>> WELCOME TO OUR GUESTS AGAIN. I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE SOME NEW MEMBERS OR NEW IN THEIR TITLES TO THE NIDCR BE, SO THIS PAST YEAR, WE HAD TWO OF OUR LEADERSHIP POSITIONS MOVED TO HIGHER POSITIONS AT NIH AND ALSO ONE RETIREMENT. SO WITH THAT, WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT WERE ALREADY KEY AND REMARKABLE VIZ IN THEIR OWINDIVIDUALS IN THEIR OWN OF FICES AND BRANCHES TO MOVE UP TO THE NEXT AREA, SO WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE FOR THAT. THIS INCLUDED DR. LILIAN SHUM, WHO HAS A PH.D. IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, AS THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH, AND SHE PREVIOUSLY WAS THE CHIEF OF THE INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE BRANCH FOR THIS DIVISION. THE OTHER INDIVIDUALS INCLUDE DR. ATASANYA, AND SHE HOLDS A DDS AND ALSO AN MPH, AND SHE'S NOW THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE POLICY AND ANALYSIS, AND SHE WAS PREVIOUSLY THE SCIENCE PLANNING OFFICER FOR THIS OFFICE. LASTLY, KARINA BOEHM WHO HAS AN MPH, ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION AND HEALTH, AND PREVIOUSLY THE CHIEF OF THIS OFFICE OF HEALTH EDUCATION -- OF THE HEALTH EDUCATION BRANCH. SO YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE VERY STOL VERY SOLID -- AND THEY'VE ALSO STEPPED UP TO BE LEADERS IN THEIR NEW POSITIONS AS WELL, SO PLEASE WELCOME THESE NEW INDIVIDUALS. [APPLAUSE] WE HAVE SOME OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO ANNOUNCE IN NEW POSITIONS AS WELL. >> GOOD MORNING. IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU DR. MATRIDAS, WHO RECENTLY JOINED THE SCIENTIFIC REVIEW BRANCH AT NIDCR AS A SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OFFICER THE SCIENTIFIC TRAINING AND CAREER COVERS A WIDE SCIENTIFIC BREADTH. HE RECEIVED HIS PH.D. IN BIOLOGY FROM COLLEGE IN 1983, WHERE HE STUDIED THE FUNCTION OF RIBOSOMES IN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN THE MOUSE LIVER. HE THEN COMPLETED TWO POSTDOCTORAL TRAININGS AT TUFTS AND BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL, WHERE HE STUDIED THE MECHANISM OF MESSENGER RNA TRANSLATIONAL REGULATION AND TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION OF THE HUMAN -- PROTEIN GENES AND THEIR ROLE IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. HIS SUBSEQUENT CAREER SPANNED 20 YEARS IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY, WHERE HE CARRIED OUT A WIDE VARIETY OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON DRUG DISCOVERY, INCLUDING THE PROTEIN ENGINEERING OF COMPLEMENT BLOCKERS FOR INFLAMMATORY DISEASES, THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSGENIC RAT FOR STUDIES IN CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM, THE DISCOVERY OF -- PEPTIDE FOR PROSTATE CANCER, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF A PATENTED BACTERIAL EXPRESSION SYSTEM, ENABLING CLINICAL TRIALS FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. HE ALSO DEVELOPED A SURFACE FUNCTIONALLIZATION SCHEME FOR QUANTUM DOTS TO BE USED AS PROBES FOR MULTIPLEX DETECTION OF PROTEINS. HIS CAREER AT THE NIH STARTED IN 2009, WHEN HE JOINED THE NCI'S DIVISION OF EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES AS A SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OFFICER MANAGING THE SCIENTIFIC REVIEW -- REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS AND CONTRACTS. PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING HIM TO NIDCR. [APPLAUSE] >> SO THANK YOU, MARTHA, FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION OF MY NEW ROLE AND ALLOW ME NOW IN TURN TO INTRODUCE TO EVERYBODY DR. JOHN KUZIAK, A FAMILIAR FACE AT NIDCR AS WELL. HE HAS BEEN APPOINTED ACTING CHIEF FOR INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES BRANCH, ALSO PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR THE MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE PROGRAM, AND HE JOINED NIDCR IN 2003, AND OVER THE YEARS, HAD DEVELOPED A NUMBER OF INITIATIVES AND RAN SEVERAL WORKSHOPS ADDRESSING ORAL FACIAL PAIN RESEARCH AS WELL AS TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT DISORDERS. HE'S HIGHLY VISIBLE AT THE NIH BECAUSE OF HIS SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE, RAN THE PROGRAM INITIATIVE IN TRANSITION OF ACUTE TO CHRONIC NEUROPATHIC PAIN, AND SO HE'S BEEN RECOGNIZED WITH NUMEROUS AWARDS, INCLUDING TWO NIH DIRECTORS' AWARD, ONE IN 2005 AND ANOTHER ONE IN 2013. SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING JOHN TO HIS NEW AND ADDITIONAL ROLE. [APPLAUSE] >> ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. WE'RE REALLY HAPPY THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO JOIN US TODAY. ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE PROVIDING WIDER ACCESS TO OUR MEETING VIA VIDEOCAST, SO I'D LIKE TO ASK ANYONE WHO'S SPEAKING TO PLEASE USE THE MICROPHONE SO THAT THOSE OUT WATCHING THE VIDEO WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR. IF ANYONE AT THE TABLE EXPERIENCES PROBLEMS WITH YOUR LAPTOP COMPUTER, WE HAVE OUR VERY EXCELLENT I.T. TEAM HERE TO HELP YOU OUT, JOHN, UP HERE IN THIS CORNER, SIMPSON OVER HERE. IF YOU CAN GIVE THEM A LITTLE SIGNAL, THEY'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO COME AND HELP YOU OUT. THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS TODAY IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING. SO THE SEPTEMBER MEETING MINUTES WERE MADE AVAILABLE TO COUNCILMEMBERS FOR REVIEW, AND SO AT THIS TIME, I'LL ASK IF ANYONE HAS ANY COMMENTS OR CORRECTIONS FOR THE MINUTES. WOULD A COUNCILMEMBER LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. SECOND THE MOTION? THANK YOU. ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. THANK YOU. THE OTHER ITEM OF BUSINESS TO COVER NEXT IS THE REVIEW OF THE COUNCIL OPERATING PROCEDURE, SO THIS HAPPENS AT EVERY JANUARY MEETING. WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW AND UPDATE OR EDIT THE COUNCIL OPERATING PROCEDURES. THIS YEAR, THE PRIMARY CHANGE THAT WAS MADE IS JUST AN UPDATE TO ALL THE WEB LINKS UNDER THE DOCUMENT THAT WERE NO LONGER FUNCTIONING, SO WE FIXED ALL OF THOSE AND DIDN'T MAKE ANY OTHER SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES. THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF OTHER MINOR CHANGES. BUT AT THIS TIME I'LL ASK COUNCIL IF YOU HAVE ANY CHANGES OR EDITS TO RECOMMEND. WOULD SOMEONE LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE UPDATED COUNCIL OPERATING PROCEDURES? SECOND, AND ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO DR. SOMERMAN, AND SHE WILL DO HER REPORT. >> AGAIN, GOOD MORNING, EVERYBODY. I'M GOING TO DO A FEW THINGS, SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A REPORT ON THE BUDGET, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME INITIATIVES DURING THE YEAR AND WHERE THEY WENT, AS WELL AS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT 2014, ALTHOUGH AS USUAL, THESE LAST FEW YEARS, WE REALLY DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT 2014 BUT ALSO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME OF THE INITIATIVES, THEN STOP FOR SOME QUESTIONS YOU HAVE RELATED TO THE BUDGET, THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO STRATEGIC PLAN, WHERE I'M HOPING TO RECEIVE SOME COMMENTS FOR YOU -- FROM IT YOU ON THAT. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A BREAK, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE DIVERSITY AREA THAT I'LL INTRODUCE AS WELL. SO MOVING RIGHT ALONG HERE. THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS, AND THE WAY I PHRASE THIS ON A GOOD DAY IS A VERY INTERESTING YEAR. ON MOST DAYS, AND I THINK ALL OF YOU IN THE COMMUNITY RECOGNIZE THIS, IT'S BEEN A VERY DIFFICULT YEAR. FIRST WAS THE SEQUESTER THAT WE DIDN'T ANTICIPATE UNTIL THE END, WE COULDN'T BELIEVE IT HAPPENED, AND I THINK YOU KNOW THE HISTORY HERE. THERE WERE 640 FEWER COMPETITIVE PROJECT GRANTS AS WELL AS IN TERMS OF OUR OWN PLACE HERE BACK AT OUR CLINICAL CENTER, FEWER PATIENTS ADMITTED, THERE WERE NO INCREASE IN STIPENDS. THE GOOD NEWS IS, FOR 2014, THAT WE'LL BE IN PLACE FOR THE NSRAs, SO THAT IS A POSITIVE. THEN UNANTICIPATED UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE SENDAIS OF 16 DAYS OF A SHUTDOWN THAT I CAN IMAGINE, ALSO THE COMMUNITY OUTSIDE, WE ARE STILL FIGURING OUT AND DOING CATCHUP RELATED TO THE SHUTDOWN ITSELF, AND SO THERE WERE -- THIS WAS REMARKABLE, THERE WERE 200 PEER REVIEWS CANCELED, THAT WAS AROUND 11,000 GRANT APPLICATIONS, AND YOU IN THE COMMUNITY STEPPE UP TO REVIEW THEM, AS WELL AS OUR STAFF. THAT MANAGED TO PUT ALL THESE GRANT REVIEWS IN PLACE EXCEPT APPARENTLY FOR ONE THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT TO COUNCIL IN JANUARY. THAT'S AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT, SO YOU CAN MANL THE ACTIVITY HERE. THERE WERE AWARDS THAT WERE NOT RELEASED AND THERE WERE DEADLINES THAT WERE DISRUPTED, AND I KNOW BEING IN THE COMMUNITY, EVEN THOUGH WE SAID DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT WHEN YOU DON'T MEET A DEADLINE, YOU JUST GET A LOT OF ANXIETY AND ANGST RELATED TO THIS. TRAVEL WAS CANCELED, AND I KNOW SOME PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY SAY, OH, IT MUST HAVE SAVED MONEY. WELL, THIS IS ONE TRAVEL FOR NEW INVESTIGATORS, TRAVEL FOR SENIOR PEOPLE FROM OUR INSTITUTE THAT GO AND OTHER INSTITUTES AT NIH THAT GO AROUND AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE DO, AS WELL AS OUR PROGRAM OFFICERS, THAT IT'S SO CRITICAL FOR THEM TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND ALSO TO GAIN NEW INFORMATION. WE HAD ALREADY PAID FOR MUCH OF THIS STUFF, SO A LOT OF THE REGISTRATION FEES AND OTHER THINGS WERE ALREADY PAID FOR. IN ADDITION TO THAT, THERE'S SOME HOTELS THAT WILL NEVER DEAL WITH US AGAIN, AND SO THE IMPACT ON THIS WAS NOT -- WE DID NOT SAVE ANY MONEY ON THIS. PROTOCOLS WERE ON HOLD AND AS YOU KNOW, RESEARCH WAS ON HOLD AS WELL. SO I JUST PUT THIS IN MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT 2014, BUT THERE IS SOME OPTIMISM HERE. IT MAY NOT BE AS ROBUST AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY NOT A DECREASE. IN ADDITION TO THAT, I REALLY GO OUT TO THE LEADERSHIP HERE AT NIH AND YOU PROBABLY HAVE SEEN DR. FRANCIS COLLINS NOT ONLY IN BRINGING PEOPLE HERE FROM THE HILL BUT ALSO GOING OUT, REACHING OUT ON MANY MEDIA FORUMS, SO ON TV, I BET MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN HIM, AN AMAZING PRESENCE FOR HIM US, AND I COULDN'T THINK OF A BETTER PERSON TO BE HEADING THE NIH AT THE TIME OF THIS CRISIS, JUST A GREAT SPOKESMAN FOR US 24/7, INCREDIBLE. SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET? I THINK THIS IS IN YOUR DIRECTOR'S REPORT AS WELL. SO, IT'S TOUGH, BUT WE HAD $410 MILLION AND WE HAD A CUT OF 5.6%. SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN 2013. BREAKING DOWN THE EXTRAMURAL AND INTRAMURAL, ABOUT 78% GOES TO OUR EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH, AND INTRAMURAL, ABOUT 16%, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT 16% TO THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, THE CENTRAL ASSESSMENTS IS ABOUT 37%, SO SIMILAR TO YOU IN THE OUTSIDE COMMUNITY, THERE'S AN OVERHEAD AND WE HAVE THE SAME SITUATION HERE, SO IT'S REALLY NOT THIS LIMITED AMOUNT THAT GOES TO OUR INTRAMURAL PROGRAM. THEN, OFTEN, WE HAVE RESEARCH MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT, INCLUDING SECURITY AND I.T. AND FACILITIES AND STUDY SECTIONS, SO A LOT OF THINGS GO INTO THE TAP SIDE OF THE HOUSE AS WELL. IN TERMS OF THE MECHANISM HERE, AS YOU CAN SEE, IN TERMS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE FOR OUR OUTSIDE, THE NONCOMPETINGS CONTINUED, THAT'S GOOD NEWS, AND THE COMPETING RENEWALS, WE HAD OVER 700 AND WE'RE ABLE TO FUND ABOUT 143 OUTSTANDING PROPOSALS. THAT' AT ABOUT A 19.9% SUCCESS RATE. IN ADDITION, WE CONTINUE TO FUND THE SMALL BUSINESS AS WELL AS R CENTERS, A FEW, CAREERS, TRAININGS AND CONTRACTS. SO THAT'S THE TOTAL DOWN FOR THE EXTRAMURAL, THEN AS WE MENTIO BEFORE, THE INTRAMURAL AS WELL. I'M A VISUAL PERSON SO I LIKE TO BREAK THIS DOWN IN TERMS OF A PIE CHART. THIS IS TO THE EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY, AND STILL THE BULK OF THIS IS IN THOSE RESEARCH PROJECT GRANTS BUT STILL VERY STRONG IN SUPPORTING THE TRAINING AND CAREERS CONTRACTS AND ALSO A SMALL BUSINESS, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A SMALL PERCENT, IT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF WHAT WE ARE AND WHO WE ARE BECAUSE IT'S THE TRANSLATIONAL HOUSE OF WHAT WE DO, HOW THE RESEARCH MOVES INTO THE CLINIC, SO IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE FOR US. I SHOW THIS WHEEL NOT TO SAY MY AREA IS THE SMALLEST AREA HERE, FOR SOME OF YOU, BECAUSE IN FACT, THE WAY WE CULL THINGS, THEY ALL KIND OF BLEND TOGETHER, BUT RATHER TO SHOW YOU WE DO DEAL WITH THIS PART OF THE BODY, BUT THIS PART OF THE BODY CONNECTS TO EVERYTHING ELSE, AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES ARE HUGE IN TERMS OF THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW INVESTIGATORS, SENIOR INVESTIGATORS, TO COME IN TO THE NIDCR AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE ENJOYED THE RESEARCH IN THIS AREA, THERE'S SUCH A DIVERSITY IN TERMS OF WHAT WE DO F WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS AND YOU CAN SEE THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS DECLINING, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IN TERMS OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN STRATEGICALLY INCREASING PERCENT-WISE, SO IS IN OUR, AGAIN, PROJECT GRANTS, AS WELL AS SOMETHING CALLED THE R56. SO DURING THESE TIMES OF -- DIFFICULT TIMES IN TERMS OF BUDGET CUTS, THE R56 IS AN INNOVATIVE ONE YEAR BRIDGING FUND OPPORTUNITIES, AND IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR FLEXIBILITY, SO AS A ONE-YEAR GRANT, IT ALLOWS FOR ADDITIONAL MONEYS AFTER THAT YEAR SO IT DOESN'T TIE IT UP IN THE NONCOMPETING ARENA, SO THIS IS SOME OF THE STRATEGIES WE'VE BEEN USING QUITE SUCCESSFULLY TO BRING NEW INVESTIGATORS INTO THE FOLD AS WELL. IN TERMS OF SUCCESS RATE, WE DO PARALLEL THAT OF THE NIH. THE NIH FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS BEEN RUNNING AVERAGE -- NOT ALL INSTITUTES THE SAME, SOME AS LOW AS 9% SUCCESS RATE, BUT AT ABOUT 17.7% AND WE'RE AT 19.9 19.9%. ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS, AND THAT'S WHY COUNCIL IS SO IMPORTANT AND AS I MENTIONED WE'RE USING THAT R56 MECHANISM FOR SOME FLEXIBILITY AND ALSO FOR PEOPLE NOT TO FALL IN THE CRACKS AND LOSE THEIR GRANTS DOORNG THESE DIFFICULT TIMES WHERE THEY JUST MADE -- ALMOST MADE THE CUT INTO GETTING FUNDED BUT NOT QUITE, IS THE COUNCIL'S ABILITY TO DISCUSS WITH US THESE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES AND GRANT PROPOSALS, SO 83% OF WHAT WE HAVE IS ALREADY COMMITTED. IT'S COMMITTED TO GRANTS, THE TRAINING GRANTS, TO OUR SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS, ONGOING CONTRACTS, ASSESSMENTS, OPERATING EXPENSES, IT'S ALREADY LOCKED IN. SO RIGHT NOW, IN 2013, ABOUT 17% WAS THE FLEXIBLE UNCOMMITTED PART OF WHAT WE DO. IT'S BEEN AVERAGING FOR US SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 16 AND 20% OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, SO WE'RE DOING OKAY, SOME OTHER INSTITUTES HAVE EVEN LESS MONEYS TO SPEND BUT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STRATEGIC PIECE OF WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE ALLOW FOR THIS FLEXIBILITY, AND HOW IMPORTANT COUNCIL IS FOR PROVIDING REVIEW OF THESE PROPOSALS. SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INITIATIVES FOR 2013? SO SOME OF THESE INITIATIVES, WE STILL CONTINUE TO FUND OURS BUT WE ALSO PROMOTE INITIATIVES FOR MANY DIFFERENT REASONS. AREAS THAT WE SEE AS EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPORTANT SCIENCE AND DISCOVERY, AREAS THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEED INVESTIGATORS FROM OTHER AREAS TO COME INTO OUR FOLD TO HELP US OUT WITH SOME OF THESE VERY IMPORTANT STRATEGIC AREAS, AND ALSO FOR NEW INVESTIGATORS. AND WITH THESE INITIATIVES THAT I'LL JUST BE GOING THROUGH FOR A MOMENT HERE, WE DID HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN MANY OF THESE SITUATIONS TO BRING IN EARLY INVESTIGATORS AND NEW INVESTIGATORS TO NIDCR. SO IN TERMS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TREATMENT FOR ORAL DISEASES IN THE MEDICALLY CRO COMPROMISED PATIENTS, WE AWARDED FOUR AWARDS IN THIS AREA. IN THE NOVEL DENTAL COMPOSITES, VERY EXCITING AND IMPORTANT AREA FOR US, AND I THINK OF THAT WAS I YOUR DIRECTOR'S REPORT LAST TIME, SIX NEW GRANTS WERE AWARDED IN THIS AREA WITH A VERY GOOD RESPONSE. WE WERE DELIGHTED WITH OUR RESPONSE TO THIS AREA. THE EP GENOMICS OF VIRUS-ASSOCIATED ORAL DISEASES, WE FUNDED 10, ALSO THE MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF SALIVARY GRAND TUMOR, WE WERE ABLE TO FUND NINE GRANTS IN THIS AREA. SO MOVING TO 2014, WHICH I'M SURE ALL OF YOU ARE GOING, OKAY, WHAT'S GOING ON IN 2014. SO THE OMNIBUS BILL DOES CONTAIN A 3% INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD, ABOUT A 3% INCREASE. SOME OF THE -- IF YOU'VE READ THE OMNIBUS PROPOSAL, SOME OF THE AREAS WE RECEIVED A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN NIH FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT REASONS, BUT IT'S A 3% INCREASE. BUT MOST LIKELY, THERE'S GOING TO BE A REDUCTION OF AT LEAST 1% DUE TO THE SECRETARY A'S TRANSFER, SO DON'T HOLD TIGHT TA NUMBER RIGHT THERE, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER TAXES THAT WE MAY BE RECEIVING. RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DISCUSS THE DETAILS ON WHAT THAT IS BECAUSE WE REALLY DON'T KNOW, AND SO HOLD ON TO THAT. SO THIS IS AN APPROXIMATE. SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? SO MOVING FROM 23, I THINK NOT A FUN THING TO LOOK AT IN TERMS OF PURCHASING POWER. IT HAS DECLINED, AND WE'RE HOPING WITH THIS INCREASE HERE, NOT KNOWING EXACT WILL WHAT IT IS, THAT AT LEAST IT WILL BE STABILIZED FOR NOW IF NOT A LITTLE BIT MORE. SO FOR 2014, WE'VE HAD SOME REVIEWS ALREADY OF SOME OF OUR INITIATIVES, AND WE'LL BE DETERMINING THE AWARDS SHORTLY, AND THESE INCLUDE FUNCTI CHARACTERIZATION OF ORAL CANCER INITIATING CELLS. AGAIN W ALL OF THESE, WE'VE HAD SOME VERY GOOD RESPONSES WITH NEW INVESTIGATORS AND EARLY INVESTIGATORS AS WELL. INNOVATIVE APPROACHES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE UNCULTIVABLE BACTERIA, MUCH EXCITING IF YOU'VE BEEN READING THE SCIENCE IN THIS AREA, AND THAT WILL BE REVIEWED 2/28. