>>WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO
DAY TWO OF THE ADVISORY MEETING.
WE HAVE THREE GREAT
PRESENTATIONS FOR YOU TODAY.
WE WILL START, I THINK, WITH A
PRESENTATION BY DR. JON LORSCH,
ON THE UNITE-E INITIATIVE.
YOU'VE HEARD US TALK ABOUT THE
UNITE INITIATIVE AT NIH, AND
THERE'S WONDERFUL WORK BEING
DONE BY JON LORSCH'S
SUBCOMMITTEE LOOKING AT THE
EXTRAMURAL LANDSCAPE AND HOW HOW
WE CAN IMPROVE THIS FOR OUR
UNDERREPRESENTED INVESTIGATORS.
NEXT WE'LL HEAR FROM DR.
CENDRINE ROBINSON, THE NEW
DIVERSITY OFFICER, I INTRODUCED
HER LAST COUNCIL MEETING,
IDEALLY FOLLOWING DR. LORSCH'S
PRESENTATION WITH DR.
ROBINSON'S.
TO END THE DAY WE'LL HEAR FROM
ONE OF OUR INTRAMURAL
INVESTIGATORS, DR. KATIE KINDT,
ABOUT HER RESEARCH PROGRAM.
I THINK WE'RE READY TO START IF
DR. LORSCH IS HERE.
BECKY, CAN YOU LET ME KNOW?
>>HE HAS NOT JOINED YET.
>>OKAY, ALL RIGHT.
WE'LL START WITH DR. ROBINSON'S
PRESENTATION SO WE CAN GO AHEAD
AND GET HER SLIDES UP.
SO, I JUST WANT TO SAY HOW
WONDERFUL IT'S BEEN TO HAVE
CENDRINE ON BOARD WITH US, SHE
HAS ADDED IMMEASURABLY TO OUR
DEIA EFFORTS HERE AT NIDCD, AND
I THINK THAT YOU WILL ALL ENJOY
HEARING FROM HER AND WORKING
WITH HER IN THE FUTURE.
SO, DR. ROBINSON, PLEASE
PROCEED.
>>THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY
TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO DISCUSS
THE DIVERSITY, EQUITY,
INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY
STRATEGY FOR NIDCD AND TO
PROVIDE UPDATES.
SO, BEFORE I GET INTO THAT, I
WANT TO SHARE A KEY EXPERIENCE
THAT SHAPED THE LENS I BRING TO
MY ROLE AS CHIEF DIVERSITY
OFFICER FOR NIDCD.
IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT
SLIDE PLEASE.
I INITIALLY BECAME AWARE OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF DEIA EDUCATION AND
INITIATIVES QUITE SOME TIME AGO
WHEN I WAS A FRESHMAN AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, DYING
MY FIRST WEEK ON CAMPUS, WHEN I
ENCOUNTERED A BAKE SALE.
THIS WAS A BAKE KALE THAT WAS
ORGANIZED BY A GROUP OF STUDENTS
WHO WERE DEMONSTRATING THEIR
DISAGREEMENT WITH THE
UNIVERSITY'S DIVERSITY-FOCUSED
POLICIES.
IN THE BAKE SALE THEY PRICED THE
ITEMS ACCORDING TO DEMOGRAPHIC
VARIABLES.
SO, A COOKIE FOR A WHITE STUDENT
WAS $1.
A COOKIE FOR A BLACK STUDENT WAS
50 CENTS.
PRICING WAS BASED ON THEIR
PERCEPTION HOW MUCH EFFORT THEY
FELT IT TOOK FOR STUDENTS FROM
DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS FRO GET
INTO THE UNIVERSITY.
FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE A STUDENT
LIKE ME WAS PRODUCED TO BE HALF
AS COMPETITIVE TO BE ADMITTED TO
THE SCHOOL.
TO ME THIS COMMUNICATED THAT I
DID NOT BELONG AND THAT STUDENTS
LIKE ME WERE NOT WELCOME BY THIS
GROUP.
THIS BAKE SALE WAS A MEMORABLE
MOMENT FOR ME, AWFUL TO
ENCOUNTER FIRST WEEK AT SCHOOL
BUT I RECOGNIZED SOMETHING.
I RECOGNIZED SOMETHING WAS
MISSING FROM THE INFORMATION AT
THE BAKE SALE.
THAT WAS THE PRICING OF THE BAKE
SALE IGNORED THE IMPACT OF
STRUCTURAL RACISM ON EDUCATION
OPPORTUNITIES.
FORTUNATELY OVER THE COURSE OF
MY FOUR YEARS AT THE SCHOOL, I
WAS ABLE TO ALIGN MYSELF WITH
STUDENTS AND STAFF THAT WERE
COMMITTED TO PROMOTING DEIA
EDUCATION AND POLICIES.
BY DOING SO I BECAME WELL
EDUCATED ABOUT HOW POLICIES SUCH
AS RED LINING IMPACT HEALTH,
EDUCATION, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
MOST IMPORTANTLY I LEARNED BY
ALIGNING MYSELF WITH THIS
COMMUNITY THAT I INDEED WAS
QUALIFIED, COMPETITIVE, AND
BELONGED AT THE UNIVERSITY.
OVER THE COURSE OF MY ACADEMIC
TRAINING I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY
TO PARTICIPATE IN SEVERAL
PROGRAMS THAT WERE AIMED AT
LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD, AND
ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES,
INCLUDING THE RONALD E McNAIR
PROGRAM, AND NIH DIVERSITY F31
PRE-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP.
IT'S THROUGH THESE EXPERIENCES
THAT I DEVELOPED EXPERTISE IN
HEALTH DISPARITIES AND PASSION
FOR DIVERSIFYING THE BIOMEDICAL
WORKFORCE.
THIS BAKE SALE IS ONE OF THE
REASONS I'M SO GRATEFUL TO BE AT
NIDCD, WHERE THE VALUES FOR DEIA
EDUCATION AND POLICIES ARE
SHARED.
I LIKE FORWARD TO SHARING WITH
YOU HOW I ENVISION LEVERAGING TO
REACH THE MISSION.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THANK YOU.
I SEE NIDCD AS HAG THREE MAJOR
COMPONENTS TO OUR SPHERE OF
INFLUENCE AS RELATES TO
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION,
AND ACCESSIBILITY.
FIRST WE HAVE THE INTERNAL
WORKFORCE.
THAT INCLUDES ALL STAFF THAT
SUPPORT THE BUSINESS OPERATIONS
OF NIDCD, THAT MAKE EVERYTHING
HAPPEN AS RELATES TO THE WORK
FOR OUR EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY.
IT IS ALSO INCLUSIVE OF OUR
SCIENTISTS IN THE EXTRAMURAL
PROGRAM.
THEN WE HAVE THE EXTRAMURAL
WORKFORCE.
SO THAT IS OUR GRANTEE
COMMUNITY, AND THE PIPELINE THAT
WE'RE WORKING TO BUILD.
NIDCD HAS THE ABILITY AND THE
COMMITMENT TO WORKING TO ACHIEVE
HEALTH EQUITY, SO AS DESCRIBED
IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, AND
DESCRIBED BRIEFLY YESTERDAY, WE
HAVE THIS AS A MAJOR COMPONENT
OF OUR EFFORTS AND THAT IS A
MAJOR PART OF OUR SPHERE OF
INFLUENCE AS WELL.
IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT
SLIDE PLEASE.
THANK YOU.
I ENVISION A STRATEGY THAT CUTS
ACROSS EXTRAMURAL AND INTERNAL
WORKFORCE, TOGETHER THESE
COMMUNITIES ARE INFLUENCING
NIDCD'S HEALTH EQUITY EFFORTS.
THE FIRST COMPONENT IS EQUITY
AND RECRUITMENT AND ADVANCEMENT.
SO IN THE INTERNAL WORKFORCE,
WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS
UTILIZING BEST PRACTICES TO
REDUCE BIAS IN RECRUITMENT AND
PROMOTING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
FOR ADVANCEMENT.
FOR EXTRAMURAL WORKFORCE ONE
EXAMPLE IS STRATEGY SPEAKS TO
OUR INITIATIVE TO ENSURE THERE
ARE EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES TO
RECEIVE FUNDING FROM NIDCD.
FOR TRANSPARENCY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY, FOR BOTH THE
INTERNAL AND EXTRAMURAL
WORKFORCE, NIDCD HAS A
COMMITMENT AND PLAN FOR
COMMUNICATING DEIA ACTIVITIES
AND EFFORTS, AND OUR PRACTICING.
ADDITIONALLY, ONE OF MY EFFORTS
IS TO FORMALIZE THE STRATEGY TO
FACILITATE ACCOUNTABILITY.
FOR CULTURAL AWARENESS WE HAVE
REGULAR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
PROVIDED ON TOPICS SUCH AS
STRUCTURAL RACISM.
AND FOR THE EXTRAMURAL
COMMUNITY, THE INSTITUTE HAS
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES THAT
INCLUDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
MENTORS TO IMPROVE THEIR
CULTURAL AWARENESS AS IN OUR R25
MENTORSHIP AWARD.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO I WANT TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE
INTO THE INTERNAL WORKFORCE.
MY PLAN IS TO TRY TO MONITOR
INITIATIVES ACROSS THE EMPLOYEE
LIFE CYCLE, RECRUITMENT THROUGH
AWARDS, COMMITTING TO
DIVERSIFYING OUR STAFF.
AND ALSO IN TERMS OF RETENTION
THAT'S THROUGH OUR EDUCATION AND
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES ON
CULTURAL AWARENESS, ALSO ALIGNED
WITH NIH-LEVEL INITIATIVES AS
RELATES TO PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR STAFF, AND
ALSO LOOKING AT THE RECOGNITION
AND PROMOTION OF STAFF.
FOR THE EXTRAMURAL WORKFORCE THE
LIFE CYCLE LOOKS SIMILAR EXCEPT
HERE WE ADD THE DEVELOPING
PIPELINE LAYER, AND THAT'S
REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE
RECOGNIZE IMPORTANCE OF
INVESTING EARLIER IN STUDENTS,
PARTICULARLY THROUGH OUR
DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENTS AND
R25s.
FROM THERE WE ALSO FOCUS ON
RECRUITMENT, SO PROVIDING
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS TO
APPLY FOR FUNDING AND MAKING
SURE THAT THERE'S EQUITY IN
TERMS OF INFORMATION AND ACCESS
TO APPLYING FOR OUR FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES AND SIMILARLY
LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES AND
ALIGNING WITH NIH-LEVEL
INITIATIVES FOR LOOKING AT
REWARD AND RETENTION.
OH, ONE MORE COMMENT ON THIS
SLIDE.
SO, I HAVE THIS BIDIRECTIONAL
LINE BECAUSE THE EFFORTS THAT WE
ARE WORKING ON FOR THE
EXTRAMURAL WORKFORCE FEEDBACK
INTO WHO WE CAN RECRUIT FROM FOR
OUR INTERNAL WORKFORCE.
AS WE WORK TO BUILD OUT THE
PIPELINE AND GET DIVERSE
INVESTIGATORS APPLY FOR R01s,
WHEN WE LOOK TO RECRUIT FOR
EXTRAMURAL SCIENTIST, PROGRAM
OFFICERS, SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
POSITIONS, WE ARE ABLE TO GIVE
EVEN MORE BENEFIT OF THESE
EFFORTS.
THERE'S ALSO THE INTERNAL
WORKFORCE COULD GO TO THE
EXTRAMURAL WORKFORCE.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, I SEE THE INTERNAL WORKFORCE
AND EXTRAMURAL WORKFORCE EFFORTS
COMBINING TO ENHANCE OUR HEALTH
EQUITY RESEARCH PORTFOLIO.
AND THAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT
ALIGNS WITH NIDCD'S GOALS TO
HAVE RESEARCH THAT'S INNOVATIVE,
HIGH QUALITY, INVOLVES THE
PARTICIPATION OF UNDEROBSERVED
UNDERSERVED
POPULATIONS TO ENHANCE PUBLIC
TRUST.
WE NEED A SOL IT INFRASTRUCTURE.
I'M PROUD OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE
WE HAVE.
WHICH INVOLVES NIDCD DIVERSITY
WORKING GROUP, WHICH IS A GROUP
OF VOLUNTEERS, ABOUT 40 OR SO
VOLUNTEERS, WHO ARE COMMITTED TO
DEVELOPING AND CREATING DEIA
INITIATIVES FOR OUR INTERNAL
WORKFORCE.
WE HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE
NIDCD ADVISORY COUNT WORKING
GROUP AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS
WERE SHARED AND IMPLEMENTED BY
NIDCD IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE,
CONSISTING OF LEADERSHIP, AND I
SEE MYSELF BUILDING ON EXISTING
INITIATIVES WORKING IN
COLLABORATION WITH THE COMMITTED
VOLUNTEERS WORKING TO MAKE THESE
THINGS HAPPEN.
I WANT TO MENTION OUR EFFORTS
ALIGN WITH THE N.I.H.--WIDE
INITIATIVES, INCLUDING UNITE,
WHICH WE'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT
LATER TODAY, AND THE ANTI-RACISM
STEERING COMMITTEE.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO A FEW UPDATES.
SO I WANT TO MENTION THAT THIS
IS NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF
ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE WORKING
ON, JUST A FEW THINGS I WANT TO
HIGHLIGHT.
THERE HAS BEEN QUITE A BIT OF
EFFORT AROUND RECRUITING, WHEN I
CAME IN NIDCD HAD ALREADY
DEVELOPED A PRETTY INCREDIBLE
RECRUITING GUIDE.
SO THIS GUIDE SUMMARIZES BEST
PRACTICES FOR ACROSS VARIOUS
STAGES OF RECRUITING INCLUDING
ADVERTISING POSITIONS,
INTERVIEWING CANDIDATES,
CANDIDATE SELECTION.
ONE THINGS I WAS INTERESTED IN
IS HOW TO FURTHER IMPLEMENT AND
FACILITATE UPTAKE OF THAT GUIDE.
AND SO BY DOING PRESENTATIONS
WITH STAFF, AND LOOKING FOR
OPPORTUNITIES TO REMIND AND TRY
TO OVERCOME POTENTIAL BARRIERS
TO IMPLEMENTATION WE'RE SEEING
GOOD UPTAKE AND PRACTICES ARE
BEING USED FOR RECRUITMENT FOR
PROGRAM OFFICER POSITIONS.
SIMILARLY THERE'S A REQUIREMENT
SEARCH COMMITTEES ARE USING
GS-14, 15, TITLE 42, AND WITH --
I'VE BEEN FOCUSING FACILITATING
UPTAKE OF THIS POLICY, IT'S ALSO
BEING IMPLEMENTED AS WELL.
ON THE INTRAMURAL SIDE, THE
TRAINING OFFICE HAS A POSTBAC
RECRUITING INITIATIVE INVOLVING
TRAINING OFFICE DEVELOPING A --
CULTIVATING A LIST OF DIVERSE
CANDIDATES TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR
P.I.s TO SELECT POSTBACS IN AN
EQUITABLE WAY, LAST CAREER
CULTIVATING THIS POOL, THREE
POSTBACS WERE SELECTED AND
CONDUCTED RESEARCH AT NIDCD.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO, FOR DEVELOPING THE PIPELINE
AND RECRUITING FOR THE
EXTRAMURAL WORK FORCE NIDCD
CONTINUES TO PARTICIPATE IN
DIVERSE CONFERENCES.
I MYSELF WILL BE PRESENTING IN
APRIL AT THE NATIONAL BLACK
ASSOCIATION OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE
AND HEARING, I ALSO HAVE PLANS
TO ATTEND THE SOCIETY FOR
ADVANCING CHICANO AND NATIVE
AMERICAN SCIENTISTS AND FOR
MINORITIES STUDENTS.
THERE'S BEEN GREAT DEAL OF
EFFORT TO PROMOTE EQUITY AND
GRANT WRITING RESOURCES, AND SO
NIDCD IN EARLY 22 LAUNCHED A
SAMPLE GRANT APPLICATION SECTION
OF THE WEB PAGE, QUITE
SUCCESSFUL, 2 089 DOWNLOADS, A
HIGH CONVERSION RATE OF 49%.
WE HAVE OUR NEWEST GROUP OF
DIVERSITY SCHOLARS, BIOS AND
ON THE
WEBSITE, CHECK THAT OUT.
A COMMITTEE WILL PROVIDE AN
IN-PERSON NETWORKING AND
MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR
DIVERSITY SCHOLARS.
I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO
CONDUCT OUTREACH TO HISTORICALLY
BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITY
AND MINORITY SERVING
INSTITUTION, I'VE HIGHLIGHTED
OUR WEB PAGE TO PROFESSORS
THROUGH ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS
AND E-MAILS, AND HIGHLIGHTED
GRANT AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
WE HAVE EFFORTS OF COURSE TO
BUILD THE DIVERSE PIPELINE
THROUGH OUR FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
I'M NOT GOING TO READ ALL, THEY
WERE PRESENTED AT A PREVIOUS
COUNCIL MEETING, BUT I WANT TO
MENTION THEM, THAT THESE ARE
SOME OF THE ONES THAT WE ARE
CURRENTLY SIGNED ON TO AND WE'RE
EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES
TO WORK TO BUILD OUT THE
SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE THROUGH
MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND
RESEARCH EXPERIENCES.
