ULTIMATELY GET THIS OUT IN -- I PUT HERE OCTOBER 2021, BUT IT REALLY GOING TO DEPEND ON THE TIME FRAME FOR HOW LONG IT TAKES TO DO THESE, BUT I THINK IN SPEAKING WITH SHEFA AND WITH MARIA, WE DO THINK THIS IS A REALISTIC TIME FRAME, AND WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO PUBLICIZE IT IN A WAY THAT IT REALLY GETS OUT TO THE COMMUNITY IN THAT SPIRIT OF COMMUNICATION. AND REALLY BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY TO TRY TO ADVANCE THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE. SO SHEFA, I'M JUST GOING TO STOP HERE AND LET YOU TAKE OVER. >> GOOD AFTERNOON. LET ME SHARE MY SLIDE. SLIDES. I LIKE HOW DR. CHIANG REFERRED TO THE VERSION YOU SAW IN FEBRUARY AS VERSION 1.0 AND THAT WOULD MAKE THIS 2.0 AND I THINK THIS WOULD BE VERSION 10.5, THE NUMBER OF TIMES I'VE READ IT. BUT I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF THANK MICHAEL FOR WHAT HE'S -- HE KIND OF UNDERSTATED HIS ROLE SINCE HE STARTED INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCESS. BY NOW, EVERYONE ON COUNCIL IS FAMILIAR WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN, I'VE DISCUSSED IT EVERY ROUND SINCE OCTOBER 2019, AND ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE BEEN INVITED TO FILL YOUR LUNCH HOUR WITH THIS FOOD FOR THOUGHT. THE TIMING, I WAS WORKING ON THIS, WE STARTED IN OCTOBER OF 2019 AND WE HAD A LOT OF EFFORT IN LAST SPRING, WHEN WE HAD THE PANELS. IT'S REALLY PARALLELLED THE TIME COURSE OF THE PANDEMIC, SO HOPEFULLY WE'RE NEARING THE FINISH LINE. SO HOW IS THIS PLAN DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHER PLANS? FIRST OF ALL, IT'S LONGER. IT IS 100 PAGES, AND SOME INSTITUTES, SHORT, 12 PAGES OF ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES THAT REALLY FOCUS ON PROCESS, WHEREAS WE DID A MUCH DEEPER DIVE INTO THE SCIENCE, INTO OUR PROGRAMS. THE PLAN PICTURE IN THE MIDDLE WAS THE LAST COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN 2012, THAT WAS 74 PAGES. SO NEI TENDS TO PUT OUT FEWER PLANS, BUT IT BEEN NINE YEARS SINCE OUR LAST PLAN, BUT WE DO KIND OF PUT OUT MEATIER PLANS THAT REALLY INVOLVE COMMUNITY. THIS IS THE FIRST PLAN THAT WE DEVELOPED SINCE CONGRESS PASSED THE 21ST CENTURY CURES ACT IN 2016, WHICH INCLUDED CERTAIN NEW REQUIREMENTS AND MANDATES SUCH AS FOLLOWING A COMMON NIH TEMPLATE. AND NIH IS ABOUT TO RELEASE THEIR SECOND FIVE-YEAR PLAN, OR I THINK IT'S BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR CERTAINTY. OUR PLAN HAS A LOT OF EXTERNAL INPUT. NIH, A LOT OF ICs MAYBE DEVELOP THEIR PLANS LARGELY BY STAFF, WHEREAS DR. CHIANG MENTIONED, THIS HAD ALMOST 100 EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTORS AND 50 NEI STAFF FROM OUR PROGRAM, POLICY OFFICES, REALLY EVERY NEI DIVISION. AND YOUR ROLE, ROLE OF COUNCIL, NOT JUST FOR CONCEPT CLEARANCE BUT YOU'VE REALLY BEEN INVOLVED IN PARTICIPATING EACH OF OUR EXPERT PANELS AND MULTIPLE STAGES OF REVIEW, SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND REALLY ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT HERE. THE NEW PLAN IS UNIQUE FOR OTHER REASONS. SO TO STATE THE OBVIOUS, NEI HAS A NEW DIRECTOR. WELL, THIS WAS INITIATED WITH BOTH -- FOR THE INITIATION DAY. DR. CHIANG HAS BEEN INVOLVED, FIRST HE WAS A CO-CHAIR FOR THE DATA SCIENCE PANEL AND NOW AS DIRECTOR HAS REALLY CAREFULLY BEEN THINKING ABOUT EVERY INCH OF THE DOCUMENT FOR HOW IT WILL GUIDE OUR PRIORITIES AND HOW WE CAN IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS. HIS FRESH PERSPECTIVE HAS REALLY TRANSFORMED THIS DOCUMENT. AND AS WE JUST DISCUSSED, LETTERS LET IT LED US TO A NEW MISSION STATEMENT. PART OF THAT REALLY IS A FOCUS ON PUBLIC HEALTH THAT REALLY GETS A BIG EMPHASIS IN THIS PLAN. AND FINALLY, THIS PLAN'S ORGANIZATION IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST. I GUESS WHEN I -- I'M NOW REPEATING A SLIDE YOU JUST SAW, BUT THE SEVEN CROSS-CUTTING AREAS OF EMPHASIS ALLOWED US TO WORK ACROSS OUR CORE EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS, IDENTIFYING NEW SYNERGIES WHILE ALSO RECOGNIZING AREAS THAT HAVEN'T RECEIVED AS MUCH ATTENTION IN THE PAST. WE HAVE THESE TOLEDO MAINS OF THREE DOMAI NS OF SYSTEM. VISUAL SYSTEM IN HEALTH AND DISEASE, CAPITALIZING ON EMERGING FIELDS, AND PREVENTING VISION LOSS AND ENHANCING WELL-BEING. WE CAN'T THANK ENOUGH THE CO-CHAIRS PICTURED HERE FOR ALL OF OUR SEVEN ALL-STAR EXPERT PANELS. AS WE DISCUSSED, IN FEBRUARY I REVIEWED SOME OF THE DETAILS OF THE AREA EMPHASIS SECTIONS OF THE PLAN, THE NEEDS, GAPS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EACH OF THE AREAS OF EMPHASIS. IF YOU PAY ATTENTION CAREFULLY, YOU NOTICE THAT SOME OF THE TITLES HAVE CHANGED BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK AND TRYING TO PROVIDE KIND OF MORE UNIFIED VOICE IN THE PLAN, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME GOING OVER THESE RIGHT NOW. I JUST INCLUDE THEM IN MY SLIDES IN CASE WE WANT TO DISCUSS THEM LATER. THE DRAFT DOCUMENT IS STILL UP ON YOUR WEBSITE FOR THOSE OF YOU READING ALONG AT HOME. YOU CAN FOLLOW ALONG. SO AS A REFRESHER, THE FIRST AREA OF EMPHASIS WAS FROM GENES TO DISEASE MECHANISMS. INTERNALLY WE'VE BEEN USING THE SHORTHAND TERM "GENES" TO DESCRIBE THIS BUT REALLY THE THRURS OF THRURS THE THRURS IS TO MOVE PAST GENES. BY FAR OUR BIGGEST AND BROADEST TOPIC. IMMUNE SYSTEM, EYE HEALTH WAS EXCITING BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF NEW AVENUES FOR US TO PURSUE, FROM IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS, MICROBIOME, DRY EYE DISEASE, IMMUNOSENESCENCE AND INFECTION, JUST TO NAME A FEW. ONE STRENGTH OF VISION RESEARCH IS REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, BUILDS ON OUR AUDACIOUS GOALS AND INITIATIVES, TO RESTORE VISION THROUGH NEUROREGENERATION OF THE EYE AND VISUAL SYSTEM. BUT THIS AREA ALSO COVERED REGENERATIVE MEDICINE IN THE CORNEA AND OTHER TISSUES. DATA SCIENCE. WE DID CHOOSE TO FOCUS ON DATA SCIENCE BEFORE DR. CHIANG WAS SELECTED AS OUR NEW LEADER BUT WE WERE VERY EXCITED THAT VISION IS REALLY DRIVING INNOVATION FOR ALL OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. AND THIS REALLY TIES IN WITH ALL OF OUR OTHER AIR AREAS OF EMPHASIS AS WELL. THE INDIVIDUAL QUALITY OF LIFE AREA OF EMPHASIS IS FAR MORE THAN LOW VISION, BLINDNESS OR REHABILITATION. WE RECEIVED SO MUCH INPUT FROM VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS REGARDING RESEARCH THAT PUTS INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVES FIRST TO UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS AND HOW TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE. FINALLY, WE CHOSE TO FOCUS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND DISPARITIES RESEARCH BEFORE THE COVID PANDEMIC REALLY LAID BARE THE ESSENTIAL NEEDS FOR A STRONG PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WORKS TO EE ELIMINATE HEALTH DISPARITIES. THIS IS AN AREA AS WE DISCUSSED -- WELL, THIS IS AN AREA WHERE NEI AS WELL AS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH HAS A LOT OF ROOM TO GROW. BUT THE INVESTMENT WE PUT INTO HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, THE TO BETTER TRANSLATE OUR PROGRESS -- BY PREVENTING VISION LOSS. YOU MAY REMEMBER WE KICKED OFF FOR THOATION WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE KICKED OFF OUR STRATEGIC FLANKING PLANNING PROCESS IN OCTOBER 2019 WITH A VERY SUCCESSFUL REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, RFI, IN WHICH WE RECEIVED 252 RESPONSES FROM A BROAD DISTRIBUTION OF THE PUBLIC. THAT PROCESS REALLY INFORMED THE EXPERT PANELS. WE MADE SURE BASED ON THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM THAT INITIAL RFI, WE MADE SURE TO INCLUDE EXPERTISE ON CEREBRAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT IN BOTH OUR NEUROSCIENCE AND QUALITY OF LIFE PANELS. WE INCLUDED MICROBIOME EXPERTISE ON OUR IMMUNE PANEL. WE INCLUDED -- HEALTH ECONOMICS IN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH PANEL. SINCE OUR LAST RFI WAS SO SUCCESSFUL, WE USED THE SAME METHODOLOGY TO ADVERTISE THIS RFI. WE USED THE NIH GUIDE, WE POSTED IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER, WE BLASTED EMAILS TO NEI GRANTEES AND COUNCIL, SO I'M SURE MANY OF YOU HEARD FROM US QUITE A FEW TIMES. WE SENT EMAILS TO ALL OUR 64 NEHEP PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDER GROUPS. WHAT WE DIDN'T DO LAST TIME, THIS TIME WE REACHED OUT TO ALL OF OUR SISTER INSTITUTES AT THE NIH SUCH AS EMAILS TO INSTITUTE DIRECTORS AND TO PLANNING OFFICERS SUCH AS MYSELF. THE RFI WAS OPEN FROM MAY 17TH THROUGH JUNE 7TH, THIS PAST MONDAY. SO NOW THAT WE HAVE A DRAFT DOCUMENT, THE QUESTIONS WE WANTED TO ANSWER IN PUBLIC COMMENT WAS, HAVE WE MADE ANY ERRORS, FACTUAL, TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS THAT WE SHOULD CHANGE, WE DON'T WANT TO PUT ANYTHING THAT'S INCORRECT OUT THERE. WE'RE LOOKING FOR OTHER HIGH LEVEL FEEDBACK, I'LL GET TO SOME OF THAT IN A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN CONTENT WISE, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT'S MISSING FROM THE STRATEGIC PLAN. WE'RE VERY CAREFULLY REVIEWING ALL THE COMMENTS AND HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ADDRESS I WOULD SAY MORE THAN HALF OF THESE ARE THINGS THAT WERE EITHER CHANGES TO THE LANGUAGE OF THE PLAN OR SOMETHING THAT WILL WORK WE'LL WORK INTO OUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. SO NOT SURPRISINGLY, WE DID RECEIVE COMMENTS THAT CERTAIN AREAS WERE NOT REPRESENTED IN THE NEW PLAN. WE GET THESE COMMENTS EVERY TIME WE PUT OUT A PLAN. IN SOME CASES, RESPONDENTS WANTED TO ADD SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY ALREADY WAS IN THE PLAN, MAYBE THEY MISSED IT OR WE DIDN'T EMPHASIZE IT CLEARLY ENOUGH. OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ASKED US TO ADD SOMETHING THAT REALLY FALLS BEYOND THE SCOPE OR MISSION OF NEI. IN OTHER CASES, SUGGESTIONS WERE SOMEWHAT NARROWLY FOCUSED IF YOU -- FUND MY RESEARCH TYPE OF COMMENT. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, EVEN WITH A 100-PAGE DOCUMENT, MORE CONTENT WAS CUT OUT THAN WAS ACTUALLY INCLUDED IN THE FINAL DRAFT. I THINK THE INITIAL DRAFT OF THE NEW YORK CHAPTER WAS SOMETHING LIKE 20 PAGES LONG BY ITSELF BEFORE IMAGES. SO WE CUT OR ABBREVIATED SOME TOPICS TO REALLY FOCUS ON PRIORITY NEEDS GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES. ESPECIALLY AREAS WHICH HAVEN'T GENERATED MANY APPLICATIONS IN THE PAST. WE ALSO TRIED TO MAKE CLEAR THAT JUST BECAUSE A TOPIC ISN'T DESCRIBED DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE NOT INTERESTED OR WE WON'T FUND IT. THIS IS MORE OF A STRATEGIC PLAN. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'RE TAKING A CROSS-CUTTING PERSPECTIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME. SO NEW AREAS HAVE EMERGED AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE AREN'T INTERESTED IN OUR CORE PROGRAMS. JUST TO MAKE THAT CLEAR, THE PLAN ACTUALLY FIRST COVERS THE SCOPE OF EACH OF OUR CORE PROGRAMS, THEY'RE NOT GOING AWAY. THEN WE PRESENTED THE AREAS OF EMPHASIS, WHICH ARE LAYERED ON TOP OF THE PROGRAM, KIND OF REPRESENTED IN THIS IMAGE AS CROSS-CUTTING. THEY REALLY WERE INTERWOVEN INTO OUR CORE PROGRAMS. OUR FUNDING INITIATIVE FROM ONE AREA OF EMPHASIS MIGHT CUT ACROSS VARIOUS PROGRAMS, AND AS WE IMPLEMENT THAT WE WILL WORK WITH THE VARIOUS PROGRAM DIRECTORS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROGRAMS ARE REPRESENTED IN EACH OF OUR FUNDING INITIATIVES. DR. CHIANG ALSO REQUESTED TWO DIFFERENT PORTFOLIO ANALYSES TO MAP OUR AREAS OF EMPHASIS ON TO OUR CORE PROGRAM. SO THAT WAS A REALLY INTERESTING EXERCISE TO DO INTERNALLY. WE DISCOVERED ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT IS IN OUR CORE PORTFOLIO IS ACTUALLY REPRESENTED AT LEAST IN ONE AREA OF EMPHASIS. SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE REALLY LEAVING THINGS OUT, IT'S JUST KIND OF A NEW PERSPECTIVE. SO THE NEXT FEW SLIDES SHOW AN ANALYSIS OF THE PUBLIC FEEDBACK. ALTHOUGH WE DID NOT INCLUDE THE FIVE RESPONSES THAT WE RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE THAT WERE SUBMITTED IN THIS ANALYSIS, WE'RE STILL REVIEWING THE CONTENT FOR OUR PLAN. THERE WERE 46 UNIQUE RESPONDENTS, EITHER INDIVIDUALS OR ON BEHALF OF SOCIETIES OR PROFESSIONAL GROUPS. OUR GRANTEE RESEARCH COMMUNITY MADE UP THE MAJORITY OF RESPONSES, ABOUT 27. FROM OUTSIDE THE VISION RESEARCH COMMUNITY, WE RECEIVED RESPONSES FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH VISION IMPAIRMENT, FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC, FROM CLINICIANS, OPTOMETRIST. THE CLINICIAN WE HAVE LISTED ON THIS FIGURE, THERE ARE MANY RESEARCHERS THAT ARE OPTOMETRIST/OPHTHALMOLOGISTS THAT CAME FROM A UNIVERSITY THAT WE COUNT THEM IN THE ACADEMIA TALLEY. SO WHAT DID WE LEARN IN OUR FEEDBACK? WE LEARNED THAT DESPITE PUTTING OUT A 508 COMPLIANT DOCUMENT, WE FAILED TO MAKE THE DOCUMENT AS ACCESSIBLE AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN FOR SOME LOW VISION USERS AND WE APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. OUR PDF INCLUDED LINE