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE HAD REVIEWS FOR OUR TWO U'S, AND THOSE WERE REVIEWED AND THE CONSIDERATIONS NOW IN TERMS OF WHAT TO FUND IN THOSE AREAS. FUTURE DIRECTIONS, AND I THINK SOME OF YOU -- LAST TIME WE MENTIONED SOME OF THESE AT COUNCILS PREVIOUSLY, BUT I JUST WANTED TO RECALL WHAT'S HAPPENED SINCE THE COUNCIL, SO WE DID HAVE A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR RENEWING OF THE DENTAL SCIENTIST PATHWAY TO INTD PENSINDEPENDENCE, THAT WAS JUST RELEASED. WE ALSO HAD A SHORT-TERM MENTORING CAREER SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING IN MAY HAVE YORL, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND GENETICS AND GENOMICS, AND THAT WAS RELEASED IN DECEMBER. WE'RE HOPING THIS IS A OPPORTUNITY THROUGH A K18 MECHANISM TO BRING AND RENEW INDIVIDUALS AND FACULTY IN SPECIFIC AREAS OR RETOOL OR INCREASE THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH. IF WE'LL SUCCESSFUL HERE, YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE MORE K18 STRATEGIES IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL. IN TERMS OF ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE RECOGNIZED DURING THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PHASE IS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO ESTABLISH OUTCOME MEASURES THAT ARE UNIFORM WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR CLINICAL TRIALS, SO WE HAVE ONE RELATED TO OUT COME MEASUREMENT FOR CLINICAL STUDIES OF ORAL AND CRANIOFACIAL DISEASES AND CONDITIONS, AND THAT WAS JUST RELEASED. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'RE PLANNING TO RELEASE ONE IN ESTABLISHING MAY HAVE YORESTABLISHING BEHA VIORAL AND MEASURES FOR RESEARCH. MECHANISMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON CRANIOFACIAL AREA AS WELL AS BIRTH DEFECTS, THIS IS A VERY IMPORT AREA AND A VERY EXCITING AREA FOR US, AND OTHER ICs AS WELL IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL GENETIC, HE PEE GENETIC. THE TEMPOROMANDIBULAR AREA, WE HAD A WORKSHOP IN THIS AREA, THIS SOON WILL BE A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT. IMPORTANTLY, THE AREA OF REDUCED ORAL HEALTH DISPARITIES, IF YOU'VE READ THE STRATEGIC -- DRAFT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THIS IS ALWAYS AN IMPORTANT AREA FOR US AND A HIGHLIGHTED AREA. WE DID HAVE A WORKSHOP IN THIS AREA AND ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE PROPOSAL. TARGETING CODEPENDENT MOLECULAR PATHWAYS IN ORAL CANCER IS ANOTHER ONE, AS WELL AS NEXT GENERATION RAPID TESTING AND POINT OF CARE DIAGNOSIS FOR ORAL PATHOGENS, AND ALSO NOVEL APPROACHES TOWARD A CURE FOR HIV AND ORAL OPPORTUNISTIC PATHOGENS. SO A LOT OF CONCEPT CLEARANCES THAT YOU DID CLEAR WITH POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THESE AREAS. THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO MENTION TO COUNCIL AND TO THE COMMUNITY IS THAT WE RECENTLY HAD A LEADERSHIP RETREAT. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LAST YEAR, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THOSE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SHUTDOWN THAT WE FINALLY HAD THIS LEADERSHIP FORUM IN 2014, I THINK IT WAS JANUARY 6TH. ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT, AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN 2014, AT THE NIH LEVEL, THERE WILL BE DISCUSSIONS AND THESE DISCUSSIONS ALWAYS TAKE PLACE BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE HIGHLIGHTING THIS AREA, AND ONE IS IN THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS. IS THERE A WAY, ARE THERE METRICS TO USE, QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE, TO CHARACTERIZE STUDY SECTIONS SO THAT WE CAN RECOGNIZE BOTH AREAS THAT MAY NEED TO SUNSET AS WELL AS OPPORTUNITY FOR EMERGING RESEARCH AREAS THAT SOMETIMES WE MISS IN THE CURRENT SYSTEM THAT WE'RE USING. ANOTHER AREA IS APPROACHES TO SUPPORTING SCIENCE. SO THIS IS A GOOD THING WITH THE OPPORTUN SO WHENEVER YOU HAVE SOME ISSUES RELATED TO BUDGET, THERE ARE EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES, AND THIS IS A SITUATION HERE. WE'RE TRYING OH TO LOOK AT ARE THERE OTHER APPROACHES NOT MOVING AWAY FROM THE RO1s AS OUR TREASURED TYPE OF PROJECT GRANTS, BUT ALSO TO CONSIDER OTHER OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL. ESPECIALLY FOR OUR EARLY INVESTIGATORS, STABILITY FOR THE SENIOR INVESTIGATORS, AND ALSO NOT TO FORGET INNOVATIVE APPROACHES. SO CONSIDERING OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO SOME OF THE PROPOSALS THAT WE HAVE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE MERIT GRANTS, THERE'S SOME OTHER CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO THAT TO KEEP THE INNOVATION AND STABILITY OF OUR SENIOR INVESTIGATORS. THE OTHER AREAS ARE CORE FACILITIES. THIS IS BOTH FOR OUR INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS, CAN THERE BE MORE EFFICIENCIES, AND SOMETIMES ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND, BOTH INTRAMURALLY AND EXTRAMURALLY, THAT COULD BE THE SAME CORES BEING FUNDED BY NIH OUGHT A UNIVERSITY WHERE THE TWO CORES DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THE OTHER CORE EXISTS. SO I THINK WE CAN COULD DO A BETTER JOB HERE AS WELL, AND ACTUALLY THE UNIVERSITY SUPPORT THIS INITIATIVE. SO I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THOSE AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO THAT WAS THE YEAR, AND NOW I'D LIKE TO OPEN THAT UP FOR ANY TYPE OF QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE OF BEFORE I MOVE ON TO STRATEGIC PLAN. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? SO EVERYTHING WAS PERFECTLY CLEAR, AND TRANSPARENT, AND WE'RE MOVING FORWARD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. SO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND WE'VE JUST RELEASED A DRAFT OF THIS. THIS IS A VERY REWARDING TOPIC FOR ME TO DISCUSS BECAUSE I REALLY ENJOYED THE WHOLE PROCES THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF NOT JUST MARCHING ALONG AND PUTTING THE STRATEGIC PLAN TOGETHER, BUT IN SO MUCH THAT WE LEARNED DURING THE PROCESS THAT YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY GAPS, GATHER DATA THAT IS ALWAYS INFORMATIVE, AND THIS INITIATIVE WAS OUR STAFF WHICH ARE REMARKABLE THAT REALLY HELPED US IN FORMING THIS, AS WELL AS OUR CONTRACTORS AND THE COMMUNITY THAT THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS HAVE HELPED WITH US THIS, SO RECALL THAT IN THE SPRING OF 2012, THERE WAS -- WE DID AN EVALUATION OF THE EXISTING STRATEGIC PLAN, AND IMPORTANTLY, THAT HELPED INFORM US OF HOW TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE NEXT STRATEGIC PLAN. WHAT WE FOUND FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU SAID, IS YOU LIKED THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT WE HAD, IT WAS FLEXIBLE, AND WAS INFORMATIVE IN TERMS OF DIRECTIONS FOR YOUR COMMUNITIES IN TERMS OF PUTTING NEW RESEARCH GRANT PROPOSALS IN PLACE. SO A LOT OF WHAT WE -- THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO US, SO IT DIDN'T NEED A TOTAL OVERHAUL IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND ACTIVITIES. WE PRESENTED THE PROCESS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN TO THE COUNCIL. WE ALSO GATHERED INPUT ON THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, AND THEN WE ALSO WENT OUT TO THE PUBLIC OF. ANY IDEA, ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAD, WE HAD SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED IN TERMS OF STRATEGIC PLAN, ARE THERE SPECIFIC AREAS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE US TO FOCUS ON TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T LOSE AND GATHER THAT INFORMATION? AND NOW EVEN WITH THE SHUTDOWN, WE HAD SOME WONDERFUL MOMENTUM AND IT SHUT DOWN, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GET BACK UP AND ON TIME, THE DRAFT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR COUNCIL AND ALSO FOR PUBLIC INPUT. SO THIS PUBLIC INPUT WAS A LOT. IT WAS PRESENTATIONS, WE WENT TO MEETINGS, SEVERAL PEOPLE, OUR STAFF, AND DISCUSSED THE STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL. WE HAD A VARIETY OF ROUNDTABLES SPECIFICALLY IN THE AREA OF HEALTH DISPARITIES AS WELL AS BIDIRECTIONAL ACTIVITIES AND ALSO HAD SOME ONLINE RESPONSES JUST TO MENTION A FEW. SO THIS ISN'T QUITE THE NEW COVER BUT IT'S IN A DIFFERENT COLOR, A BRIGHTER COLOR I HOPE SO THERE'S A LOT OF BRIGHTNESS AHEAD, AND WE'VE RELEASED IT. AND LET ME JUST GO THROUGH WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT. IMPORTANTLY, DURING THIS PROCESS THIS YEAR, WE ESTABLISHED A VISION, AND THAT VISION PARALLELS THE MISSION. AND THAT NIDCR WILL BE RECOGNIZED AS A CATALYST FOR TRANSFORMING HOW ORAL HEALTHCARE IS DELIVERED, AND OUR MISSION STAYS THE SAME, IT IS TO IMPROVE DENTAL ORAL CRANIOFACIAL HEALTH THROUGHOUT RESEARCH, RESEARCH TRAINING AND THE DISSEMINATION OF HEALTH INFORMATION. SO WITH OUR VISION AND MISSION INTACT, WE MOVED AHEAD TO LOOK AT THE GOALS, WE HAVE FOUR GOALS WITHIN THE LAST STRATEGIC PLAN, AND MANY OF THEM ARE VERY SIMILAR, WITH DIFFERENT AREAS IN TERMS OF THE OBJECTIVES. SO OF COURSE SUPPORTING THE BEST SCIENCE, THAT'S OBVIOUS, AND ONE IS AT THE BASIC RESEARCH LEVEL, VERY IMPORTANT LEVEL OF OUR PORTFOLIO, WITHOUT THE BASIC SCIENCE, YOU DON'T HAVE TRANSLATION. SO THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS GOING AWAY. I THINK SOME OF OF THE COMMUNITIES EVEN TODAY THINK WE'RE MOVING TRANSLATIONAL. IT'S A BALANCE, AND THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO. ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE RECOGNIZE, I THINK YOU KNOW THE INITIATIVE OF BIG DATA AT THE NIH, AND THIS IS NEW HERE, THE PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF COMPREHENSIVE DATABASES AND INFORMATIC RESOURCES, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARING THIS. THAT'S AN IMPORTANT INITIATIVE FOR US. CLINICAL INVESTIGATIONS IS STILL A HIGHLIGHT AREA AND WILL BE CONTINUED, AS WELL AS MAINTAINING THE ROLE OF NIDCR AS A TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND EVIDENCE RELATED TO THE DENTAL ORAL CRANIOFACIAL HEALTH, OR WHAT I CALL DOC HEALTH. THE NEXT ONE I THINK IS, AS WE ARE IN THE OMICS REVOLUTION RIGHT NOW, AND AS WE KNOW THAT PRECISE AND PERSONALIZED HEALTHCARE IS THE FUTURE, THAT WE NEED TO FOCUS IN THIS AREA. SO SUPPORT RESEARCH TAUGHT PRECISE CLASSIFICATION AND TREATMENT. THIS INCLUDES THE GENETICS, THE PHYSIOLOGY, THE BIOLOGY, AND ESTABLISHING THE PARAMETERS, SO THAT WE CAN BETTER DIAGNOSE, ESTABLISH THE RISK FACTORS, AS WELL AS TREATMENT FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. THROUGHOUT THIS, IF WE'RE DOING THE RESEARCH OVER HERE AND WE HAVEN'T ENGAGED THE COMMUNITY, IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK. SO WE HAVE TO ENGAGE OUR PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTH SPECIALISTS AS WELL AS THE MANY, MANY PARTNERS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS TO IMPROVE ORAL HEALTH. AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, I'M SORT OF A VISUAL PERSON, AND I THINK MANY PEOPLE ARE, AND THIS WAS AN ARTICLE THAT WAS RECENTLY PUBLISHED, AND THIS FIGURE ITSELF WAS ADAPTED FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. IF YOU LOOK AT IT, I HOPE YOU SEE THIS PERSONALIZED HEALTHCARE THE WAY I DO, THAT PATIENTS INFORM, ALL THIS INFORMATION FROM THE PATIENT GOES BACK TO BASIC RESEARCH, AS WELL AS CLINICAL RESEARCH AND DO THE PRACTICE. IMPORTANTLY, INDIVIDUALS IN PRACTICE GO BACK HERE AND SAY, I'M NOTICING SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY UNIQUE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT. AND THEY'RE ABLE TO COME BACK HERE AND START A WHOLE NEW PATHWAY, SO IT'S A FLOW ACROSS THESE DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES, AND IMPORTANT FOR OUR PATIEN TO MOVE THESE FORWARD. THE OTHER TWO GOALS, PARALLEL GOAL ONE AND TWO AND ARE VERY MUCH IN ALIGNMENT WITH THEM, AND THIS INCLUDES THE OVERCOMING OF HEALTH DISPARITIES IN DOC HEALTH. THIS IS ONE WE'VE DONE A BETTER JOB EVERY TIME, AND THIS IS ACROSS NIH AND ACROSS ALL COMMUNITIES. WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE CHALLENGES ARE, AND IMPROVE, BUT WE HAVE TO DO A BETTER JOB, SO HERE IT MUST BE MULTIDISCIPLINARY. WE CAN'T WORK IN SILOS IF WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM, AND I THINK WE STILL ARE IN A SILO MENTALITY. THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTATION AND DISSEMINATION RESEARCH IS GOING TO BE A FOCUS, AS WELL AS PROVIDE SCIENCE-BASED INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTH AND DISEASE TO HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, PATIENTS AND CARE GIVERS, POLICY MAKERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, SO COMMUNICATION IS SO IMPORTANT TO THIS EAMPLET TH THIS AREA. THE LAST GOAL WHICH IS SO IMPORTANT TO GOAL ONE, TWO AND THREE, IF WE DON'T HAVE A STRONG WORKFORCE, THEN WE DON'T HAVE THE RESEARCHERS TO DO THIS, SO THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE WILL BE DEVOTING MUCH ATTENTION TO, AND COLLABORATING WITH ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, ESPECIALLY DENTAL SCHOOLS, TO CREATE RESEARCH PATHWAYS FOR FACULTY AND TRAINEES, AND I THINK WE'VE CREATED AND HAVE MOVED ON TO SOME UNIQUE OPPORTNITIES, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THESE WITH OUR COMMUNITIES. SUSTAINED CAREER ENHANCEMENTS OPPORTUNITIES AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WITH YOUR FEEDBACK, AND SUPPORT RESEARCH TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS THAT VALUE TEAM SCIENCE. WE HAVE TO, AGAIN, AS I SAID BEFORE, BE MULTID. TRANSFORMATIVE APPROACHES AND DIVERSITY AT ALL LEVELS. SO THOSE ARE OUR STRATEGIC DRAFTS THAT I'M INCREDIBLY EXCITED ABOUT, AND BEYOND THE COMMUNITY AND ALL OUR WONDERFUL STAFF, I'D LIKE TO CALL ATTENTION TO SOME SPECIAL PEOPLE HERE AT THE STEERING COMMITTEE LEVEL, WE DID HAVE A STEERING COMMITTEE, AND ISABELLE GARCIA ONCE AGAIN STEPPED UP, SHE WAS INVOLVED WITH THE PREVIOUS STRATEGIC PLAN. SHE KNOWS IT BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M GOING TO REFER YOU TO HER. BUT AMAZING. AND HER GROUP LISTED OVER HERE WAS VERY ACTIVE AND INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS, AS WELL AS OUR OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND POLICY AND ANALYSIS IN GATHERING THE DATA AND INFORMATION, AND SPECIAL THANKS TO MARGO ADESANYA AND HER GROUP ON THESE ACTIVITIES AS WELL. THEN TO OUR WONDERFUL CONSULTANTS WHO ARE HERE TODAY, ROBERT BERENDT WHO STEERED US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND ALISON DAVIS, A SCIENTIFIC WRITER, THAT LAST FIGURE I SHOWED YOU, SHE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN PUTTING THAT TOGETHER AS WELL. SO I THANK EVERYBODY, AND I'M H THAT COUNCIL HAS HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THE DRAFT AND MAY HAVE SOME COMMENTS TODAY ON THAT, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR COMMENTS. THANK YOU. I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT THIS UP FOR SOME DISCUSSION, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY POSITIVE COMMENTS, I'D LOVE THOSE. SO PLEASE, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU. YES. >> SO I THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY BOLD AND GREAT PLAN WITH A LOT OF SORT OF EXCITING DIRECTIONS. WHAT I'M TRYING TO VISUALIZE IS HOW YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE ALL THIS HAPPEN. DO YOU SEE IT BY DIFFERENT -- JUST GOING THROUGH FUNDING INITIATIVES TO DIRECT PEOPLE TOWARD THESE AREAS? I MEAN, HOW IS IT GOING TO TURN INTO REALITY? >> YOU KNOW, I THINK AN INTEREST ITING QUESTION, AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING, BUT A LOT OF IT IS YOU LAY OUT STRATEGIC PLAN, HOPEFULLY DISSEMINATE IT TO MANY UNIVERSITIES, TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMMUNITIES AS WELL WITH SOME STRATEGIC CALL FOR PROPOSALS, SOME TARGETED AREAS, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH OUR SBR, STTRs, AND WITH BEING VERY CLEAR IN SOME OF OUR PROPOSALS ON OUTCOMES THAT WE WOULD LIKE AND MILESTONES, AND SOME UNIQUE DIRECTION. SO WILL THERE BE SOME COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, WILL THERE BE SOME TARGETED AREAS? WITH OUR TRAINING, WILL WE HAVE SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROGRAMS AND OPPORTUNITIES? SO A LOT OF THIS WILL BE DISCUSSED DURING THE YEAR, AND I FEEL UNDER EVERY SINGLE GOAL OF IDENTIFYING HERE'S WHERE WE ARE NOW, WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES WE WANT, HOW ARE THE OUTCOMES MOVING, SO THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, MONITORING IT FROM OUR SIDE AND THEN SEEING WHAT IS MOVING AHEAD, WHAT TYPE OF PROPOSALS HAVE WE GOTTEN IN, HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE THEY TOWARD OUR GOALS, AND IF THEY'RE NOT, THEN GOING BACK STRATEGICALLY HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH COUNCIL, AND ALSO WITH OUR STAFF, AND MOVING FORWARD THAT WAY. >> SO FROM THOSE OF US IN THE TRENCHES, A LOT OF IT COMES DOWN TO WHAT A STUDY SECTION SAYS ABOUT A CERTAIN PROPOSAL, SO WILL THERE BE EFFORTS TO INFORM STUDY SECTIONS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF, SAY, COLLABORATIVE SCIENCE AND TO HELP DIRECT SOME OF THEIR VIEWS ON PRIORITIES? >> NO. SO I MEAN, OF COURSE THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT THING, AND AT TIMES WHEN FUNDING IS LOW, STUDY SECTIONS GET A LOT OF HITS, BUT DR. DOMBROSKI, DO YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THIS IN TERMS OF THE STUDY SECTIONS? >> SO WITH THE STUDY SECTIONS, THEY HAVE FOR EVERY TYPE OF GRANT -- OR FUNDIN OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT SPECIFIC REVIEW CRITERIA, SO IF WE HAVE A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT WITH SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IN A A GRANT, THAT WILL BE PART OF THE REVIEW CRITERIA. SO THEY'RE REVIEWING THE TECHNICAL MERIT AND QUALITY OF THE SCIENCE, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT BOTH THE INVESTIGATORS AND THE REVIEWERS ARE AWARE OF WHAT THE REVIEW CRITERIA ARE AND THE IMPORTANCE RELATIVE TO THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY. >> A LOT OF THE AREAS THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU MENTIONED IS COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION AND IMPLEMENTATION, AND A LOT OF WHAT'S DRIVING DENTAL PRACTICE RIGHT NOW IS NOT COMING FROM NIDCR RESEARCH, IT'S COMING FROM INDUSTRY, IT'S COMING FROM INSURANCE COMPANIES, THE WHOLE AREA OF DIGITAL DENTISTRY WHICH IS VERY EXCITING AND 3D IMAGING, AND INSURANCE COMPANIES ANALYZING THEIR BIG DATASETS T THEY HAVE AND MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT FINANCING DENTAL CARE. NONE OF THIS IS PEE REVIEWED, IT'S OF DRK THINGS AR -- THINGS ARE HAPPEN ING NOT THE WAY WE USUALLY DO THINGS IN RESEARCH SCIENCE, SO I'M WONDERING HOW THE TWO GROUPS CAN BETTER INTERACT, EXHIBIT GREAT AND HELP US MOVE FORWARD IN A SCIENCE-BASED FASHION. >> THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT AND GREAT QUESTION, SO I THINK THE LAST YEAR AND PROBABLY BEFORE WE'VE MADE SOME GREAT STRIDES WITH PARTNE WITH THE COMMUNITIES, AND I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT ARE WE NEED TO DO THIS SO ONE OF THE THINGS THIS PAST YEAR, WE HAD A SYMPOSIUM WITH DELTA DENTAL AND THE NIH, AND IT WAS A JOINT PARTNERSHIP WHERE WE HAD BASIC RESEARCHERS AS WELL AS DENTISTS IN THE AUDIENCE TALKING WITH EACH OTHER AND DISCUSSING OPPORTUNITIES AND INSURANCE DID COME UP, BUT I THINK THE MORE WE ENGAGE LIKE THAT, I WAS PART OF AN ADA SUMMIT ON PREVENTION, AND THAT HAD BOTH DENTISTS FROM THE COMMUNITY, RESEARCHERS, WITH ACADEMIA. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU IN THE ROOM WERE PART OF THAT. I KNOW I WAS, DAN MYERS WAS. I THOUGHT THAT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL, AND WE'VE BEEN COMMUNICATING WITH THE ADA TO ENHANCE THE INTERACTIONS THERE, AS WELL AS HAVE GONE OUT, REACHED OUT, WE WENT TO A MEETING DOWNTOWN WITH ADERE, SOME OTHER ACTIVITIES. OF COURSE ADR, IIDR IS ALWAYS STRATEGIZING WITH US, HELPING US TO BRANCH OUT TO THESE COMMUNITIES, ALSO THE FRIENDS OF NIDCR IS WORKING IN THIS AREA, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF HANDS ON DECK AND WE PLAN TO REACH OUT TO SOME OF THE INDUSTRY AS WELL TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THESE PARTNERSHIPS. SO THAT THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION IS ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENT AREAS AND OF COURSE OUR OWN COMMUNICATIONS AREA IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH THE PATIENT ADVOCACY GROUPS AS WELL. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS? THANK YOU. >> SO MAYBE AS A FOLLOW-UP TO JANE'S COMMENT AND YOUR RESPONSE, I THINK ANOTHER COMPONENT IS HAVING THE STRONG RESEARCH WORKFORCE AND A GROUP OF WELL EDUCATED CLINICIANS WHO UNDERSTAND AND VALUE THE IMPORTANT OF EVIDENCE-BASED AND STRONG SCIENCE. SO I JUST WANTED TO COMPLIMENT YOU ON GOAL FOUR, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS WE'RE LOOKING FOR INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY IN DENTAL EDUCATION AND IN DENTAL PRACTICE THAT THE UNDERPINNING TO THAT IS A WELL EDUCATED WORKFORCE AND A STRONG GROUP OF RESEARCHERS AND CLINICIANS WITH A STRONG SCIENCE COMMITMENT. >> THANK YOU. >> I'D JUST LIKE TO CONGRATULATE YOU AND REALLY TH THE ENTIRE FR STAFF ON THE DOCUMENT THAT'S EXPANSIVE BUT COHERENT AS WELL, SO I THINK IT'S A VERY NICE PIECE THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER IN A VERY DIFFICULT YEAR. I THINK -- I FIRSTHAND KNOW THAT THERE ARE STAFF MEMBERS WHO WE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN TRAVELING TO MEETINGS AND BEING INVOLVED MORE, BUT THEY COULDN'T, AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF STRESS THAT THE STAFF WORKS THROUGH VERY, VERY NICELY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND I THINK T IS EMBLEMATIC TO THAT. I KNOW JUST FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A PATIENVOCACY GROUP, I KNOW HOW HARD STAFF WORKED TO GET INPUT FROM A VERY BROAD RANGE OF GROUPS. THERE WERE COUNTLESS SURVEYS GOING OUT, DIRECT CONTACT IN RESEARCH ADVOCACY DAYS WHERE EACH ORGANIZATION SPENT I THINK AN HOUR OR TWO WITH MARTHA, SO IAREALLY SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENT OF TIME. SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPRESSIVE. >> THANK YOU. >> ON THE CONSENT, THE SUBSTANCE, I THINK THERE'S ONE SORT OF ISSUE OF MINE WHICH I'VE RAISED IN THE PAST BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO RAISE AGAIN. YOU HAD MENTIONED ORAL HEALTH IS SO INTRICATELY LINKED TO OTHER BODY PARTS AND SO IMPACTFUL ACROSS THE ENTIRE HUMAN BODY, AND YET WHAT WE FIND ARE SOME SILOS. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE ORAL HEALTHCARE TEAM MORE AND MORE BE UNDERSTOOD TO BE PART OF THE OVERALL HEALTHCARE TEAM, AND THAT'S GOT TO BE CLEARLY AT THE BASIC SCIENCE LEVEL BUT ALSO STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE TRANSLATIONAL AND THE CLINICAL SIDE. IT'S TOUCHED UPON A GOAL OBJECTIVE TOO, IT DEFINITELY IS IN THERE, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE HIGHLIGHTED, ALL THE GEE GENOMICS, EVERYTHING IS MOVING TOWARDS INTEGRATED SYSTEMS, AND ORAL HEALTH CANNOT BE VIEWED AS SEPARATE FROM OVERALL HEALTH, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT NIDCR CONTINUES TO DO WHAT IT'S DONE VERY WELL, WHICH IS TO BE A FACILITATOR OF MAKING SURE THAT IT'S NOT A SILO. THERE'S NOT SILOS WITHIN SCIENCE AND THERE'S NOT SILOS WITHIN THE HEALTHCARE TEAM, AND I THINK THAT NEEDS TO BE REINFORCED AND PROMOTED. >> SO THANK YOU. SO WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING IS A FEW MORE SENTENCES, YOU FEEL IT'S NOT OUT THERE ENOUGH? >> IT'S IN THERE. I GUESS I'M JUST LIKING TO PROMOTE THAT WITHIN A DOCUMENT THAT -- YEAH. >> OKAY. THANK YOU. >> I JUST WANT TO APPLAUD THE TEAM ALSO, I THINK IT'S A VERY NICE BALANCED -- FOUR GOALS, IT'S NICE. I ALSO WANT TO ECHO, WORKING CLOSELY WITH A LOT OF OUR GRADUATE STUDENTS, I SEE A LOT OF CONCERN FOR THE FUTURE, AND I THINK THE INITIATIVES OF K18 AND MAYBE OTHER SPECIFIC MECHANISMS THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED GIVE GREAT HOPE TO BRING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES AT THE UNIVERSITIES BECAUSE I THINK AS I SPEAK TO MANY UP AND COMING GRADUATING PH.D. STUDENTS, THEY HAVE GREAT CONCERN FOR INITIATING THEIR OWN LABS AND REALLY MOVING TO THE FUTURE, SO I WAS VERY HAPPY TO SEE THAT SPECIFIC GOAL FOUR. SO I THANK YOU. >> THANKS. >> JUST TO ECHO EVERYONE ELSE'S COMMENDATION OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, IT DOES LOOK REALLY GOOD, AND ONE OF THE THEMES ACROSS ALL OF THE GOALS IS THE IMPORTANCE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH. ARE THERE ANY UPCOMING TRANSNIH INITIATIVES THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT NIDCR WILL BE PART OF? >> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. BUT I'M NOT TOO SURE IF I'M ALLOWED TO MENTION WHERE THEY WOULD BE. I KNOW I'M ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE AREA OF GLYCOSCIENCES, BUT SOME OF THESE TRANSNIH ACTIVITIES ARE THROUGH THE COMMON FUND, AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE FOUR THAT ARE BEING PRETTED TO THE COUNCIL OF PRET PRESENTED FROM THE COUNCIL OF COUNCILS ON FRIDAY, AND FROM THERE, DECISIONS ARE MADE WHICH ONES GET FUNDED AND NOT. THE PAIN AREA IS ONE THAT WE DO A LOT OF TRANSNIH ACTIVITIES, MOVING ALONG FROM DEVELOPMENT IN PAIN AS WELL AS MANY OTHER AREAS IN TERMS OF THE NEUROBIOLOGY AND OTHER ACTIVITIES THERE, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF TRANSNIH AND PROBABLY SOME OTHER AREAS THAT ARE THE FAVORITE OF SOME OF THE STAFF HERE THAT I'M MISSING, THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, WE'RE LOOKING ALL AROUND IT. SO I AT ONE TIME WHEN I FIRST CAME HERE, I SEE ALL THESE PEOPLE ON THESE COMMITTEES. I THINK IT WAS LIKE 75 COMMITTEES THAT PEOPLE ON OUR STAFF THAT ARE INVOLVED ACROSS NIH, SO AT TIMES, WE WANT TO KEEP OUR OWN AREA, BUT WE DO PLAY NICELY WITH OTHERS AND THEY PLAY WITH US AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT ESPECIALLY FOR THE SMALL INSTITUTE, SO THERE'S A LOT OF TRANSMULTIDISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES GOING ON ACROSS THE CAMPUS. >> I GUESS I'D LIKE TO FOLLOW ON FIRST OF A ALL IT WAS A PLEASURE TO READ, I FOUND MYSELF SMILING AS I READ IT THROUGH. BUT JUST TO D A THOUGHT TO THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH, MAYBE SORT OF HAVING SOME WAY PERHAPS TO INTEGRATE ALL THE GOALS, HAVING SOMEONE OVERLOOKING, BECAUSE ALL THESE AREAS ARE SEPARATE, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU WANT THEM ALL TO GO TOGETHER. SO WHETHER THAT CAN BE A COMPONENT IN A GRANT PROPOSAL, HOW ARE YOU ADDRESSING ALL THESE VARIOUS THINGS. JUST TO GET SOME -- INTO GOAL CONCEPT GOING, BUT I REALLY ENJOYED READING IT. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. >> I THINK IT'S BEEN VERY WELL SAID BY A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ABOUT HOW INSPIRATIONAL THIS PLAN IS, AND WHEN I LOOK AT LAST TIME AND COMPARE THIS ONE, IT'S JUST BEEN A TREMENDOUS EVOLUTION, VERY WELL WRITTEN, EASY TO READ, AND I THINK EVEN FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T NECESSARILY HAVE A STRONG RESEARCH BACKGROUND, I THINK IT'S VERY CLEAR AND MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. SO I THINK THAT THAT PART IS REALLY TREMENDOUS. THE ONE AREA THAT I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT I THINK AS A READ IT, I WAS HAPPY TO SEE IT, WHICH WAS THE GLOBAL COMPONENT AND THE CAN CULLING OUT OF OF THE GLOBAL OUTREA AND THE ABILITY TO PARTNER WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE WHERE WE LIVE, AND THE ONLY COMMENT THAT I WOULD MAKE IS THAT IN MY MIND, IT'S NOT JUST AN OUTREACH BUT IT'S ALSO SORT OF A PULLING IN, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THERE'S MUCH GOING ON IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD IN SCIENCE, AND HOW PROJECTS ARE FUNDED AND PROGRAMS ARE A ARTICULATED THAT I THINK IF WE'RE OPEN MINDED, THAT OUR ABILITY TO PULL IN SOME OF THOSE ELEMENTS AND GAIN FROM THAT IS ALSO A BIG OPPORTUNITY. IT'S NOT POINTING FINGERS AT ANY ONE GROUP, BUT JUST AS I SPEND MORE OF MY TIME OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES AND I SEE THE KINDS OF PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT GO ON, I THINK WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN, AND I THINK THE LINKAGES OF THOSE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES TO THE DIVERSITY ISSUES THAT YOU'RE ALSO TRYING TO SOLVE FOR IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. HOW WE'RE GOING TO BRING TOGETHER THE RESEARCHERS FOR THE FUTURE, GEB, I THINK THERE'S MUCH TO BE LEARNED IN THAT -- FROM THAT ENVIRONMENT. SO GLAD TO SEE IT END THERE, AND VERY HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO BUILD AND EVOLVE ON THAT. >> THANK YOU. THAT'S IMPORTANT. THANKS VERY MUCH. >> I DIDN'T QUITE UNDERSTAND THE INTENT OF THE FIRST ONE, LET SCIENCE DRIVE, AND SO JANE, MAYBE, I THINK YOUR COMMENT WAS THAT THE GOAL OF THAT IS TO TRY AND ENCOURAGE PRACTICE OF MORE EVIDENCE-BASED CLINICAL PRACTICES. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT EMERGED AS STRONGLY AS, PERHAPS, IT COULD HAVE FROM THAT STATEMENT. >> I GUESS SCIENCE IS THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING. >> ABSOLUTELY. >> SO WITHOUT THE SCIENCE, NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS, AND THAT'S, I GUESS, WHERE WE MEANT -- IT'S ALL HANDS ON DECK, GET T RESEARCH GOING, AND THEN THINGS WILL MOVE, BUT WE HAVE TO FOCUS AND MAKE SURE WE'RE MOVING IN TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL AS WELL, BUT THE SCIENCE DRIVES AND INFORMS. IT'S THE KNOWLEDGE BASE. SO HOW ELSE -- SO YOU FEEL THAT DOESN'T -- >> IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE SAYING WE SHOULD WORK WITH GREATER RIGOR AND -- OF DESIGN, SO MAYBE THERE'S GOING TO BE A PUSH TO MAKE PEOPLE UP THE QUALITY OF THEIR SCIENCE. >> IS THAT A NEGATIVE OR A POSITIVE? >> OH, I WAS JUST SAYING I WASN'T QUITE SURE WHAT THE MESSAGE OF THAT WAS. NEITHER. I'M IN FAVOR OF GOOD SIGH EBBS GOOD SCIENC E AS WELL. >> DR. GARCIA, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT ON THAT? >> SO THE SPECIFIC MENTION ABOUT THE REPRODUCIBILITY OF SCIENCE, I THINK IT'S PICKING UP ON AN IMPORTANT TRANSNIH THEME, AND I'M NOT SURE WHETHER YOU WERE PRESENT, THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETING, WHEN DR. TABAK PRESENTED ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, AND SO I THINK IT WAS JUST UNDERSCORING THE NEED TO, ALONG WITH IN THE CORPORATE NIH, TO REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO ALL OF THE PROBLEMATIC ISSUES WE ARE INCREASINGLY BECOMING AWARE OF, IN LACK OF REPRODUCIBILITY, PARTICULARLY IN THE PRECLINICAL RESEARCH SPACE. THE GOAL OVERALL, HOWEVER, IT'S REALLY INTENDED TO UNDERSCORE THE FACT THAT SCIENCE AND RIGOR IS BEHIND EVERYTHING WE DO, AND MAKING FUNDING DECISIONS IN MOVING THE FIELD FORWARD, IN LOOKING AT OUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAM IN LOOKING AT HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PRACTIERS, JANE'S POINT EARLIER, ENSURING WHAT WE DO IS EVIDENCE BASED, MAKING SURE THE MATERIALS ARE EVIDENCE BASED, WE REACH OUT TO THE MANY STAKEHOLDERS IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES. ALL OF THAT IS REALLY BASED ON THE FOUND SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION. SO I THINK THAT WAS REALLY THE THRUST OF THAT PARTICULAR -- THE FIRST GOAL THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, THEN WITH THE SPECIFIC AUDIENCES THEN IN MIND, SO THERE'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY PERMEATES EVERYTHING THAT WE DO AND IT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE, IT IS THE FIRST GOAL. BECAUSE IT REALLY IS VERY FOUNDATI. DOES THAT HELP YOU WITH THE QUE? >> ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS? >> HI, MARTHA. THIS IS ALEX. >> HEY, ALEX. >> I GOT THE COMMENTS OF THE OTHER COUNCILMEMBERS. THE ONLY COMMENT I HAD WAS RELATED TO GOAL OBJECTIVE TWO UNDER GOAL THREE, WHICH WAS ABOUT COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH, AND I'M REMINDED OF THE WORK THAT MICHELLE HINSHAW PRESENTED TO US, I THINK TWO COUNCILS AGO, A AND WOULD ENCOURAGE MAYBE SOME STRONGER LANGUAGE THERE, THAT IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT IDENTIFYING THE BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO TRANSLATING RESEARCH BUT IT'S EVEN GETTING TO THE POINT OF ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION THAT'S RELEVANT FOR THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY IN AREAS WHERE WE'RE FOCUSING ON HEALTH DISPARITIES, RECOGNIZING THAT IT TAKES LONGER AND IT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT STUDY SECTIONS ARE LESS FAMILIAR WITH, BUT THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGING THE TARGETED COMMUNITIES, NOT ONLY THE ADVOCACY GROUPS AND OTHERS BUT REALLY PEOPLE LIVING IN COMMUNITIES AT THE INCEPTION OF THE RESEARCH. TO HELP GUIDE THOSE QUESTIONS. >> THANK YOU, IMPORTANT. >> I ALSO WANT TO APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS AND REALLY FOLLOW UP A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER MENTIONED BECAUSE IT SEEMED SO BE THAT, YES, WE REALLY WANT RIGOROUS SCIENCE AND EVIDENCE BASED, BUT I THINK WHEN WE GO TO COMMUNITIES, WE BEGIN TO START THINKING OF ONE COOKIE CUTTER FOR EVERYONE, THINKING THAT EVIDENCE BASE WILL BE TRANSLATED INTO -- BASE, INTO PRACTICE BASE, AND I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE PUT SOME EMPHASIS IN WHEN WE THINK ABOUT COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY DISPARITIES REDUCTION AMELIORATION OF THAT, THAT WE REALLY PUT COMPLEXITY INTO THE TRANSLATION, AND THAT WE REALLY BEGIN TO START THE SAME WAY THAT WE PUT MONEY INTO BASIC SCIENCE, WE PUT MONEY INTO THE COMPLEXITY OF TRANSLATION AND THAT REALLY NO COMMUNITY IS THE SAME, AND WHEN WE THINK I WOULD LIKE T HAVE SEEN, FOR EXAMPLE, YOUR WONDERFUL -- MAYBE IN THE NEXT FUTURE OF THAT CHART THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT IS KIND OF EXCITING TO GO FROM BIOLOGY TO CLINIC, AND I'D LIKE TO SEE THE POPULATION SCIENCE ALSO BEING THERE. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT HAS NOT COME YET, TO THINK THAT ALL CLINICAL IS GOING TO GO BACK TO THE BIOLOGY, AND I THINK IT'S MISSING THE LINK, THE GREAT LINK OF POPULATION RESEARCH THAT INDEED THIS WORK IS GOING TO BE A LOT OF THE KINDS OF STRATEGIES THAT ARE GOING TO BE BUILT TO THE CLINICIAN AND TO THE BASIC SCIENTIST, AND IF WE DON'T INCORPORATE THAT, WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A SILO WHERE WE REALLY THEN AT THE END, THE HARDLY REACHED ARE ALWAYS GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE HARDLY REACHED. SO WE CAN HAVE A LOT OF EVIDENCE BASE, A LOT OF GOOD SCIENCE, BUT WE DON'T PUT ENOUGH INTO TRANSLATION AND THEN THEREFORE, WE DON'T GET WHAT WE NEED TO DO. >> THANK YOU. IMPORTANT. I HAVE TO GO MODIFY THAT PICTURE RIGHT NOW. [LAUGHTER] >> YES. >> I WAS STRUCK B BY THE WONDERFUL COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AND I WAS VERY STRUCK BY THE VISION THAT THE DOCUMENT PUT FORTH IN TERMS OF THERE'S GOING TO BE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AT THE BASIC SCIENCE LEVEL, THAT IT'S INFORMATION WE ARE NOT USED TO HANDLING, ALL OF THE GENOMICS AND ALL THIS INFORMATICS, BUT YET IT'S GOING TO BE CENTRALIZED AND TRY TO BE ORGANIZED. AFTER I HAD GONE THROUGH THE DOCUMENT AND WAS GOING THROUGH THE GRANTS COMING THROUGH FOR FACE SPACE, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE -- LABS THAT ARE GOING TO BE DOING THE SAME THING IN PUTTING ALL THIS INFORMATION IN, AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, JUST COMMENTING, FOLLOWING THROUGH ON YOUR THOUGHT, WHO IS GOING TO ORGANIZE ALL OF THIS AND LOOK AT IT AND SAY, GEE, THESE ARE THE COMMON PATHWAYS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY RELATED TO SPECIFIC DISEASES, AND GETTING THAT INTO THE TRANSLATIONAL PART AND MATCHING IT UP WITH WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN POPULATIONS AND IDENTIFYING WHERE THE NEW TRANSLATIONAL STRATEGIES WOULD BE FROM ALL OF THAT INFORMATION. I THINK ABOUT THIS JUST FROM A LABORATORY INSTITUTIONAL SETTING WHERE SO MUCH OF THIS INFORMATION IS GOING INTO DATABASES AND THEN IT'S NOT REALLY OVERSIGHTED TO PULL OUT THE COMMON AND CRITICAL AND IMPORTANT FINDINGS. SO AT LEAST WE KNOW WE'RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH THIS STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I THINK THERE WILL JUST BE CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY IN CROSSING OVER THESE BRIDGES. >> THANK YOU FOR THAT. I DO RECOGNIZE, I THINK WE'RE ALL IN INFORMATION OVERLOAD. SOMETIMES WHEN YOU GO TO SOME OF THESE DATABASES, NAVIGATING THEM IN HOW TO DO THAT. SO ONE IS MAKING SURE THE FUTURE GENERATIONS ARE ABLE TO NAVIGATE, KNOW WHERE THINGS ARE, AND SOMETIMES SO WITH FACE SPACE, I THINK WE'VE DONE A RELATIVELY GOOD JOB AND PEOPLE ARE USING IT MORE THAN THEY WERE BEFORE, EVEN RECOGNIZING THIS IS A PLACE TO GO IF THEY IDENTIFY A NEW GENE THAT THEY'RE PULLING OUT, TO BE ABLE TO GO TO THE HUB, SO I HEAR MORE SO THAN BEFORE, BUT IT TAKES TIME TO POPULATE, AND THEN IT TAKES TIME T CREATE IT SO THAT IT'S USER-FRIENDLY TO ALL COMMUNITIES AND NOT JUST TO AN ISOLATED GROUP. I KNOW WHAT'S INVOLVED HERE, ONE IS THE RESEARCH IS DRIVING IT, AND THEN OUR PROGRAM OFFICERS DO A TREMENDOUS JOB OF JUST ASKING THE EXACT SAME QUESTIONS THAT YOU DID OF TRYING TO SAY HOW DO WE DO THIS BETTER, HOW DO WE GET THE INFORMATION OUT THERE AND MAKING SURE IT'S BIDIRECTIONAL, AND WITH THE ENHANCEMENT OF OUR COMMUNICATION OFFICE AS WELL, OF WORKING WITH THEM ON HOW TO GET THIS OUT, AND WHAT'S THE BEST MECHANISM FOR THE GROUP THAT WE WANT TO REACH. SO DIFFERENT GROUPS, DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES MAY WANT TO SEE IT IN DIFFERENT PLACES. SO YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE MUST PAY ATTENTION TO, AND THAT'S WHY THE WHOLE NIH IS ON THE BIG DATA BUT AS WELL WITH SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN BE USING THESE DATABASES APPROPRIATELY. >> AND THAT INFORMATION REALLY IS -- GOES INTO A TRANSLATABLE MODE FOR PATIENTS FOR TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS WITH ORAL DISEASES. >> RIGHT. AND SITTING OVER HERE, I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE SOME OF T SO THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE COMING OUT WHERE SOMEBODY HAS IDENTIFIED A GENE HERE AND THEN A FEW MONTHS LATER, THERE'S SOMETH RELATED TO IN TERMS OF THE COMMUNITY OR A DISEASE OR A CONDITION, SO IT'S WORKING. >> GOOD. >> BUT THANK YOU. TAKES TIME. ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS DO WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE OUTSIDE? ANYBODY WANT TO -- YES. [INAUDIBLE] >> I THINK THERE'S SOME INITIATIVES THAT HAVE TAKING PLACE, SO ONE EXAMPLE, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT QUITE THERE BUT WITH THE PRACTICE-BASED NETWORKS, SO AS MORE DENTISTS BECOME AWARE, EVEN IF THEY DON'T SIGN ON TO IT, THEY BEGIN TO THEN GO BACK TO THE NIDCR AND KNOW OF NEW INITIATIVES, NEW DIRECTIONS, NEW QUESTIONS BEING ADDRESSED OUT IN THE COMMUNITY W THE DENTAL PRACTICES AND THE COMMUNITY PRACTICES THAT WE'VE NOW TRIED TO ENGAGE IN THAT. IN ADDITION TO THAT, I KNOW ONE OF MY GOALS, AND IT'S WORKING WITH OUR OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION AND HEALTH EDUCATION, IS DENTISTS IN THE COMMUNITY, THEY'RE BUSY, BUT THEY DO USE COMPUTERS, THEY DO GO ONLINE TO SURF THINGS, BUT I WONDER WHAT PERCENT EVER GO TO NIDCR TO SEE WHAT RESEARCH CAN INFORM THEM AND WHAT HAVE THEY SEEN WITH A PATIENT THAT THEY WANT TO BRING BACK TO US AS A NEW DIRECTION OF RESEARCH. AND I WAS HOPING THAT WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, TO HAVE 50% OF THE DENTISTS IN THE COMMUNITY ONCE A WEEK GO ON THE WEBSITE, SEE WHAT'S GOING ON AT NIDCR, AND I THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE IT USER-FRIENDLY FOR THEM TO ATTRACT THEM AND WORKING THROUGH YOU AND THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION IT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS A FEATURE SO LINKING BACK AND FORTH WITH EACH OTHER AS WELL, BUT ABSOLUTELY A VERY IMPORTANT GOAL FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR PARENT PATIENTS AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE DEAL WITH TO HAVE THIS INTERACTION, SO THANK YOU. YES. [INAUDIBLE] >> ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS? I'M DELIGHTED TO HEAR YOUR ENTHUSIASM, I'M INCREDIBLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE MOVING FORWARD, SO I THANK COUNCIL AND I ALSO THANK THE OUTSIDE GUESTS HERE FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND INTEREST AND ENCOURAGEMENT FOR US AS WELL, SO THANK YOU. >> OKAY. IT'S TIME FOR OUR 15-MINUTE BREAK. WE'LL RESUME AT 10:00. >> WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY. AS YOU'RE SETTLING IN, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS ACTIVITY AND REPORTING OUT TO YOU. I THINK IF YOU NOTICE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE IN THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT IN THIS AREA AS WELL, AND IT HAS BEEN AN AREA OF FOCUS FOR US FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THREE SPEAKERS TODAY AND I WILL BE INTRODUCING THEM IN A MOMENT, BUT I WANTED TO JUST INTRODUCE YOU TO THE TOPIC FIRST JUST TO RECALL, SO IN 2011, THIS REPORT WAS ACTUALLY SUPPORTED LARGELY BY NIH TO ADDRESS ISSUES RELATED TO RACE, ETHNICITY, AND NIH RESEARCH AWARDS. IT WAS BY GINTHER ET AL. I THINK THIS WAS IN 2011, CAME OUT IN "SCIENCE," AND I THINK THERE WAS SURPRISE IN TERMS OF THE FINDINGS AND THERE WERE VERY CLEAR FINDINGS, AND THE ANALYSIS BY THIS TEAM REVEALED THAT BLACK GRANT APPLICANTS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS LIKELY OH TO RECEIVE NIH RESEARCH FUNDING THAN WERE WRIT WHITE APPLICANTS. SO THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTE NEED TO RESPOND TO THIS AND WHAT IS GOING ON HERE, SO THE LEADERSHIP AT NIH UNDER DR. LARRY TABAK AND DR. FRANCIS COLLINS AND THE ABSOLUTE NEED TO DISCUSS THIS AREA TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON, THERE WERE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ADVISORY COUNCIL TO THE DIRECTOR, AND WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, A LOT OF INITIATIVES HAVE BEEN PUT IN PLACE. TOWARD THAT END, AT THE NIH LEADERSHIP LEVEL, THE DEPUTY SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL HEART, LUNG AND BLOOD INSTITUTE, DR. MICHELLE BENNET WHO IS JOINING US TODAY AND I ASSUME SHE'S SOMEWHERE. SO SHE HAD BEEN ASKED BY THE NIH LEADERSHIP TO PLAY A VERY PROMINENT ROLE AND N. ADDRESSING IN ADDRES SING SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AT THE NIH LEVEL, AND SHE'S GOING TO BE REVEALING THOSE, AND WE AT THE NIDCR RECOGNIZE AT THE PROFESSIONAL LEVEL FOR OUR PROFESSION, WE NEED TO PUT SOME THINGS IN PLACE AS WELL. SO IN ADDITION TO HER PRESENTATION, DR. BENNETT'S PRESENTATION, YOU'LL ALSO BE HEARING FROM DR. KATHY CARBONE, OUR DEPUTY SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR FOR NIDCR, AS WELL AS DR. LYNN KING. THIS IS BASED ON A -- WE FORMED A COMMITTEE CALLED THE NIDCR COMMITTEE FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, WHERE DR. KATHY CARBONE CHAIRED AND THERE WERE SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE ON OUR STAFF FROM INTRAMURAL, EXTRAMURAL AND THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, SO A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES, AND THEY'LL BE REPORTING OUT ON THAT AS WELL. BUT TO START OFF WITH, I'D LIKE TO HAVE DR. MICHELLE BENNETT COME FORWARD AND DISCUSS THE ACTIVITIES AT THE NIH LEVEL. SO THANK YOU. >> SO THANK YOU, DR. SOMERMAN, AND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE NIH LEVEL. SO I'M REALLY HERE ON BEHALF OF ROD PETTIGREW, WHO'S SERVING AS THE ACTING CHIEF OFFICER FOR THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE DIVERSITY, AND I'LL EXPLAIN ABOUT THAT POSITION IN A LITTLE BIT. SO WHAT I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO DO FOR YOU TODAY IS GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND, AND I THINK DR. SOMERMAN HAS ALREADY PROVIDED A LITTLE BIT FOR YOU, BUT I'LL TRY TO BROADEN THAT FOR YOU A BIT, TALK ABOUT THE NIH-FUNDED WORKFORCE, BOTH EXTERNAL TO THE NIH AS WELL AS BE IN OUR INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE DIRECTOR THAT WE CALL THE ACD, THEN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATION. SO IN THIS IT NEXT SLIDE, ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THIS IS JUST A LITTLE SNAPSHOT OF THE U.S. CENSUS DATA FROM 2010 SHOWING U.S. POPULATION. WE HAVE BLACK OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERE, HISPANIC OR LATINO, WHITE HERE, AMERICAN INDIA AND ALASKAN NATIVE. IF YOU JUX POSE THAT TO THE 2010 NIH PIs ON RPGs NEXT TO IT, WHETHER OR NOT THE U.S. POPULATION CENSUS DATA IS THE RIGHT COMPARATOR, I THINK YOU CAN SEE THAT UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS ARE DEFINITELY UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RPG FUNDING POOL, AND THAT WAS JUST ALLUDED TO A BIT. SO I THINK PRIOR TO COMING HERE, YOU ALL HAD RECEIVED A REPORT ON THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE WORKING GROUP, AND SO I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO MUCH DETAIL INTO THAT REPORT, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THE SENSE OF THE FLOW OF THE PIPELINE, WHERE ARE PEOPLE COMING FROM IN TERMS OF MOVING THROUGH GRADUATE SCHOOL AND INTO PH.D.s AND INTO POSTDOCS. SO -- THIS IS A SNAP SHOP JUT FROM 2009 DATA, A AND I'LL SAY THAT THE DATA COMES FROM THREE DIFFERENT SURVEYS THAT WERE CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THE CONFIDENCE IN THE DATA IT SELF, I WILL ADMIT, RANGES FROM FAIRLY LOW TO FAIRLY HIGH. IT'S DIFFICULT TO GET THESE NUMBERS, SO YOU HAVE TO JUST SORT OF, I THINK, BEAR WITH US. BUT IF YOU LOOK, THERE ARE 16,000 FIRST-TIME GRADS ENROLLING INTO GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN 2009, ABOUT 9,000 GRADUATES FROM THESE PROGRAMS, APPROXIMATELY 70% DO A POSTDOC, SO THAT MEANS ABOUT 5800 U.S.-TRAINED FOLKS GOING INTO POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING, AND THEY'RE JOINED BY ABOUT 3900 FOREIGN-TRAINED FOLKS TO MAKE UP THAT POSTDOCTORAL POOL. SO WHERE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE GOING POST TRAINING? SO IF YOU'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THE TRAINING WORKFORCE, WE SEE PEOPLE GOING INTO SCIENCE-RELATED NON-RESEARCH CAREERS ABOUT 18%, GOVERNMENT RESEARCH 6%, ACADEMIC RESEARCH OR TEACHING 43% INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH 18%, NON-SCIENCE RELATED 13%, AND UNEMPLOYED, ABOUT 2%. SO THE WORKING GROUP THAT TOOK A LOOK AT THIS REALLY CONCLUDED THAT THE COMBINATION OF THE LARGE UPSURGE IN U.S. TRAINED PH.D.s, THE CONTINUED INCREASED FLOW OF FOREIGN-TRAINED PH.D.s AND THE AGING OF THE ACADEMIC BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE IS MAKING THE LAUNCHING OF TRADITIONAL INDEPENDENT ACADEMIC RESEARCH CAREERS ALL THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT. I THINK THAT ALSO COUPLED WITH LONG TRAINING TIMES AND LOWER SALARIES ARE MAKE IT VERY HARD TO ATTRACT PEOPLE, AND SO WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT A COUPLE OF THE THINGS THAT NIH IS TRYING TO DO NOW TO TRY TO GET PEOPLE MORE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE. SO WE'RE REALLY HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, SO HERE'S A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THEM. SO IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT COLLEGE-AGED STUDENTS, APPROXIMATELY 33% OF THEM ARE MADE UP BY UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT BACHELOR OF SCIENCE AND BACHELOR OF ART, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING EARNERS, WE SEE THE NUMBER IS ABOUT 17%, AND YOU CAN SEE BY THE TIME WE GET TO THE PH.D. EARNERS, IT'S DROPPED TO ABOUT 7%. SO THIS WINDOW RIGHT HERE SEEMS TTO BE A WINDOW THAT WE'RE VERY INTERESTED IN TARGETING. EVEN THOUGH WE SEE THESE LOW NUMBERS HERE, ONCE FOLKS ENTER THE BIOMEDICAL ACADEMIC CAREER TRACK, BLACKS AND WHITES ARE EQUALLY LIKELY TO BE TENURED AT INSTITUTIONS THAT GRANT DOCTORATES AND THIS IS ALSO AT RESEARCH ONE INSTITUTIONS. SO REALLY THIS AGAIN IS THE PLACE WHERE WE CAN TARGET, PUT SOME FOCUS. SO IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE NIH-FUNDED WORKFORCE, AS DR. SOMERMAN MENTIONED, THERE WAS A REPORT COMMISSIONED AND IT WAS COMMISSIONED BY DR. GINTHER, SHE WAS GIVEN DATA FROM 2000 TO 2006 FROM THE NIH IMPACT SYSTEM. SHE WAS ASKED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE DATA AND TO DETERMINE WHERE THE RESEARCH DOLLARS FROM THE NIH ARE GOING, WHO IS BEING FUNDED BY THE GRANTS, AND AS WAS ALSO MENTIONED, SHE CAME OUT WITH THIS IMPORTANT REPORT IN 2011, WHICH WAS VERY MUCH OF A WAKEUP CALL FOR THE NIH. IF WE LOOK AT THE STUDY AT A GLANCE NUMBERS HERE IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT-HAND CORNER, WHAT SHE DID IN HER STUDY IS SHE LOOKED AT 83,000 RO1 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED IN THAT TIME, AND JUST TO POINT OUT, THIS IS JUST FROM PH.D.s. THERE WERE 40,000 UNIQUE PH.D. INVESTIGATORS. 1,149 OF THOSE APPLICATIONS WERE FROM BLACK PH.D.s, AND NOW IF THESE -- IF THE BLACK INDIVIDUALS HAD BEEN FUNDED AT THE SAME RATE THAT WHITE INDIVIDUAL WERE FUNDED, YOU WOULD EXPECT TO SEE 337 AWARDS TO BLACK APPLICANTS. HOWEVER, WHEN YOU DETERMINED WAS -- OR WHAT THEY FOUND WAS THAT THERE WERE ONLY 185 ACTUAL AWARDS TO BLACK AM KABTS. APPLICANTS. SO THE SUMMARY FROM THE RESULTS IS THAT AFRICAN-AMERICAN APPLICANTS WERE 10 PERCENTAGE POINTS LESS LICKLY TO RECEIVE NIH FUNDING COMPARED TO WHITE. IT WAS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT APPLICATIONS WITH STRONG PRIORITY SCORES WERE EQUALLY LIKELY TO BE FUNDED REGARDLESS OF RACE, AND SO THIS WAS THE SUGGESTION THAT THE DISPARITIES WERE REALLY HAPPENING EARLIER ON IN THE PROCESS. SO PRIOR TO OR AT THE PEER REVIEW STAGE. ONE SUGGESTION MADE IN THE PAPER WAS THAT THERE MAY AB CUMULATIVE A OF NON-BLACK APPLICANTS, AND AS DR. SOMERMAN ALSO POINTED OUT, DR. TABAK AND DR. COLLINS MADE -- PROVIDED A COMMENTARY IN THE SAME ISSUE OF SCIENCE AND COMMITTED THEMSELVES AND THE NIH TO TRY TO TAKE A œTO UNDERSTAND THIS DISPARITY,Y AND ALSO CONCEDED THAT THERE MAY BE SOME ISSUES WITH THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS AND WE WOULD NEED TO LOOK AT THAT MORE CLOSELY. AND I'LL TALK TO YOU ABOUT THAT IN A FEW MOMENTS IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL. THE OTHER THING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO DO WAS IN THE MID 2000s, ABOUT 2008, THE NEW CRITERION WERE INTRODUCED. SO GINTHER LOOKED AT DATA THAT WAS PRIOR TO THE CRITERION INTRODUCTION, I THINK MOST OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR NOW WITH THE INVESTIGATOR AND ENVIRONMENT CRITERIA THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE OVERALL IMPACTS ON GRANTS. THIS IS FROM ROBIN WAGNER, WHO WORKS IN THE OFFICE OF EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH, SO SHE TOOK THE DATA FROM FISCAL YEAR 2010 IN CONSIDERATION OF THIS NEW SYSTEM THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE AND DID AN ANALYSIS TO LOOK AT WHETHER OR NOT THERE WERE DISPARITIES. LOOKING AT THIS DATA, THEY CONCLUDED THAT AFRICAN-AMERICANS RECEIVED OVERALL IMPACT FACTORS THAT WERE 1.2 HIGHER, OR WORSE, IN COMPARISON TO WHITES, IF YOU HOLD EVERYTHING ELSE EQUAL. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THIS FINDING WAS QUITE TROUBLING, AND THEY CONTINUED TO LOOK AT DATA, THEY LOOKED AT 2011 DATA AND 2012 DATA AS WELL, SO THEY RAN IDENTICAL MODELS. WHAT THEY FOUND HERE IS AMONG THE DIFFERENT ETHNIC AND RACIAL GROUPS, THEY DID NOT SEE ANY STATISTICALLY -- ONCE THE CRITERION SCORES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS WERE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, SO THAT DISPARITY THAT WAS SEEN IN FS FY2010 WAS ATTENUATED IN 2011 AND 2012, HOWEVER, OF COURSE THE OVERALL DISPARITY THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT STILL CERTAINLY EXISTS AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. THEY ALSO DETERMINED THAT OF THE CRITERION SCORES, IT'S REALLY THE APPROACH AND SIGNIFICANCE SCORES THAT ARE REALLY DRIVING THE DIFFERENCE THAT'S OBSERVED IN THE OVERALL IMPACT SCORES. SO THIS IS AN AREA THAT THE NIH WILL BE LOOKING AT A LITTLE MORE CLOSELY. IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT ON THE NIH CAMPUSES, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 1200 FUNDED INVESTIGATORS, SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THESE INVESTIGATORS THAT WORK AND PERFORM SCIENCE IN THE CONTEXT OR INSIDE THE WALLS OF THE NIH, YOU CAN SEE OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, THERE HASN'T BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF PROGRESS IN TERMS OF THE OVERALL DEMOGRAPHIC EITHER, SO ALL OF THESE THINGS TAKEN T LED DR. COLLINS TO ASK HIS ADVISORY COMMI COMMITTEE, THE ACD, TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE NIH FUNDED WORKFORCE AND TO PROVIDE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO HIM IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT WE COULD DO BETTER, HOW COULD WE ENHANCE THIS AND SOME OF SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THAT EXIST. SO THE ACD TOOK ALL THE DATA AND TOOK PROBABLY CLOSE TO A YEAR ANALYZING IT AND HAVING DISCUSSIONS AND IN THE END CAME UP WITH 13 RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE PRESENTED TO THE DIRECTOR. THE ACD RECOMMENDS FELL INTO FOUR MAJOR CATEGORIES. I WON'T GO OVER EACH OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS BUT I WILL TALK ABOUT A FEW OF THESE AND GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT THE CHIEF OFFICER FOR SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE DIVERSITY IN COLLABORATION WITH A COUPLE OTHER OFFICES AT THE NIH HAVE BEEN WORKING ON TO TRY TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT EXIST AND SEE IF WE CAN'T COME UP WITH SOME REMEDIES. SO ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE WAS TO APPOINT A CHIEF OFFICER FOR SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE DIVERSITY, APPOINT SOMEBODY AT THE NIH WHO CAN OVERSEE DIVERSITY OVERALL. SO LAST YEAR THIS MONTH, IN 2013, DR. COLLINS CREATED THIS POSITION AND HE ASKED DR. ROGER PETTIGREW, WHO WAS ALSO THE DIRECTOR OF ONE OF THE INSTITUTES, TO ALSO SERVE AS THE ACTING CHIEF OFFICER. VERY WISELY, HE ALSO ASKED ROD TO SERVE AS THE SEARCH COMMITTEE CHAIR FOR A PERMANENT POSITION, SO ROD ALSO WORKED VERY HARD ON TRYING TO RECRUIT SOMEBODY INTO THAT ROLE, AND RUMOR HAS IT THAT WE SHOULD ACTUALLY HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A PERMANENT PERSON WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, WHICH IS FAIRLY EXCITING. SO THE MANDATE OF THIS OFFICE IS TO