I ALSO WANT TO MENTION THERE'S
NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT ARE COMING
FROM UNITE, YOU'LL HEAR SOME OF
THOSE LATER.
WE'VE FORMED A COMMITTEE TO
REVIEW THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS
THEY COME IN, INTERNAL AND IDC
COMMITTEE, TO REVIEW THOSE
OPPORTUNITIES AS THEY COME IN
AND TO PRIORITIZE AND DISCUSS
AND TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
FOR HEALTH EQUITY THERE'S
SEVERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND THIS LIST IS
NOT EXHAUSTIVE.
THERE'S ONE ON ADDRESSING
STRUCTURAL RACISM, WE HAVE AN
NIDCD-SPECIFIC ONE THAT FOCUSES
ON HEALTH DISPARITIES MORE
BROADLY.
AND THEN FINALLY ONE FOCUSED ON
HEALTH DISPARITIES AT
MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS.
FOR ALL OF THESE WE'RE EXCITED
AND OPTIMISTIC AND GETTING THE
WORD OUT WIDELY TO ENCOURAGE
APPLICATIONS.
AND IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT
SLIDE PLEASE.
THANKS.
WITH THAT I WOULD LIKE TO
ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK THE NIDCD
DIVERSITY WORKING GROUP.
SO THIS GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS
CREATED A PRETTY INCREDIBLE
INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ME TO WALK
INTO IN SEPTEMBER AND WORK TO
BUILD ON.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AS WELL AS RECOMMENDATIONS FROM
THE ADVISORY COUNCIL WORKING
GROUP ON DIVERSITY AND
INCLUSIVENESS, AND NIDCD
IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE.
AND THAT IS ALL FROM ME.
THANKS.
I WELCOME ANY QUESTIONS IF
THERE'S TIME.
>>THANK YOU, CENDRINE.
THAT WAS FANTASTIC.
THAT'S A REALLY NICE BACKDROP
FOR WHAT WE'LL HEAR ABOUT
SHORTLY FROM DR. JON LORSCH.
I THINK WE WILL HOLD QUESTIONS
FOR YOU, IF THAT'S OKAY, AND GO
AHEAD WITH THE NEXT
PRESENTATION.
AND THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND
DISCUSS.
SO JON IS HERE.
ZOOM WAS A CHALLENGE THIS
MORNING, SO JON AND I HAVE
ALREADY SEEN EACH OTHER THIS
MORNING IN THE EXTRAMURAL
ACTIVITIES WORKING GROUP.
A LOT THAT CENDRINE DISCUSSED
WAS INVOLVED THERE AS WELL.
I'LL INTRODUCE JON NOW, SLIGHTED
TO WELCOME DR. JON LORSCH TO THE
MEETING, DIRECTOR OF THE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL
MEDICAL SCIENCES, NIGMS, SINCE
2013.
IN THIS ROLE HE OVERSEES THE
INSTITUTE THAT SUPPORTS
APPROXIMATELY 11% OF THE TOTAL
NUMBER OF NIH RESEARCH GRANTS,
AND 30% OF NRSA TRAINEES.
THIS MAKES HIM UNIQUELY
QUALIFIED TO SERVE AS CO-CHAIR
OF UNITE E COMMUNITY, FOCUSED ON
THE EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH
ECOSYSTEM.
THE NIH-WIDE INITIATIVE WAS
ESTABLISHED TO IDENTIFY AND
ADDRESS STRUCTURAL RACISM WITHIN
THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
ENTERPRISE AS WELL AS SUPPORT
THE EFFORTS OF THE NIH OFFICES
INVOLVED IN DIVERSITY, EQUITY,
INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY.
JON IS HERE WITH US TODAY TO
PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE UNITEE
GROUP AND I ASKED DR. LISA GOFF
MAN TO LEAD A DISCUSSION AFTER
THIS PRESENTATION.
>>LET ME GET MY SLIDES UP FOR
YOU.
OKAY.
VERY NICE TO BE HERE.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY.
SO, AS DEB SAID I WANT TO GIVE
YOU AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE
UNITE E ACTIVITIES AND
INITIATIVES.
I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE
UNITE E COMMITTEE AS WELL AS
CO-CHAIRS ERICA BOON AND ANNA
ORDOÑEZ.
SO, THE COMMITTEE IS TACKLING
FOUR MAIN DIFFERENT AREAS
CAREER PATHWAYS, INEQUITIES AT
EXTRAMURAL INSTITUTIONS WITH
PARTICULAR FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENTS
AND CULTURES.
INEQUITIES AT NIH, IN TERMS EVER
OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, HOW
THEY INFLUENCE THE EXTRAMURAL
ECOSYSTEM.
AND RESEARCH RESOURCES AND
CAPACITY AT MINORITY SERVING
INSTITUTIONS.
I'LL TOUCH ON INITIATIVES WE'RE
WORKING ON OR ACCOMPLISHED IN
EACH OF THESE FOUR AREAS.
STARTING FIRST WITH CAREER
PATHWAYS FOR MEMBERS OF
UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.
EARLY ON FROM THE START OF THE
UNITE INITIATIVE, THERE WAS A
LOT OF INTEREST IN NIH BEING
INVOLVED EARLIER IN THE
EDUCATIONAL PATHWAY FOR
STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY STUDENTS
FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS.
AND IT TURNED OUT THAT NIH
ALREADY HAS SUCH A PROGRAM,
WHICH IS MANAGED NOW BY NIGMS,
THE SCIENCE EDUCATION
PARTNERSHIP AWARDS, SEPA,
SUPPORTING INNOVATION IN PRE-K
THROUGH 12 STEM EDUCATION WITH
GOAL OF BUILDING INTEREST OF
STUDENTS FROM DIVERSE
BACKGROUNDS IN CAREERS IN
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH.
SO, BASED ON THE STRONG INTEREST
WE KEPT HEARING FROM BOTH INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE NIH OF HAVING OTHER
NIH INSTITUTES AND CENTERS
PARTICIPATE IN THIS ACTIVITY, A
NOTICE OF PARTICIPATION WAS
ISSUED BY THE HUMAN GENOME
INSTITUTE, AND OTHER NIH
INSTITUTES AND CENTERS WERE ABLE
TO SIGN ON TO THE SEPA FOA AND
POTENTIALLY FUND SEPA AWARDS.
THAT LED TO 16 I.C.s IN
ADDITION TO NIGMS BEING SIGNED
ON TO THE SEPA FOA, WITH THE
ABILITY TO FUND AWARDS.
SO, ALL THE APPLICATIONS STILL
COME IN THROUGH NIGMS.
AND THEN WHAT WE'RE DOING IS THE
PARTICIPATING ICs WILL BE ABLE
TO LOOK AT THE APPLICATIONS
AFTER A VIEW, WHICH JUST
RECENTLY HAPPENED, AND DECIDE
WHICH ONES THEY MIGHT BE
INTERESTED IN FUNDING.
ALL THE AWARDEES WILL STILL BE
ABLE TO, REGARDLESS OF WHICH
INSTITUTE AND CENTERS FUNDS
THEM, WILL STILL BE ABLE TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE SEPA-WIDE
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES INCLUDING A
YEARLY CONFERENCE AND OTHER
EVENTS TO TRY TO BUILD SORT OF A
COHORT OF PEOPLE WORKING IN THE
SIMILAR FIELD.
A KEY POINT HERE THOUGH IS THAT
NIGMS HAS A COMMITMENT PART OF
WHEN CONGRESS MOVED THE PROGRAM
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
TO NIGMS TO FUND A CERTAIN LEVEL
OF SEPA GRANTS, SO WE HAVE TO
KEEP THAT COMMITMENT.
WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO DO SO.
SO THE GOAL OF HAVING OTHER NIH
INSTITUTES AND CENTERS SIGN ON
IS ACTUALLY TO FUND MORE SEPA
GRANTS OVER AND ABOVE LEVEL
NIGMS IS COMMITTED TO FUNDING.
IN ORDER TO DO THAT EFFECTIVELY
AS POSSIBLE WHAT WE WANT TO SEE
IS MORE SEPA APPLICATIONS.
SO I WOULD ASK YOUR HELP IN
GETTING THE WORD OUT THAT
THERE'S THIS ADDITIONAL
OPPORTUNITY AND THEN MORE SEPA
APPLICATIONS ARE DESIRED BY NIH,
SO IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS
WORKING IN THE PRE-K THROUGH 1
STEM EDUCATION OR PUBLIC
OUTREACH, THE PROGRAM ALSO FUNDS
PUBLIC OUTREACH AND SCIENCE
CENTERS AND THROUGH OTHER
VENUES, PLEASE LET THEM KNOW
ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY.
WE ACTUALLY CHANGED THE
ELIGIBILITY SUCH THAT
INSTITUTIONS USED TO BE LIMITED
TO HAVING ONE SEPA PER
INSTITUTION, AND WE'VE
ELIMINATED THAT CAP.
SO NOW INSTITUTIONS CAN HAVE
MORE THAN ONE SEPA AWARD AS LONG
AS THEY ARE DISTINCT
SCIENTIFICALLY.
SOME ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES THAT
ARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT BY THE
CAREER PATHWAYS PORTION OF UNITE
E INCLUDE INCORPORATION OF
DIVERSITY AND MENTOR TRAINING
LANGUAGE INTO THE PARENT
TRAINING GRANT, T32, AND
FELLOWSHIP FOAs.
THIS WILL INCLUDE EXPECTATIONS
OF MENTOR TRAINING AND
ASSESSMENT, AND MAKING THE
RECRUITMENT PLAN TO ENHANCE
DIVERSITY SCORE DRIVING.
THAT WORK IS UNDERWAY.
THERE'S ALSO A WORK GOING ON TO
EXPAND USE OF DIVERSITY
SUPPLEMENTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS
GRANTS.
I SAW IN THE PREVIOUS
PRESENTATION THAT NIDCD
PARTICIPATES IN THAT.
SO THE GROUP ACTUALLY WORKING
WITH THE NIH SEED OFFICE HAS NOW
ON THE SEED OFFICE WEBSITE A
SORT OF MATCH-MAKER IN WHICH
PEOPLE INTERESTED IN -- STUDENTS
FOR INSTANCE IN INTERESTED IN A
SUMMER INTERNSHIP AT A SMALL
BUSINESS CAN FIND SMALL
BUSINESSES FUNDED IN THEIR AREA,
CAN REACH OUT TO THEM AND CAN
TALK ABOUT POSSIBILITY OF
WORKING THERE, FUNDED THROUGH A
SUPPLEMENT TO THEIR SBIR OR STTR
GRANTS.
THERE'S ACTIVITIES IN
ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAINING FOR
FACULTY, STUDENTS, TRAINEES AT
MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS,
ALSO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NIH
SEED OFFICE.
THE SEED OFFICE HAS A TERRIFIC
WEBSITE ABOUT BUILDING DIVERSITY
IN SMALL BIOTECH BUSINESSES, IF
YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT AREA,
I COMMEND IT TO YOU.
YOU CAN GET THERE FROM THE
WEBSITE LINK HERE.
AND THIS GROUP HAS ALSO BEEN
ENGAGED IN PLAN TO INCREASE
DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES IN NIH FOE
AS, THE INITIATIVE THE NIH BRAIN
INITIATIVE DEVELOPED.
IT IS A ONE-PAGE ADDITIONAL
ATTACHMENT TO NIH APPLICATIONS
THAT USE IT.
AND IT EXPLAINS TO THE REVIEWERS
AND TO NIH STAFF HOW THAT WORK
WILL INCORPORATE DIVERSE
PERSPECTIVES TO STRENGTHEN THE
RESEARCH.
AND THOSE DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES
CAN COME FROM A VARIETY OF
AREAS.
THEY CAN BE INCLUDING DIFFERENT
INSTITUTION TYPES IN THE
RESEARCH, IT CAN BE INCLUDING
DIFFERENT KINDS OF APPROACHES TO
THE RESEARCH.
IT CAN BE RECRUITING INDIVIDUALS
FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS TO
WORK IN THE RESEARCH.
BUT A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT WAYS
CAN BE BROUGHT TO BEAR TO
ENHANCE THOSE DIVERSE
PERSPECTIVES.
IN ADDITION TO THE BRAIN
INSTITUTE -- THE BRAIN
INITIATIVE, WHICH IS USING IT IN
MOST OF ITS FOAs, A NUMBER OF
OTHER I.C.s STARTED PILING USE
OF PEDP INCLUDING NIGMS, PUTTING
IT INTO OUR RESEARCH FOAs NOW.
THE GOAL IS TO TRY TO EXPAND
FURTHER THROUGHOUT NIH.
MOVING NOW TO INEQUITIES AT
EXTRAMURAL INSTITUTIONS,
PARTICULARLY FOCUSING AGAIN ON
THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE,
WHY DID THE GROUP FOCUS ON
INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE AND
ENVIRONMENT?
IT'S BECAUSE THE ANALOGY HAS
BEEN MADE TO THE CULTURE AND
ENVIRONMENT AT THE INSTITUTION
BEING LIKE THE SOIL.
SO IF THAT SOIL IS NOT
APPROPRIATELY RICH IN NUTRIENTS
AND CONSTRUCTED DOESN'T MATTER
HOW MANY SEEDS YOU PLANT OR HOW
MANY PLANTS YOU PUT IN THE SOIL.
THEY ARE NOT GOING TO THRIVE.
SO IN ORDER TO HAVE A THRIVING
AND DIVERSE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
ECOSYSTEM WE REALLY NEED THE
CULTURES AT INSTITUTIONS TO BE
ONES THAT SUPPORT INCLUSIVENESS
AND DIVERSITY IF THE GOAL IS TO
STRENGTHEN CULTURE THROUGH
INCLUSIVENESS AND STRENGTHEN
RESEARCH THROUGH INCLUSIVENESS
AND DIVERSITY.
SO, NIH HAS A LOT OF PROGRAMS TO
INCREASE THE PIPELINE, IF YOU
WILL, OF STUDENTS GOING IN
DIFFERENT STAGES IN THE CAREER
AND TO DIVERSIFY THAT SET OF
CAREER PATHS.
THE PEOPLE GOING INTO DIFFERENT
CAREER PATHS.
BUT NOT MUCH ATTENTION HAS BEEN
PAID TO THE CULTURE.
THAT'S WHY THE GROUP FELT
INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE WAS REALLY
AN AREA THAT NEEDED MUCH MORE
ATTENTION FROM NIH.
WHEN WE STARTED DELVING INTO
LITERATURE ON THIS HOW
INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE CAN BE
CHANGED AND IMPROVED WE FOUND A
LOT OF EVIDENCE THAT THE FIRST
STEP NEEDS TO BE ASSESSING THAT
CULTURE THROUGH STRUCTURED
CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS AND SELF
STUDIES.
THESE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF
PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS THAT
HAVE COME TO THAT CONCLUSION.
SO TO QUOTE ONE OF THEM,
CAMPUSES THAT STRIVE TO BECOME
FUNCTIONAL MULTICULTURAL
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS CAN NOW
RELY ON BODY OF EMPIRICAL
INFORMATION TO GUIDE PRACTICE
AND CRITICAL SELF-ASSESSMENT TO
DEEPEN THEIR COMMITMENT TO
DIVERSITY.
SO WE FELT BASED ON THIS
LITERATURE THAT IF NIH COULD DO
SOMETHING TO ENABLE AND PROMOTE
INSTITUTIONS TO DO THESE KINDS
OF CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS FOLLOWED
BY CRITICAL SELF-STUDIES,
FOLLOWED BY USING THAT
INFORMATION TO DEVELOP STRATEGIC
ACTION PLANS, IT WOULD BE A VERY
GOOD FIRST STEP TO IMPROVING
INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE TO SUPPORT
DEIA.
SO, WE WILL BE LAUNCHING A NEW
PROGRAM, THIS WILL BE A PROGRAM
TO GIVE GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS,
SO THAT THEY CAN DO JUST THIS.
SO, THE GRANTS WILL PROVIDE
SUPPORT FOR CONDUCTING OBJECTIVE
CLIMATE ASSESSMENTS USING
VALIDATED INSTRUMENTS, AND THERE
ARE A NUMBER OF VALIDATED
INSTRUMENTS FOR CONDUCTING THESE
OUT THERE ALREADY.