NUMBERS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR COMEN TERES, HOWEVER THAT WAS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH SOME SCREEN REERDS. OTHER FEEDBACK WAS THAT THE FEDERAL REGISTER INTERFACE HAD FEATURES INCOMPATIBLE WITH SOME SCREEN READERS. SO WE POINTED THAT OUT TO THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL REGISTER, IT'S A U.S. OFFICE, AND THEY'RE NOW INVESTIGATING THE ISSUE. SO HOPEFULLY IN THE FUTURE, OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT -- USING SCREEN READERS WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE DOCUMENT. ALTHOUGH WE DID POINT THEM TO OUR WEBSITE THAT HAD A PDF THAT THEY COULD DOWNLOAD. SO FROM THOSE 46 INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES, MOST PEOPLE HAD MULTIPLE SUGGESTIONS, SOME PEOPLE SENT IN FOUR, SIX, SEVEN PAGES OF COMMENTS TO US. BUT WE EXTRACTED ABOUT 121 NEW IDEAS AND SOME VERY NICE COMPLIMENTS BUT WE DIDN'T COUNT THOSE HERE. THIS GRAPH SHOWS A TALLEY OF SUGGESTIONS FOR EACH -- THIS IS TABLE CONTENTS OF THE PLAN, I'M GOING TO SPARE YOU THE DETAILS, COMMENTS ON THE INTRODUCTION INCLUDED COMMENTS -- WE HAD A COVID SECTION IF YOU REMEMBER IN THE INTRODUCTION, SO WE INCLUDED THAT HERE. MOST OF THE SESSIONS, WE HAD 19 SUGGESTIONS THAT RELATED TO OUR EXTRAMURAL PROGRAM SECTIONS AND OF THE 6 RELATED TO OUR 69 RELATED TO OUR AREA OF EMPHASIS WITH THE LARGEST BEING GENES AND DISEASE MECHANISMS AND QUALITY OF LIFE AND PUBLIC HEALTH. THERE WERE ALSO 11 COMMENTS THAT WEREN'T REALLY SPECIFIC TO THE TEXT SO THEY DIDN'T FIT ANYWHERE IN OUR PLAN, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO SEE IF WE CAN WORK IN SOME OF THOSE CONCEPTS. SO I REALLY WANT TO GIVE KUDOS TO MY TEAM WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING FEVERISHLY THIS PAST WEEK, AND THEY'VE IDENTIFIED COMMON THEMES IN THE RESPONSES. SO CONSISTENT WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THIS PLAN, PUBLIC HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE, WHICH WE PLACE TOGETHER BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE RELATED, HAD 16 COMMENTS, FOLLOWED BY BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. WE HAD SEVEN COMMENTS ON HEALTH DISPARITIES AND WE HAD A DISCUSSION ON THAT, ON WORKFORCE DIVERSITY, WE HAD COMMENTS ON WORKFORCE DIVERSITY, TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT. SOME TOPICS REALLY CUT ACROSS THINGS. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD A BUNCH OF COMMENTS ON MYOPIA BUT SOME FROM A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE AND AN EPIDEMIOLOGY STANDPOINT. ALSO ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF MYOPIA. I THINK MAYBE EVEN ANIMAL MODELS. ALTHOUGH THIS PLAN DISCUSSED DIVERSITY, ONE SUGGESTION WAS TO EMPHASIZE DISABILITY, SUCH AS LOW VISION DISABILITIES, AS AN ELEMENT OF DIVERSITY WITH RESPECT TO OUR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL WORKFORCE. AND TO ENSURE THAT NEI STAFF ARE TRAINED TO ANTICIPATE THE NEEDS OF BLIND INDIVIDUALS. I THINK WHEN DR. STEINMETZ WAS TALKING ABOUT, WHEN WE FUND DIVERSITY INITIATIVES, IT CAN BE DISABILITIES INCLUDED IN THAT AND AT NEI, WE DON'T ASK WHAT FORM OF DIVERSITY THE INSTITUTE VERIFIES ON OUR BEHALF. SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT ELEMENT OF DIVERSITY IS AS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT OUR GRANTEES, THERE'S NOT THAT MUCH DISABILITY IN OUR GRANTEE POPULATION. SO JUST TO CONCLUDE, I'M SHOWING AN ABBREVIATED GANTT CHART. TYPICALLY I'VE BEEN SHOWING THE WHOLE TIMELINE OF OUR PLAN, BUT THIS JUST STARTS WITH THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD THAT JUST ENDED ON MONDAY, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR DESIGN LAYOUT AND ROLLOUT THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING FOR OCTOBER. I WISH I COULD TELL YOU THAT THERE WERE ONLY MINOR COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT, WE WE WERE GOING TO PROVIDE YOU A COPY FOR A VOTE. HOWEVER WE RECEIVED SOME VERY THOUGHTFUL SUGGESTIONS AND DECIDED WE WANT TO -- FURTHERMORE, I KNOW -- REACHED OUT TO US ABOUT A GROUP RESPONSE FROM COMPUTATIONAL BHIEF YORL NEUROSCIENTIST THAT HE JUST SENT US THIS MORNING, SO YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THAT, JOSE-MANUEL. A LOT OF GOOD SUGGESTIONS, AND WE'D LIKE TO REALLY INCORPORATE THE FEEDBACK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, INCLUDING THE RESPONSE WE RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE, SO AS LONG AS WE GOT SOMETHING BY TODAY, WE'RE GOING TO WORK IT INTO THE DRAFT THAT WE SEND YOU HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, WE'LL SEND YOU A DRAFT, A RED LINE DRAFT, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE PLAN AGAIN, YOU CAN JUST SEE THE CHANGES THAT ARE BASED ON THE PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THEN WE'LL ASK FOR A VOTE ON THE WHOLE STRATEGIC PLAN SHORTLY THEREAFTER. WE'RE ALSO SEPARATELY WORKING ON A 406-PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WHICH WILL FOLLOW THE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE IN THE FULL DRAFT BUT WE ALSO ANTICIPATE THAT NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO READ A 100-PAGE DOCUMENT, SO WE'LL HAVE A STANDALONE DOCUMENT THAT WILL BE THE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE, OUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WHICH WILL INCLUDE THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM EACH OF THE SECTIONS, AND THE BOLD PREDICTIONS SECTION AT THE END. THAT WILL BE A STANDALONE DOCUMENT EASIER TO DISTRIBUTE TO DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS. I DIDN'T LEAVE TOO MUCH TIME TO DISCUSS OUR IMPLEMENTATION, BUT VERY BRIEFLY, ONCE WE HAVE THE FINAL TEXT OF OUR PLAN, WE'RE GETTING CLOSE, I HOPE, WE WILL ESTABLISH NEI INTERNAL WORKING GROUPS FOR EACH SECTION TO REVIEW THE VARIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS AND DETERMINE SHORT, MEDIUM AND LONG TERM PRIORITIES AND STRATEGIES. WE WILL THEN IMPLEMENT THESE THROUGH FUNDING WORKSHOPS, PERSONNEL HIRES, AND FORGING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, WHETHER OTHER INSTITUTES, AGENCIES OR PRIVATE PARTNERS. WITH THAT, I'LL STOP HERE FOR QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> HI. THANK YOU, SEE FA. I KNOW HOW MUCH WORK THIS WAS, HOW EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTS THAT WERE BEHIND THESE AND HOW DIFFICULT IT MUST BE TO CUT AND GET TO THE FINAL VERSION NOW. AT THE SAME TIME, AS YOU KNOW, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS THAT ARE VERY PROMINENT IN THE NEI PORTFOLIO AND THAT I HIGHLY RESPECT, AND I FEEL IT IS MY JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR VOICES ARE HEARD HERE. AND THE COMMENT, I ASKED SEND ME SPECIFIC COMMENTS BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS MUCH MORE HELPFUL THAN A BIG DISCUSSION THAT WE'VE HAD MANY, MANY, MANY TIMES SO I FORWARDED THAT TO YOU BUT I WOULD LIKE ALSO TO BRIEFLY MENTION WHAT ARE THE FEE AREAS THAT THEY'VE THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE NOT PROPERLY EMPHASIZED IN THE -- IN THE DRAFT THAT WE HAVE NOW. AND THEY ARE ALL RELATED WITH A BIG THEME THAT IS THE VISUAL CORTEX, THAT THEY FEEL THE VISUAL CORTEX IS NOT PROPERLY ADDRESSED, AND SPECIFICALLY THREE AREAS, ONE, WORK ON NON-HUMAN PRIMATES THAT FROM NOW ON I'M GOING TO PRONOUNCE NHBs, THE OTHER WAS THE IMPORTANCE OF THEORY IN THIS WHOLE PROCESS, AND THEN -- MYOPIA. NHPs, THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO NOTICE, SUGGESTING THAT NIH DIRECTOR REPORT, THEY SAW $30 MILLION TO INCREASE INFRASTRUCTURE IN NHBs, SO THAT'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD, AND THE ONLY THING IS THAT -- AND ACTUALLY I SHARE WITH THEM THAT YOU FEEL THERE'S NOT ENOUGH EMPHASIS IN NHBs IN THE CURRENT DRAFT. AND NHBs IS REALLY IMPORTANT, JUST TO GIVE ANOTHER EXAMPLE, THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THESE NEW MEMBERS, AND I NOTED THAT FOUR OF THEM WORK IN VISUAL CORTEX, TWO OF THEM WORK IN NHBs, AND TWO OF THEM ARE FROM THE GROUP THAT CONTACTED ME JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE INCLUDE THEIR COMMENTS. NHB ALSO HAS A BIG TRADITION IN NEI, IN HELPING US GROW THE NEI PORTFOLIO. SO I KNOW THAT IT WAS -- I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A LOT TO CUT, AND I KNOW SPECIFICALLY IT WAS A BIGGER PARAGRAPH IN NHBs THAT HAVE TO BE CUT AND I JUST WONDER IF YOU GUYS COULD THINK AGAIN IF WE COULD EMPHASIZE, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. AS YOU MENTION, YOU MENTIONED THE PHOBIA WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE RETINA AND WHETHER IT'S JUST NOT ENOUGH IN COMPARISON WITH WHAT USED TO BE IN PREVIOUS STRATEGIC PLANS. SO THAT'S ABOUT NHBs, THEN THEORY. THERE WAS ANOTHER COMMENT AND THE GROUP, CAME FROM TONY -- AND THE THEORY THAT I WOULD SAY CAME MOSTLY FROM DAVID ALSO AT NYU WHO THOUGHT THAT -- WELL, FIRST NOTICED VERY OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT THAT THEORY AND THEORETICAL WERE JUST TWO MENTIONS OF IT IN THE ENTIRE 100-PAGE DRAFT. AND HE TOLD ME -- I TOLD HIM, YOU HAVE COMPETITION ON YOUR SCIENCE, BUT COMPETITION AND -- ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, UNDERSTOOD AT DATA ANALYSIS AND NOT SPECIFICALLY THEORY. THEORY IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. WE JUST HEARD TODAY FROM SCOTT, THE THEORY IN SCOTT'S -- THEORY CAME OUT SO MANY TIMES TO UNDERSTAND DIVERSITY AND THEORETICAL -- AND -- OF DIVERSITY. WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH THEORY IN THE DRAFT. AND SPECIFICALLY THEORY, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE COMPETITION ON NEUROSCIENCE. YOU COULDN'T HAVE -- WITHOUT THE -- PRINCIPLE OR RADIO WITHOUT MAXIMAL EE QAITIONS AND ALSO -- SHOULD BE PART OF THE PLAN. AND THE LAST THING WAS ABOUT APPLEBYOPIA, OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPORTANT, OBVIOUSLY VISUAL CORTEX OF THE EYE, AND THIS COULD HAVE ALSO FELT THAT IT WAS NOT EMPHASIZED ENOUGH, PARTICULARLY THE BASIC RESEARCH WORK ON TH E NEURAL CIRCUITRY IN VISUAL CORTEX. I THINK THAT'S IT. SO I SEND YOU THE SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS, AND IF I COULD GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO HE RAO VIEW THE THEORY PART, SO THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY ARE REPRESENTED. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, JOSE-MANUEL. I READ THROUGH THE BULLETS AND FIRST OF ALL I WANT TO APPRECIATE YOU FOR COORDINATING THAT RESPONSE. I KNOW THERE WERE A LOT OF REALLY TOP RESEARCHERS THAT WERE ON YOUR GROUP THERE, REMINDING THEM THAT A WHOLE DISCOURSE, LONG PAIR GRAVES IS GOING TO PARAGRAPHS I S MUCH HARDER TO IMPLEMENT BUT THE FACT YOU WERE ABLE TO GET IT DOWN TO A FEW BULLETS, I'VE READ THROUGH THEM, I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY SHARED THEM WITH THE REST OF NEI, SO WE WANT TO LOOK THROUGH THEM AND JUST KIND OF TAKE ANOTHER LOOK, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE REALLY DONE THE WORK TO MAKE SURE IT'S NOT REDUNDANT. SO LIKE I SAID, THE IDEA FOR THESE IS TO REVIEW THESE AND A FEW OTHER COMMENTS TO KIND OF PUT THEM IN PERSPECTIVE, AND TO SEE HOW TO INCORPORATE THEM AND TO SEND YOU A NEW REDLINE DRAFT, YOU WILL SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE SURE IT'S ACCEPTABLE. I JUST WANT TO QUICKLY COMMENT ON THE NON-HUMAN PRIMATE SECTION. AS YOU KNOW, IT WAS ORIGINALLY LIKE IT WAS A -- WE HAD A HALF PAGE OR SO ON NON-HUMAN PRIMATES, AND AS I MENTIONED, THE NEUROSCIENCE CHAPTER WAS 20 PAGES LONG, AND THE OTHER CHAPTERS WERE CLOSER TO 8 PAGES LONG, SO WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO CUT AND I REMEMBER I ORIGINALLY CUT THAT SECTION ALL TOGETHER AND YOU AS WELL AS THE PANEL SAID, OH, NO, NO, NO, WE'RE NOT CUTTING THAT SECTION ALL TOGETHER, AND I THINK -- IT WAS UNDER THE AXE A COUPLE TIMES AND EVERY TIME, STRONG ADVOCATES MENTIONED TO KEEP IT. WE HAVE ABBREVIATED IT, BUT I THINK WE CAN CERTAINLY TAKE A LOOK TO SEE HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE -- GET THIS PROPER EMPHASIS. AND ON TOP OF THAT, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE AWARE, YOU MENTIONED THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. THEY'RE ABOUT TO START A WHOLE NEW -- TO DO A STUDY ON NON-HUMAN PRIMATE RESEARCH. NEI CERTAINLY IS GOING TO CO-SPONSOR THAT STUDY. IT'S NOT JUST THE CORTEX FOLKS THAT ENVISION -- AS YOU MENTIONED, IT'S FOR PEOPLE THAT WORK ON PHOBIA MODELS, WE DID MENTION THAT IN THE PLAN. YOU'RE RIGHT, THERE'S DEFINITELY MORE MENTION OF THE RETINA THAN THERE IS OF THE CORTEX, AND IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE -- WE WEREN'T TRYING TO COUNT THE NUMBER OF MENTIONS. WE ALSO GOT FEEDBACK EVEN IN THE MOST RECENT RFI, DO WE CONSIDER -- DO WE USE THE TERMINOLOGY AS PART OF THE BRAIN, OR PART OF THE RETINA AND THE BRAIN, AND WE WENT BACK AND FORTH AND I THINK ULTIMATELY WITH YOUR ADVICE, WE SAY THE RETINA IS PART OF THE BRAIN, BUT WE'VE GOT PEOPLE COMMENTING ON BOTH SIDES OF THAT DIVIDE. AND YES, I THINK YOUR ATTENTION TO EMBLYOPIA, WE DID HAVE SOME MENTION