ONCE THE CLIMATE OF
SELF-ASSESSMENTS ARE DONE,
INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE, CULTURE
CHANGE NEEDS, AND OTHER ASPECTS
RELATED TO THE INSTITUTIONAL
ENVIRONMENT, AND TAKING ALL THAT
INFORMATION AND DEVELOPING
ACTION PLANS FOR CULTURE CHANGE
THAT WOULD INCLUDE METRICS AND
METHODS FOR ASSESSING PROGRESS,
PLANS FOR DISSEMINATING RESULTS
AND SUSTAINING THE EFFORTS.
AN IMPORTANT ISSUE HERE OF
COURSE IS THERE ARE MANY
DIFFERENT KINDS OF INSTITUTIONS
THAT NIH ENGAGES WITH AND
SUPPORTS.
SOME HAVE A VERY LIMITED
RESOURCES TO DO THIS KIND OF
THING.
OTHERS HAVE VERY LARGE
ENDOWMENTS AND COULD EASILY
SUPPORT THESE KINDS OF THINGS ON
THEIR OWN.
SO, THE GROUP FELT IT WAS
IMPORTANT THAT INSTITUTIONAL
NEEDS AND AVAILABLE RESOURCES BE
TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN MAKING
DECISIONS ON AWARDS.
SO SOME INSTITUTIONS MAY GET
SMALLER GRANTS THAT ARE JUST
CATALYTIC TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO
DO THIS KIND OF WORK.
OTHER INSTITUTIONS WITH MUCH
LESS RESOURCE WILL PROBABLY GET
LARGER GRANTS THAT WILL ACTUALLY
ENABLE THEM TO DO THE WORK.
THE MODEL WE'RE USING FOR MOST
OF THESE INITIATIVES THAT ARE
FOA-BASED, FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES, IS THAT I.C.s
WILL SIGN ON AND FUND AND MANAGE
GRANTS WITH THE OVERALL
COORDINATION OF ONE INSTITUTE.
IN THIS CASE THE INSTITUTES
THAT'S AGREED TO COORDINATE IS
DENTAL AND CRANIOFACIAL RESEARCH
INSTITUTE, NIDCR.
THIS CONCEPT WAS CLEARED BY
NIGMS COUNCIL LAST YEAR, LAST
FEBRUARY, AND THE FOA IS
CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND
HOPEFULLY WILL BE OUT IN THE
NEXT FEW MONTHS.
A SECOND PROGRAM THAT'S COME OUT
OF THIS COMMITTEE IS A PROGRAM
WE'RE CALLING RESEARCH WITH
ACTIVITIES RELATED TO DIVERSITY,
OR REWARD.
THIS WILL BE A FIVE-YEAR
COMBINED RESEARCH AND MENTORING
R01 GRANT PROGRAM FOR P.I.s
WHO DEMONSTRATED EXCELLENCE IN
PROMOTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY,
INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY IN
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH.
SO, THESE R01s WILL PROVIDE
SUPPORT FOR TWO THINGS, BOTH FOR
P.I. Z RESEARCH PROGRAM ITSELF,
AND ALSO FOR THE P.I.s TO
CONTINUE EXCELLENT DEIA EFFORTS
THEY HAVE BEEN CONDUCTING
ALREADY.
ONE OF THE GOALS IS TO HELP
OFFSET DIVERSITY TAX,
OBSERVATION PEOPLE ENGAGED IN
DIVERSITY EFFORTS WHO ARE VERY
FREQUENTLY FROM UNDERREPRESENTED
BACKGROUNDS ARE PAYING A TAX
BECAUSE EFFORTS ARE TAKING AWAY
FROM THEIR OTHER EFFORTS,
PARTICULARLY RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES.
THAT THEN CAN SET THEIR CAREERS
BACK BECAUSE THEY ARE SPENDING
TIME ON THE DEIA EFFORTS WHERE,
COLLEAGUES ARE NOT DOING THAT
AND GETTING TO SPEND ALL THEIR
TIME ON RESEARCH EFFORTS.
SO THIS PROGRAM IS DESIGNED IN
PART AS A REBATE TO PAY BACK
SOME OF THAT TAX SO PEOPLE WHO
ARE DOING GREAT THINGS TO
PROMOTE DEIA WILL NOT SUFFER AS
MUCH AS THEY OTHERWISE WITH IN
TERMS OF THEIR RESEARCH CAREERS.
IT WILL PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH DIRECTLY COMMITTED TO
ADVANCING DEIA, THAT WILL HAVE
ANCILLARY BENEFITS BOTH FOR
THEIR RESEARCH AND FOR THE
RESEARCH ENTERPRISE OVERALL, YOU
KNOW, BECAUSE OF THAT INCREASED
DIVERSITY.
THE PROGRAM COMPLEMENTS THE
COSWD PROGRAM.
THESE GRANTS WILL GO TO PEOPLE
WHO DO NOT ALREADY HAVE MAJOR
NIH AWARDS.
THAT WILL LEAD TO BROADENING OF
FUNDED POOL OF INVESTIGATORS
THAT NIH SUPPORTS ICs WILL
SIGN ON AND FUND AND MANAGE
GRANTS, AND THIS CONCEPT WAS
CLEARED BY COUNCIL LAST
FEBRUARY, FOA IS UNDER
DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW.
I'VE READ IT SEVERAL TIMES.
WE ALSO FELT THERE SHOULD BE
SOME REWARD FOR INSTITUTIONS
THAT ARE DOING EXCELLENT THINGS
IN DEIA.
AND THEREFORE PRIZE PROGRAM IS
GOING TO BE LAUNCHED.
THERE WAS A REQUEST FOR
INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS
CONCEPT HAVING A PRIZE FOR
INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE DONE
PARTICULARLY EXCEPTIONAL THINGS
IN DEIA.
THAT CLOSED LAST JULY.
THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN ANALYZED,
THERE'S A GROUP NOW WORKING ON
DEVELOPING THIS CONCEPT OF
GIVING PRIZES TO INSTITUTIONS
THAT HAVE DONE EXCEPTIONAL
THINGS IN DEIA.
BOTH TO INCENTIVIZE INSTITUTIONS
TO DO EXCEPTIONAL THINGS, BUT
ALSO TO TRY TO DISSEMINATE
THINGS THEY HAVE DONE BY SHINING
A SPOTLIGHT ON THEM, AND
HOPEFULLY MAKING OTHERS IN THE
COMMUNITY AWARE OF THOSE BEST
PRACTICES.
ALSO ONE HOPES THIS MIGHT CAUSE
A LITTLE BIT OF PEER PRESSURE
AMONGST INSTITUTIONS OR SORT OF
SIBLING RIVALRY, BECAUSE
INSTITUTIONS WILL WE HOPE WANT
THIS RECOGNITION THEY CAN PUT ON
THEIR WEB SITE AND SAY WE WERE
RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENT THINGS
WE'VE DONE IN DEIA, AND THAT
WILL INCENTIVIZE OTHER
INSTITUTIONS TO WANT TO ALSO UP
THEIR GAME IN THIS SPACE AS
WELL.
ADDITIONAL THINGS UNDER
DEVELOPMENT BY INSTITUTIONAL
CULTURE GROUP, A GROUP LED IN
FACT BY YOUR OWN DEB TUCCI, IS
WORKING WITH PROFESSIONAL
SOCIETIES TO ENCOURAGE
INSTITUTIONS TO REVISE PRO
MOTION, TENURE AND RECOGNITION
POLICIES TO SUPPORT DEIA, QUITE
CRITICAL TO IMPROVING CULTURES
AT INSTITUTIONS.
WE LEARNED THE AMERICAN
ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES
A.A.U HAS A REALLY GOOD REPORT
ON ISSUES RELATED TO RACIAL
EQUITY AND HIGHER EDUCATION, AND
A WHOLE SECTION OF THAT REPORT
IS ON THIS EXACT TOPIC AND MAKES
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, THEY ARE PARTICIPATING IN
THIS EFFORT WITH DEB'S GROUP AND
HOPEFULLY THAT REPORT THEY PUT
OUT CAN BE USED AS A CORNERSTONE
FOR ENCOURAGING MORE AND MORE
INSTITUTIONS TO MODIFY THEIR
PROMOTION AND TENURE GUIDELINES.
WE ALSO HAD A STRONG INTEREST IN
HAVING NIH REQUIRE INSTITUTIONS
TO HAVE BEHAVIORAL CODES OF
CONDUCT.
WE LEARNED IN THE COURSE OF THIS
WORK THAT TURNED OUT THE ONLY
REQUIREMENT NIH HAD FOR
BEHAVIORAL CODES OF CONDUCT AT
ITS GRANTEE INSTITUTIONS RELATED
TO FINANCIAL CONFLICT OF
INTEREST.
AND THAT DIDN'T SEEM ADEQUATE.
WE THOUGHT THEY SHOULD ALSO HAVE
BEHAVIORAL CODES OF CONDUCT
RELATED TO THINGS LIKE
DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT,
HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENTS.
I'M PLEASED TO SAY THAT THAT HAS
NOW COME TO FRUITION.
AND IN FACT JUST I GUESS LAST
MONTH IT WAS ANNOUNCED NIH NOW
WILL BE REQUIRING THIS.
IT'S PART OF THE GRANTS POLICY
STATEMENT AND THEREFORE PART OF
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD OF
GRANT.
I WON'T READ THE TEXT.
THIS IS FROM THE NEW NIH GRANTS
POLICY STATEMENT.
BUT IT SAYS RECIPIENT
ORGANIZATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO
ESTABLISH CODES OF CONDUCT WHICH
DEFINE EXPECTATIONS OF INTEGRITY
AND ETHICAL VALUES, WHICH
INCLUDE ASSURING WORK
ENVIRONMENTS ARE FREE FROM
DISCRIMINATORY HARASSMENT, SAFE
AND CONDUCIVE TO HIGH-QUALITY
WORK AND MIKE LAUER WROTE ABOUT
THIS ON HIS BLOG I GUESS LAST
MONTH, OR THE END OF DECEMBER.
SO, YOU KNOW, AT SOME LEVEL YOU
HOPE INSTITUTIONS ALREADY HAVE
THIS, AND MOST I THINK DO.
BUT THIS CERTAINLY PUTS A
SPOTLIGHT ON IT, HOPEFULLY IT
WILL GET THEM TO TAKE ANOTHER
LOOK AT CODES OF CONDUCT AND
GIVES NIH A LEVER BECAUSE THIS
IS NOW PART OF THE TERMS AND
CONDITIONS OF A GRANT AND SO IF
THERE ARE PROBLEMS AT AN
INSTITUTION NIH HAS ADDITIONAL
LEVER TO BE ENGAGED AND MAKE
CORRECTIONAL ACTION.
YOU JUST HEARD ABOUT A CHANGE WE
DID MAKE THAT RELATES TO OUR
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
ANOTHER ONE WAS WHEN, YOU KNOW,
THE SPOTLIGHT HAD BEEN PUT ON
HARASSMENT, A FEW YEARS AGO,
THROUGH THE #MeToo MOVEMENT,
EFFORTS, NIH PUT UP A FORM ON
ITS WEBSITE WHERE PEOPLE CAN
REPORT EITHER ANONYMOUSLY OR NOT
ANONYMOUSLY ALLEGATIONS OF
HARASSMENT TO THEMSELVES OR
OTHERS AND WE THOUGHT THIS
SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO ALSO
INCLUDE DISCRIMINATION AND
UNSAFE OR HOSTILE WORKING
ENVIRONMENTS, AND THAT HAS NOW
BEEN DONE.
SO NOW ANYONE CAN COME TO THE
WEBSITE AND REPORT ANONYMOUSLY
OR NOT ALLEGATIONS OF THINGS
THAT HAPPENED TO THEMSELVES AND
OTHERS.
THERE'S A GROUP IN NIH AT THE
OFFICE OF DIRECTOR THAT LOOKS
INTO EACH CASE.
IF THERE SEEMS TO BE SUFFICIENT
CAUSE WILL ACTUALLY TAKE ACTIONS
TO TRY TO INTERVENE IN SOME WAY.
SO FAR THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS
OF SUCH CASES, HUNDREDS OF
DIFFERENT INTERVENTIONS BY THE
NIH.
SO ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES UNDER
DEVELOPMENT IN TERMS OF POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES GROUP, THERE IS A
GROUP THAT HAS DEVELOPED NEW AND
I JUST HEARD -- DEB AND I HEARD
A GREAT PRESENTATION THIS
MORNING, NEW TRAINING FOR
PROGRAM AND SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
OFFICERS IN TERMS OF INCLUSIVE
AND EQUITABLE INTERACTIONS WITH
THE COMMUNITY, MAKING SURE
PROGRAM OFFICERS AND SROs ARE
NOT INADVERTENTLY FAVORING
PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ARE FAMOUS
OR AT A CERTAIN INSTITUTION, AND
THEREFORE NOT FAVORING PEOPLE
WHO ARE NOT AT THOSE
INSTITUTIONS OR NOT FAMOUS IN
THE SAME WAY.
I THINK THAT TRAINING WILL BE
QUITE BENEFICIAL.
THERE'S A GROUP THAT'S WORKING
ON NIH-WIDE REPORTING OF
POTENTIAL BIAS IN PEER REVIEW.
THIS IS IN CONJUNCTION WITH
CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
WHICH HAD REPORTING IN PLACE AND
NOW WILL BE MADE NIH WIDE SO THE
I.C.s REVIEW OFFICES WILL USE
A SIMILAR SORT OF PROCEDURE FOR
REPORTING POTENTIAL BIASES, BIAS
IN PEER REVIEW.
CSR HAD IN PLACE ANTI-BIAS
TRAINING FOR REVIEWERS AND
SROs, IT WAS PILOTED IN A
PROGRAM THAT NIGMS MIRROR
PROGRAM, EXPANDED TO REVIEW
GROUPS, IT'S BEEN WELL RECEIVED.
THERE'S BEEN A GROUP THAT WORKED
WITH THEM, IT WILL BE EXPANDED
WE HOPE ACROSS ALL THE I.C.s
TO ALL THEIR REVIEW GROUPS AS
WELL.
AND THEN NONI BURNS AND I HAVE
LED A GROUP THAT HAS BEEN
WORKING TO REVISE NIH REVIEW
CRITERIA AND LANGUAGE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE NIH REVIEW PROCESS, TO
TRY IN PART TO REDUCE BIAS.
ALSO AIMED AT TRYING TO REDUCE
ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN.
YOU CAN READ ABOUT THAT HERE BUT
THAT GROUP IS ALSO MAKING
PROGRESS, THERE'S A REQUEST FOR
INFORMATION OUT WITH THE
COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW REGARDING
PROPOSED CHANGES.
ANOTHER GROUP HAS BEEN WORKING
ON DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR
WRITING APPROPRIATE FOAs, I
THINK IT WAS RECOGNIZED SOME
LANGUAGE SOMETIMES THAT IS IN
FOAs MAY DISCOURAGE CERTAIN
APPLICANTS OR BIAS REVIEWERS IN
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER AND THE GROUP
DID GREAT RESEARCH ON HOW TO
REDUCE THOSE KINDS OF
UNINTENTIONAL BIASES THAT CAN
CREEP INTO A DOCUMENT THROUGH
THE USE OF LANGUAGE.
AND FINALLY THERE'S A GROUP
WORKING ON DEVELOPING GUIDELINES
FOR I.C.s TO USE TO TRY TO
ENHANCE THEIR PORTFOLIO
DIVERSITY.
VERY BROADLY CONSTRUED AREAS OF
RESEARCH APPROACHES, REGIONS,
INSTITUTIONS AND NUMBER OF
INVESTIGATORS FUNDED.
THAT IS MOVING FORWARD TRYING TO
FIND WAYS THAT ALL I.C.s THE,
USING DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO
FUNDING, THAT'S BEEN A
CHALLENGE, CAN TAKE THESE IDEAS
AND TRY TO DIVERSIFY THEIR
PORTFOLIOS.
FINALLY BUILDING RESEARCH
RESOURCES AND CAPACITY AT
MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS.
THERE'S A GROUP NOW WORKING ON
AN FOA FOR A PROGRAM THAT WOULD
FUND MINORITY-SERVING
INSTITUTIONS TO ASSESS THEIR
NEEDS FOR ENHANCING BIOMEDICAL
RESEARCH AND TRAINING
CAPACITIES.
SO THESE GRANTS WOULD ALLOW THEM
TO DO SELF-ASSESSMENTS, WHAT ARE
THEIR NEEDS, DEVELOP ACTION
PLANS BASED ON THOSE RESULTS,
AND THEN USE THAT PLAN TO TRY TO
IMPROVE THEIR RESEARCH CAPACITY.
EXAMPLES OF NEEDS THEY MIGHT
IDENTIFY WOULD BE THINGS LIKE
DEVELOP OR ENHANCE SPONSORED
PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATIVE
CAPABILITIES, A GREAT NEED WE
SEE.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SPONSORED
PROGRAMS OFFICE HOW CAN YOU EVEN
APPLY FOR GRANTS IN THE FIRST
PLACE?
THAT'S A NEED WE SEE OVER AND
OVER AGAIN.
MIGHT NEED EQUIPMENT, HIRING IN
SPECIFIC AREAS, CHANGES TO
INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES OR
EXPECTATIONS TO ALLOW THEM TO
IMPROVE THEIR RESEARCH MISSION
TO BETTER SERVE THEIR OVERALL
MISSION.
THIS CONCEPT WAS CLEARED BY
NIMHD IN MAY, AND THE FOA IS
ACTIVELY UNDER DEVELOPMENT RIGHT
NOW.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON
INSTRUMENTATION GRANT PROGRAM
FOR MINORITY-SERVING
INSTITUTION, AN S-10 GRANT FOR
INSTITUTIONS WITH LIMITED
RESOURCES.
IDEA TO HELP THEM BUILDING OFF
THE PREVIOUS FOA TO DEVELOP
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND
EDUCATION CAPACITY, IT WILL HAVE
THE SAME MODEL, I.C.s WILL
PARTICIPATE BY SIGNING ON AND
FUNDING AWARDS.
PREVIOUS FOA MANAGED BY NIMHD,
THIS ONE BY NIGMS.
THE CONCEPT WAS CLEARED BY OUR
COUNCIL IN MAY WITH FOA UNDER
DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW.
THAT GROUP HAS A NUMBER OF
ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES UNDER
DEVELOPMENT, FIRST IS NEXT
GENERATION OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS
ADMINISTRATION DEVELOPMENT, SPAD
PROGRAM, PART OF THE NIH COMMON
FUND DIVERSITY CONSORTIUM
MANAGED BY NIGMS, WAS A PROGRAM
TO ENHANCE OR BUILD OFFICES AT
UNDERRESOURCES INSTITUTIONS AND
NOW WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE
BEST VERSION, A BROADER
INITIATIVE THAT WILL BE TARGETED
AT BUILDING RESEARCH CAPACITY AT
INSTITUTIONS WITH LIMITED
RESOURCES WITH A GOAL OF
ENHANCING DIVERSITY OF
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH.
THAT CONCEPT HAS JUST CLEARED
YESTERDAY BY MY COUNCIL WITH
GREAT ENTHUSIASM AND A LOT OF I
THINK REALLY GOOD INPUT INTO THE
PROGRAM.
ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT IS OF
INTEREST AND IS BEING ENGAGED BY
THE UNITE INITIATIVE IS NIH
PATHWAYS TO EXCELLENCE AND
INNOVATION, PEI, OUT OF THE
OFFICE OF DIRECTOR TO TRY TO
DIVERSITY INSTITUTIONS THAT
RECEIVE CONTRACTS FROM NIH,
RESEARCH OR OTHER KINDS OF
CONTRACTS, WITH A PARTICULAR
INTEREST IN DEVELOPING THAT
CONTRACTING CAPACITY AT HIS
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES.
DEB AND I HEARD A PRESENTATION
THIS MORNING, TO ENHANCE
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE NIH
AND MINORITY-SERVING
INSTITUTIONS.
SO, TO DEVELOP SOME KIND OF
ENTITY AT NIH, NEXUS FOR THIS
COMMUNICATION TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND MSI STRENGTHS,
CAPABILITIES AND NEEDS TO
PUBLICIZE AVAILABLE NIH FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES TO THESE
INSTITUTIONS, TO HOLD
ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE LEADERS OF
THESE INSTITUTIONS.
FOR INSTANCE WITH HBCU
LEADERSHIP SIMILAR TO WHAT
HAPPENS WITH AAMC COUNCIL OF
DEANS, AND WE MIGHT DO THIS
THROUGH CREATION OF AN ENTITY OR
OFFICE THAT WOULD BE CHARGED
WITH DOING THIS OUTREACH AND
COMMUNICATION WORK.
THAT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS.
BUT IT IS REALLY A GREAT NEED
AND SOMETHING I THINK MUST BE
DONE.
THIS SHOWS MEMBERSHIP OF THE E
COMMITTEE.
THIS SHOWS THE MEMBERSHIP OF ALL
THE IMPLEMENTATION TEAMS.
WE'VE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO HAVE
TREMENDOUS SUPPORT ACROSS NIH,
ALMOST ALL NIH INSTITUTES AND
CENTERS PARTICIPATED IN SOME WAY
IN THIS ENDEAVOR.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO
CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THEM AS
WE LAUNCH THESE INITIATIVES.
I WILL STOP THERE AND HOPEFULLY
THERE'S TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
>>WE HAVE TIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, JON, FOR YOUR
LEADERSHIP OF THIS TREMENDOUS
EFFORT.
LISA WILL LEAD THE DISCUSSION
BUT I WANTED TO ASK YOU TO
COMMENT ON SOMETHING BEFORE WE
START.
AND THAT'S THE MOSAIC PROGRAM
WHICH PREDATES UNITE E.
I THINK IT'S UNDERAPPRECIATED,
SO PLEASE USE YOUR PLATFORM.
>>THANK YOU.
SO, MOSAIC PROGRAM WE STARTED
TWO YEARS AGO AT NIGMS.
WE MANAGE IT BUT AS DEB SAID IT
IS A TRANS-NIH PROGRAM, 22
INSTITUTES AND CENTERS I BELIEVE
AT THIS POINT AND OFFICES
PARTICIPATE IN IT.
ITS GOAL IS TO DIVERSIFY THE
FACULTY RANKS IN RESEARCH
INTENSIVE POSITIONS.
AND SO IT IS A TWO-PART PROGRAM.
IT HAS A DIVERSITY FOCUS
K99/R00.
IT SUPPORTS THROUGH THE K99 LATE
STAGE POSTDOCTORAL MENTORED
RESEARCH.
THROUGH THE R00 THE EARLY
INDEPENDENT PHASE OF THESE
INVESTIGATORS.
THE SECOND PART ARE MENTORING
CENTERS WHICH ARE RUN BY
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES.
SO RIGHT NOW THE AAMC HAS ONE,
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MOLECULAR
BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY HAS
ONE.
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR CELL
BIOLOGY HAS ONE.
WE HOPE TO FUND TWO MORE OR SO
THIS YEAR ACROSS NIH.
THOSE CENTERS TAKE COHORTS OF
THE SCHOLARS, DEPENDING ON THEIR
AREAS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST.
THEY GIVE THEM ADDITIONAL
MENTORING.
THEY GIVE ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS
DEVELOPMENT, NETWORKING, CAREER
ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITIES.
SO FOR INSTANCE THEY COULD HELP
THEM WITH JOB SEARCH PROCESS.
THEY COULD HELP THEM GET THEIR
CHALK TALKS READY, HELP
NEGOTIATE START-UP PACKAGES.
WHEN THEY TRANSITION TO
INDEPENDENT POSITIONS THEY HELP
THEM WITH THINGS LIKE LAB
MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND
INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
SKILLS IN THE DEPARTMENT, ET
CETERA.
THERE WAS JUST AN ARTICLE, WE
CAN PUT IT IN THE CHAT, THAT
ASBNB WROTE ABOUT THE PROGRAM,
INSPIRING, THAT MIGHT BE THE
BEST WAY TO LEARN.
WE HAVE ALL THE SCHOLARS' BIOS
ON THE WEBSITE, AND PROBABLY
ABOUT AT THIS POINT 20 HAVE
ALREADY GOTTEN JOBS.
BUT THAT MEANS WE FUNDED 80 IN
THE FIRST TWO YEARS ACROSS NIH
WHICH IS REALLY AMAZING, FAR
MORE THAN WE THOUGHT.
AND THAT MEANS THERE'S ABOUT 60
SCHOLARS FROM VERY DIVERSE
BACKGROUNDS UP THERE WHO EITHER
ARE LOOKING FOR JOBS RIGHT NOW
OR WHO WILL BE SOON.
IF YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO
INFLUENCE HIRING I WOULD
STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO
THAT WEBSITE AND GET TO KNOW
THESE SCHOLARS.
I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYONE
SAYING AGAIN THERE ARE NOT
PEOPLE LOOKING FOR JOBS ON THE
ACADEMIC MARKET FROM
UNDERREPRESENTED BACKGROUNDS
BECAUSE I HAVE A WEBSITE THAT
HAS AT LEAST 60 PEOPLE ON IT.
I'LL JUST SAY IN TERMS OF THE
DEMOGRAPHICS, THREE-QUARTERS OF
THE MOSAIC SCHOLARS ARE WOMEN.
ABOUT 70% ARE FROM
UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY
BACKGROUNDS.
THAT REFLECTS THE APPLICANT
POOL.
SO WE'RE REALLY, REALLY PLEASED
ABOUT THAT.
THANKS, DEB.
>>GREAT.
THANK YOU.
LISA, I TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
>>OKAY.
ALL RIGHTY.
I'M GOING TO TAKE TWO OR THREE
MINUTES TO SET THIS UP, I HOPE,
AND OPEN UP TO DISCUSSION FROM
EVERYBODY.
MY CHARGE TODAY AGAIN IS TO GET
DISCUSSION STARTED.
AND IT'S BEEN VERY EASY WITH
THIS GROUP ON THIS TOPIC.
PEOPLE ARE VERY ENGAGED AND
ENTHUSIASTIC AND I DO WANT TO
POINT OUT CAROL ESPY-WILSON AND
CHODHURI ARE HERE AND WHETHER
CHIME IN.
IT'S WONDERFUL TO MEET YOU AND
HEAR FROM YOU, CENDRINE, TODAY,
TO SO MANY INITIATIVES ARE
UNDERWAY.
SO, WHAT I SEE AS THE ROLE OF
OUR WORKING GROUP AND OF COUNCIL
AND PLEASE AS A FUNDED RESEARCH
IN THE EXTRAMURAL WORLD IS THAT
WE ARE AMBASSADORS.
OUR GOAL REALLY IS TO
DISSEMINATE THESE OPPORTUNITIES
AND IDEAS THAT YOU'RE SHARING,
AND ATTEMPT TO REALIZE THEM OUT
THERE IN THE COMMUNITY OF OUR
UNIVERSITIES, AND OF THE OTHER
ORGANIZATIONS IN WHICH WE WORK.
SO BASICALLY I WANTED TO PICK A
FEW THEMES THAT ARE REALLY -- I
FIND REALLY IMPORTANT.
I'M JUST GOING TO ZOOM THROUGH
THEM AND OPEN IT UP SO PEOPLE
CAN GRAB THESE THEMES.
OR GO IN ANOTHER DIRECTION IF
THEY WISH.
SO, BASICALLY THE BIG THEME THAT
I'M HEARING TODAY AMONG OTHERS
THAT'S RELEVANT TO US IN THE
EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY IS HOW
SHOULD CHANGING NIH POLICY
STRUCTURE AND CULTURE FILTER TO
THESE OTHER COMMUNITIES,
ESPECIALLY UNIVERSITIES.
TO RESEARCH AND TRAINING
ENVIRONMENTS WITHIN THESE
CONTEXTS.
THAT'S OBVIOUSLY THE KEY
QUESTION I'VE AT LEAST BEEN
CONSUMED WITH SINCE WORKING WITH
OUR TEAM ON THIS WORKING GROUP.
FIRST OF ALL, I'M JUST GOING TO
GRAB A FEW THEMES AND OPEN IT AS
I SAID.
SO, MANY OF US VIA OUR OWN
ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIVERSITIES
ARE ACTIVELY FORMING ALLIANCES
WITH MSIs.
AND I KNOW THIS IS A BIG FOCUS
OF OUR CONVERSATION TODAY.
AND OBVIOUSLY, IT'S A VERY
BIDIRECTIONAL, IT WAS MENTIONED,
NIH MSI CIRCLE, BUT RESEARCH
INTENSIVE INSTITUTIONS
DESPERATELY NEED THE INFLUENCE
OF FACULTY AND STUDENTS FROM
MSIs TO GROW OUR RESEARCH, TO
GROW OUR TRAINING EFFORTS.
AND SO SO MANY THINGS ARE
UNDERWAY.
BUT TO ME, HOW CAN THESE
AFFILIATIONS BE FURTHER
SUPPORTED?
INTERINSTITUTIONAL T32, F AND R
AWARDS.
I'VE BEEN AT SO MANY MEETINGS AT
MSIs BRINGING OPPORTUNITIES OF
STUDENTS TO MY HOME INSTITUTION
FOR SUMMER PROGRAMS, FOR
EXAMPLE, IT'S HARD TO GET IT OFF
THE GROUND ACTUALLY.
SO, THAT'S CERTAINLY ONE AREA.
THE OTHER ISSUE IS I THINK THESE
COMBINED RESEARCH AND MENTORING
GRANTS ARE A WONDERFUL IDEA AND
I WOULD LOVE TO DISCUSS
ACTIONABLE IDEAS HOW TO BUILD
PARTNERSHIPS AND ENGAGE MORE
SCIENTISTS IN THIS EFFORT.
THE TAX YOU MENTIONED IS REAL.
AND YET WE NEED -- SO I THINK TO
ESTABLISH MORE SCIENTISTS AGAIN
IT'S VERY HARD, AT LEAST FROM MY
PERSPECTIVE, TO ENTER THAT.
I THINK MANY PEOPLE ARE VERY
MOTIVATED TO DO SO.
MY THIRD POINT THEN IS THE ISSUE
OF ENGAGING OUR PROFESSIONAL
SOCIETIES.
I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK OF KEY
THINGS THAT ARE ACTIONABLE FROM
THE SIDE OF OUR COMMUNITY.
DEB, I KNOW, IS WORKING ON THIS.
MANY OF US ON THE WORKING GROUP
WORK WITH SOCIETIES VERY
INVESTED IN GROWING OUR
PIPELINE, FOR EXAMPLE, AND THUS
FAR WHAT I'M SEEING A LOT OF,
AND I SEE HAVE YOU MANY MORE
PROGRAMS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON,
ARE, FOR EXAMPLE, INVITING
DIVERSE STUDENTS TO CONFERENCES.
IF THERE WERE OTHER PATHWAYS
SOME OF THESE STUDENTS COULD
THEN -- WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS
IN MY OWN SOCIETIES, COULD ENTER
WORKING -- YOU KNOW, ENTER
PEOPLE'S LABS FOR THE SUMMER, TO
JUST EXTEND THAT PATHWAY FOR
EXAMPLE, THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE
PIPELINE AND THERE'S SO MUCH
MOTIVATION I THINK IN ALL OF THE
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES I'M
INVOLVED IN TO ESTABLISH AND
BUILD.
MY VERY LAST ONE AND I'LL TURN
IT OVER, IS FOR MORE ESTABLISHED
EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS WHO ARE
ALREADY IN OUR FIELD, AND YOU'VE
TALKED ABOUT CHANGING REVIEW
CRITERIA, HOW DO WE REWARD THE
INCLUSION OF DIVERSE THEMES IN
PEOPLE?
IT'S REALLY AWESOME BIAS IS
BEING REPORTED, IS BEING FOCUSED
ON IN PEER REVIEW.
THIS IS REALLY GREAT.
THAT SCORABLE CRITERIA ARE, YOU
KNOW, BEING CHANGED.
SO THEY ARE NOT OBLIGATORY BUT
PEOPLE ARE REWARDED BY GRANT
SCORES FOR INCLUSION OF DIVERSE
IDEAS AND THEMES.
WE TALKED ABOUT OUR GROUP, I
THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA, THAT
PEOPLE WHO ARE FROM -- WHO ARE
UD APPLICANTS ARE INVITED TO BE
LIKE ESIs AND SUBMIT A LETTER
AND TO GET A SPECIAL COUNCIL
REVIEW, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO, AND THIS TO ME JUST REALLY
RELATES.
MY LAST POINT IS TENURE AND
PROMOTION.
AND ALL OF THIS COMPLETELY
CONNECTS TO TENURE AND PROMOTION
ISSUES IN UNIVERSITIES AS WE ALL
KNOW GRANT PROGRESS AND THE
RECEIPT OF EXTRAMURAL FUNDING IS
A KEY COMPONENT OF.
SO, TO ME, IT'S LIKE WHAT ARE
THE ACTIONABLE ITEMS WE CAN DO.
I'LL STOP NOW.
I'M THANKFUL FOR THE EFFORTS OUR
REPORT GENERATED AND I'LL LET
OTHER PEOPLE SPEAK.
CAROL?
I WILL TURN IT OVER OR SHOULD I
CALL ON PEOPLE, DEB?
>>LISA, CAN YOU DO THAT PLEASE.
>>OKAY.
>>I WANT TO ECHO WHAT LISA
SAID.
THIS IS AMAZING.
YOU ALL ARE TACKLING THIS DEIA
AT SO MANY LEVELS.
I FEEL GREAT RIGHT NOW, I'M ON A
CLOUD HEARING ALL YOU'RE DOING.
AND I WANT TO SAY THAT YOU ARE
AHEAD OF A WHOLE LOT OF
INSTITUTIONS.