OF IT, BUT BOTH IN THE EXTRAMURAL PROGRAM SECTION AS WELL AS THE AREA OF EMPHASIS AND THEORY, I HAD NOT REALLY MADE TOO MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPUTATION AND THEORY, SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. >> JOSE-MANUEL, IF I JUST ADD TO WHAT SHEFA SAID, THANK YOU FOR COORDINATING WITH THIS GROUP, AND I PERSONALLY REALLY VALUE THAT INPUT AS WELL. IT'S INTERESTING THAT AT ONE POINT, WE SAW SORT OF THE OPPOSITE FEEDBACK, WHICH IS THE VISUAL CORTEX IS OVEREMPHASIZED AND WE NEED TO SAY MORE ABOUT THE RETINA, AND SO I KNOW -- BUT I AM NOT AT ALL USING THAT TO DETRACT FROM WHAT YOU SAID. AND I THINK THE THEORY STUFF, THE AMBLYOPIA STUFF IS GREAT AND SHE FEE AND SHE SHEFA AND I HAD A COUPLE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EMBLYOPIA, AND AS WE DO THE WORK, WE CAN TIE TOGETHER THE THEORY AND THE PRACTICE AS WE MAYBE BUILD TEAMS OF PEOPLE THAT DO THE WORK. AS SOMEBODY WHO'S A PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGIST BY BACKGROUND, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE IS THAT THE AVERAGE PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGIST REALLY DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THE THEORY IS AND WHAT THE ACTUAL BENCH WORK IS IN THAT AREA, AND I THINK THAT'S A BARRIER TO THE RESEARCH THAT'S HAPPENING. AND YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK THAT'S ANYBODY'S FAULT IN TERMS OF IT'S NOT THE CLINICIAN'S FAULT OR IT'S NOT THE RESEARCHERS FAULT, BUT I THINK IT'S A FAULT THAT SOMEHOW WE'RE NOT AS SYSTEM INCENTIVIZING THEM TO REALLY CONNECT TOGETHER IN THE WAY THAT SCOTT PAGE WAS TALKING ABOUT, AND THE WAY THAT ALL OF US HAVE SEEN IN OUR OWN WORK. AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, WHEN I READ THE NON-HUMAN PRIMATE SECTION, I WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ASKED SHEFA, DO WE NEED TO KEEP THIS, AND SHEFA SAID I THINK WE SHOULD REALLY KEEP IT. SO BECAUSE I VIEWED IT AS -- I DIDN'T KNOW MANY OF THESE ISSUES AT THE TIME, AND SO JUST -- IN SUMMARY, THANKS FOR DOING THAT. JUST TO GIVE ANOTHER SHOUT OUT, SHEFA, IT'S REALLY A GROUP OF THREE PEOPLE, SHEFA, NORA WONG AND -- THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB AT COMBING THROUGH THIS PLAN. AND THANKS, JOSE-MANUEL. >> THANK YOU. >> I JUST WANT TO ADD ONE MORE THING, NOW THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE. TYPICALLY WHEN YOU READ THROUGH OUR PLAN THAT'S 100 PAGES LONG, YOU MIGHT SCAN, YOU MIGHT DO SOME TEXT SEARCHES FOR THINGS THAT YOU RECOGNIZE. ONE THING THAT THIS PLAN EMPHASIZES THAT HADN'T REALLY BEEN EMPHASIZED AT NEI BEFORE IS CEREBRAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT. WE CURRENTLY FUND TWO INVESTIGATOR INITIATED PROJECTS IN THIS AREA, BUT THE RESPONSE WE GOT FROM OUR FIRST RFI, A LITTLE BIT MORE UNDERSTANDING, IT REALLY IS IS SUCH A SUCH A LEADING CAUSE OF VISION LOSS IN CHILDREN. SO THIS IS, AGAIN -- WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT IN THE PAST, BUT IT'S CAUSED INN. UTERO, EITHER DUE TO A STROKE OR ISCHEMIC EVENT OR EARLY DEVELOPMENT IN THE BRAIN. I BELIEVE -- I KNOW THERE'S REALLY INTERESTING WORK IN COMPUTATIONAL THEORETICAL WORK, THE CHALLENGE THAT WE AS AN INSTITUTE AND WE INCLUDING THE COUNCIL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT IS HOW DO WE ADDRESS WHAT'S SEEMINGLY SUCH AN INTRACTABLE PROBLEM OF CEREBRAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AND WE'RE REALLY GOING TO LEAN ON THAT COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SOME NON-HUMAN PRIMATE, MAYBE SOME -- AND EVEN IT'S GOING TO BORROW INTO THE AMBLYOPIA LITERATURE A BIT AS WELL, AS WE REALLY TRY TO COME UP WITH A PROGRAM WHERE -- THERE'S VERY FEW RESEARCHERS IN THIS AREA AND WE'RE REALLY GOING TO NEED SOME NEW EXPERTISE AS WE TRY TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE -- IF THEY KEYED IN ON THAT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO TURN TO THEM -- WE'RING IF TO ADJUST OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE'RE GOING TO HELP THIS AS WELL. >> I AGREE WITH THIS AND I'M SO GLAD THAT THE CVI MADE IT INTO THE PLAN BECAUSE THE PUBLIC, I WAS PART OF READING THRAW ALL THESE COMMENTS, AND THERE WAS A HUGE RESPONSE AND INTEREST IN THE PROBLEM THAT UNFORTUNATELY DOESN'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, A CLEAR SOLUTION YET, BUT OBVIOUSLY IS A GREAT MOTIVATION TO STUDY, THE VISUAL CORTEX. >> I HOPE THAT'S GOING TO BE A WAY THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO TIE TOGETHER SOME OF THESE THREADS. WHERE -- RESEARCH IS SOMETHING THAT TOUCHES BOTH CBI AND ALSO AMBLYOPIA AND SOME OF THE THEORY, AND THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO THAT HITS ALL OF THOSE, BUT DEFINITELY LOOK FORWARD TO SOME OF THOSE IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES. IF YOU KNOW, AS SHEFA ALLUDED OUR PLAN IS GOING TO BE 100 PAGES BY THE TIME THIS IS DONE. WHAT I NOTICED IS THAT SOME OF THESE OTHER INSTITUTES, 20-PAGE STRATEGIC PLANS THAT ARE REALLY EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES, AND THAT'S THAT SHEFA AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT A LOT. JUST SO YOU KNOW, JOSE-MANUEL, THAT WAS A LOT OF THE SPIRIT OF DOES THIS SECTION -- WE'VE JUST BASICALLY SAID, LOOK BEING WE'RE GOING TO MAKE THIS ARE COMPREHENSIVE. AND THAT WAS SOME OF THE SPIRIT BEHIND CREATING THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THAT SHEFA ALLOWED LEWDED ALLUDED TO, BUT GREAT DISCUSSION AN APPRECIATE YOUR WORK IN THAT AREA. >> AT THAT TIME YA? KATIA? YOU'RE ON MUTE. >> I APPRECIATE ACTUALLY THE FACT THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A STANDALONE DOCUMENT BECAUSE ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT I GOT -- I ACTUALLY SENT A BUNCH OF EMAILS TO RESEARCHERS AND THE PUBLIC AND ORGANIZATIONS AND SOME OF THEM GOT BACK TO ME. ONE OF THE COMMENTS WAS THIS WAS NOT VERY ACCESSIBLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE SOME PARTS THAT ARE SIMPLIFIED, IT'S SO COMPREHENSIVE AND SOMETIMES KIND OF DAUNTING, RIGHT? ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS NOT A LOT OF DETAILS IN TERMS OF DATA BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY PUT ALL OF THAT FOR RESEARCHERS OR SO MANY THAT WILL BE LOOKING AT IT IN THE HIGHERS UP. SO I THINK THAT HAVING THAT STANDALONE DIRECTOR MESSAGE WOULD BE REALLY GOOD, AND MAYBE SOMETIMES EVEN A MORE SIMPLIFIED VERSION FOR JUST THE REGULAR PUBLIC WOULD BE VERY GOOD. I ALSO -- ONE OF THE PEOPLE OR THE GROUPS I CONTACTED WAS PREVENT BLINDNESS, AND I KNOW, SHEFA, YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF VERY GOOD COMMENTS, BUT ONE THAT ACTUALLY GOT MY ATTENTION WAS THAT IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THERE IS A REAL EMPHASIS ON PARTNERSHIPS, AND THAT THEY ACTUALLY DID -- THE FACT THAT THERE WAS NO PLAN OR COLLABORATION WITH THE CDC'S VISION HEALTH INITIATIVE, AND I WAS ACTUALLY SURPRISED THAT THEY HAVE A PROGRAM, A GRANT PROGRAM FOR GLAW COMA, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT PROBABLY CAN BE WORKED OUT AND SHOULD BE INCLUDED. I HAVE A BUNCH MORE REALLY GOOD COMMENTS, VERY FOCUSED ON DISPARITIES AS WELL, AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS FOR HEALTH. DON'T WANT TO TAKE A LOT OF THE TIME BUT JUST WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THAT. >> THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP. I ALSO WAS READING THE COMMENTS FROM PREVENT BLINDNESS AND REALIZED WE DIDN'T MENTION THE -- FROM CDC EITHER. I KNOW CDC -- IT'S ESSENTIALLY ONE PERSON THERE THAT COORDINATES ALL THE VISION SURVEILLANCE TYPE OF WORK THERE, BUT WE HAVE -- WE CERTAINLY WORK WITH HER, AND ONE OF THE -- ONE OF OUR GOALS IS TO REALLY PARTNER WITH -- DO MORE OF A TRANS AGENCY COLLABORATION, THAT'S ONE OF THE REPORTS FROM 2016, KIND OF A COORDINATION ACROSS FEDERAL AGENCIES, SO WE'VE HAD SOME INITIAL CONVERSATIONS, WE PLAN TO COORDINATE A BIT MORE WHEN IT COMES TO LARGE VISION HEALTH ACTIVITIES. -- SPECIFICALLY BUT I'M NOT SURE IF WE -- VISH HEALTH INITIATIVE IS NOT SOMETHING WE'VE FORMALLY BEEN PARTNERED WITH, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE SENTIMENT. >> THIS IS ALSO FEDERAL AGENCY AND I THINK THIS SHOULD BE A LOT MORE COMMUNICATION AND YOU CAN HELP GET THE MESSAGE THROUGH. THEY'RE REACHING OUT TO QUITE A BIT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY WITH COVID, THEY GET A LOT OF ATTENTION. >> THANKS FROM ME AS WELL FOR THAT CAVEAT. IT HAPPENED JUST A DAY OR TWO AGO, I HAD A CALL WITH SOMEBODY FROM THE CDC WHO WASN'T JE NON-BUT WAS INTERESTED IN SCREENING FROM A CHILD VISION HELP PER EXECUTIVE. I SORT OF WORKING ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS, SO TOTALLY WITH YOU ON THAT. >> WE ALSO WORK CLOSELY WITH CDC ON THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS ON THE HEALTHY PEOPLE INITIATIVE, THERE'S THE HEALTHY PEOPLE 2030 IS AN HHS-WIDE PREVENTION HEALTH INITIATIVE, OF WHICH NEI COORDINATES THE VISION HEALTH COMPONENT OF THAT. IT'S ONE OF THE 42 TOPICS, AND WORK CLOSELY WITH THE CDC ON -- WE COLLECT DATA THROUGH THE NHIS AND THE NHANES, HAVEN'T DONE NHANES IN A WHILE, BUT NHIS. >> THANK YOU. THIS IS TOM GARDNER. STRATEGIC PLAN IS GREAT. IN ITS BREADTH AND DEPTH, AND A LOT OF WORK PUT INTO IT. SO NOW HOW DOES THAT JIVE WITH THE DECREASING BUDGET REALITY? HOW DO WE BALANCE ACCOMPLISHING WHAT THE STRATEGIC PLAN SETS FORTH WITH YOUR FISCAL REALITY? THAT'S NOT JUST FOR YOU, SHEFA, BULL -- I ACTUALLY WANT TO BE JUST FOR YOU. >> YOU KNOW, TOM, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. YOU KNOW, IT SOMETIMES FEELS LIKE -- THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S UNIQUE TO THE NEI. I FEEL LIKE IN THE WORLD SOMETIMES, WE'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO DO MORE WITH LESS. AND I THINK IT'S AN ISSUE OF PRIORITIZING. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH THE GROUP INVOLVING SHEFA, MIKE STEINMETZ AND A FEW OF US OTHERS, SANTA, ME, IS GOING TO ORGANIZE NEI STAFF, AND BASICALLY COME UP WITH IN EACH OF THESE SEVEN AREA, WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT AREAS WHERE WE CAN REALLY MAKE AN IMPACT. AND IMPACT CAN BE SHORT TERM SORT OF QUOTE EASIER THINGS, LET'S SET UP A PROGRAM INVOLVING -- TO SOLVE SOME AREA, OR THAT CAN BE A MORE COMMON THING, LET'S UNDERSTAND RETINAL CIRCUITRY O CORTICAL CONNECTOMICS. SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO KEEP YOU ON THE COUNCIL INFORMED OF WHAT YOU'RE THINKING IS, ON TOP OF ALL THAT, WHAT WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO ALLOW PEOPLE THE CREATIVITY TO CONTINUE THEIR OWN RESEARCH. BUT WHAT I WOULD REALLY BE ABLE LOVE TO BE ABLE TO DO, THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH GOING ON THAT'S REALLY GOOD RESEARCH OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, EACH DOING THEIR THING, BUT I'VE SEEN IN MY OWN CAREER, AND I THINK ALL OF YOU HAVE SEEN IN YOUR CAREERS, THAT HOPEFULLY ONE OF OUR ROLES CAN BE TO STIMULATE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING AREAS OF RESEARCH THAT MAYBE COULD OR SHOULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE. THAT TIES IN TO DATA SHARING, IT TIES THEM TO COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND TIES THEM TO CLOSING THE ISSUE OF CONNECTING SCIENTISTS TO CLINICIANS. I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF AREAS WHERE WE HAVE POTENTIAL CONNECTIONS TO BE MADE THAT JUST COULD BE BETTER. SO I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF MY THOUGHTS ABOUT, TOM, WHAT I THINK IS A REALLY TOUGH QUESTION QUESTION. >> >> IT'S A VERY TOUGH QUESTION. WE'VE BEEN AGONIZING OVER THAT AS WELL. BUT IT REALLY IS WE DON'T CONTROL OUR BUDGET, CONGRESS APPROPRIATES OUR BUDGET, BUT THE IDEA OF THE PLAN IS TO UNDERSTAND WHERE OUR PRIORITIES ARE AND WHERE THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE FOR THE RESOURCES WE APPROPRIATE, HOWEVER THEY ARE, TO BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE STEWARDS OF THE TAXPAYER DOLLAR. BUT IT'S JUST ALSO REALITY THAT STRATEGIC PLANNING POSITIONS US TO CAPITALIZE FLEXIBLY WHEN THE FUNDS BECOME AVAILABLE. INSTITUTES THAT HAVE BIG INITIATIVES THEY PUT FORWARD ARE OFTEN ABLE TO -- INSTITUTES MAY GET SLIGHTLY BIGGER INCREASES IN THEIR BUDGET EACH YEAR, IT'S NOT JUST WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY. IT'S OH, WE SEE YOU HAVE THIS INITIATIVE THAT'S GOING ON HERE, CONGRESS SAID THAT INITIATIVE SOUNDS REALLY EXCITING, WE'LL GIVE YOU MORE MONEY FOR IT. SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND, IF WE PRESENT A STRATEGIC PLAN OF THINGS WE CAN DO THAT JUSTIFIES OUR BUDGET, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE THE -- MIGHT POSITION US FOR WHEN FUNDS LIKE ARPA-H BECOME AVAILABLE, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND THE MONEY? IF WE HAVE A PLAN BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT AND WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND MONEY ON ARPA-H, THAT ACTUALLY CAN INCREASE -- IT'S NOT A ZERO -- ACTUALLY, INCREASE OUR SHARE OF RESEARCH