MOST UNIVERSITIES, MY COLLEGE F
ENGINEERING, EVERY DEPARTMENT IS
TRYING TO HAVE AN ASSOCIATE
CHAIR FOR D.E.I., AT SOMEONE AT
THE DEAN LEVEL.
AND ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR D.E.I.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU
ALL CAN SHARE SOME OF THE THINGS
YOU'VE DONE.
SO EVERYBODY DOESN'T HAVE TO
LEARN IT ALL OVER AGAIN BUT CAN
BENEFIT FROM THE HARD WORK
YOU'VE ALREADY DONE.
IN PARTICULAR THE TRAINING THAT
YOU'VE MENTIONED IN TERMS OF THE
PROGRAM OFFICERS AND SROs.
THAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE
WHEN IT COMES TO US IN OUR
HIRING OF NEW FACULTY.
HOW NOT TO BE BIASED TOWARDS
CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS, YOU KNOW,
OR BECAUSE SOMEONE HAD A THESIS
ADVISER THAT SOMEBODY REALLY
KNOWS AND THINKS HIGHLY OF, AND
THAT'S GOING TO WIN EVEN THOUGH
SOMEONE ELSE MAY BE JUST AS
QUALIFIED BUT WE DON'T KNOW THAT
ADVISER AS WELL.
TO RECOGNIZE THESE BIASES ARE AT
PLAY, AND THAT THEY ARE NOT
RIGHT.
THAT WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, NEED
TO HAVE A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT
CANDIDATES.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME OF
THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE IN
THAT REGARD AND ANTI-BIAS
TRAINING YOU'RE DOING, IF
THERE'S ANY WAY TO MAKE THAT
ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYBODY THAT
WOULD BE GREAT.
IF YOU COULD PUT IT ON YOUR
WEBSITE OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
I'M REALLY ENCOURAGED BY YOUR
SEPA PROGRAM BECAUSE WE DO KNOW
THIS STARTS VERY EARLY ON.
I JUST WANTED TO ASK A QUESTION
ABOUT THAT.
I WAS WONDERING WHAT
INSTITUTIONS ARE APPLYING FOR
THE SEPA APPLICATIONS?
ARE THEY COMING FROM LIKE
ELEMENTARY -- FROM SCHOOLS?
YOU KNOW, OR NON-PROFITS?
OR -- I'M NOT SURE WHO APPLIES
FOR THESE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE
ABOUT THAT.
AND IF IT'S SCHOOLS, IS IT
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS THAT
ARE APPLYING FOR THEM?
AND ONE LAST THING, MORE ABOUT
FOR CENDRINE ABOUT THE POSTBAC
PROGRAM, YOU SAID YOU HAD THREE
CANDIDATES TAKING PART IN THAT
THIS YEAR WONDERING SOMEHOW THAT
COMPARING TO WHAT -- HOW MANY
APPLICANTS YOU'VE HAD IN THE
PAST, WHAT IS THE WHOLE POOL
THAT YOU HAVE FOR POSTBACS, I
WANT TO GET A SENSE OF HOW THAT
IS GOING.
I COULD TALK ABOUT SO MUCH MORE
BUT I KNOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS THEY WANT
TO MAKE SO I'LL STOP THERE.
>>WHY DON'T YOU ANSWER FIRST,
CENDRINE.
>>SURE.
SO, THE PROGRAMS, THE POSTBAC
PROGRAMS HAVE EXISTED AND
P.I.s HAD OTHER PROCESSES IN
WHICH THEY WOULD SELECT
CANDIDATES.
WHAT'S NEW AND DIFFERENT IS THAT
THE TRAINING OFFICE TAKES THE
BURDEN OFF OF CULTIVATING THE
POOL AND I THINK FOR LAST YEAR
THERE WAS MAYBE A LIST OF 30
NAMES THAT THEY BASED OFF OF
CRITERIA THAT MADE IT INCREDIBLY
INCLUSIVE.
SO, YOU KNOW, COMMITMENT TO OR
SOME CONNECTION TO OUR RESEARCH
MISSION AREAS BUT ALSO THINGS
LIKE LEADERSHIP.
BASICALLY THERE ARE COMPONENTS
AND CHARACTERISTICS THEY WERE
LOOKING FOR THAT WERE NOT
NECESSARILY 'DEM GRAPH DEMOGRAC
BUT PERHAPS A CONNECTION WITH AN
UNDERREPRESENTED GROUP, THINGS
LIKE THAT.
THEY PULLED 30 NAMES, THREE WERE
SELECTED FROM THOSE NAMES.
THERE'S MAYBE NINE OR TEN
P.I.s, SOMEBODY CAN CORRECT
ME.
THREE OF MAYBE NINE OR TEN WERE
SELECTED, P.I. P.I.s COLLECTED M
THAT POOL.
THAT'S GOOD WITH THE SMALL
NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE.
>>THAT'S GREAT.
>>TO YOUR POINT ABOUT
DISSEMINATION, I THINK A GREAT
ONE.
I THINK NEXT STEP SHOULD BE TO
SEE IF WE CAN MAKE SOME OF THE
PROGRESS AVAILABLE TO THE
COMMUNITY AS YOU SUGGEST.
SO THE BIAS AWARENESS TRAINING,
FOR EXAMPLE.
ONE OF THE GOALS AS I MENTIONED
OF THE PRIZE WAS TO DISSEMINATE
OR IS TO DISSEMINATE BEST
PRACTICES THAT INSTITUTIONS HAVE
DEVELOPED AND, YOU KNOW,
PARTICULARLY IN HIRING SPACE,
FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW THERE ARE
SOME EXCITING THINGS GOING ON.
ONE OF MY FORMER COUNCIL MEMBERS
ENRIQUE DELACRUZ AT YALE DID
INTERESTING THINGS, I CAN SEND
YOU A PAPER ON THAT.
THE HOPE IS WE CAN RECOGNIZE AND
REWARD THOSE KIND OF THINGS BUT
MAKE EVERYONE AWARE OF SO OTHER
PEOPLE CAN USE IT.
HOPEFULLY THAT WILL HAPPEN
THERE.
IN TERMS OF SEPA, ALL OF THE
ABOVE ARE APPLICANTS.
PRE-K THROUGH 12 IT'S GENERALLY
A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN AN
EDUCATOR, SOMEONE WITH ACTUAL
EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, TEACHING
AT THOSE LEVELS, AND A
SCIENTIST, TYPICALLY THE
UNIVERSITY.
IT'S USUALLY A MULTI-P.I.
SITUATION.
>>I SEE.
>>AS I MENTIONED THERE ARE ALL
KINDS OF OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
THAT APPLY FOR SEPA.
SCIENCE MUSEUMS, WE FUND A
NUMBER OF SCIENCE MUSEUMS.
PBS NEWS HOUR HAS A STUDENT
REPORTING LAB, WE FUNDED THAT.
SO IT'S VERY DIVERSE AND
INTERESTING GROUP.
>>OKAY.
GREAT.
>>DO WE HAVE TIME FOR A LITTLE
BIT MORE OR HOW ARE WE DOING?
[CROSSTALK]
>>I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU
WHOLEHEARTEDLY ON MY OWN BEHALF
AND ON OUR COMMITTEE AND NIDCD,
REALLY EVERYBODY.
I'M SO HEARTENED BY HOW MUCH IS
BEING DONE AND HOW MUCH THE
GENERAL CLIMATE HAS CHANGED, IN
THE LAST VERY FEW YEARS REALLY.
THAT PEOPLE -- I JUST REMEMBER
TEN YEARS AGO WHEN THERE WOULD
BE TRAINING OFFERED, YOU KNOW,
IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING, YOU
WOULD SEE ALL OF THESE PEOPLE
MAKING A FACE IN FACULTY
MEETING.
AND IT WAS A VERY COMMON
EXPERIENCE.
YOU KNOW, I SORT OF SPEAK UP AND
SAY, YOU KNOW, OUR -- WE HAVE
THIS INTERACTIVE THEATER THING
AND WE HAVE A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT
INITIATIVES.
AND EVERYBODY WOULD SIT THERE
LOOKING AT ME GRUMPILY.
IT'S REALLY, REALLY HEARTENING
TO SEE HOW MUCH NIH HAS BEEN
ABLE TO DO AND ALL THE REST OF
INSTITUTIONS HAVE ALSO FOLLOWED
SUIT AND BEEN ABLE TO DO.
SO THANK YOU.
>>THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>>I'VE BEEN TOLD WE HAVE TEN
MORE MINUTES SO PLEASE PREPARE
WITH YOUR QUESTIONS AND
COMMENTS.
GO AHEAD, VICKIE.
>>IF THAT'S OKAY WITH JON.
CAN YOU SAY UNTIL 12:15?
GOOD, THANK YOU.
>>THANKS.
>>I'LL MAKE MINE QUICK.
I TOO WANT TO COMMEND YOU FOR
ALL YOU'VE DONE IN SUCH A SHORT
PERIOD OF TIME.
CENDRINE, IT'S NICE TO PUT A
FACE TO THE NAME.
WE'VE EXCHANGED E-MAILS AND ARE
PLANNING TO CONNECT STAFF AT
ASHA.
ONE OF THE THINGS I JUST WANT TO
OFFER AND ASHA HAS BEEN TRYING
TO ADDRESS MANY ISSUES FOR A
REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY,
REALLY, REALLY LONG TIME, AND
THIS NOTION OF IF YOU BUILD IT,
THEY WILL COME.
WE HAVE CREATED PROGRAMS AND
RESOURCES AND THEY DON'T ALWAYS
COME.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE
BEEN TRYING TO DO MORE RECENTLY
IS LOOKING AT STRATEGIC
DISSEMINATION PLANS AS A PART OF
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROGRAM.
SO THAT AS THE PROGRAM IS
DEVELOPED, WE'RE LOOKING AT
TARGET AUDIENCES AND HOW TO
DISSEMINATE INFORMATION TO THOSE
GROUPS THAT'S BUILT INTO THE
PROGRAM BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE
HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF GREAT
RESOURCES AND THESE ARE AMAZING,
AND FINDING WAYS TO GET THEM TO
FOLKS BECOMES AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
SO AS YOU'RE PUTTING THE
FINISHING TOUCHES ON SOME OF
THESE NEWER PROGRAMS, IT WILL BE
GOOD TO ADD SOME OF THAT INTO
THE MIX TO TRY AND FIGURE OUT AS
PART OF THE PROCESS THAT YOU
BUILD HOW TO GET THE INFORMATION
AND THE RESOURCES IN THE HANDS
TO THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD THEN BE
ABLE TO APPLY FOR THEM.
SO GREAT JOB.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL THE
WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE AND WHAT
YOU'LL CONTINUE TO DO.
>>THANK YOU.
I CAN START ADDRESSING, MAYBE
CENDRINE HAS THOUGHTS FROM THEIR
PERSPECTIVE AS WELL.
WITH THE MOSAIC PROGRAM, KENNY
GIBBS WHO IS THE LEAD DIRECTOR
OF THE PROGRAM, DID A HUGE
AMOUNT OF OUTREACH.
JUST HERCULEAN EFFORTS WITH HIS
OTHER STAFF.
WE WERE EXPECTING TO HAVE 30
MOSAIC SCHOLARS.
AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE OVER 80.
THE OUTREACH WAS ESSENTIAL,
YOU'RE RIGHT.
YOU'RE RIGHT, WE'VE ALSO
EXPERIENCED WITH OTHER PROGRAMS
WE THOUGHT IT WAS A GREAT IDEA
AND DIDN'T DO THAT KIND OF
OUTREACH AND HAD A MUCH MORE
ANEMIC RESPONSE.
>>YES, AND I CAN SAY FOR NIDCD
WE DO THE POST-COUNCIL
NEWSLETTERS DR. TUCCI WRITES TO
MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION,
SHARED WITH ME WHEN I ARRIVED.
I GOT INFORMATION FROM
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE THERE
WASN'T THE RESPONSE WE WANTED TO
SEE WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS
I STARTED E-MAILING PROFESSORS
DIRECTLY AT HBCUs AND MCIs
TO IN SOME CASES SHARE THE
INFORMATION IN E-MAIL BUT ALSO
OFFERING TO SET UP BRIEF
30-MINUTE TALK TO TALK ABOUT THE
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, TO TALK
ABOUT WHETHER THEY COULD FIND
THE SAMPLE GRANT APPLICATIONS.
THAT'S A TRUE FAVORITE.
MANY PEOPLE SEE THE BARRIER TO
APPLYING FOR FUNDING NOT HAVING
ACCESS TO THE SAMPLE GRANT
APPLICATIONS, SO SHOWING WHERE
THEY CAN FIND THAT, WHERE THEY
CAN SIGN UP TO BE REVIEWERS AND
ALL THIS INFORMATION I THINK TO
THE EXTENTS THERE'S TIME DOING
ONE-ON-ONE BUT ALSO MORE DIRECT
E-MAILS TO PROFESSORS AS OPPOSED
TO PEOPLE WHO ARE IN HIGHER UP
POSITIONS WHO AREN'T NECESSARILY
TRICKLING THE INFORMATION DOWN
TO PROFESSORS.
>>THANK YOU.
WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE MORE.
KATHERINE, YOU ARE UP.
AND YOU ARE MUTED.
THANK YOU.
YES, I'M NEW TO THIS COMMITTEE,
THIS COUNCIL, ESPECIALLY THIS
PRESENTATION IS AMAZING.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE
PRIZE FOR INSTITUTIONS THAT DO
EXCEPTIONAL THINGS FOR DEIA.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT PRIZE ALSO
IN SOME WAY APPLIES TO
HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND
COLLEGES THAT BASICALLY SERVE
MINORITIES.
>>ABSOLUTELY.
ANY INSTITUTION CAN APPLY FOR
IT.
AND ONE WOULD HOPE AND EXPECT
THAT THERE WILL BE GREAT THINGS
AT INSTITUTIONS OF ALL DIFFERENT
KINDS.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, --
>>YOU'RE HOPING THAT THESE
PROGRAMS ARE NOT ALREADY -- IF
THEY ARE NOT ALREADY IN
EXISTENCE IN THESE COLLEGES THAT
THEY WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS
PROGRAM AND THEY WILL BE AS
INTERESTED AS YALE IS, RIGHT?
>>ONE WOULD HOPE.
ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK HOPEFULLY THERE ARE
USEFUL MODELS TO BE DISSEMINATED
AT MANY KINDS OF INSTITUTIONS.
>>OKAY.
THANKS.
>>SO THANK YOU FOR SUCH A
ROBUST DISCUSSION.
AND THANK YOU, JON AND CENDRINE,
FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS.
ONE LAST QUESTION, JON.
I WAS LOOKING ON YOUR LIST OF
COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE PERSON
YOU MENTIONED, AND I DON'T SEE
THAT.
>>HE WAS A FORMER COUNCIL
MEMBER.
I'LL PUT IT IN THE CHAT.
I'LL FIND THE ARTICLE ABOUT THE
PROGRAM AND PUT ANYTIME THE CHAT
FOR YOU.
>>GREAT.
THANKS SO MUCH.
>>WE'D LOVE THAT ACTUALLY.
>>YEAH, YEAH.
THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
WE'LL MOVE TO OUR LAST AGENDA
ITEM, DR. KATIE KINDT.
SO, I INVITED DR. KINDT FROM OUR
INTRAMURAL PROGRAM TO PRESENT ON
HER RESEARCH.
KATIE'S LAB USES MOLECULAR AND
MICROSCOPY BASED METHODS TO ASK
SENSORY CELL FUNCTION AND
DEVELOPMENT IN THE ZEBRAFISH
MODEL SYSTEM.
DR. KINDT EARNED HER Ph.D.
FROM UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT
SAN DIEGO IN BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
STUDYING FUNCTION AND
DEVELOPMENT OF MECHANOSENSORY
CIRCUITS, AND I CAN'T PRONOUNCE
THAT.
DURING HER POSTDOCAL FELLOWSHIP
USED SCANNING EM AND CALCIUM FR
DEVELOPING HAIR CELLS.
WELCOME.
>>THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT.
CAN YOU SEE THE RIGHT SCREEN?
>>YOU ARE NOT YET IN
PRESENTATION MODE.
>>WE SEE YOUR SPEAKER NOTE
SIDE.
THERE YOU GO.
>>HOW'S THAT?
GREAT.
ALL RIGHT.
DOES EVERYTHING LOOK OKAY?
>>YES.
>>OKAY, PERFECT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE
INTRODUCTION.
IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO HAVE
THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE SOME
OF THE RESEARCH FROM OUR GROUP
AND INTRAMURAL PROGRAM AT THE
NIH.
WE USE ZEBRAFISH AS AN
INTERESTING AND COMPLEMENTARY
MODEL TO STUDY HEARING AND
BALANCE RESEARCH.
SO OVERALL THE MAIN FOCUS OF OUR
GROUP IS ON SENSORY HAIR CELLS,
THE RECEPTORS IN OUR INNER EAR
REQUIRED FOR HEARING AND
BALANCE.
THESE ARE ALSO PRESENT IN
AQUATIC VERTEBRATES, AND
LATERAL-LINE SYSTEM TO DETECT
LOCAL WATER MOVEMENTS.
THE MAIN GOAL IN OUR GROUP IS TO
UNDERSTAND HOW THESE SENSORY
CELLS FORM AND FUNCTION IN A
LIVING SYSTEM.
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT
FUNDAMENTALLY TO KNOW HOW THESE
CELLS ARE -- HOW THEY FORM AND
FUNCTION, CLINICALLY AS WELL.
MANY OF YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE IN
THE U.S. REPORT HEARING LOSS,
THE MAJORITY OF CASES HEARING OR
BALANCE DISORDERS CAN BE DUE TO
DAMAGE OR LOSS TO SENSORY HAIR
CELLS.
THEREFORE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THESE
CELLS, HOW THEY FORM, HOW THEY
FUNCTION, IN ORDER TO REGENERATE
THEM AFTER THEY ARE LOST.
UNFORTUNATELY IT'S WITHIN
RESEARCH IT'S HARD TO STUDY
SENSORY HAIR CELLS IN THEIR
NATIVE ENVIRONMENTS IN MAMMALS.
THAT'S BECAUSE OUR INNER EAR IS
EMBEDDED IN BONE WITHIN OUR
SKULL, SO A LOT OF RESEARCH IS
DONE ON INNER EAR EXPLANTS OR
CULTURES, HARD TO STUDY IN A
LIVING SYSTEM.
THEREFORE TO STUDY HAIR CELLS IN
A LIVING SYSTEM WE USE THE
ZEBRAFISH MODEL.
WHICH IS SHOWN HERE ON THIS TOP
IMAGE HERE.
WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU IS A FIVE
DAY OLD LIVING ZEBRAFISH, AND
ANY IMAGE SENSORY HAIR CELLS ARE
LABELED WITH FLUORESCENT MARKER
IN GREEN.
ZEBRAFISH HAS HAIR CELLS IN TWO
MAIN SENSORY SYSTEMS, SO
ZEBRAFISH HAS AN INNER HERE
SHOWN HEAR FOR HEARING AND
BALANCE AND HAVE A SPECIALIZE
THE LATERAL LINE.
EACH DOT OUTSIDE MAKES UP THE
LATERAL LINE.
THIS IS THE SENSORY SYSTEM THAT
AQUATIC VERTEBRATES USE TO
DETECT LOCAL WATER MOVEMENTS IN
THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
IF WE TAKE A LITTLE BIT CLOSER
LOOK AT ONE OF THESE FLUORESCENT
DOTS, WHAT WE SEE IS ACTUALLY A
CLUSTER OF HAIR CELLS.
SO THIS IS AN IMAGE, THIS IS A
TOP-DOWN VIEW.
IF WE LOOKED THROUGH A
CROSS-SECTION IT WOULD LOOK LIKE
THIS IN THE SCHEMATIC ON THE
RIGHT.
TO ORIENT YOU I'VE OUTLINED A
SINGLE HAIR CELL HERE IN THE
STASH BLIND.
YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT EACH PET AL
ON THE FLOWER-LIKE STRUCTURE IS
A SINGLE HAIR CELL.
WHAT'S REALLY AMAZING ABOUT THE
LATERAL LINE SYSTEM FROM A
RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE IS THAT
THERE'S REALLY UNPARALLELED
ACCESS TO THESE HAIR CELLS.
FIRST OF ALL, ZEBRAFISH ARE
TRANSPARENT.
AND THE LATERAL LINE HAIR CELLS
ARE DIRECTLY IN THE SURFACE OF
THE FISH SO WE CAN STUDY EASILY
IN AN INTACT ANIMAL.
NOT ONLY IS THERE AMAZING ACCESS
BUT WE KNOW ZEBRAFISH IS AN
IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT MODEL TO
STUDY HAIR CELLS AND HEARING AND
BALANCE BECAUSE MANY DIFFERENT
GENETIC STUDIES SHOW WHEN
MUTATED SAME GENES CAN CAUSE
HEARING OR BALANCE DYSFUNCTION
IN ZEBRAFISH, MICE, AND HUMANS.
IT'S ALSO GREAT GENETICALLY
BECAUSE IN OUR LAB WE CAN EASILY
MAKE DIFFERENT MUTANTS TO
UNDERSTAND GENE FUNCTION.
BUT ALSO WE CAN CREATE COOL
TRANSGENIC LINES TO LABEL HAIR
CELLS AND STRUCTURES WITHIN THEM
TO STUDY THEM IN THE LIVING
SYSTEM.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, CURRENTLY WE'VE
CREATED A TON OF COOL MUTANTS
AND TRANSGENIC ZEBRAFISH TO
STUDY AND I'M SHOWING YOU SOME
OF THE IMAGES WE'VE TAKEN FROM
SOME OF OUR LINES HERE.
NOT ONLY ARE IMAGES BEAUTIFUL,
THEY ARE ALL TAKEN IN LIVING
ZEBRAFISH.
SO ALL THESE HAIR CELLS WERE
ALIVE, QUITE COOL.
IT'S BY LEVERAGING THIS IN VIVO
CAPABILITY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO
STUDY THE MAMMALIAN VESTIBULAR
AUDITORY SYSTEM.
WE TAKE BEAUTIFUL STATIC IMAGES,
WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT LINES THAT
LABEL THESE TRANSGENIC LINES WE
CAN LOOK AT DYNAMIC PROCESSES.
WE CAN LOOK AT ACTIVITY OF HAIR
CELLS DURING DEVELOPMENT, WHEN
THEY ARE FUNCTIONING, WE CAN
ALSO USE THESE LINES TO IMAGE
HAIR CELLS WHILE BEING DAMAGED
OR WHILE THEY ARE DYING.
WE CAN ALSO IMAGE DYNAMIC
PROCESSES SUCH AS DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO OVERALL BY USING THESE
TRANSGENIC LINES AND LEVERAGING
OTHER ADVANTAGES TO ZEBRAFISH,
THE ZEBRAFISH MODEL, WE CAN
REALLY GET A UNIQUE AND
COMPREHENSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF
HAIR CELLS AND HEARING AND
BALANCE.
IT'S OUR HOPE OUR FINDINGS IN
ZEBRAFISH CAN BE USED TO EXPAND
OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAMMALIAN
AUDITORY AND VESTIBULAR SYSTEM.
SO, TODAY I WILL BE TELLING YOU
ABOUT TWO PARTS HIGHLIGHTING
SOME RESEARCH FROM OUR GROUP
USING THE SYSTEM, WITH THE MAIN
OVERARCHING QUESTION OF HOW THE
HAIR CELLS FUNCTION IN A LIVING
SYSTEM.
THE FIRST PART I'LL BRIEFLY TALK
ABOUT A LANDMARK STUDY FROM MY
GROUP, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW
HAIR CELLS PROCESS SENSORY
INFORMATION.
AND THEN I WILL TELL YOU MORE
ABOUT SOME RECENT WORK THAT
WE'VE DONE THAT SORT OF WAS A
FOLLOW-UP TO THIS ORIGINAL
STUDY, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT
THE COST OF SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY IS
TO HAIR CELLS.
IN THINKING ABOUT THIS FIRST
PART, HOW DO HAIR CELLS PROCESS
SENSORY INFORMATION, AND BEFORE
I TELL BUT OUR RESEARCH, I JUST
WANT TO TALK FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT
HOW HAIR CELLS ARE THOUGHT TO
PROCESS INFORMATION BECAUSE IT'S
REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO, IN RESPONSE TO A SENSORY
STIMULUS, APICAL -- AT THE APEX,
MECHANOSENSORY HAIR BUNDLES ARE
DEFLECTIVE, OPENING ION CHANNELS
AND THIS ACTIVITY AT THE TOP
TRIGGERS ACTIVITY AT THE BASE.
WE GET CALCIUM INFLUX WITH
RELEASE OF NEUROTRANSMITTER AND
ACTIVATION OF DOWNSTREAM, THIS
PROCESS DEFINES THE FUNDAMENTAL
BASIS OF HOW HAIR CELLS WORK.
BUT IN OUR INNER EAR WE DON'T
REALLY KNOW HOW HAIR CELLS ARE
ACTUALLY FUNCTIONING INSIDE
BECAUSE WE CAN'T SEE, RIGHT?
BUT WE PREDICT WHEN SOUND ENTERS
THE EAR CANAL AND GETS INTO THE
COCHLEA, WHAT IT WILL DO IS
ACTUALLY ACTIVATE COLLECTIONS OF
HAIR CELLS TOGETHER, LIKE
MULTIPLE HAIR BUNDLES DEFLECTED,
THIS WILL ACTIVATE, BASED ON
WHAT WE NOW THEY SHOULD TRANSMIT
THIS INFORMATION TO THE BRAIN.
OUR WORK IN ZEBRAFISH SUGGESTS
THIS MAY NOT BE THE CASE.
SO, WE FOUND PERHAPS NOT ALL
HAIR CELLS THAT ARE ACTIVELY
DETECTING STIMULUS TRANSMIT THIS
INFORMATION TO THE BRAIN.
SO, THIS WORK WAS - THE AMAZING
RESULT BY TWO TRAINEES IN THE
LAB ASKING THIS QUESTION IN THE
ZEBRAFISH SYSTEM HOW DO HAIR
CELLS PROCESS SENSORY
INFORMATION AND USED ONE OF
THESE CLUSTERS OF HAIR CELLS IN
THE LATERAL LINE TO HAVE SORT OF
A SIMPLER SYSTEM TO STUDY THIS
PROCESS.
ABOUT 16 HAIR CELLS WITHIN THE
SENSORY EPITHELIUM.
AND TO DO THIS WE'VE DEVELOPED
WAYS TO BOTH STIMULATE AND LOOK
AT ACTIVITY OF HAIR CELLS IN
THIS SENSORY SYSTEM.
AND SO TO LOOK AT ACTIVITY WE
USE SOME TRANSGENIC LINES THAT
WE'VE CREATED.
ONE OF THEM IS A TRANSGENIC LINE
THAT EXPRESSES CALCIUM SENSOR
THAT PROVIDES READOUT OF HAIR
CELL ACTIVITY SO AS YOU MAY
RECALL WHEN HAIR CELLS ARE
ACTIVATED WE GET CALCIUM
INFLYINGS -- INFLUX AND AFTER
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY AS WELL.
THIS INDICATOR IS FLUORESCENT
INDICATOR, INCREASES IN
FLUORESCENCE CORRESPOND TO
INCREASES IN CALCIUM OR
ACTIVITY.
WE CAN USE THIS SENSOR TO LOOK
AT ACTIVITY IN HAIR CELLS AND
COMBINE THIS WITH A FLUID-JET TO
ACTIVATE IN LIVING ZEBRAFISH.
COMPLETELY INTACT PREPARATION,
REZOOM IN AND LOOK AT A NEURO
MAST, A CLUSTER OF HAIR CELLS TO
LOOK AT ACTIVITY.
BRING IN THIS JET SHOWN HERE ON
THE TOP AND ALSO OUTLINED IN
SCHEMATIC TO USE TO MOVE OR
ACTIVATE THE HAIR CELLS.
THESE ARE THE HAIR BUNDLES IN
THE CENTER OF THE IMAGE.
WE CAN NICELY ACTIVATE THEM TO
STIMULATE THEM TOGETHER.
AND MAYBE YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE
BIT OF MOTION IN THE BACKGROUND
OF THE MOVIE.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY THE BLOOD
FLOW BENEATH THE FISH SKIN
BECAUSE IT'S ALIVE.
WHICH IS QUITE AMAZING.
WE CAN USE TRANSGENIC LINES TO
LOOK AT ACTIVITY AND THEN USE
THE FLUID JET TO STIMULATE THEM
AND MEASURE THE ACTIVITY.
FOR THIS STUDY WE CREATED A
SPECIAL TRANSGENIC LINE WITH
THIS INDICATOR.
WE'VE LOCATED THE INDICATOR TO
THE MEMBRANE OF THE HAIR CELL.
AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT
BECAUSE IT PUTS INDICATOR
EXACTLY IN THE RIGHT PLACE WHERE
THE ACTIVITY IS HAPPENING.
SO UP AT THE TOP OF THE HAIR
CELL IN THAT BUNDLE, OR AT THE
BASE AT THE SYNAPSE.
SO THIS IS WHAT THE LINE LOOKS
LIKE IN THE TOP-DOWN IMAGE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE TOP OF THE
HAIR CELLS AND FOLK US IN THERE,
WE CAN JUST SEE THE TOP OF THE
HAIR CELLS WHERE
MECHANOSENSATION IS HAPPENING.
WE CAN MEASURE CALCIUM COMING
INTO EACH AND EVERY SINGLE HAIR
BUNDLE.
HERE I'M CIRCLING THE TOP OF A
SINGLE HAIR CELL RIGHT HERE.
ALSO IF WE JUST FOCUS TO THE
BOTTOM WE CAN LOOK AT THE
SYNAPTIC AREA.
WE CAN ALSO MEASURE CALCIUM
IN
INFLUX AT THE BASE.
HERE IS THE BOTTOM CIRCLED HERE.
WE CAN USE THIS LINE ALONG WITH
OUR JET STIMULUS TO UNDERSTAND
HOW COLLECTIONS OF HAIR CELLS
DETECT AND TRANSMIT INFORMATION
TO UNDERSTAND HOW INFORMATION IS
PROCESSED.
NOW I'LL SHOW AN EXAMPLE OF A
FINDING THAT TRANSFORMED THE WAY
WE THINK ABOUT HOW HAIR CELLS
WORK.
HERE IS ACTUAL EXPERIMENT, HERE
IS TOP OF THE HAIR CELLS, TOP OF
12 HAIR CELLS HERE.
AT THE BOTTOM IS THE BASE OF THE
HAIR CELLS.
SO WHEN WE GAVE A STIMULUS THAT
ACTIVATED ALL HAIR CELLS
TOGETHER WE SAW ROBUST CALCIUM
INFLUX INTO THE TOP OF ALL THE
HAIR CELLS.
HERE, INCREASES IN CALCIUM ARE
ENCODED BY A HEAT MAP.
SHOWN ON THE RIGHT.
INCREASES IN CALCIUM CORRESPOND
TO YELLOW OR RED.
ALL 12 HAIR CELLS HAD ROBUST
CALCIUM INFLUX INDICATING THAT
THERE WAS MECHANOSENSATION AND
THEY DETECTED THE STIMULUS.
BASED ON WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HOW
HAIR CELLS WORK, WE ALSO PREDICT
THERE WOULD BE SYNAPTIC CALCIUM
IN
INFLUX AT THE BOTTOM AS WELL.
WE SAW SOMETHING THAT WAS
SURPRISING.
SO, AT THE BASE OF THE HAIR
CELLS WE WERE ABLE TO DETECT
CALCIUM INFLUX AT THE SYNAPSES
BUT OBSERVED ACTIVITY IN ONLY A
SUBSET.
I'VE CIRCLED FOUR HAIR CELLS
WITH SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY BUT
SURPRISINGLY THE VAST MAJORITY
OF THE HAIR CELLS WERE
SYNAPTICALLY SILENT, NOT
TRANSMITTING ANY INFORMATION.
I'VE CIRCLED THESE IN WHITE.
WE'VE STIMULATED FOR HOURS, USE
ALL SORTS OF STIMULATION
PARADIGMS, IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME
SUBSET OF HAIR CELLS THAT
TRANSMIT INFORMATION.
AND SO IN SUMMARY OF THIS
PROJECT WE FOUND PERHAPS NOT ALL
HAIR CELLS ARE NEEDED
SIMULTANEOUSLY TO TRANSMIT
SENSORY INFORMATION.
AND THIS WAS -- THIS IDEA THAT
DETECTION DOES NOT ALWAYS LEAD
TO SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY WAS REALLY
SURPRISING AND FOR US
REPRESENTED A PARADIGM SHIFT IN
THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT HOW HAIR
CELLS WORKED AND SUGGESTED THERE
WAS MECHANISM BY WHICH SOME
CELLS SEEM TO BE ACTIVELY
SILENCED.
AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
PERHAPS IT'S AN UNEXPECTED
COMPLEXITY WHICH MAY BE
PRESERVED IN THE MAMMALIAN
AUDITORY VESTIBULAR SYSTEM.
AS YOU LISTEN TO ME WE DON'T
KNOW HOW MANY HAIR CELLS ARE
DETECTING AND TRANSMITTING BUT
RESULTS SUGGEST PERHAPS NOT ALL
ARE NEEDED TO TRANSMIT THIS
INFORMATION.
AFTER THIS ORIGINAL FINDING WE
HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS, HOW
SCIENCE GOES.
WE'RE INTERESTED IN THE HOW AND
THE WHY BEHIND WHAT WAS
HAPPENING.
HOW ARE SOME OF THE HAIR CELLS
BEING SILENCED SYNAPTICALLY?