DOLLARS. >> THOSE ARE BOTH GOOD RESPONSES. THANK YOU ON THAT. >> WELL, SHEFA, THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM ARE DOING IN THIS. I THINK -- I HATE CALLING THIS OUT BECAUSE IT MAKES IT SEEM LIKE WE'RE VALUING PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING RIDICULOUS HOURS AND STUFF, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS ABOUT MICROSOFT TEAMS IS THAT YOU KNOW WHEN PEOPLE ARE LOGGED IN AND TYPING, AND SHEFA IS TYPING WHAT I THINK ARE A LOT OF LONG HOURS TO SORT OF GET THINGS READY FOR THIS, AND SHEFA, JUST GREAT WORK WITH THAT. DWIGHT EISENHOWER HAD THIS QUOTE, THAT PLANS ARE NOTHING BUT PLANNING IS EVERYTHING. AND I THINK THAT'S HOW I VIEW THIS STRATEGIC PLAN, IT'S REALLY A BLUEPRINT IN THE WAY THAT SHEFA WAS TALKING ABOUT WITH IMPLEMENTATION, WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GO FROM THIS, TO EFFECT THAT CHANGE. THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE REALLY FELT STRONGLY ABOUT THIS MISSION STATEMENT, BECAUSE IT'S LIKE WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS STRATEGIC PLAN. SO THAT'S HOW WE SEE IT TYING TOGETHER. SO LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS CONVERSATION WITH ALL OF YOU. CATHY, CAN WE TURN IT BACK TO YOU? >> THANK YOU. THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT DISCUSSION. JUST A COUPLE OF MORE THINGS BEFORE WE BREAK FOR LUNCH. SO TODAY WE HAVE TWO CONCEPT CLEARANCES FOR POTENTIAL FUNDING INITIATIVES TO PRESENT TO YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATION OF EACH, I'M GOING TO ASK FOR A VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONCEPT FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT INTO A POSSIBLE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, AND IF YOU APPROVE, NEI WILL PROCEED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF IT. WE HAVE WRITEUPS AVAILABLE TO COUNCILMEMBERS BEFORE THE MEETING AND THEN WE ALSO ASSIGNED SOME COUNCILMEMBERS AS DISCUSSANTS, SO FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATIONS, WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THEM, BUT ALSO HEAR FROM ALL COUNCILMEMBERS FOR ANY INPUT THEY WANT TO GET. SO THE FIRST CONCEPT IS FOR A REGENERATIVE MEDICINE CLINICAL TRIAL PLANNING GRANT. DR. JIMMY LE WILL PRESENT THIS CONCEPT. JIMMY? >> THANKS, KATHY. SO I HAVE FOR COUNCIL'S REVIEW TODAY ONE OF TWO CONCEPT CLEARANCES, AND THERE ARE NO SLIDES FOR THIS PRESENTATION. THE FIRST CONCEPT IS CALLED REGENERATIVE MEDICINE CLINICAL TRIAL PLANNING. AND AS THE NAME INDICATES, NEI IS SEEKING APPROVAL FOR A CLINICAL TRIAL PLANNING FUNDING OPPORTUNITY THAT FOCUSES ON REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. SO THIS WOULD SUPPORT APPLICANTS IN THEIR PLANNING EFFORTS TO CONDUCT CLINICAL TRIALS THAT AIM TO EVALUATE INTERVENTIONS THAT RESTORE VISION IN HUMANS BY REGENERATING CELLULAR FUNCTION IN EYES WHERE THE VISION IS IMPAIRED. REGENERATIVE STRATEGIES, FOR EXAMPLE, MAY INCLUDE USE OF -- STEM CELLS, STEM CELL DERIVED PRECURSORS, PROGENITOR CELLS OR PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM THESE CELLS AND REGENERATIVE STRATEGIES MAY EMPLOY METHODS FOR INDODGE JUST CELLS SUCH AS GLIA INTO PHOTO RECEPTORS OR RETINAL GANGLION CELLS. AS COUNCIL IS AWARE, THE NEI CURRENTLY HAS ONE R34 CLINICAL RESEARCH STUDY PLANNING GRANT OUT THERE TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PROTOCOL FOR COMPLEX LARGE SCALE CLINICAL VISION RESEARCH PROJECTS INCLUDING RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS AND EPI, BUT NEI DOES NOT CURRENTLY HAVE A MECHANISM TO SUPPORT OR FACILITATE PLANNING OF CLINICAL TRIALS THAT EVALUATE REGENERATIVE STRATEGIES. SO THIS CONCEPT WOULD SUPPORT THE ESSENTIAL NEEDS OF PROJECTS SUCH AS PUTTING TOGETHER A CLINICAL TRIAL MANUAL PROCEDURE WHICH DOCUMENTS THE RATIONALE, THE DESIGN, THE ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES, OR A TRIAL THAT ASSESSES REGENERATIVE STRATEGIES. IT WOULD ALSO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO PREPARE AND ESTABLISH AGREEMENTS WITH GCP CELL MANUFACTURERS AND PRODUCTION FACILITIES OR DATA COORDINATING CENTERS, AND ALSO FOR OBTAINING REGULATORY APPROVALS. IT IS ALSO SOMETIMES NECESSARY TO CONDUCT PRELIMINARY STUDIES TO EVALUATE FEASIBILITY AND COLLECT SAFETY AND TOXICITY INFORMATION AS PART OF THE PLANNING PROCESS, SO THIS INITIATIVE COULD ALSO BE USED TO SUPPORT PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE USED TO CONDUCT THE ACTUAL TRIAL. FOR THIS CONCEPT, NEI HAS ASSIGNED DRS. HARTNETT, GARDNER AND STEPP AS REVIEWERS AND WE WELCOME ANY FEEDBACK FROM COUNCIL. >> WELL, I THINK THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CONCEPT, AND IT SORT OF SEEMS LIKE THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP, ESPECIALLY WITH THE WORK DONE ON REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. SO I'M IN SUPPORT OF IT, AND ACTUALLY I GUESS A QUESTION I HAVE IS IF IT WOULD ALSO BE AVAILABLE TO OTHER GRANTS OR OTHER INVESTIGATORS WHO WERE LOOKING AT AREAS OUTSIDE OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT EPIDEMIOLOGY, BUT OTHER FORMS OF, YOU KNOW, GENE THERAPY OR THINGS LIKE THIS FOR CLINICAL TRIALS. I'M IN -- >> THE INTENTION IS TO KEEP IT BROAD AS WELL, AS LONG AS IT ADDRESS SOME SORT OF REGENERATIVE STRATEGY AND FALLS IN THE FIELD OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE. DR. GARDNER OR STEPP, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS? >> OUR DISCUSSION THE OTHER DAY ABOUT IT WAS CERTAINLY POSITIVE, AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT FILLS AN IMPORTANT NICHE IN THE RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE WANTING TO MOVE TRANSLATION WORK FORWARD. >> I TOO AM IN SUPPORT. MY ONLY KIND OF COMMENT WAS ABOUT IN TERMS OF THE GOAL, THE STATEMENT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONS THE USE OF CELL-BASED THERAPIES, AND NOT EXOSOMES OR PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM STEM CELLS, AND I WAS WONDERING IF THAT WAS INTENTIONAL OR IF IT WOULD ALSO INCLUDE EXOSOMES AND MEDIA DERIVED FROM MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS, FOR EXAMPLE. I THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA. >> THANKS. WE'LL DEFINITELY TAKE THAT FEEDBACK INTO CONSIDERATION. >> ANY COMMENTS FROM OTHER MEMBERS OF COUNCIL ABOUT THIS CONCEPT? SO WITH THAT, I NEED A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS CONCEPT. >> I MOVE TO APPROVE THE CONCEPT. >> THANK YOU. >> I SECOND. >> THANK YOU. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, YOU CAN RAISE YOUR HAND. >> AYE. >> IS THERE ANYONE OPPOSED? >> MY VIDEO WAS OFF. YES. >> YOU'RE IN FAVOR? >> I'M IN FAVOR, YES. >> I HEARD NO ONE OPPOSED. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO APPROVAL OF THIS CONCEPT PASSES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE ONE MORE. WE HAVE ANOTHER INITIATIVE CONCEPT CLEARANCE FOR AN INITIATIVE FOR SINGLE SITE CLINICAL TRIALS, WHICH IS GOING TO BE PRESENTED BY DON EVERETT, WHO IS ALSO WITH OUR CLINICAL RESEARCH GROUP. >> GOOD AFTERNOON. GOOD MORNING TO OUR WESTERN FOLKS. IT'S NEVER GOOD TO BE IN A POSITION WHERE YOU'RE BETWEEN THE GROUP AND FOOD, SO I'M GOING TO BE QUICK ABOUT THIS. SO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE IS SOLICITING COUNCIL'S APPROVAL FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT A SINGLE SITE CLINICAL TRIAL WHERE THE INTERVENTION REPRESENTS GREATER THAN MINIMAL RISK TO THE PARTICIPANT. AND IN THE CONTEXT HERE MINIMAL RISK IS DEFINED AS THE PROBABILITY AND MAGNITUDE OF HARM OR DISCOMFORT ANTICIPATED IN THE RESEARCH THAT THEY'RE NOT GREATER THAN ORDINARILY ENCOUNTERED IN DAILY LIFE OR DURING PERFORMANCE OF ROUTINE PHYSICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS OR TESTS. CURRENTLY THE NEI'S PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT APPLICATIONS PROPOSING MECHANISTIC OR MINIMAL RISK TRIALS, THESE ARE TYPICALLY SUPPORTED ON THE PARENT -- NIH PARENT R01 GRANT MECHANISM AND ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, NEI ALSO HAS A PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE LARGE SCALE MULTICENTER CLINICAL TRIALS THAT ARE MANAGED IN OUR PROGRAM, THE CCR PROGRAM. THESE TRIALS ARE SUPPORTED -- IN THE UG1 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT MECHANISM AND THE PROJECTS ARE MULTIFACETED, THEY TYPICALLY INCLUDE A CHAIRMAN'S GRANT, A COORDINATING CENTER GRANT, OFTEN A RESOURCE CENTER WHICH MIGHT BE A VISUAL FIELD OR -- READING CENTER AND THEY INVOLVE MANY ROLL CLINICAL CENTERS. SO THE INITIATIVE UNDER DISCUSSION TODAY IS TO SUPPORT INVESTIGATOR INITIATED SINGLE-SITE CLINICAL TRIALS THAT ARE GREATER THAN MINIMAL RISK, BUT LESS COMPLEX AND RESOURCE-INTENSIVE THAN THOSE CURRENTLY SUPPORTED BY OTHER NIH CLINICAL PROGRAMS. SO WE'VE ASKED DRS. GARDNER, HARTNETT AND TELLER TO COMMENT. TOM? >> THANKS, DON. AGAIN, THE DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD LAST WEEK ABOUT THIS WAS VERY POSITIVE. IN SOME RESPECTS, THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE OTHER PROPOSAL. IT'S FILLING A NICHE THAT'S NOT AVAILABLE IN THE CURRENT REPERTOIRE OF FUNDING MECHANISMS. SO IT WOULD SEEM THAT THIS WOULD BE IMPORTANT AS BECAUSE TRIALS NOW IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE PARTICULARLY MAY BE VERY COMPLEX AND GETTING STARTED WITH A SINGLE SITE COULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO DO THINGS TO UG1 LEVEL. WHATEVER THAT -- SO I'M CERTAINLY IN FAVOR. THANK YOU. >> EMME? >> I DEFINITELY AM IN FAVOR, AND IT ALSO REDUCES -- I BELIEVE THAT FOR SINGLE SITE, IF THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH THE CURRENT MECHANISMS THAT YOU HAVE, THEY WOULD HAVE A LOT OF EXTRA STEPS THAT THEY'D HAVE TO TAKE THAT THIS WILL -- THEY'LL STILL HAVE THE DSMV BUT THEY WON'T HAVE TO DO THAT ADDITION WORK. I'M VERY MUCH IN FAVOR. >> THANK YOU. AND BEN? >> DR. TELLER WAS ASSIGNED? OH, DR. TELLER, YOU'RE MUTED. >> SORRY. THIS SOUNDS REASONABLE TO ME. THIS IS ALL NEW TECHNOLOGY, HIGHLY INNOVATIVE WITH EXPERT LEADING IN THE FIELD, SO I CONCUR WITH MY FELLOW COUNCILMEMBERS AND APPROVE. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT. I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU, KATHY. >> ANY OTHER MEMBERS WANT TO WEIGH IN BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE? OKAY. SO MAY I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS CONCEPT TO MOVE FORWARD? >> I MOVE. >> CAN WE HAVE A SECOND? >> SECOND. >> THANK YOU. I'M JUST GOING TO SAY, IS THERE ANYONE OPPOSED TO MOVING THIS CONCEPT FORWARD? HEARING NONE, THE MOTION IS APPROVED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I HAD FAILED TO PUT ON THE AGENDA BUT WE WANTED TO INCLUDE JUST BEFORE, SORRY, I'M GOING TO DELAY YOUR LUNCH JUST FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER, BUT WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU TIME AT THE END OF THE WHOLE MORNING SESSION TO HAVE A GENERAL DISCUSSION TO RAISE ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS MORNING BUT ALSO IF THERE ARE JUST OTHER THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO PUT ON THE TABLE TO DISCUSS. WE HAVE ABOUT 15 MINUTES TO DO THAT. I THINK THE CLOSED SESSION IS GOING TO BE RELATIVELY SHORT, SO I'M NOT CONCERNED IF WE START LATE. SO THE FLOOR IS OPEN FOR DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING THAT'S ON YOUR MIND. KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A PUBLIC SESSION. >> I WANT TO JUST START FIRST THANKING TSH I KNOW WE'VE -- I KNOW WE'VE HAD A MORNING THAT WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS AS WE GO ALONG. FIRST WITH -- REALLY IN EACH OF THE SECTIONS BUT REALLY WANTED TO LEAVE TIME IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S BEEN LEFT UNSAID. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I KNOW THAT WE WOULD -- THAT WE WANT TO DECIDE ON IS WHAT TALK ABOUT AT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, AND FROM WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, THINGS LIKE DATA SHARING, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THAT. JAMES, WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT I THINK SEEMS LIKE A NATURAL, BUT BUT IF YOU HAVE OTHER IDEAS ABOUT THAT, LET US KNOW EITHER NOW OR SOMETIME OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS TO LET US -- AND KATHY, YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO PLAN THAT. WELL, I THINK THAT WE'VE ALL DONE ZOOM ENOUGH THAT THESE SORTS OF PAUSES DON'T REALLY SEEM AWKWARD ANYMORE, BUT KATHY, DO YOU TAKE THIS AS A SIGN THAT WE SHOULD -- LIKE WHAT SHOULD WE DO? >> I'LL TAKE IT AS A SIGN THAT FOR THE MOMENT, NOBODY HAS A BURNING QUESTION, SO -- AND YEAH, I ENCOURAGE, AS DR. CHIANG MENTIONED, ENCOURAGE YOU TO SEND IDEAS FOR OTHER TOPICS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT DURING THE OPEN SESSION. SO WITH THAT, YOU HAVE EARNED YOUR LUNCH, AND THANK YOU FOR HANGING IN THERE. SO LET'S PLAN TO START THE CLOSED -- WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? 1:40? LET'S PLAN TO TAKE 30 MINUTE FOR LUNCH AND WE WILL START THE CLOSED SESSION AT 2:10.