OF COURSE WHY?
WHY WOULD THE SENSORY SYSTEM
NEED TO SILENCE THE CELLS?
TODAY I'M FOCUSING ON THE WHY OF
WHY SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY IS
SILENCED.
WE HYPOTHESIZE CELLS COULD BE AN
IMPORTANT RESERVE.
IF THERE'S DAMAGE TO THE SYSTEM
OTHER CELLS MIGHT COME ONLINE
AND BE BE RECRUITED TO PRESERVE
SENSORY SYSTEM FUNCTION.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE TESTED
SEVERAL WAYS.
ONE OF THE WAYS IS THROUGH SUCH
A DAMAGE PARADIGM.
FOR THESE EXPERIMENTS WE USED
DAMAGE TO SEE IF WE COULD
UNSILENCE THESE CELLS.
SO IN THIS EXPERIMENT WE FIRST
LOOKED TO SEE WHICH HAIR CELLS
HAD SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY.
HERE THERE WAS FOUR.
WE USE A LASER TO DAMAGE ONE OF
THOSE SYNAPTICALLY ACTIVE CELLS
AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE
SYSTEM AFTER DAMAGE.
IN THIS CASE WHAT WE FOUND WAS
THAT JUST MINUTES AFTER DAMAGE
WHEN WE RESTIMULATED THE HAIR
CELLS WE FOUND THE DAMAGED CELL
IS NO LONGER RESPONDING.
SURPRISINGLY AFTER DAMAGE WE'RE
ABLE TO RECRUIT PREVIOUSLY
SILENT CELLS INTO THE ACTIVE
STATE.
WE HAVE THREE HAIR CELLS, NOW IT
SYNAPTIC PREVIOUSLY, PREVIOUSLY
THEY HAD NONE.
THIS WAS REALLY COOL BECAUSE IT
WAS VERY GRATIFYING FOR US
BECAUSE IT TOLD US SILENT CELLS
DID EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED FOR
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY, AND IN FACT,
YOU KNOW, THEY COULD BE
UNSILENCED AND PLAY A ROLE AS A
RESERVE POPULATION AS A SYSTEM
NEEDS THEM, WHICH IS QUITE COOL.
SO YES IT DOES SEEM LIKE SILENT
CELLS COULD ACT AS RESEARCH AND
THE SYSTEM COULD CALL UPON THEM
AT NEEDED BUT STILL DIDN'T
COMPLETELY MAKE SENSE WHY.
WHY NOT JUST USE ALL THE HAIR
CELLS ALL THE TIME?
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
WHY GO THROUGH THIS COMPLICATED
PROCESS OF SILENCING SOME AND
UNSILENCING THEM AS NEEDED?
AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE
THINK IS THAT PERHAPS IT'S NOT
JUST RESERVE BUT COULD ALSO BE A
WAY TO CONSERVE ENERGY BECAUSE
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY IS EXTREMELY
ENERGY DEMANDING.
SO THIS HAS BEEN A TOPIC THAT
WE'VE BEEN ACTIVELY PURSUING IN
A NUMBER OF WAYS.
AND SO THIS IS JUST THE SECOND
PART OF THE TALK TRYING TO LOOK
AT THE COST OF SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY
AND IF THIS CAN EXPLAIN THE
SYNAPTIC SILENCING WE SAW FROM
PREVIOUS RESULTS.
WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE COST OR
THE ENERGY REQUIRED TO FUEL
SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION, OUR FOCUS
REALLY GOES TO OUR FRIEND THE
MITOCHONDRIA.
SO, THE MITOCHONDRIA IS REALLY
IMPORTANT ORGANELLE, MAIN ROLE
TO GENERATE ENERGY, TO FUEL ALL
SORTS OF THINGS IN THE CELL.
IT'S GREAT TO CREATE ENERGY AS
WE NEED IT, THERE'S A COST TO
PRODUCING ENERGY.
AND ONE OF THE MAIN COSTS IS
THAT YOU CAN CREATE CYTOTOXIC
BYPRODUCTS SUCH AS REACTIVE
OXYGEN EXPERIENCE, DAMAGING TO
THE CELL, LEADING TO CELL DEATH
AND CAN MAKE CELLS VULNERABLE TO
INSULTS.
IF THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MITOCHONDRIA AND VULNERABILITY
THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS MANY
FORMS OF HEARING LOSS ARE LINKED
TO MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION.
WE ALREADY KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT
FOR HEARING.
AND THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WITH
REGARDS TO SYNAPSES, SO LIKE
WORK IN NEURONS, MITOCHONDRIA
ARE THOUGHT TO BE REALLY
IMPORTANT TO SUPPORT SYNAPSES IN
HAIR CELLS AS WELL.
WHAT I'M SHOWING ON THE LEFT IS
ELECTRON MICROGRAPH, TAKING A
SLICE THROUGH A ZEBRAFISH HAIR
CELL.
WE'RE AT THE BASE OF A HAIR CELL
HERE.
HERE IS THE SYNAPSE HERE IN THE
BLUE BOX.
HERE ARE THREE MITOCHONDRIA NEAR
THE SYNAPSE, ALL READY TO HELP
AND PROVIDE ENERGY AS NEEDED.
AND ALTHOUGH WE'VE TAKEN A LOT
OF BEAUTIFUL IMAGES LIKE THIS
AND THEY ARE VERY LOVELY AND
EXTREMELY HIGH RESOLUTION THEY
DON'T TELL US WHAT MITOCHONDRIA
ARE DOING IN LIVING CELLS.
SO A HUGE PART OF OUR WORK HAS
BEEN TRYING TO DEVELOP NEW TOOLS
TO STUDY MITOCHONDRIA IN LIVING
HAIR CELLS.
SO WE'VE CREATED A LOT OF NEW
TRANSGENIC LINES TO LABEL
MITOCHONDRIA TO STUDY THEM.
SO WHAT I'M SHOWING ON THE RIGHT
IS A LIVE IMAGE OF AN ENTIRE
CLUSTER OF HAIR CELLS IN THE
LATERAL LINES, WE HAVE 16 HAIR
CELLS HERE.
THE MITOCHONDRIA ARE LABELED IN
GREEN AND SYNAPSES LABELED WITH
ANOTHER MARKER IN PINK.
IT'S LIKE A PLATE OF SPAGHETTI
OR SOMETHING.
IF WE FOCUS IN ON THE BASE OF A
SINGLE HAIR CELL, THIS BOX HERE,
AT THE BOTTOM WE CAN GET A
SIMILAR VIEW TO THE ONE ON THE
LEFT.
THIS IS WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE
NOW.
THIS IS THE BOTTOM OF A SINGLE
HAIR CELL, MITOCHONDRIA IN
GREEN, SYNAPSES IN PINK.
IT LOOKS DIFFERENT THAN THE
STATIC IMAGE, WE CAN SEE THE
MITOCHONDRIA POISED TO SUPPORT
AND PROVIDE ENERGY FOR THE
SYNAPSE, QUITE COOL.
IT'S LIKE A THREE DIMENSIONAL
IMAGE.
SO IN THINKING ABOUT NOW THAT
I'VE TOLD YOU ABOUT THE
MITOCHONDRIA, HOW IS THIS GOING
TO PLAY INTO THESE SYNAPTICALLY
ACTIVE AND SYNAPTICALLY SILENT
CELLS WE OBSERVED IN OUR
PREVIOUS STUDY?
IN THE CASE WITH SYNAPTIC
ACTIVITY, WE PROPOSE THERE ARE
ENERGY DEMANDS IN THE CELL ARE
HIGH.
THIS IS ACCOMPANIED BY THIS
EXCESS ADDITIONAL REACTIVE
OXYGEN SPECIES, WHICH CAN
OXIDIZE THE CELL AND DAMAGE THE
MITOCHONDRIA.
BUT IN THE CASE WHEN WE HAVE
SILENT CELLS, LESS ENERGY IS
NEEDED BECAUSE THERE'S NOT
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY, AND WE HAVE
LESS REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND
LESS MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS.
AND SO BASED ON THIS PREMISE A
GRADUATE OPPORTUNITY IN THE LAB
ASK IF THIS WAS TRUE, DOES IT
DECREASE MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS IN
HAIR CELLS?
SHE TESTED THIS IN SEVERAL WAYS
AND ONE OF THE FIRST WAYS, THE
MAIN WAY, WAS BY TAKING A
GENETIC APPROACH.
SO IN THIS CASE SHE LOOKED AT A
MUTANT WE HAVE IN THE LAB.
THIS IS A MUTANT CALLED CAV 1.3,
ENCODES A CALCIUM CHANNEL
REQUIRED AT THE SYNAPSE.
THERE'S NO SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY IN
THE MUTANT.
ALL THE HAIR CELLS ARE
SYNAPTICALLY SILENT IN THIS
MUTANT.
SHE ASKED -- SHE STARTED TO LOOK
FOR DIFFERENT WAYS TO ASSESS THE
MITOCHONDRIA IN THESE MUTANTS.
I'LL SHOW AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF
THE TOOLS SHE USED TO LOOK AT
THE MITOCHONDRIA.
THIS IS A TOOL DEVELOPED BY DAVE
RAIBLE'S LAB, UNIVERSITY OF
WASHINGTON, A GREAT TOOL.
IT'S HAIR CELLS.
AND THIS TRANSGENIC LINE
EXPRESSED MITOTIMER WHICH YOU
CAN SEE IN IMAGES.
IT LABELS THEM IN TWO WAYS.
REALLY YOUNG HEALTHY
MITOCHONDRIA FLUORESCE IN GREEN
ON THE LEFT, BUT THEN OLDER
OXIDIZED OR STRESSED
MITOCHONDRIA FLUORESCE IN RED,
MAGENTA ON THE RIGHT.
YOU CAN GET THIS NICE READOUT OF
THE MITOCHONDRIAL POPULATIONS IN
HAIR CELLS.
AND SO USING THIS LINE ONE OF
THE THINGS YOU CAN SEE IS THAT
YOU CAN ACTUALLY STUDY THE
MITOCHONDRIA IN HAIR CELLS OVER
TIME AS THEY AGE.
HERE I'M SHOWING YOU THREE
DIFFERENT AGES IN ZEBRAFISH IN A
CONTROL ANIMAL LIKING AT
MITOTIMER AND HERE RATIO OF
OXIDIZED OR STRESSED TO HEALTHY
IN GREEN, WE CAN SEE THIS RATIO
GOES UP OVER TIME, SHOWING THAT
MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS INCREASES
WITH AGE.
IMPORTANTLY WHEN DARIA DID THE
SAME APPROACH BUT SHE LOOKED AT
HER CALCIUM CHANNEL MUTANT,
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY WAS BLOCKED,
SHE FOUND WHILE HAIR CELLS START
WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG WHEN THEY
START AT SIMILAR STRESS LEVEL
BUT OVER TIME THE MITOCHONDRIA
IN THESE MUTANTS SEEM TO
ACCUMULATE LESS MITOCHONDRIAL
STRESS.
AND THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE IT
SUGGESTS THE HAIR CELLS IN THE
MITOCHONDRIA AND HAIR CELLS ARE
HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER.
AND SO THIS WAS GOOD NEWS FOR
US.
WE LIKE THIS.
DARIA ASKED IF THERE'S LESS
MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS CAN THIS BE
PROTECTIVE AGAINST ADDITIONAL
DAMAGE THAT YOU COULD BRING INTO
THE SYSTEM?
MANY OF YOU KNOW HAIR CELLS ARE
SUSCEPTIBLE TO STRESSORS, VERY
FRAGILE CELLS.
SO LOUD NOISE CAN DAMAGE THEM.
SIMPLY AGING CAN DAMAGE THEM.
AND SEVERAL DIFFERENT DRUGS
INCLUDING IMMUNOGLYCOSIDE
ANTIBIOTICS.
CAUSING PERMANENT HEARING LOSS
IN HUMANS WHEN DAMAGED.
DARIA CHOSE TO TREAT HAIR CELLS
WITH IMMUNOGLYCOSIDE ANTIBIOTIC
NEOMYCIN.
PREVIOUS WORK HAS SHOWN IN
ZEBRAFISH NEOMYCIN IS A GREAT
WAY TO STUDY OTOTOXIC STRESS IN
THE LATERAL LINE SYSTEM.
WE KNOW NEOMYCIN IS RAPIDLY
TAKEN UP INTO LATERAL LINE HAIR
CELLS IF YOU APPLY TO THE
AQUATIC MEDIA.
AND IT WILL BE TAKEN UP AND
DAMAGE HAIR CELLS IN MINUTES,
IT'S A REALLY GOOD TOOL, QUICK
AND EASY TOOL TO STUDY OTOTOXIC
INSULT IN THE LATERAL LINE
SYSTEM.
WHAT DARIA FOUND IS IN HER
CONTROL ANIMALS WHEN SHE TREATED
WITH NEOMYCIN OBSERVED LOTS OF
CELL DEATH.
THIS IS A BEFORE IMAGE OF A
CLUSTER OF HAIR CELLS AND AFTER
NEOMYCIN TREATMENT, OVER HALF
THE HAIR CELLS ARE DAMAGED OR
DYING.
WHAT SHE FOUND IS WHEN SHE
LOOKED AT HER MUTANTS THAT HAD
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY BLOCKED, LIKE
THE SILENT HAIR CELLS, ALL THE
CELLS ARE SILENCED,
SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER HAIR CELLS
WERE -- SIGNIFICANTLY MORE HAIR
CELLS WERE SURVIVING IN THE
MUTANT COMPARED TO CONTROLS
SHOWN HERE.
AND SHE TESTED THIS AT MULTIPLE
CONCENTRATIONS AND ALSO
CONFIRMED THIS USING ANOTHER,
GENTAMICIN, WE GET PROTECTION
WHICH IS REALLY COOL.
WE WERE INTERESTED IN THIS FROM
A THERAPEUTIC PERSPECTIVE AS
WELL.
BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE CAN HAVE A
MUTATION IN THEIR CALCIUM
CHANNEL GENES OR WOULD WANT TO,
LOOKING FOR OTHER WAYS TO REPEAT
RESULT USING A DIFFERENT METHOD
ONE APPROACH WAS
PHARMACOLOGICAL, USING A CALCIUM
CHANNEL ANTAGONIST TO BLOCK THE
CALCIUM CHANNEL.
THE FIRST THING WAS COULD SHE
SIMPLY APPLY THIS BLOCKER ALONG
WITH NEOMYCIN TREATMENT JUST
DURING TREATMENT WINDOW AND ALSO
GET PROTECTION?
WHAT SHE FOUND WAS THAT SHE
COULDN'T.
WHICH WAS SAD.
SHE FOUND THAT JUST A VERY SHORT
ACUTE TREATMENT WAS NOT ABLE TO
BE PROTECTIVE.
AND SO SHE IS LIKE, OKAY, SEEMS
LIKE WE NEED TO BLOCK CHANNELS
FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER AND HOW
LONG DO I NEED TO BLOCK?
SHE DID VARIOUS DIFFERENT
DURATIONS OF CALCIUM CHANNEL
BLOCK BEFORE SHE WASHED OFF THE
DRUG AND TREATED WITH NEOMYCIN
TO SEE HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE.
THE WINDOW WAS 24 HOURS WITH
CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKER WAS
NEEDED FOR PROTECTION.
HERE AFTER 24 HOURS OF TREATMENT
WITH THIS BLOCKER WAS ABLE TO
RECOVER PROTECTION WITH MUTANTS.
IT DOES SUGGEST WE NEED A LONGER
TERM MORE CHRONIC BLOCK OF
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY IN ORDER TO
GET THIS PROTECTION.
PERHAPS THIS MAKES SENSE WITH
THE IDEA OVER TIME IT'S THE
ENERGY DEMANDS OF ACTIVITY,
ENERGY DEMANDS FOR SYNAPTIC
ACTIVITY ACCUMULATE OVER TIME
WHICH IS IN WE NEED TO BLOCK FOR
LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
IN SUMMARY OF THIS PART,
THINKING ABOUT COST SYNAPTIC
ACTIVITY, THE REAL COST LIES ON
THE STRESS THAT IT PLACES ON
MITOCHONDRIA.
SO WHEN WE HAVE SYNAPTIC
ACTIVITY, WE GET THE ENERGY WE
NEED BUT WE ALSO GET THESE
CYTOTOXIC BYPRODUCTS WHICH
STRESS THE MITOCHONDRIA AND CAN
LEAVE THEM MORE VULNERABILITY TO
INSULT, IDENTIFYING SYNAPTIC
ACTIVITY AS A SOURCE OF HAIR
CELL STRESS RENDERING SPECIAL TO
NEOMYCIN OR NOISE OR AGING A
WELL.
IN CONCLUSION, THINKING BACK TO
MY ORIGINAL QUESTION, WHAT HAVE
WE LEARNED FROM LATERAL LINE
ABOUT HOW HAIR CELLS FUNCTION IN
A LIVING SYSTEM?
WE MADE THE SURPRISING DISCOVERY
THAT PERHAPS NOT ALL HAIR CELLS
ARE NEEDED AT THE SAME TIME TO
TRANSMIT SENSORY INFORMATION.
AND IN FACT MANY OF THE CELLS
ARE SYNAPTICALLY SILENCED.
THIS IS INTERESTING BECAUSE WHEN
WE EXAMINED THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY AND
MITOCHONDRIAL STRESS WE FOUND
THAT SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY IS A
MAJOR DRIVER OF MITOCHONDRIAL
STRESS INDICATING TO US THIS
MECHANISM OF SYNAPTIC SILENCING
WE OBSERVED MAY ONLY BE
IMPORTANT TO HAVE RESEARCH
POPULATION OF ENERGY BUT ALSO IS
IMPORTANT TO CONSERVE ENERGY TO
PREVENT THIS MITOCHONDRIAL
STRESS AND PROTECT AGAINST
OTOTOXIC INSULTS.
AND THINKING ABOUT HOW THIS
COULD TRANSLATE TO MAMMALIAN
HEARING AND BALANCE, AS I
MENTIONED EARLIER, WE DON'T KNOW
HOW MANY HAIR CELLS ARE REQUIRED
AT ANY GIVEN TIME TO TRANSMIT
INFORMATION IN OUR INNER EAR.
OUR RESULTS SUGGEST PERHAPS
FEWER HAIR CELLS ARE NEEDED THAN
WE PREDICT FOR PROPER HEARING
AND BALANCE, IMPORTANT FROM A
THERAPEUTIC PERSPECTIVE,
ESPECIALLY THOSE AIMED AT
REGENERATING HAIR CELLS.
FOR EXAMPLE, PERHAPS WE DON'T
NEED TO REGENERATE AS MANY HAIR
CELLS AS WE THINK IN ORDER TO
RESTORE HEARING LOSS, WHICH IS
QUITE COOL.
LASTLY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY IS A MAJOR
SOURCE OF HAIR CELL STRESS, IT'S
IMPORTANT FOR THINKING ABOUT
OTOPROTECTIVE STRATEGIES AND
POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC
DEVELOPMENT.
LASTLY I WANT TO THANK THE
MEMBERS OF MY GROUP IN THE
SECTION ON SENSORY CELL
DEVELOPMENT DEFINITELY WORKING
WITH SUCH AN AMAZING GROUP OF
SCIENTISTS IS MY FAVORITE PART
OF WORKING AT THE NIH AND DOING
SCIENCE.
THANK YOU GUYS.
IN PARTICULAR I'D LIKE TO THANK
SUNA, QIUXIANG AND DARIA, THIS
WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE
WITHOUT THEIR HARD WORK AND I
THANK MY SUPPORT FROM THE
INTRAMURAL PROGRAM AT THE NIDCD
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION.
>>THANK YOU, KATIE.
A BEAUTIFUL TALK.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR
DISCUSSION?
BEN?
>>YEAH, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU
AGAIN FOR THE TALK.
IT RAISED A LOT OF GREAT
INTERESTING QUESTIONS.
AND I GUESS I WAS A LITTLE
CONFUSED WHERE YOU THINK THE
FAILURE OCCURS.
WHAT I THOUGHT I SAW WAS THAT
YOU COULD SEE CALCIUM INFLUX AT
THE ENDS OF THE HAIR CELLS AND
AT THE PRESYNAPTIC TERMINAL BUT
THEN YOU SAW THE FAILURES AT THE
POST-SYNAPTIC SIDE.
IF THAT'S THE CASE, COULD YOU GO
LOOK AT -- ASK WHETHER VESICLE
RELEASE IS HAPPENING, BECAUSE
THERE'S SOME LITERATURE
SUGGESTING YOU CAN HAVE FAILURES
TO PRESERVE VESICLE RECYCLING,
THAT'S VERY DIFFICULT, MAYBE A
MECHANISM TO EXPLAIN YOUR
VULNERABILITY FOR THE
MITOCHONDRIAL SYSTEM.
THANK YOU.
>>YEAH, YOU'RE 100% RIGHT.
I DIDN'T WANT TO GO INTO IT TOO
MUCH.
SO WE HAVE LOOKED IN OUR SYSTEM,
LOOKED AT VESICLE RELEASE,
POST-SYNAPTIC CALCIUM AND SEE
THE SILENCING IS PRESERVED AT
THOSE LEVELS OF ACTIVITIES AS
WELL.
I DIDN'T GO INTO IT IN DETAIL
BUT WE ACTUALLY DID LOOK AT
ANOTHER MUTANT, IT ALSO CAUSES
HEARING LOSS, WHICH SPECIFICALLY
NOT ONLY AFFECTS THE CALCIUM BUT
ALSO VESICLE RELEASE.
AND BASED ON USING THAT MUTANT
IN COMBINATION WITH THE CALCIUM
CHANNEL MUTANT WE DO THINK IT'S
THE VESICLE CYCLE RATHER THAN
CALCIUM THAT IS CREATING STRONG
METABOLIC DEMANDS THAT LEAVE
HAIR CELLS VULNERABLE TO
INSULTS, AND THIS IS CONSISTENT
WITH WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE IN
NEURONS AND THINKING ABOUT
NEURONAL PATHOLOGY AND
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS AS
WELL.
SO THAT QUESTION IS RIGHT ON.
THANK YOU.
>>GREAT.
RUTH ANN IS NEXT.
>>HI, KATIE.
THAT WAS WONDERFUL.
THANK YOU.
DO THE EFFERENTS PLAY A ROLE IN
SILENCING THE CHOSEN ONES, THE
SILENT FEW, THE SILENT MANY?
>>THAT WAS ONE OF OUR ORIGINAL
HYPOTHESES, BUT WE'VE LOOKED
WITH NEW EFFERENTS, AND REMOVED
THE WHEN THERE NO BRAIN, THE
SAME SUBSET OF CELLS RESPOND.
LED US TO BELIEVE MAYBE IT'S NOT
INNERVATION OR ANY INFORMATION
FROM THE BRAIN AFFECTING IT
WHICH WAS SURPRISING.
>>SO ONE -- YEAH, OF COURSE YOU
THOUGHT OF THIS.
I HOPE EVERYBODY IS GETTING WHAT
A GREAT MODEL SYSTEM THIS IS
BECAUSE HAVE YOU MUTANTS FOR
EVERYTHING.
OR YOU MAKE THEM FOR EVERYTHING.
THAT'S WONDERFUL.
COULD IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO
WITH TRANSDUCTION, VARIATION IN
TRANSDUCTION CHANNELS IN THE
BUNDLES?
SOMETHING RELATED TO THAT?
>>YEAH, YEAH.
WE KNOW A LOT MORE ABOUT
TRANSDUCTION THAN WHEN THE STUDY
CAME OUT.
WE FOUND IT HOLDS TRUE, IT IS
TRUE THAT MORE TRANSDUCTION CAN
LEAD TO LARGER SYNAPTIC
RESPONSES BUT THERE WASN'T A
CORRELATION BETWEEN, YOU KNOW,
THE ONES WITH ACTIVITY AND THE
ONES WITHOUT SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY
THAT THEY WOULD NECESSARILY HAVE
STRONGER MECHANOSENSITIVE
RESPONSES.
WE THINK WE MET THE THRESHOLD
FOR MECHANOSENSATION AND WE
SHOULD HAVE SEEN SOMETHING.
>>YEAH, THERE'S MORE BUT I'LL
CEDE THE FLOOR.
THANKS VERY MUCH.
>>NO PROBLEM.
>>ANDY?
>>SURE.
THANKS, DEB.
THANK YOU, KATIE.
THAT WAS LOVELY.
I DO HAVE A QUESTION COMING UP.
I JUST WANTED TO ECHO RUTH ANN'S
POINT FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHER
MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL THAT
PRETTY MUCH NONE OF THIS WORK
COULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN
MAMMALIAN SPECIES.
AND I THINK IT REALLY UNDERLIES
THE IMPORTANCE AS WE WERE
DISCUSSING YESTERDAY OF, YOU
KNOW, OTHER MODEL SYSTEM TO
UNDERSTAND SOME OF THESE
PROBLEMS.
THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO TO
SAY FOLLOWING WHAT WE HEARD
EARLIER THIS MORNING IS THAT
FISH ARE COMPARATIVELY CHEAPER
TO USE IN UNIVERSITIES.
SO AS A TOOL TO GET THIS KIND OF
RESEARCH INTO PLACES THAT MAY
NOT BE RESEARCH INTENSIVE, THEY
ARE A REALLY GOOD SYSTEM.
I HAVE COLLEAGUES IN UNDERGRAD
INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY
USING ZEBRAFISH TO, YOU KNOW,
DEMONSTRATE TO STUDENTS POWER OF
GENETICS IN ALL KINDS OF
EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEMS, NOT JUST
THIS.
THERE IS A QUESTION COMING.
I WAS STRUCK BY HOW QUICKLY YOU
CAN UNSILENCE THE SILENT HAIR
CELLS AND I KNOW YOU DIDN'T TALK
ABOUT THE MECHANISM TODAY.
I ABOUT WANT TO ASK YOU IF YOU
HAD ANY CLUES AS TO HOW THAT
HAPPENS, NOT ONLY SO QUICKLY BUT
ALSO APPARENTLY SO PERFECTLY,
LIKE THEY GO FROM SILENT TO ON
VERY QUICKLY.
>>VERY QUICKLY.
YEAH, WE HAVE NO IDEA.
LIKE RUTH ANN SAID WE'RE ALWAYS
LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT CAN --
WE THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN
SENSE AND ALL THE HAIR CELLS AT
ONCE, YOU KNOW.
IF IT ISN'T EFFERENTS,
HYPOTHESIS IS SURROUNDING GLIA
FORM THIS INTERCONNECTED NETWORK
THAT SURROUNDS HAIR CELLS AND WE
DID HAVE EVIDENCE WHEN WE DAMAGE
HAIR CELLS WE GET A REALLY LARGE
DAMAGE RESPONSE IN THOSE
SURROUNDING SUPPORTING CELLS AND
WE THINK THAT'S PROBABLY GOING
TO BE WHAT'S HAPPENING BUT
MECHANISTICALLY HOW IT
UNSILENCES WE DON'T KNOW YET.
>>LISA IN THE INTRAMURAL
PROGRAM HAS BEEN LOOKING AT
PARTICLES THAT ARE RELEASED FROM
SUPPORTING CELLS THAT MAY BE
PROTECTIVE.
HAVE YOU WALKED DOWN THE
CORRIDOR AND CHATTED WITH HER
ABOUT THIS?
>>NO, ACTUALLY I HAVEN'T.
THAT'S A REALLY GOOD IDEA.
THEY COULD BE RELEASING
SOMETHING IN THESE VESICLES,
YEAH.
I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO WALK VERY
FAR, LIKE FIVE FEET.
I SHOULD DEFINITELY DO THAT, A
GREAT IDEA.
>>WELL, THANK YOU.
>>NARUPA?
>>THANK YOU.
LOVELY TALK.
BEAUTIFUL IMAGES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
SO I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT
WHETHER THE NEWLY UNSILENCED OR
PERHAPS UNSILENCED AND MATURED
HAIR CELLS SORT OF BROADEN THEIR
SENSORY PROFILE, IF YOU WILL.
SO, ARE THEY ABLE TO SORT OF
DETECT AND SIGNAL MANY DIFFERENT
FEATURES?
SO DIRECTIONALITY, TURBULENCE,
STRENGTH OF CURRENT, ALL OF
THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, WHICH I'M
NOT SURE EXACTLY HOW THE LATERAL
LINE HAIR CELLS ACTUALLY ENCODE
ANY OF THAT BUT THAT'S A
DIFFERENT STORY.
AND BUT I'M WONDERING IF AS ANDY
WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A
SORT OF INSTANTANEOUS SWITCH ON.
IS IT INSTANTANEOUS ACROSS THE
FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES, SENSORY
SORT OF CHARACTERISTICS?
OR IS THERE SORT OF SOME
LEARNING PERHAPS IN THERE?
>>YEAH, I MEAN, WE ARE LIMITED
IN HOW WE CAN STIMULATE WITH A
JET.
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
SO WE CAN DO STEPS AND RAMPS AND
DIFFERENT FREQUENCIES WHICH
WE'VE DONE.
OF VARIOUS INTENSITIES AND
DURATIONS.
AND, YEAH, I MEAN WHEN WE LOOK
AT THE ACTIVITY IT'S KIND OF
EXTRAORDINARY.
IF WE LOOK AT ONE SENSORY
EPITHELIUM WE'VE GIVEN A BATTERY
OF 12 STIMULI, THAT EVERYTHING
WE CAN CREATE ACTUALLY.
IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME CELLS.
UNLESS WE'RE LOOKING AT
DIRECTIONALITY BECAUSE THERE ARE
TWO POPULATIONS THAT RESPOND TO
DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS IN OUR
SYSTEM WHICH WE DO CAPTURE.
EVEN THOSE UNSILENCED CELLS SEEM
TO BE BEHAVING LIKE THEY WERE
ALWAYS THERE AS SIMILAR AS THE
OTHER CELLS ARE BEHAVING.
YEAH, IT'S EXTRAORDINARY.
>>THANK YOU.
>>AND MEG?
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
FIRST OF ALL, REALLY, REALLY
INTERESTING TALK.
I WAS FASCINATED NOT ONLY BY THE
WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING BUT ALSO
THE FOCUS ON MITOCHONDRIAL
STRESS, ESPECIALLY COMING FROM
AN AGING PERSPECTIVE AND STRESS
MODELS OF AGING.
THE QUESTION I HAD, MAYBE THIS
IS NAIVE OR I MISSED, THERE ARE
OUTER AND INNER HAIR CELLS, WERE
YOU LOOKING SPECIFICALLY AT THE
LINK BETWEEN OUTER HER CELLS
STIMULATING INNER OR HOW ARE YOU
LOOKING AT THAT CONNECTIVITY, IF
YOU WILL, AND ALSO IN TERMS OF
THE ISSUE OF YOUR MEDICATION IS
REALLY INTERESTING, SINCE SO
MANY INDIVIDUALS ARE ON CALCIUM
CHANNEL BLOCKERS AND OTHER
THINGS LONG TERM.
ANY COMMENTS ON ISSUES OF THE
DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN OUTER
AND INNER HAIR CELLS?
>>YOU MEAN WITHIN THE MAMMALIAN
SYSTEM AND LIKE HOW --
>>YEAH, JUST IN TERMS OF HOW
THIS FITS IN TERMS OF THE SILENT
CELLS AND ALSO MAYBE THAT'S THE
WAY THINGS MIGHT INFLUENCE
HEARING LOSS IN THE SENSE OF ARE
PEOPLE LOSING THE WRONG CELLS
THAT HAVE MORE HEARING LOSS THAN
THOSE WHOSE ONES AREN'T AS
DAMAGED OR DON'T HAVE INFLUENCE
LONG THINK.
>>OUTER HAIR CELLS ARE AFFECTED
WITH STRESS WITHOUT A TON OF
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY.
I DON'T KNOW FIT TRANSLATES TO
THAT BUT MAYBE MORE PERHAPS TO
VESTIBULAR OR INNER HAIR CELLS
WITH TONS OF SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY,
AND OUR SYSTEM WE DON'T REALLY
UNFORTUNATELY HAVE THE BEST
EQUIVALENT FOR INNER AND OUTER
HAIR CELLS.
THERE'S NO AMPLIFICATION THAT WE
KNOW OF YET WITHIN OUR SYSTEM.
BUT, YEAH, IT WOULD BE REALLY
INTERESTING TO SEE, WE MIGHT
NEED A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS TO
PROTECT DIFFERENT HAIR CELLS,
WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
ELECTROMOTILITY BEING A MAJOR
CONTRIBUTOR TO ENERGY VERSUS
SYNAPTIC ACTIVITY LIKE INNER
HAIR CELLS.
YEAH, THAT'S A REALLY, REALLY
GOOD POINT.
>>THANK YOU.
>>ALL RIGHT.
WELL, THANK YOU.
KATIE, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR A
BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION AND THANK
ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR QUESTIONS.
SO THIS BRINGS US TO THE END OF
OUR OPEN SESSION OF COUNCIL.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE COUNCIL
MEMBERS.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR ADVICE
AND HAVE REALLY ENJOYED
INTERACTING WITH YOU.
IF THERE ARE TOPICS THAT YOU
WOULD LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT IN
UPCOMING MEETINGS, PLEASE LET US
KNOW.
WE'RE ALWAYS VERY INTERESTED IN
HAVING YOUR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT
THINGS THAT ARE OF INTEREST TO
YOU TO HEAR MORE ABOUT.
SO, HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR
DAY.
A GREAT WEEKEND.
AND WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING
EVERYONE IN PERSON IN MAY.
SO TAKE CARE.
BYE-BYE.