LEAD A TRANSNIH EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN OUR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH ENTERPRISE THROUGH A GREATER DIVERSIFICATION OF FUNDED INVESTIGATORS. SO WHAT HAS THE CHIEF OFFICER SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE DIVERSITY BEEN DOING? AS I SAID, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF COLLABORATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES ON THE NIH CAMPUS, SO I'LL BE TALKING TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PEER REVIEW AND POTENTIAL BIAS. SEVERAL OF THE COMMON FUND INITIATIVES, THERE WERE SEVERAL RFAs THAT WERE JUST RELEASED IN THE LAST MONTH, AND TALK ABOUT A COUPLE OF ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING ON CAMPUS. SO ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED IS ABOUT THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS. SO THERE WAS ACTUALLY A SUBCOMMITTEE PUT TOGETHER, A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE ACD, TO REALLY LOOK MORE CAREFULLY AT PEER REVIEW, AND THEY WERE REALLY CHARGED WITH EXAMINING ALL HYPOTHESIS RELATED TO DISPARITIES IN RESEARCH AWARDS AND TO PROVIDE ADVICE TO THE ACD ON POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS, TO ENSURE FAIRNESS OF THE PEER REVIEW SYSTEM. MANY OF YOU MAY KNOW RICHARD KNACKNOCKNA/K/A MORNA/K/A MURA WITH JOAN R EEDE,, TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS AT THE BASE OF THE DISPARITY THAT'S OBSERVED. SO THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON DEVELOPING A CONTRACT TO DO SOME SURVEYS AND FOCUS GROUPS WITH NEW INVESTIGATORS TO GET THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS, LOOKING TO DEVELOP SOME TEXT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE SO THAT THE TEXT OF SUBMITTED GRANTS CAN ACTUALLY BE ANALYZED, AS WELL AS THE SUMMARY STATEMENTS THAT COME OUT OF OF THE REVIEW PROCESS, SO ARE THERE WAYS THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT THE TEXT TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE ARE CERTAIN FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, AND THEN ANOTHER IS TO USE THE CHALLENGE.GOV SOLICITATION PROCESS TO COLLECT SOME IDEAS ABOUT MAYBE STRATEGIES THAT COULD BE USED TO DETECT BIAS IN THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS, AND IF CHALLENGE.GOV SOUNDS LIKE A CROWD SOURCING MECHANISM, IT IS, IT'S A WAY TO COLLECT INFORMATION FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF PEOPLE. SO THE OTHER PARTNER THAT HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD WITH THIS INITIATIVE IS THE FOLKS AT THE COMMON FUND INITIATIVE, COMMON FUND IS A COMPONENT OF THE NIH OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, AND SO THEY HAVE CREATED A PROGRAM THAT IN ITS ENTIRETY IS REFERRED TO AS ENHANCING THE DIVERSITY OF THE NIH FUNDED WORKFORCE. THE LEADERSHIP THERE HAS AN OVERARCHING STRATEGY FOR THIS EFFORT, AND UNDERNEATH IT, THERE ARE THREE INITIATIVES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO TEST INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO RECRUITMENT TRAINING AND RETENTION OF TRAINEES FROM DIVERSE SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUNDS. THE THREE INITIATIVES ARE CALLED BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE, LEADING TO DIVERSITY, NATIONAL RESEARCH MENTORING NETWORK AND COORDINATION AND EVALUATION CENTER. SO ALL TALK ABOUT EACH OF THESE, BUT BEFORE I DO, I WANT TO JUST MENTION THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF EMPHASIS PLACED ON MAKING SURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE APPLYING FOR THESE GRANTS ARE AWARE THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE COMMON FUND IS LOOKING FOR, AS WELL AS THE INSTITUTE FOR MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES THAT'S AD ADMINISTERING THESE GRANTS REALLY WANTS TO MAKE SURE THESE ARE NOVEL, INNOVATIVE AND TRANSFORMATIVE IN THEIR APPROACHES. SO I PROBABLY DON'T NEED TO TALK ABOUT NOVEL AND INNOVATIVE TO THIS GROUP, BUT I DO WANT TO TOUCH ON TRANSFORMATIVE JUST FOR A SECOND BECAUSE I THINK ONE OF THE VISIONS FOR THESE GRANTING MECHANISMS IS NOT THAT MONEY IS INFUSED, THINGS CHANGE FOR A LITTLE WHILE, THEN YOU WAN YOU GO BACK TO BUSINESS ONCE THE GRANT IS OVER. THEY WANT TO LOOK FOR NEW IDEAS THAT CAN BE SCALED, TRANSFERRED OR RESULTS IN SOME SORT OF A CASCADE OF BEST PRACTICES OR NEW PRACTICES TO SEE IF WE CAN'T GET MORE PEOPLE INTO THE PIPELINE AND INTO BIOMEDICAL CAREERS. SO HOOR IS THE TIMELINE TO GIVE YOU A SENSE WHAT IF'S GOING ON. THIS ARROW SHOWS WHERE WE ARE APPROXIMATELY TODAY. AS I MENTIONED, THE 3RFAs, I THINK NOW THEY'RE CALLED FOAs, WERE PUBLISHED ABOUT A MONTH AGO. THERE'S BEEN SOME TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WEBINARS TO GET PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH THE BUILD AND THE NRMN AND THE CEC, THE REQUIREMENTS AND THE EXPECTATIONS RECEIPT DATE WILL BE IN EARLY APRIL, AND THEN THE AWARD START DATE WILL BE AT THE END OF DECEMBER, START OF OCTOBER. THEN THERE WILL BE A CONSORTIUM KICKOFF MEETING. WOULD ALSO LIKE TO MENTION THAT THERE HAVE BEE HAS BEEN A PLANNING STAGE FOR STUDIES THAT WERE AWARDED IN SEPTEMBER AND PEOPLE ARE WORKING ACTIVELY TO DEVELOP SOME APPLICATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING AWARD CYCLE. SO ON TO THE AWARDS JUST BRIEFLY, BUILD REALLY HAS THREE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR ADVANCES IN. ONE IS AN INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, SO THIS IS STRENGTHENING THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN BIOMEDICAL CAREERS, THE OTHER IS IN FACULTY DEVELOPMENT, SO PROVIDING FACULTY THE TRAINING RESOURCES FOR TEACHING, FOR PERFORMING RESEARCH, AS WELL AS TRAINING AND MENTORING, THAT THEY REALLY NEED TO BE EFFECTIVE, AND ALSO, OF COURSE, MOST IMPORTANTLY, STUDENT DEVELOPMENT. SO INCREASING THE READINESS AND MOTIVATION FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CAREERS. I SHOULD MENTION TOO IT'S ANTICIPATED THERE WOULD BE SOMEWHERE ON THE ORDER OF THREE TO FIVE OF THESE AWARDS MADE. THE NATIONAL RESEARCH MENTORING NETWORK, THERE WOULD JUST BE ONE AWARD, AND SO THIS IS REALLY TO CREATE A NETWORK OF MENTORS ACROSS THE NATION WHO CAN BE PAIRED WITH MENTEES AND TO PROVIDE MENTORING TRAINING TO THE FACULTY AS NEEDED OR DESIRED AND ALSO TO PROVIDE SOME STANDARDS TO WHICH EFFICACY OF THE MENTORING CAN BE ASSESSED, AND AGAIN, BEST PRACTICES COULD BE DISSEMINATED. THE COORDINATION AND EVALUATION CENTER, AGAIN, THIS WOULD BE A SINGLE AWARD, AND THE IDEA BEHIND THE CEC IS THAT IT WOULD BE A COORDINATING CENTER FOR ALL OF THESE GRANTS THAT ARE FUNDED SO THAT THEY CAN ASSESS EFFICACY, THEY CAN EVALUATE THE PROGRAMS, THEN THEY CAN HELP DISSEMINATE THINGS THAT ARE WORKING TO OTHER PEOPLE, AGAIN, TO HELP WITH THAT DISSEMINATION AND CASCADING EFFECT OF. I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THESE ARE U54 MECHANISM GRANTS SO THERE WILL BE A LOT OF PARTICIPATION BY THE NIH AS WELL. REALLY TRULY A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE NIH AND THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY. THERE WAS A SHORT LETTER WRITTEN TO SCIENCE ABOUT THESE INITIATIVES. AGAIN, DR. COLLINS CONTINUES TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN THIS AREA AND CONTINUES TO COMMUNICATE THE URGENCY FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE. SO JUST A COUPLE OF NOTES ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON CAMPUS, SO A LITTLE BIT MORE INWARD-FACING. THE NIH, ON NOVEMBER 14TH THIS PAST YEAR, HELD THE FIRST WORKSHOP EVER WHERE THEY INVITED ALL OF THE LEADERSHIP TO PARTICIPATE TO TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY HERE ON CAMPUS. THE FIRST OPENING SESSION WAS ACTUALLY HELD AT NIC DIRECTORS' MEETING, SO THE NIC DIRECTORS WERE TRULY HELD CAPTIVE. THEY ALSO INVITED THE SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING AND SPENT THE OPENING SESSION, WHAT WE CALL THE OPENING SESSION OF THIS WORKSHOP, REALLY TALKING A LITTLE MORE DEEPLY ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES AROUND DIVERSITY AND MAKING THE CASE FOR THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY IN THE CONTEXT OF OUR DAILY WORK. THERE WAS A SECOND SESSION OPEN TO ALL OF NIH. WE OPENED THE DOORS, WE HAD VIDEO FEEDS TO OTHER ROOMS, PEOPLE COULD WATCH AT THEIR COMPUTERS, SO THAT WE REALLY WERE TRYING TO CREATE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A BETTER, MORE OPEN DIALOGUE WITH THE ENTIRE NIH. SO I WON'T READ THROUGH ALL OF THIS, BUT THIS IS THE AGENDA FROM THE MEETING. YOU CAN SEE BY JUST LOOKING AT SOME OF THE TITLES THAT WE HAD A MIX AND SAY ROUGHLY INTO TWO CAMPS OF ACTIVITIES OR MESSAGES THAT WERE BEING SENT, LARGELY, AGAIN, MAKING A CASE FOR THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY IN BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE AND IN BIOMEDICAL INSTITUTIONS, AND THEN THE OTHER COMPONENT IS TO REALLY THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE DEEPLY ABOUT SOME OF THE PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS THAT CAN GET IN THE WAY OF CREATING A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT. THE NUMBER OF TAKE-HOME MESSAGES, THERE'S NO WAY WE COULD PUT THEM ON WIN SLIDE HERE. I THINK IF I WERE TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THE TAKE HOME MESSAGES THAT WE THOUGHT WERE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT, UP WITH ONE OF THEM WAS THAT HAVING A MEETING LIKE WE HAD ON NOVEMBER 14TH OR HAVING A SESSION LIKE THIS AT A COUNCIL MEETING WHERE WE TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY IS GREAT, BUT IF WE HAVE THIS MEETING AND ALL WALK AWAY AND SAY THAT WAS GREAT AND WE ALL FEEL BETTER BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT IT, THEN WE HAVEN'T SUCCEEDED. IT REALLY NEEDS TO BECOME PART OF WHAT WE TALK ABOUT EVERY DAY, AND AS WAS SHOWN EARLIER, WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF WHO WE ARE AS THE NIH. THE OTHER PIECE THAT WAS -- I THINK SURPRISED A LOT OF PEOPLE AND REALLY RESONATED WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF SUBCONSCIOUS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL I PHENOMENA THAT INFLUENCE OUR PERCEPTIONS AND CAN INTERFERE WITH ENHANCING DIVERSITY. THESE INCLUDE THINGS LIKE IMPOSTER PHENOMENON, STEREOTYPE THREAT AND IMPLICIT BIAS, AND WE EXPLORED THESE THREE FACTORS DURING THE MEETING, AND I THINK PEOPLE WERE VERY TOUCHED BY THAT DISCUSSION. I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO POINT OUT THAT AT THIS MEETING, DR. COLLINS MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO THE INSTITUTE DIRECTORS THAT HE WAS LOOKING TO THEM TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN THIS AREA. AND HE CHARGED EACH OF THEM TO GO BACK AND TALK TO THEIR INSTITUTES TO DEVELOP PLANS TO COME UP WITH SOME STRATEGIES. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR BARRIERS THAT ARE BEING FACED BY THE INSTITUTES, AND HOW CAN WE OVERCOME THOSE BARRIERS, HOW CAN THE INSTITUTES OVERCOME THEM, AND IT MIGHT NOT BE A SURPRISE TO THIS GROUP THAT MARTHA HAS ALREADY SUBMITTED A PLAN, I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE HEARING ABOUT NEXT, AND SO I JUST WANT TO COMMEND HER FOR HER INCREDIBLE LEADERSHIP HERE AT THE NIH. IT'S THE FIRST PLAN THAT WE'VE SEEN AND TO BE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION HERE IS -- IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE ABLE TO BE HERE TODAY TO EXPLAIN TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OVERALL NIH CONTEXT, BUT TRUE LEADERSHIP HERE. THE LAST THING I WANTED TO MENTION QUICKLY WAS WE JUST COMPLETED A WISR SURVEY AT THE NIH, WORKING TOORTDZ CREATING AN INCLUSIVE AND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR RESEARCH. THE INTENT WAS TO START A CLIMATE SURVEY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN AT THE NIH, WHERE WE CAN START TO LEARN ABOUT THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE PEOPLE WORKING HERE, WHAT'S WORKING FOR THEM, WHAT'S NOT WORKING FOR THETHEM. ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS OF PERSONAL SUCCESS, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, ENVIRONMENT AS WELL AS MENTORING. OVERALL, AT THE NIH, WE HAD A 20% RESPONSE RATE. NOT SPECTACULAR BUT AS A STARTING POINT FOR THIS INITIATIVE, WE'LL TAKE IT AND DO WHAT WE CAN WITH IT, BUT DO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT PARTICIPATION FROM NIDCR WAS 26%, AND JUST FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE AND TRAINING WORKFORCE HERE AT THE NIH IS ABOUT 23,000. IF YOU ADD IN CONTRACTORS, THAT TAKES US UP TO ABOUT 45,000. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE CAMPUS THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED. I WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, AND AS YOU SIT AND LISTEN TO THE REST OF THE TALKS AND IF THERE'S TIME FOR DISCUSSION LATER, JUST THROW THIS OUT IT TO YOU, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S PROBABLY BECOME VERY CLEAR TO YOU IS THAT NIH STILL HAS A LONG WAY TO GO, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF COMMITMENT AND PASSION HERE IN TERMS OF WANTING TO MOVE FORWARD IN THIS AREA. WE THINK WE CAN LEARN A LOT FROM OTHER PEOPLE SO IF YOU'RE AWARE OF THINGS HAPPENING AT YOUR INSTITUTIONS, THINGS THAT YOU COULD SHARE WITH US, WE WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING THOSE. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. [APPLAUSE] >> JUST A QUICK THING. I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT DR. BENNETT HAS GRACIOUSLY AGREED TO STAY ON FOR THE REST OF IT AND WE HAD POSED SOME QUESTIONS FOR COUNCIL, AND WE'RE HOPING AFTER THE NEXT T PRESENTATIONS THAT YOU'LL BE INVOLVED IN AN ACTIVE DISCUSSION ON THIS TOPIC. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION OF WHAT NIH IS DOING. MY JOB IS TO BE IN THE FIRST HALF OF TELLING YOU WHAT NIDCR IS DOING, AND AS DR. SOMERMAN MENTIONED, I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT THIS WAS A COMMITTEE PERFORMED ACROSS NIDCR AND WANT TO CREDIT EVERYBODY ON THE COMMITTEE WITH THE END PRODUCT UNDER DR. GARCIA'S LEADERSHIP DR SOMERMAN'S LEADERSHIP AND REALLY ENGAGEMENT OF THE ENTIRE COMMITTEE. IT WAS A DELIGHT. YOU'VE SEEYOU'VE SEEN THESE NUMBERS ALREADY. I WILL JUST MENTION THE WAY WE LOOK AT NUMBERS LIKE THIS, WE'RE MISSING A LOT OF TALENT WHEN WE DON'T HAVE EQUAL REPRESENTATION. THAT, TO ME, IS THE MAJOR PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE LACK DIVERSITY, PEOPLE ARE GETTING AWAY FROM US WHO HAVE TALENT TO DO SCIENCE AND GREAT SCIENCE, AND THAT'S A TRUE SHAME. SO JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE US, AND THERE WAS A KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY A HARVARD COLLEGE DEAN, DR. HAMMONDS, AT MIT, AND SHE POINTED OUT WHY SOME OF THE TALENT DOESN'T MAKE IT TO PRODUCTIVITY. INCLUDING SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS WHICH HAVE GREATER IMPACT ON UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AS WE'VE SEEN IN SOME OF THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION, MAY ACTUALLY THE NOT RECEIVE CREDIT OR APPROPRIATE CREDIT FOR WHAT THEY DO DO, AND THAT THE CULTURE OF SCIENCE HAS BEEN DESIGNED AND PERPETUATED BY A NON-DIVERSE GROUP WHICH LEADS POTENTIALLY TO UNCOMFORTABLE CULTURAL SITUATIONS AND SETTINGS FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE GROUP. ALL THESE THINGS ARE FIXABLE AND WITH THESE FIXES, WE SHOULD HOPE TO SEE A MORE BALANCED -- AS COMPARED TO THE POPULATION GROUP OF SCIENTISTS. SO DR. SOMERMAN FORMED THIS COMMITTEE WAY BEFORE THE NIH CALL HAPPENED. A GREAT -- FOR HER THINKING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. WE INCLUDED MEMBERSHIP FROM ALL ACROSS NIDCR, AND WE WERE CHARGED TO IDENTIFY DIVERSITY ISSUES AND PROPOSE SOLUTIONS BECAUSE AS WAS MENTIONED BEFORE, IDENTIFYING WHAT'S WRONG WITHOUT IDENTIFYING HOW TO DEAL WITH IT TO REDUCE THE PROBLEM IS OF LITTLE USE. AND AS ALSO INTRODUCED, I'M GOING TO SKIP THIS SLIDE, THERE WERE MANY NIH INITIATIVES WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO DROP IN THE MIDST UP, SO WE'RE ABLE TO FOCUS ON SOME DETAILS WITHIN NIDCR, INTRAMURALLY AND EXTRAMURALLY, AND THEN RIDE THE WAVE THAT IS HAPPENING AT NIH, WHICH GIVES US GREAT OPPORTUNITY. SO HOW DO WE DEFINE UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS? WE BASICALLY TOOK THE NIH DEFINITION THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE, AND THE COMMITTEE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH WHETHER TO INCLUDE WOMEN IN THE GROUP AND WE DECIDED THAT WE WOULD INCLUDE WOMEN IN OUR CONCERN BECAUSE THEY REPRESENT WHAT MAY HAPPEN WHEN YOU FILL THE PIPELINE BUT FOR SOME REASON THERE'S CONSTRICTIONS LATER ON SO THAT PIPELINE DOESN'T RESULT IN LEADERSHIP LEVELS THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT IN THE GENERAL POPULATION. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT LOOKING AROUND THE ROOM TODAY, BUT I THINK NIDCR MAY BE UNIQUE IN ITS REPRESENTATION. WE FELT IF WE FILLED THE PIPELINE WITH UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS AND SOMEHOW A NARROWING OCCURRED LATER ON THAT APPEARS TO BE HAPPENING WITH WOMEN, THIS WOULD NOT BE A GOOD THING SO THAT WE INCLUDED WOMEN AS AN EXAMPLE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO FAILED TO EXIT THE OTHER END OF THE PIPELINE IN APPROPRIATE PROPORTIONS. SO AS MUCH DISCUSSION WITH THE COMMITTEES DIVIDING UP, TRYING TO SUMMARIZE THE AREAS THAT WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON, WE CAME UP WITH THESE FOUR AREAS, THE NIDCR CULTURE AND FRUK, DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION, CAREER PREPARATION, MENTORING AND RETENTION, AND OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION. AND I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT OF DETAIL ON THOSE. SO WHAT IS CULTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE? THIS IS WHAT WE WERE SAYING -- SOME OF THE THINGS DR. BENNETT WAS SAYING ABOUT PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS, HAVING A CULTURE DESIGNED BY A MAJORITY THAT MAY NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE TO THE MINORITY, THEN THERE'S THE ISSUE OF HOW TO DEAL WITH DIVERSITY, WHICH OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE ON OUR COMMITTEE, DR. SOMERMAN, DR. GARCIA ARE EMPASSIONED AND INTERESTED IN THE AREA BUT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND THE AREA, SO HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE THAT PASSION AND THE VALUE OF DIVERSITY OUTSIDE OUR COMMITTEE. SO TAKING THE SIMILAR APPROACH AS WHAT DR. BENNETT MENTIONED, WE ARE A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS. THERE ARE SCIENTISTS WHO STUDY THE ISSUES OF DIVERSITY, THE PROBLEMS THAT ARISE AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM. THINKING OF OUR GROUP AS BEING A GROUP THAT RELATES WELL TO DATA, WE DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF HAVING A SEMINAR SERIES THAT RUNS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, OPEN OF COURSE TO EVERYBODY AT NIDCR BUT WE'D LIKE TO EXPAND IT TO ANYBODY WHO WOULD LIKE TO COME AND WE EVEN WERE HOPING TO RECORD IT OR VIDEO RECORD IT FOR FUTURE CASTING SO WE COULD GO OUTSIDE THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, BUT BASE CANICALLY IT'S TO DEVELOP A COMMON SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE ISSUES. THE SECOND THING IS, ONCE YOU'VE GOT THE SCIENCE DOWN, HOW DO WE TRAIN OUR MANAGERS TO HAVE A COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THE NUTS AND BOLTS, THE PRACTICAL ISSUES OF DIVERSITY? THESE ARE TARGETED TO PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY WHO CREATE THE INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE AT NIDCR, BOTH ON THE INTRAMURAL, EXTRAMURAL SIDE, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, AND IT'S BASICALLY A HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND SOLVE THE PITFALLS THAT OCCUR. THIS DIVERSITY TRAINING IS ACTUALLY FOCUSED RIGHT NOW AT P.I. AND UP, THROUGH SENIOR LEADERSHIP, BECAUSE THESE ARE THE IMPORTANT CREATORS OF CULTURE. THE SECOND PROPOSAL AREA, DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION. WELL, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT OUR BASELINE IS, TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE DO HAVE A PROBLEM OR WHERE WE DON'T, AND THEN AS WE INSTITUTE CHANGES, WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TRACK THOSE TO MAKE SURE CHANGES WE INSTITUTE ARE WORKING OR NOT, IF THEY'RE NOT, WE HAVE TO CHANGE THEM. SO THE PLAN IS TO PERFORM AN ANNUAL ANALYSIS OF THE STARTING BASELINE, THEN AN ANNUAL ANALYSIS THAT FOLLOWS ON THE HEELS OF OUR INTERVENTIONS. IT IS SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED BECAUSE WE HAVE TO BE RESPECTFUL OF PRIVACY LAWS, ET CETERA, BUT THERE ARE METHODS THAT WE CAN WORK THROUGH TO GET THE BEST INFORMATION WE CAN, AND THIS IS GOING TO BE DONE INTRAMURALLY AND EXTRA MEURLY TO SEE HOW NIDCR AND ITS STAKEHOLDER ARE DOING. IN CAREER PREPARATION, MENTORING MENTORING, COMMUNICATION, DR. KING WILL PRESENT THAT TO YOU AFTER I SEEK, THEN WE HAVE THE INTRAMURAL SIDE, WHICH IS A SMALL MICROCHASM TO TEST VARIOUS METHODS IN OUR TRAINEES, AND ONE OF THE PROPOSALS THAT WE DEVELOPED WAS SCIENCE IS OFTEN AN APPRENTICESHIP-TYPE APPROACH. IT IS A WELL-KNOWN FACT THAT PEOPLE TEND TO FOCUS ON AND CONNECT WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO RESEMBLE THEMSELVES, MAKING A VICIOUS CIRCLE HARDER TO CREATE DIVERSITY. SO IN ORDER TO GO BEYOND THE SIMPLE APPRENTICE MODEL, ONE IS TO OBVIOUSLY TRAIN THE MENTORS SO WE HAVE MORE UNDERSTANDING OF DIVERSITY AND PEOPLE BRANCH OUT, BUT THE OTHER THING IS TO TRAIN OUR TRA TRAINEES ON BASICALLY WHAT WE TERMED IN SHORTHAND THE BUSINESS OF SCIENCE. B YOU MAY COME OUT OF A LAB LEARNING HOW TO DO GREAT SCIENCE, BUT IF THEY WANT A CAREER IN RESEARCH, EVERYBODY NEEDS TO COME OUT OF A LAB KNOWING HOW TO MANAGE STAFF, HOW TO CREATE GRANTS AND GRANTMANSHIP AND WRITING. IN SOME CASES WE'VE IDENTIFIED AB ISSUE WITH OUR EXTENSIVE NON-NATIVE BORN POPULATIONS, WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE, AND WE HAVE COURSES THAT CAN HELP, AND ALSO IN LEADERSHIP AN AND MANAGEMENT, WHICH IS IS THAT SHIFT IN ROLE FROM LEADING A LAB. FINALLY, THE OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION, IT'S THE TREE FALLING IN THE FOREST ISSUE. IF WE CREATE AND HAVE MATERIALS AND PROGRAMS BUT WE CANNOT COMMUNICATE THEM OUTSIDE NIDCR IT SELF, WE HAVE FAILED OUR JOB. SO WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION, WE'VE DEVELOPED PLANS TO HAVE ELECTRONIC MEDIA APPROACHES TO COMMUNICATING BROADLY WHAT NIDCR IS DOING IS TO SUPPORT DIVERSITY, BEING WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA, ET CETERA, ALLOWING PEOPLE TO COME TO OUR -- COME TO US ELECTRONICALLY TO DEFINE INFORMATION. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE DIVERSITY INFORMATION, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE NIDCR WEBSITE, BY IT'S SCATTERED. THIS WOULD BE A PLACE TO COLLECT IT. THE SECOND PART OF THIS COMMUNICATION PROPOSAL IS IN-PERSON COMMUNICATION. IN ADDITION TO THE COMMITTEE'S WONDERFUL COMMUNICATION AND COLLEAGUESHIP BETWEEN ALL THESE VARIOUS GROUPS AT NIDCR, INTRAMURAL, EXTRAMURAL, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, WE ALSO WANT TO COORDINATE OUR MEETINGS WITH THE INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS, AND PROVIDE OUTREACH IN A COORDINATED AND COST-EFFICIENT WAY. WE'D LIKE TO TARGET EARLY TO HELP FILL THE PIPELINE, WE WANT TO CONTINUE AND TARGET FACULTY AND BEYOND TO MAKE SURE THAT PIPELINE STAYS OPEN, AND WE'D ALSO LIKE TO HOLD SPECIAL MEETINGS WITHIN MEETINGS AND YOU'LL BE HEARING MORE ABOUT THESE LATER, BUT THESE WOULD BE TO ENCOURAGE DIVERSITY AND THESE SORTS OF TRAINING THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AT SORT OF MORE PUBLIC MEETINGS. SO WHAT IS THE COMMITTEE GOING TO DO? NEXT PHASE? WELL, THE COMMITTEE HAS COMMITTED TO STAYING ON AND HELPING EXECUTE SOME OF THESE PROPOSALS AND SOLUTIONS. WE ARE GOING TO SEPARATE INTO SMALLER SUBCOMMITTEES, GATHER MORE PERSON POWER INTO THE COMMITTEE AND DEVELOP TIMELINES TO DELIVERABLES AND METRICS AS WE DISCUSSED EARLY IN DATA COLLECTION. WE WILL DO ALL OF THIS WITH AN EYE TOWARDS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY AS WE HAVE TO. THE NEXT PHASE, WE ARE THANKFUL TO EVERYBODY WHO HAS ENGAGED THUS FAR. WE ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO ENGAGING MORE MEMBERS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. WE WANT TO SEEK ADVISORS BE FOR ADVISORS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'D LIKE TO BRING IN SOME TRAINEES TO HELP US, AND WE'D ALSO LIKE TO ENHANCE OUR EXPOSURE TO INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF EXPERIENCE IN DIVERSITY PROGRAMS, AND ONCE AGAIN, I WOULD GREATLY LIKE TO THANK DR. SEW ME SOMERMAN, WE HAPPENED TO HAVE THE DOCUMENT WHEN THE CALL CAME OUT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DR. KING, WHO WILL SPEAK MORE ABOUT THE EXTRAMURAL COMPONENT. >> THANK YOU TO MICHELLE FOR PROVIDING ALL THE BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION TO A LOT OF OUR ACTIVITIES AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO SET THE STAGE OF HOW THE EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY IS GOING TO BLEND WITH NIH AND KATHY FOR PROVIDING A BACKGROUND ON OUR COMMIT. SO IN TERMS OF THE EXTRAMURAL SIDE, WE'RE DEALING WITH MOSTLY THE WORKFORCE PIPELINE, OUR INITIATIVES, SO CERTAINLY ALL OF OUR INTERESTS ARE TO DIVERSIFY THE ENTIRE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE IN NIDCR, AND I CAN MOVE FORWARD HERE. AS KATHY MENTIONED, WE HAVE FOUR DIFFERENT AREAS. I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON THE DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION, CAREER PREPARATION, MENTOR AND RETENTION, AND OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY. DR. BENNETT ALREADY WENT OVER THE DIVERSITY -- THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE AND THE REPRESENTATION IN THE NIH. ETHNIC AND RACIAL DIFFERENCES AND THIS IS ALSO APPARENT IN MORE OF THE PIPELINE, THIS IS THE PH.D. INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING PH.D.s WHO ALSO ARE LESS REPRESENTED IN THE OVERALL U.S. POPULATION. SO WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE EXTRAMURAL IN TERMS OF DATA COLLECTION AND EVALUATION? WE ALSO -- WE WANT TO ESTABLISH A BASELINE ON THE REPRESENTATION BY INDIVIDUALS BASED ON THEIR RACE, ETHNICITY AND GENDER, AND WE WANT TO MONITOR THIS TREND OVER TIME. WE WILL INCLUDE BOTH THE TRAINEES AND THE INVESTIGATORS, AND WE HAVE ALREADY REQUESTED THE DATA FROM THE NIH OFFICE OF EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF EVALUATING THE DATA. WE'D LIKE TO REPORT THAT FOR THE EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY, OUR DATA ON RACE, ETHNICITY AND GENDER AND DISABILITIES, ET CETERA. THIS IS SELF-REPORTED DATA THAT INDIVIDUALS REPORT WHEN THEY ESTABLISH AN ERA COMMONS ACCOUNT, WHEN THEY'RE APPLYING OR INVOLVED IN AN NIH GRANT APPLICATION, SO IT'S SELF-REPORTED DATA. FOR CAREER PREPARATION, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO BUILD OR FOSTER OUR FUTURE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BUILD INITIATIVE AND THE MENTORING INITIATIVE, AND WE TRY TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATE IN EITHER THE BUILD AND/OR THE -- AND THE NATIONAL MENTORING NETWORK, AND OUR GOAL IS TO DEVELOP OPPORTUNITIES THAT WILL ENHANCE OPPORTUNITY FROM THE PREDOCTORAL TO THE INVESTIGATOR LEVEL IN THAT ENTIRE PIPELINE OF THE CAREER AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT TO THE FULL INVESTIGATOR. AS MICHELLE MENTIONED, IT WILL TARGET BOTH STUDENT INSTITUTIONAL AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT, SO HOPEFULLY WHAT WILL BE DEVELOPED, EITHER OUR ORGANIZATIONS, OUR STAKEHOLDERS CAN PARTICIPATE EITHER AS MEMBERS OF THE BUILD OR LEARN FROM THE ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED IN THESE INITIATIVES. SAME THING IN THE MENTORING, IT WILL BE A NATIONWIDE CONSORTIUM, SO HOW CAN WE HELP OUR COMMUNITY, EITHER SUBSETS, DEVELOP THEIR OWN MENTORI SUBSETS THAT CAN PARTNER WITH OR MERGE WITH THESE NATIONWIDE CONSORTIUMS, BUT GET AS FULL PARTICIPATION AS WE POSSIBLY CAN IN THE ONGOING OR DEVELOPING INITIATIVES THAT ARE OCCURRING AT THE NIH LEVEL. SO AT THE BUILD INITIATIVE, YOU CAN PARTICIPATE AT THE PRIMARY PIPELINE, RESEARCH PARTNER, GRADUATE LEVEL PARTNER, SO IT'S A VERY COMPLEX TYPE OF INITIATIVE THAT IS BEING DEVELOPED WITH DIFFERENT AVENUES OF PARTICIPATION. AND PERHAPS THERE ARE OTHER ACTIVITIES WE CAN LEARN FROM IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE INITIATIVES. THE COORDINATION AND EVALUATION TER WILL HELP FOSTER THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ALL OF THESE INITIATIVES, SO THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE A FOCAL POINT FOR OUR -- AN ENTREEWAY FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE INITIATIVES. WHAT I'M SHOWING HERE ARE CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT NIDCR HAS THAT ARE TARGETED SPECIFICALLY TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE. WE HAVE ALL THE WAY FROM HIGH SCHOOL, UNDERGRADUATE, PREDOCTORAL, POSTDOC TORLT TO JUNIOR FACULTY, RESEARCH AWARDS TO HELP FOSTER THESE INDIVIDUALS, DEVELOP THEIR RESEARCH CAREER EITHER AS RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL OR AT THE POSTDOCTORAL AND JUNIOR FACULTY, THIS CAN BE AN INTENSIVE MENTORED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. WE ALSO HAVE INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIPS, THESE ARE PREDOCTORAL, SO THESE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THESE AWARDS ARE CURRENTLY UNDERREPRESENTED AND THEY CAN APPLY FOR AN INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP TO SUPPORT THEIR GRADUATE STUDIES. WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING AS WE DEVELOPED OUR PLANS AND LOOKING AT THE GAPS ON THIS COMMITTEE WHAT OUR OPPORTUNITIES, WE SEE A GAP FROM THE POST-DOCTORAL JUNIOR FACULTY AND MOVING FORWARD TO DEVELOPING A CAREER FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE A PH.D. OR ACADEMIC DEGREE THAT WE LACKED AND INDIVIDUAL AWARD FOR THOSE RESEARCHERS TO DEVELOP -- TO ENHANCE OR DEVELOP THEIR RESEARCH CAREER. SO THIS IS THE SUITE OF OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE FOR ALL -- THAT ARE CURRENTLY OFFERED BY NIDCR, WE HAVE INDIVIDUAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR DUAL DUAL DEGREE DOCTORAL -- FELLOWSHIPS WHETHER THEY ARE FROM AN UNDERREPRESENTED GROUP OR NOT, SO WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT F31s. WE HAVE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR ANYONE WITH ANY DOCTORAL DEGREE, WE HAVE MENTORED RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AWARDS FOR CLINICIANS. SO WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY FROM INDIVIDUALS FROM ALL GROUPS TO APPLY FOR AN INDIVIDUAL DEGREE -- WHAT WE LACK FOR AN OPPORTUNITY IS INDIVID WITH PH.D.s TO HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE TO APPLY AND BE SUPPORTED BY AN INDIVIDUAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD. SO THIS WAS PART OF THE PLAN THAT WE DEVELOPED FOR THE EXTRAMURAL PART OF THE COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP THAT TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY. IN TERMS OF OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATION, AS KATHY MENTIONED, WE HAVE KIND OF A TWO-PRONGED APPROACH. WE HAVE THE IN PERSON GOING TO MEETINGS AND THE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION, WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE. CERTAINLY WE'VE BEEN WORKING TO LEVERAGE -- THIS IS THE -- ONE OF THE GOALS OF HAVING THE INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN THE NIDCR WORKING GROUP, TO TAKE ALL OF OUR PERSON RESOURCES AND SEE HOW WE CAN REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AS A UNITED EFFORT. WE HAVE THE SAME GOALS IN TERMS OF REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITIES, WHATEVER MEETINGS WE GO TO, THAT WE ALL CAN BE PART OF THE EFFORT. WE WANT TO DEVELOP MATERIALS SPECIFICALLY THAT CAN HELP WITH THIS OUTREACH, AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION ALSO, WE NEED TO HELP IDENTIFY OR WORK WITH OUR OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION TO DETERMINE THE BEST WAYS TO COMMUNICATE EITHER THE CURRENT FUNDING ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE AND TO COMMUNICATE THESE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED BY THE NIH, AND PERHAPS HELP THEM OUTLINE PATHWAYS OF SUCCESS OR HOW WE CAN HELP THEM MOVE FORWARD AND DEVELOP THEIR CAREERS, AND TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE THE BEST TYPES OF WAYS TO COMMUNICATE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND USE A VARIETY OF METHODS TO TRY TO BE AS FLEXIBLE AND MOST DIVERSE AS POSSIBLE. I'D ALSO LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT NIH ALSO HAS AN EFFORT THAT HAS BEEN -- BEING LED BY MEGAN COLUMBUS, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION IN THE OFFICE OF EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH, TO BRING TOGETHER ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE NIH COMMUNITY, OFFICES OF COMMUNICATION, TO ADDRESS BOTH OF THESE PROBLEMS OR HOW CAN WE BEST NIH ACHIEVE SOME OF THESE GOALS IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION. SO NIH IS ALSO TRYING TO LEVERAGE THEIR OWN RESOURCES AND CREATE A DIALOGUE OF WHAT WORKS AND WHAT HAS WORKED BEST AMONG ALL THE INSTITUTES. THOSE WERE PRIMARILY THE EXTRAMURAL, AND I THINK WE CAN TURN TO QUESTIONS. SO THANK YOU. [INAUDIBLE] >> I HAVE A QUESTION FOR DR. KING. I'M CURIOUS ON THE AWARDS THAT YOU DESCRIBED FOR THE FELLOWSHIPS FOR THE VARIOUS LEVELS OF TRAINING. ARE THOSE -- THOSE ARE ALREADY EXISTING F AWARDS, THE F30 AND THE F MECHANISMS. ARE THERE SOME THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY EARMARKED FOR THE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUPS OR HOW ARE THOSE GOING TO BE IDENTIFIED WITHIN THOSE? >> CURRENTLY, THE ONLY UNDERGRADUATE INDIVIDUAL AWARD THAT IS SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS IS WE HAVE AN F31 DIVERSITY. >> OKAY. >> SO THE OTHER AWARDS, ANY INDIVIDUAL CAN APPLY WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE FROM AN UNDERREPRESENTED GROUP OR NOT, BUT THOSE ARE SPECIFIC AWARDS TO TARGET THOSE INDIVIDUAL GROUPS, SO THE F31, THEN THE RESEARCH SUPPLEMENTS ARE FOR ALL STAGES, BUT THOSE ARE NOT INDIVIDUAL AWARDS, THOSE ARE A P.I. WHO HOLDS AN NIH PROJECT RESEARCH GRANT WHO THEN CAN APPLY FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENT THAT WOULD SUPPORT AN INDIVIDUAL FROM AN UNDERREPRESENTED GROUP FOR RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL UP TO INTENSIVE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE OR TRAINING FOR POSTDOCS AND FACULTY INVESTIGATOR LEVEL. >> SO JUST A ANOTHER FOLLOW-UP, SO ALL THE OTHER APPLICATIONS BESIDES THE F31, WOULD THOSE BE LOOKED AT SPECIFICALLY WHEN THOSE ARE REVIEWED FOR SPECIFIC GROUPS WHEN THEY ARE FOR FUNDING POSSESSION? I KNOW LIKE ON CERTAIN APPLICATIONS, YOU CAN IDENTIFY YOURSELF, SO ARE THEY REVIEWED IN A PARTICULAR WAY, NO, THEY ARE NOT. GENERALLY ANY APPLICATIONS THAT COME IN TO A PEER REVIEW GROUP ARE NOT DISTINGUISHED BY THE STATUS OF THE RACE, ETHNICITY OR STATUS OF AN INVESTIGATOR. GENERALLY WE DON'T FOLLOW INDIVIDUALS AT THAT LEVEL, AND T DATA, WHEN YOU REPORTED IN THE ERA COMMONS, HAS IDENTIFIED THAT IT WOULD BE AGGREGATE WHEN IT'S LOOKED AT. SO WE DON'T SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN THE PEER REVIEW SETTING. >> I APPLAUD YOU FOR THIS WORK AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS FRUSTRA AS YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT TRAINING GRANTS AND YOU'RE ASKED ABOUT WHO ARE YOU DEVELOPING AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING. I'M SPEAKING NOW PURELY GEOCENTRICALLY AT STANFORD, WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO IS GO AND TALK TO THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ATHLETES. YOU WANT TO GET INTO A POPULATION, A HIGH TARGET POPULATION WHERE PEOPLE MAY BE DISPROPORTIONATELY REPRESENTED IN THE RACE AND ETHNICITIES YOU'RE TARGETING AND BY OFFERING THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND A SUMMER, WE HAVE REALLY HAD AN EXPLOSION OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES NOW INTERESTED IN BIOSCIENCES. NOW I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S TRANSPORTABLE, BUT THAT IS A MECHANISM THROUGH WHICH WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TARGET LOTS, TO THE POINT WE MIGHT HAVE 25 OR 30 EVERY YEAR, AT LEAST IN THE STEM CELL INSTITUTE, SPENDING A SUMMER FROM THE SPORTS TEAMS. NOW, IT'S JUST A MATTER OF SOMEONE IDENTIFYING YOU AND YOU SPENDING TIME WITH THEM, ANYONE CAN BE A MENTOR. SO THAT'S JUST A SUGGESTION. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU THOUGHT OF THAT. I'M NOT SAYING THAT WOULD BE APPLICABLE EVERYWHERE, BUT IT'S BEEN GREAT FOR US. >> I WAS GOING TO ASK ABOUT NOT SO MUCH ON A TWO OR THREE YEAR HORIZON BUT ON A 20 YEAR HORIZON, A SLIVER THAT INCLUDES MORE THAN ONE RACE IS GOING TO GROW DRAMATICALLY, THINKING ABOUT THE DEMOGRAP HAVE YOU THOUGHT LONGER TERM -- FIRST OF ALL ARE YOU CAPTURING THE DATA WELL? I KNOW I CAN PUT DOWN A COUPLE OF THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS. AND I IMAGINE THERE ARE A LOT OF FORMS WHERE YOU CAN'T PUT THAT DOWN. SO FIRST OF ALL IS THE DATA CAPTURE GOOD UP FRONT, AND SECONDLY AS YOU GO OUT 20 YEARS, THAT'S GOING TO BE AN ENORMOUS SLICE OF THE PIE, AND WA DOES THAT MEAN FOR THIS ENTIRE ENDEAVOR? >> SO THE NIH GETS ITS DATA FROM MULTIPLE PLACES, I THINK WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS THE NIH CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF DATA COLLECTION. THERE ARE A COUPLE INTERNAL GROUP TAS ARE LOOKING TO SEE HOW CAN WE DO DATA COLLECTION BETTER AND THEN THOSE PLACES WHERE WE ARE COLLECTING DATA, MAKE SURE THEY CAN TALK TO EACH OTHER, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOME SYSTEMS MAYBE NOT SURPRISINGLY THAT CAN'T TALK TO EACH OTHER VERY WELL. AND YOU'RE RIGHT, I THINK THEY ESTIMATE BY 2050 OR BEFORE 2050, THE MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES WILL BE MADE UP OF UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS, SO WE'RE GOING TO SEE A FLIP IN TERMS OF MAJORITY AND MINORITY. SO WHITES WILL BE LESS THAN 50% OF THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES POPULATION BY 2050. OUR DEFINITION IS UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE COMPARED TO THE U.S. POPULA >> I DON'T MEAN TO DWELL ON IT, I APOLOGIZE, BUT I THINK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO'S HALF HISPANIC, A QUARTER HISPANIC, YOU KNOW -- >> NO, THAT'S TRUE. THERE IS A HUGE COMPLEXITY, I THINK ANOTHER CATEGORY IS MIXED OR MORE THAN ONE -- MORE THAN ONE RACE. >> IT'S MOVING AS WELL, BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE HISPANIC AND THEN THE LATINO, THERE'S ETHNIC MINORITIES, RACIAL MINORITIES IN A POPULATION. AND I THINK WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS THINK ABOUT QUESTIONS LIKE THIS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE COLLECT THE BEST POSSIBLE DATA AT THE MOMENT AND THAT MAY HAVE TO DRIFT AS TIME GOES ON. WE ARE VERY RESTRICTED TO SELF-IDENTIFIERS, BECAUS THAT'S LEGALLY WHAT WE CAN DO WITHIN INTRAMURAL NIH AND EXTRAMURAL. SO WE'RE AT THAT POINT OF HAVING PEOPLE SELF-IDENTIFY. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER WE'LL EVER GET BEYOND THAT, BUT WE AT LEAST HAVE TO GIVE ENOUGH OR THE CORRECT CATEGORIES SO PEOPLE FEEL THEY CAN -- THEMSELVES COMFORTABLY. SO I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DATA THAT WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL HAVE TO BECOME EXPERTS IN DATA COLLECTION AND GET EXPERTISE IN TO COMMENT ON HOW WE DO IT, AND IT WILL BE ABSOLUTELY A MOVING TARGET, JUST LIKE YOU SAID. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO THINK NOW ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IN TWO DECADES. AGREE 100%. >> -- ALLOWED TO NOT REPORT, SO YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE UNREPORTED CATEGORY. > SO I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS, BUT FIRST I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU A PROGRAM THAT WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THAT SAID THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HUMAN GENETICS FOR SEVERAL YEARS HAD A PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION TO IMPROVE GENETICS EDUCATION AT HIGH SCHOOLS, AND FACULTY MEMBERS -- HUMAN GENETICS FACULTY DIVERSITY WOULD PARTNER WITH HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS IDEALLY WITHIN A LOWER SES GROUP WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY, AND THE TEACHER WOULD BE TRAINED AS WELL AS PROVIDING HANDS-ON RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES AND SYMPOSIA FOR THE STUDENTS. AND I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY SUCCESSFUL THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS REALLY LOVED COMING OVER AND WORKING ON GENETICS AND THE TEACHERS IN PARTICULAR REALLY APPRECIATED IT. AND GIVEN THAT HIGH SCHOOL IS WHERE STUDENTS START THINKING ABOUT POSSIBLE CAREERS, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE PUZZLE. NOW I'D LOVE TO SEE THIS PLAN, IT'S VERY AMBITIOUS AND LONG TERM OBVIOUSLY, AND I'M REALLY GLAD THAT NIDCR HAS TAKEN A LEADERSHIP POSITION IN WORKING OUT SUCH A PLAN. SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF AN UNFAIR QUESTION, BUT WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOUR METRICS FOR SUCCESS, SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM? >> WE DISCUSSED THAT AT LENGTH IN THE COMMITTEE, HOW DO YOU GO FROM UNDERREPRESENTED TO REPRESENTED. AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING OFF THE DEFINITION, THIS ONE SAID -- OF THE POPULATION, ONE HAS TO ASSUME THAT THERE ARE COUNTS OF INDIVIDUALS IN EVERY GROUP AND IF WE'RE NOT AT LEAST HAVING A REPRESENTED POPULATION IN THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FORCE, THEN WE ARE MISSING SOME TALENTED INDIVIDUALS. SO I THINK SHORT TERM, OF COURSE, IS AN INCREASE, I THINK ESPECIALLY -- IT DIVIDES INTO TWO AREAS IN MY MIND. ONE IS THE FILLING THE PIPELINE, THE OTHER ONE IS THOSE PEOPLE IN THE PIPELINE GETTING THEM THROUGH TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. WHICH IS ONE OF THE REASONS WE KEPT WOMEN IN. IF YOU LOOK AT SOME OF THE INFORMATION ON ASIANS WHO ARE TECHNICALLY OVERREPRESENTED IN NUMBERS, IF YOU START LOOKIN AT LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, THEY MAY ACTUALLY BE UNDERREPRESENTED IN NUMBERS FOR THEIR POPULATION SIZE. SO IN THE SHORT TERM WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS INCREASES IN GROUPS THAT WE HAVE, GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, AND THEN LONG TERM, OF COURSE, WE WOULD HOPE SOME DAY TO NORMALIZE IT, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THAT WILL BE, BUT CERTAINLY ACTIVITY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE'VE ALL -- AGAIN USING WOMEN AS THE DEMONSTRATION GROUP JUST SIMPLY FILLING THE PIPELINE DOES NOT CREATE THEM MAKING IT THROUGH THE WHOLE PIPELINE IN EV CASE. WE'VE DISCUSSED YOUR IDEA ABOUT THE TEACHERS BECAUSE THAT BECOMES ONE OF THOSE EFFICIENT BANG FOR THE BUCKS, YOU BASICALLY BRING A TEACHER IN AND GET THEM TRAINED AND EXPOSED AND GIVE THEM A PIPELINE TO SEND STUDENTS, YOU'VE SUDDENLY INCREASED J GEOMETRICALLY THE PEOPLE THAT YOU'VE TOUCHED. SO THAT'S ACTUALLY BEEN ON THE TABLE AND DISCUSSED. >> [INAUDIBLE] >> I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW, I THINK THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT KATHY JUST DESCRIBED. SHORT TERM, THEN LONG TERM, YOU WOULD HOPE ONE DAY YOU WOULD GET TO EQUITY AND PARITY, BUT SHORT TERM, WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THE KNOWN AREAS WHERE WE'VE GOT PEOPLE DROPPING OUT OF THE PIPELINE, SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO IDENTIFY THOSE HOLES? I THINK WE HAVE A SENSE OF SOME OF THEM FOR DIFFERENT POPULATIONS AND HOW DO YOU THEN CREATE SOME INTERVENTION, SO I THINK RIGHT NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN DOING, IF YOU'RE NOT SUGGESTING SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. SO I THINK TESTING INTERVENTIONS AND CREATING A SCIENCE AROUND THIS SO THAT IT'S EVIDENCE-BASED, THE APPROACHES THAT WE TAKE, AS OPPOSED TO JUST GUESSING. >> I'M GOING TO ALSO MAKE SOME COMMENTS LATER ON ABOUT YOUR CLEARANCE PAPER, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU, IN TERMS OF THE SHORT TERM, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THOSE WHO ARE PH.D. STUDENTS, C YOU THINK OF A WAY TO BE CREATIVE -- TO SUCCESS THAT REALLY INCORPORATES THE IDEA THAT IT'S NOT ALWAYS GOING TO COME FROM SUPPLEMENTS FOR THE ALREADY BUT WELL ESTABLISHED UNIVERSITIES AND PLACES, THAT YOU CAN CREATE PLACES WHERE THE GATE TO SUCCESS IS ALSO CHANGE IN THE CONTEXT OF WHO REVIEWS THOSE GRANTS. I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO GET A PIPELINE OF GATE TO SUCCESS FROM PH.D. STUDENTS THAT ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE TRENCHES THAT DON'T HAVE ANY PLACE TO GO, THEY DON'T HAVE SUPPLEMENTS, AND THEN WHEN THEY SEND SOMETHING VIEWED BY THE COMMITTEES IN VERY, VERY NEGATIVE WAY, ACCORDING TO THEM IT'S THE SAME PEOPLE SAYING WHAT IS SCIENCE AND WHAT IS NOT SCIENCE, SO I THINK THAT IF WE CAN THINK OF A GATE TO SUCCESS WHERE WE THINK PERHAPS IS AN RO3 WHERE A LOT OF STUDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE WITH MENTORS AND THINKING THAT EVEN YOUR OWN DIVERSITY MEMBERS THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY WORKED WITH PERHAPS HELP OUT IN SOME DIMENSIONALITY TO REALLY MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE NOT ALWAYS THINKING OF THE SAME WAY TO EVEN THINK OF DIVERSITY COMING WITH MINORITY PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT IS THE WAY TO RECRUIT INDIVIDUALS. SO I THINK PH STUDENTS GET -- ON THE FACT THAT THEY DON'T SEE ANYBODY OUT OR IN INTO THE SYSTEM. [INAUDIBLE] >> BUT THANK YOU, IT IS AN IMPORTANT AREA AND IT DEFINITELY IS ON OUR RADAR SCREEN AS WELL. >> THIS HAS COME UP IN A PROGRAM THAT MICHELLE DEVELOPED INTRAMURAL NIH, THE STADMAN COMMITTEE, WHICH TAKES ALL APPLICANTS, WE SAY SEND US YOUR BEST AND BRIGHTEST, WE'LL SEE AT IF THERE'S A PLACE AT NIH FOR YOU. ONE OF THE MAJOR INITIATIVES IN THAT GROUP, MICHELLE BASICALLY DEVELOPED IT, I CHAIRED IT ONE YEAR, IS TO CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE VIEW SUCCESS, AND WE HAVE MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE ONE WORD JOURNALS VERSUS THE SCIENCE THAT INDIVIDUALS MAY NOT PUBLISH IN ONE-WORD JOURNALS DEPENDING ON THE SETTING THEY'RE IN, SO FOR EXAMPLE, IN THOSE COMMITTEES, 20 COMMITTEES OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS ACROSS NIH FOR THIS REVIEW COMMITTEE, WE ACTUALLY TALK TO THE COMMITTEES AND THE CHAIRS AND SAY WE'RE HERE AS EXPERTS SO YOU CAN READ THE PAPERS, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY'RE PUBLISHED, AND IF THE SCIENCE IS GREAT, THEN IT COUNTS. THAT'S ALL WE REALLY CARE ABOUT. WE TALK ABOUT METRICS THAT MAY BE REFLEXIVE BUT UNINTENTIONALLY BUY AS TOWARD THE MAJORITY, IF YOU WILL. SO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS HOW WE LOOK AT SUCCESS, PEOPLE CLEARLY SHOWING PROMISE BUT MAY NOT HAVE THE LIST OF ITEMS TO CHECK OFF THAT WE'VE BEEN USING FOR DECADES, SO THE OTHER THING IS PART OF OUR TARGETING IN TERMS OF OUTREACH IS SPECIFICALLY OF INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE A GREAT NUMBER OF MINORITY GROUPS OR UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS BECAUSE AUTOMATICALLY, WE WANT TO PROVIDE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT EXIST DEPENDING ON THE INSTITUTIONS. SO YOU MAKE AN EXCELLENT POINT THAT GOES ACROSS INTRAMURAL AND EXTRAMURAL. >> IN YOUR INFORMATION GATHERING, DID YOU TALK TO INDIVIDUAL -- BECAUSE YOU STATE HERE DIRECT COMMUNICATION. SO TALK TO INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES EITHER ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATORS OR PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFICALLY EXAMPLES BUT A COUPLE OF UNDER REPRESENTED MINORITY STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE AT UCSF, I WENT AND ASKED THEM, SO WHAT IS DIFFICULT FOR YOU? THEIR ANSWERS WERE SURPRISING TO ME AND IT HAD MORE TO DO WITH LOOKING FOR OTHER SIMILAR PEOPLE AND ROLE MODELS AND TO GET A ROLE MODEL OF SOMEBODY ELSE WHO'S OF A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ORIGIN OR FOCUS I HAS NOT WORKED THAT WELL. SO I THINK IT'S GREAT TO HAVE PROGRAMS BUT I THINK THE REAL KEYS TO WHAT IS GOING TO WORK ARE GOING TO COME FROM INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE EITHER TRYING TO BREAK THROUGH THE SYSTEM OR WHO HAVE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU -- AT THIS POINT HOW MUCH YOU REALLY DUG DOWN IN TALKING TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS. >> SO RIGHT NOW THERE ARE A LOT OF RULES THAT WE NEED TO FOLLOW IF YOU WANT TO COLLECT INFORMATION FROM PEOPLE OUTSIDE WHO ARE NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, BUT THE CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW IS ACTIVELY SETTING UP A STRATEGY TO DO SURVEYS AS WELL AS TO DO FOCUS GROUPS, TO DO PRECISELY THAT. THE SMALL COMMITTEE, THE SUBCOMMITTEE FOR PEER REVIEW THAT THEY HAVE PUT TOGETHER, THEY'VE ALREADY BEGUN TO HEAR SOME STORIES FROM SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THAT COMMITTEE THAT I THINK GO TO YOUR POINT EXACTLY, AND THAT IS IF WE DON'T TALK TO PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCES ARE AND WHAT THE CHALLENGES ARE, WE'RE NOT GOING TO KNOW HOW TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES CORRECTLY. SO YOU'VE GOT A TERRIFIC POINT AND WE'RE FULLY INTENTION TODAY GO OUT AND DO A MUCH PETTER JOB OF GOING OUT AND COLLECT THAT DATA. >> IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUILD AND THE NRMN, THEY DID HAVE FOCUS GROUPS AT SOME OF THE NATIONAL GROUPS THAT ARE TARGETED TO THOSE ACRONYMS. SO THIS WILL BE A CONTINUAL PROCESS, NOT JUST A ONE-TIME REACH, OUTREACH, BUT THERE IS INTEREST IN ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT, YES. >> I'M PARTICULARLY EXCITE TODAY HEAR ABOUT THE NATIONAL MENTOR PROGRAM THAT'S BEING ESTABLISHED. I MENTORED STUDENTS FROM OUTSIDE MY OWN INSTITUTION, BUT I WOULDN'T NORMALLY FIND OUT ABOUT THEM WITHOUT THE HELP OF MY PROJECT OFFICER. OF BEING ABLE TO CONNECT PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE SOMEONE IN THEIR OWN INSTITUTION WHO'S IN THEIR FIELD OF INTEREST. INTEREST, I THINK WOULD BE REALLY GREAT, AND THEN TO GET THE MENTEES TOGETHER SO THEY DON'T FEEL SO ALONE, THEY HAVE A PEER GROUP THAT THEY CAN MEET AND FIND OUT OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR AVENUE INTERES THEIR AREA OF INTE REST THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND START TO BEGIN COLLABORATIONS. A LOT OF THE JUNIOR INVESTIGATORS ALSO NEED SOMEONE TO HELP GIVE THEM CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO BE GOOD AT AS WELL. >> I WAS CURIOUS, WHEN YOU MENTION PROVIDING TRAINING TO PEOPLE ON HOW TO BE MENTORS, HAS THE TOPIC OF REVERSE MENTORSHIP COME UP AT ALL? IS THAT A TERM THAT YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH OR KNOW ABOUT? >> WHAT I WOULD CALL MENTORING UP? >> I THINK, YEAH. HAS IT? BECAUSE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LESSONS LEARNED, AND WE'RE TALKING A LOT ABOUT THE FUTURE AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO MEASURE SUCCESS OF THESE KINDS OF PROGRAMS, WHAT ARE THE SUCCESSES YOU CAN HAVE IN THE SHORT TERM, VERSUS THOSE YOU CAN HAVE IN THE LONGER TERM. AND WE HAVE FOUND A LOT OF BENEFIT IN ESTABLISHING WHAT WE CALL REVERSE MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS. JUST TO THROW OUT A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES JUST TO BRING IT TO LIFE A LITTLE BIT, WE HAVE AT PROCTOR AND CAMPBELL OBVIOUSLY A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF PEOPLE COMING IN THAT THINK VERY DIFFERENTLY THAN WE DO. AND WE HAVE A PROGRAM IN PLACE RIGHT NOW WHERE WE HAVE PAIRED SOME OF OUR MORE RECENT HIRES WITH VERY SENIOR PEOPLE IN THE COMPANY TO EXPLAIN TO THEM HOW GEN Y AND MILLENNIALS THINK AND HOW THEY PREFER TO BE COMMUNICATED WITH AND HOW -- THE SPEECHES THAT THESE PEOPLE GIVE ARE MAYBE NOT THE BEST, AND HOW THEY COULD -- HOW THEY COULD REALLY IMPROVE, AND IT HAS REALLY BROUGHT TO LIFE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT R WE REALLY NEED TO BE THE MENTORS OF THE FUTURE, IT RE HAS BROUGHT TO LIFE FOR THEM THE REALITY OF THE ISSUES, BECAUSE YOU CAN PUT THE DATA ON THE TABLE AND I'M VERY MUCH A DATA PERSON SO I CAN LOOK AT IT AND GO, OH, NO, BUT THERE'S AN EMOTIONAL COMPONENT THAT CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT. SO WE HAVE FOUND A LOT OF SUCCESS WITH THAT AS PART OF AP OVERALL MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. >> THIS IS ALEX. 60 MINUTES ON SUNDAY NIGHT, THERE WAS A PIECE ON EUROPE WHICH SCENES VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS DESCRIBED AT PROCTER & GAMBLE WHERE THERE'S INVESTMENT IN KIDS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED AREAS AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY AND ARE PLACED IN THE -- WITH FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES AFTER SIX MONTH SORT OF TRAINING SESSION FOR WHICH THEY'RE PAID. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE'S MODELS LIKE THAT THAT REALLY COULD BE AT LEAST EXPLORED THAT SEEM TO WORK VERY WELL. >> ONE ADDITIONAL COMMENT. I WAS JUST THINKING THAT THERE HAVE BEEN ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE MADE THIS A PRIORITY AND DONE VERY WELL, AND I'M SURE YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE AND THE -- RULE AND IMPACT THAT'S HAD WHERE YOU HAD TO INTERVIEW AN UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY FOR EVERY COACHING POSITION, BUT IT ALSO STRIKES ME AS IN THE SPIRIT OF DATA THAT MANY EVEN A APPLICATIONS FOR OUR MOST PRESTIGIOUS SOCIETIES HAVE A BOX THAT YOU COULD CHECK URM. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO -- THE ANSWER TO SAY WE GO BACK AND LOOK, BUT IF YOU KNEW A PRIORI HOW MANY APPLICANTS WERE URMs, COW D YOU COULD DO A SUBSET ANALYSIS OF THAT AND AT LEAST THAT MIGHT GIVE YOU MORE INFORMING. IT'S JUST A BOX YOU WOULD CHECK ON YOUR APPLICATION, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING WITH IT, BUT IT WILL ALLOW YOU TO IDENTIFY VERY ACCURATELY AS OPPOSED TO AFTERWARDS, JUST A THOUGHT. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ACT ON IT, I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF IT'S LEGAL, BUT THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS SOCIETIES WE HAVE IN THE UNITED STATES APPLICATIONS HAVE THOSE BOXES >> IT'S OKAY TO HAVE PEOPLE IDENTIFY AND COLLECT THE INFORMATION, THAT'S WHAT WE DO, EVERY YEAR WE LOOK AT THE SPREAD OF WHO APPLIES AND THE SPREAD OF WHO GETS OFFED THE POSITION. HOWEVER ACTING ON IT IS THE ISSUE. >> I WAS THINKING THAT WOULD GIVE YOU INFORMATION THAT YOU DON'T HAVE NOW. >> IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY THEY'RE NOT LINKED, THAT HE VERY SEPARATE DATA COLLECTION. >> CORRECT. >> I GUESS I HAVE A COMMENT. FIRST OF ALL I'D LIKE TO APPLAUD THE INITIATIVE TREMENDOUSLY. YOU ASKED WHAT HAPPENED IN OUR INSTITUTIONS, WE HAVE AN OUTREACH TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MINORITY PROGRAMS, BUT WHAT IN MY MIND, WITHOUT POINTING FINGER, ANY NAMES, IS THE TRAINING FOR THE MENTORS, BECAUSE IF THE KID DID REALLY WELL IN THE LAB AND THEY'RE BRIGHT AND IT WORKED OUT WELL, I PERSONALLY HAD ONE STUDENT WHO -- TAKE THIS PERSON, BUT WHEN IT CAME TO THE REVIEW, THEY -- SHE HADN'T DONE, SHE WAS SO UPSET, SHE LEFT. SO THE TRAINING FOR THE MENTORS, I THINK, IS A VERY GOOD ADDITION. >> I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT SOME OF THE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY THE, ONES THAT I'M INVOLVED IN, SOCIETIES, CELL BIOLOGY, ALL HAVE PROGRAMS FOR MINORITY GROUPS TO BRING TOGETHER THEIR MINORITIES, THESE ARE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS THAT ARE READY TO LAUNCH THEIR CAREERS, AND I GUESS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT THINGS IS JUST IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT PERSON, BUT THE THOUGHT OCCURRED TO ME THAT NIH COULD MAYBE OUTREACH TO THEM IN TERMS OF PROMOTING OR ENCOURAGING THEM TO APPLY FOR POSITIONS INTERNALLY EVEN HERE. IT'S JUST REALLY, HOW DO YOU GET THE WARM BODIES TO A PLACE WHERE YOU NEED THEM. >> I THINK SELF SELECTION IS A PROBLEM IN TERMS OF PEOPLE NOT TRYING OR NOT KNOWING HOW TO TRY, SO YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. SOME OF OUR -- MY VAGUELY MENTIONED MEETINGS WITHIN A MEETING ARE TO TRY AND DO SOME OF SIMILAR THINGS, TO TRY AND BRING TOGETHER GROUPS, IN ISOLATION, SOCIAL ISOLATION, EXPERIENCES THAT INDIVIDUALS HAVE THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT BUT MAYBE NOT WELL-KNOWN, ARE ALL A PART OF WHAT WE CONSIDER, SO YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY -- AND I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA TO DRAW ON SOCIETIES. >> WE'D LOVE TO HAVE THE NIH INPUT. >> I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE NIH HAS ALSO TRIED TO DO VERY HARD IS TAP INTO THOSE ASSOCIATIONS THAT BRING THOSE FOLKS TOGETHER, SO THERE'S TYPICALLY A VERY LARGE PRESENCE AT THOSE MEETINGS, THOSE MEETINGS WERE TARGETED THIS PAST YEAR TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLANNING GRANT INITIATIVES AND THE -- THA THE FOAs THAT WERE JUST RELEASED, SO PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO OUTREACH IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. YOUR COMMENT IS VERY GOOD. >> ONE FINAL, YOU MAY BE HAPPY TO KNOW OUR INTRAMURAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION DIRECTOR SPECIFICALLY GOES TO THESE MEETINGS WITH INFN ABOUT NIDCR AND ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF SORT OF COMBINING THE EXTRAMURAL/INTRAMURAL BRANCHES OF OUTREACH IS THAT SHE CAN NOW GO TO THESE MEETINGS NOT ONLY RECRUITING, IF YOU WILL, FOR THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM BUT WITH INFORMATION, CONTACT LISTS, ET CETERA, WEBSITES TO POINT TO FOR EXTRAMURAL AS WELL. SO ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. >> I JUST BRIEFLY WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE POINT YOU MENTIONED, JEFF, ABOUT THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MULTIPLE RACES THAT MAY IDENTIFY WITH A WHOLE RANGE OF RACIAL AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES. I DON'T HAVE A PARTICULARLY SAT RESPONSE TO THAT. BUT I CAN OFFER AT LEAST A FEW SUGGESTIONS. WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE WHOLE ARGUMENT ABOUT WHETHER RACE IS A SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT OR NOT, WHICH MANY OTHER BIOLOGISTS AND ANTHROPOLOGISTS, ET CETERA, HAVE DEBATED OVER TIME, I THINK WE GENERALLY ACCEPT THAT RACE IS AT LEAST A PROXY FOR A DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL BACKGROUND AND LIFE AND SOCIAL AND POLITICAL EXPERIENCES EXPERIENCES. SO IN MOVING FORWARD TO HOWEVER MANY YEARS IT'S GOING TO TAKE UNTIL THE MULTIRACIAL IS ACTUALLY THE MAJORITY, I WOULD OFFER THAT WE WOULD STILL NEED TO FOCUS ON THE DIVERSITY OF THAT LIFE EXPERIENCE AND THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCE, AND I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST THAT WE PROBABLY DON'T HAVE A VERY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT EVEN MEANS TO BE MULTIRACIAL. I'M NOT AWARE THAT WE HAVE PARTICULARLY GOOD DATA TO REALLY EVEN SPEAK TO THAT CONCEPT, SO PERHAPS THIS CONVERSATION 20 FEN, 20 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD IS GOING TO FOCUS ON THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF MULTIRACIAL ETHNICITY BACKGROUNDS AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND AND UNTANGLE WHAT THAT REALLY MEANS, WHAT DOES A MULTIRACIAL IDENTITY SIGNIFY, AND HOW DO WE BETTER REPRESENT THAT IN THE WORK THAT WE DO. SO I FELT LIKE WE DIDN'T COME BACK TO THAT REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT YOU RAISED, AND PROBABLY BECAUSE IT'S AWFULLY TOUGH TO DISENTANGLE, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING TO ACTUALLY SORT OF KEEP IN THE BACK OF OUR MINDS BECAUSE HOWEVER WE DEFINED IT, I THINK IT'S REALLY THE FOCUS ON THE LIFE EXPERIENCE THAT'S NOT PARTICULARLY WELL REPRESENTED IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE WORK WITH AND THE WORK THAT WE DO. SO JUST TO OFFER A FEW THOUGHTS. >> I WAS REFLECTING ON THE CHALLENGES OF RECRUITING BOTH A DIVERSE STUDENT BODY TO DENTAL SCHOOL AND ALSO A DIVERSE FACULTY THAT COULD ADEQUATELY MENTOR STUDENTS AND IT'S A REAL CHALLENGE. I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON PIPELINE PROJECT, WITH ADEA, AND THERE'S PROBABLY SOME LESSONS LEARNED THAT YOU COULD LEARN FROM THAT EXPERIENCE, BUT I WOULD SAY DESPITE OF A LOT OF DELIBERATIVE EFFORT AND INVESTMENT, YOU REALLY HAVE TO EXPECT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, BE HAPPY WITH SMALL OUTCOMES. BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A CHAL I CHALLENGING AREA. I THINK THE EARLIER WE CAN INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS TO THINK OF ORAL HEALTH AND DENTISTRY AS A CAREER PATH, THE BETTER WE'LL BE. >> [INAUDIBLE] >> COULD YOU USE TH MICROPHONE OVER HERE TO THE -- I NEED A -- >> GOOD MORNING. I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE NEW -- RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AWARDS FOR DIVERSITY THAT YOU MENTIONED. HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT FROM A TRADITIONAL K AND WHO IS THAT GEARED TOWARDS? >> I'LL BE ADDRESSING THAT IN MY NEXT LITTLE -- WHEN I'M UP ON DECK. SO I CAN GIVE DETAILS ON THAT IN A MOMENT. >> PERFECT SEGUE TO THAT. >> SO I THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL PRESENTATION AND FOR COUNCIL FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT HERE, SO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. [APPLAUSE] >> NEXT ON THE AGENDA, WE HAVE ONE CONCEPT CLEARANCE. AS YOU PROBABLY KNOW, WE ARE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT THE CLEARANCE OF CONCEPTS FOR GRANT AND CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES BY PRESENTING THIS PURPOSE, SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES IN A PUBLIC FORUM, AND GIVING THE PUBLIC AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT. SO DR. KING WILL PRESENT A CONCEPT TODAY FOR A MENTORED RESEARCH SCIENTIST CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD. DRS. -- AND TANNER WILL LEAD THE DISCUSSION. >> SO I ALLUDED TO THIS IN MY PREVIOUS TALK ABOUT WHEN WE WERE -- NIDCR WAS EVALUATING OUR PROGRAMS AND PLANS FOR WHAT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, AND THIS OPPORTUNITY SEEMED LIKE A NATURAL ONE THAT WE COULD IMPLEMENT IMMEDIATELY. THE GOAL OF THIS INITIATIVE IS TO ENHANCE THE DIVERSITY IN THE DENTAL, ORAL AND CRANIOFACIAL WORKFORCE BY PROVIDING AN INDIVIDUAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR EARLY CAREER POSTDOCS AND JUNIOR FACULTY WHO HAVE -- WHO ARE ACADEMIC PH.D.s AND ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. WE'D ALSO LIKE TO INCLUDE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SEEKING TO RE-ENTER THE WORKFORCE IN THIS INITIATIVE WHO HAVE HAD PERHAPS UP TO A YEAR LIE ACTUS IN THEIR RESEARCH CAREER OWING TO A NUMBER OF CIRCUMSTANCES, AND THE GOAL IS TO ENHANCE THEIR PROBABILITY AT SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING AN INDEPENDENT CAREER AND ULTIMATELY WE WOULD LIKE TO DIVERSIFY THE CRANIOFACIAL OR THE DENTAL ORAL AND CRANIOFACIAL W. DR. GARCIA MENTIONED ONE OF THE >> AN IMPORTANT POINT ABOUT THE DIVERSIFICATION OF WORKFORCE IS ALSO TO INCREASE THE -- OR TO BROADEN THE PERSPECTIVE OF INDIVIDUALS IN THAT WORKFORCE, SO IT'S NOT ONLY THIS QUESTION OF THEIR RACE BUT THE WHOLE LIFE EXPERIENCE THAT BROUGHT MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE WITH BRING TO BEAR ON PROBLEMS IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE OTHER POINT IS, AND I HAD MY -- IF YOU RECALL MY PREVIOUS SLIDE ON THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, WE REALLY ARE LOOKING TO ACHIEVE A CONTINUUM OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS TO APPLY FOR BECAUSE WE FIND THAT WHEN INDIVIDUALS HAD THAT GRANT-WRITING EXPERIENCE AT THE INITIAL STAGES, IT HELPS THEM MOVE ALONG IN THE FUNDING STREAM AND DEVELOPING THEIR RESEARCH CAREER. IS THE GAPSO THE GAPS WE SEE IT DOES NOT MIRROR THAT OF THE U.S. POPULATION, AND THAT THIS REALLY IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO ACTIVELY TRY TO ADDRESS AT NIH AND NIDCR, AND THEN THE GAP IS -- WE DON'T HAVE -- WE DON'T HAVE A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUALS AT THE POSTDOCTO AND JUNIOR FACULTY CAREER STAGE TO MOVE TO ADDRESS THAT PIPELINE IN NIDCR FUNDING STREAM. SO BETWEEN THE POSTDOCTORA AND JUNIOR FACULTY, IT'S A MIXED GROUP, WE HAVE NIDCR SUPPORTS BOTH CLINICIANS AND BASIC RESEARCHERS, SO WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CLINICIANS TO APPLY FOR AN INDEPENDENT CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD, WE USE THE KO8 AND THE K23 FOR THIS DEPENDING ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN BASIC OR PATIENT-ORIENTED RESEARCH, BUT THERE IS A MISSING PIECE FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PH.D.s. WE DO NOT HAVE A CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS, SO POSTDOCS OR JUNIOR FACULTY WHO ARE IN NEED OF A MORE MENTORED RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT IN ORDER TO FOSTER THEIR RESEARCH CAREER. SO THE OPPORTUNITY AND AGAIN BRINGING BACK TO WHAT ISABELLE MENTIONED IS THAT WE THINK THAT THE BROADER INCLUSION WILL ACTUALLY BENEFIT THE RESEARCH THAT'S DONE BY NIDCR, AND THAT IF WE PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVLS FROM THESE GROUPS, WE WILL LEAD TO A MORE DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE AND MORE WELL TRAINED WORKFORCE, AND THIS INDIVIDUAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD AT THE POSTDOCTORAL JUNIOR FACULTY STAGE WILL THEN PROVIDE A CONTINUUM OF OPPORTUNITIES EITHER FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN TRANSITION OFF OF A RESEARCH SUPPLEMENT WHICH ARE ADMINISTRATIVE TO SOMEONE ELSE'S RESEARCH PROJECT GRANT OR FOR A POSTDOC, PREDOC MOVING INTO THE POSTDOCTORAL STAGE, WE HAVE A PREDOCTORAL DIVERSITY BUT WE DON'T HAVE A POSTDOCTORAL DIVERSITY AWARD, SO THIS WILL PROVIDE AT LEAST A PATHWAY, A PARTICULAR PATHWAY FOR THOSE INDIVIDUAL AT A SPECIFIC CAREER STAGE. I GUESS AT THAT POINT, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS. THIS AWARD, MAYBE I SHOULD DESCRIBE IT A LITTLE MORE, THE K AWARDS, CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS, ARE THREE TO FIVE YEAR INDEPENDENT AWARDS THEY PROVIDE PROTECTED TIME FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL TO DO RESEARCH, SO IT'S 75% OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL EFFORT HAS TO BE DEVOTED FOR A RESEARCH TRAINING OR CAREER DEVELOPMENT OR EXPERIENCE, AND THESE ARE VERY INDIVIDUAL IN TERMS OF THE APPLICANT'S PREVIOUS RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. SO AN INDIVIDUAL WITH LESS THAN INTENSE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE COULD PROVIDE MORE MENTORSHIP IN THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT, SOMEONE WHO HAS MORE RESEARCH BACKGROUND WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY JUST TO HAVE A VERY INTENSIVE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, THAT COULD HELP THEM MOVE FORWARD, FOR EXAMPLE, TO APPLY FOR AN RO1. AT THAT, I CAN OPEN IT TO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BY DRS. TANNER AND BALCAZAR. >> HOW DO WE INCORPORATE DIVERSITY. I THINK ONE INTERESTING THING I WANT YOU ALL TO PONDER IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF THINKING OF THE WHY THEY DON'T COME TO THIS AGENDA, WHY THESE MINORITY GROUPS DON'T WANT TO COME, MAYBE THEY DON'T WANT TO COME BECAUSE THEY DON'T SEE WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE SOMETIMES, AND THE REASON ONE THING IS SORT OF FASCINATING IS THE FACT THAT OUT OF YOUR 79 FELLOWS THAT YOU SUPPORTED, 36 WHO COMPLETED THE PH.D., NONE OF THEM APPLIED FOR NIH GRANT. SO THIS IS LIKE ON PAGE 4, YOU MENTIONED THAT HERE WHICH IS INTERESTING, WHICH I THINK PROVIDES A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO YOU FOR HAVING A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, AND WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE DIVERSITY FELLOWS THAT ENTER INTO YOUR PROGRAM, WHAT WOULD IT BE TO HAVE A LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF WHAT REALLY TOOK THEM TO ENGAGE IN THAT AND WHY DIDN'T SUPPORT IT LATER ON, WHY DIDN'T MAKE IT, WHY THEY DIDN'T MAKE IT, WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THEY DIDN'T APPLY. THAT'S ONE THING. THE SECONDNE I REALLY DO APPLAUD THE EFFORTS OF THE CONTINUITY OF THE POSTDOC AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE GATE TO SUCCESS, TO BEGIN TO THINK THAT SOME OF THESE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS CAN GO AGAIN, THEY'RE NOT ALL THINKING OF AN RO1, THINKING ABOUT RO3s OR SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN FEEL SUCCESSFUL TO START WITH AND REALLY BUILD THAT LATER ON, BECAUSE WE ASSUME THAT A LOT OF THEM ARE GOING TO GEAR TOWARDS THAT WHICH HOPEFULLY THEY DO DID NOT AT THE BEGINNING, SO I THINK IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO LEARN FROM WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE IN YOUR FELLOWS, MAYBE CREATE A HUB OF LEARNING FROM YOUR FELLOWS AND MAYBE FIND THE WAY -- WE HAVE SEEN A LOT OF THE EXPERIENCE AT THE NATIONAL MINORITY FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES HAVE DONE IS THAT THEY HAVE BASICALLY PROVIDED SOME GRANTS FOR UNIVERSITIES WHERE THEY HAVE A HUB OF MENTORS AND MENTEES WORKING TOGETHER, AND THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT FOR A LONG TIME, AND THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE, THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND AND ADDRESS I AND ONE FOLLOWS THEM FOR SEVERAL YEARS PERHAPS, SO CREATING A WEB OF LIRNING ENVIRONMENT COULD BE EXCITING, HERE TO TRY TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT, AND THEN TO BEGIN TO START THINKING OF HOW ONE CAN ENGAGE THE IDEA OF NOT NECESSARILY COMING FROM THE SAME PIPELINE OF SUPPLEMENTS AS YOU MENTIONED, BUT OTHER VEHICLES WHERE THEY CAN COME IN, AND WHEN THEY COME IN PERHAPS TO THINK OF THE WAY TO GATE TO SUCCESS, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GET SUCCESSFUL, AND WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO BUILD THAT UP, BUT I APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS IN THIS OPPORTUNITY OF CREATING THIS KIND OF A PROGRAM. >> THANK YOU. >> I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THE CONCEPT TO PROVIDE TRAINING -- PROVE TRAINING FOR PH.D. SCIENTISTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS. AS MENTIONED, THIS INITIATIVE ALSO INCLUDES INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY HAVE BEEN SIDELINED FROM THE PIPELINE AND PROVIDE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RE-ENTRY INTO A RESEARCH CAREER. OFTEN FAMILY REASONS -- THE EXAMPLE I THINK OF WHICH IS NOT EXACTLY ANALOGOUS BUT NEVERTHELESS, ONE OF THE PREVIOUS BRILLIANT ASM PRESIDENTS MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN THERE, HAD SHE NOT BEEN RESCUED FOLLOWING A TEENAGE PREGNANCY, POINTING TO THE VALUE OF SENSITIVE MENTORS, PICKING PEOPLE UP AND PUTTING THEM THROUGH A BIT EARLIER THAN BEING TARGETED HERE, BUT AN EXAMPLE. MY EXPOSURE TO RESEARCH INVOLVING UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IS BEING AS AN INVESTIGATOR IN ORAL HEALTH DISPARITY CENTERS WHERE I MET JANE AND MORE RECENTLY ATTENDING QUEST MEETINGS, THIS IS A GROUP THAT'S DIRECT TO IMPROVING THE ORAL HEALTH OF YOUNG AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN WITH ADVANCED CARIES IN THE PRIMARY DENTITION. THROUGH BOTH TEASE GROUPS, I GOT INCREDIBLE TRAINING IN ORAL HEALTH DISPARITY RESEARCH, AND THROUGH THE QUEST GROUP, I GUESS, THE -- CARRIES AMERICAN INDIAN IS PROBABLY WORSE THAN ANYTHING I HEARD ABOUT IN THE ORAL HEALTH DISPARITY CENTERS. BUT AS I CONSIDER THE GROUP, THE PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN THESE CENTERS WERE MAINLY NON-MINORITIES, AND WHEN THEY WERE MINORITIES, THEY WERE VIRTUALLY ALL CLINICIANS. IN THE ORAL HEALTH DISPARITY GROUP, THERE WERE DENTISTS, IF THEY WERE MINORITIES, AND FOR THE QUEST, AMERICAN INDIANS, THERE WERE PEDIATRICIANS WHO WERE TREATING THE CHILDREN WHO NOTICED THE DENTAL C RA. I SE. THERE WERE PRACTICALLY NO PH.D. TRAINED SCIENTISTS IN THE GROUP. YET IT SEEMED TO ME AS POINTED OUT, THERE WOULD BE JUST THE PEOPLE TO BEST UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE TARGET POPULATIONS FOR GOOD RESEARCH APPROACHES AND OUTCOMES. AS A POST SCRIPT IF YOU LIKE, WE TALKED ABOUT WOMEN. I WAS THE FIRST SENIOR FACULTY MEMBER AT FORESIGHT FOR 10 YEARS ISSMENTS AMAZING TO SEE THE DIFFERENCES THAT HAVE HAPPENED OVER TIME, AND I FEEL HO -- HORRENDOUS STORIES ABOUT GETTING THERE AND I ALWAYS USED TO TALK ABOUT MINE, ABSOLUTELY, WHEN PEOPLE SAY DO YOU WANT TO DO IT, BUT I JUST WOULD LIKE IT TO APPLAUD THE CHANGES THAT ARE GOING ON. IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE. >> JUST A QUICK QUESTION, IF WE HAVE A MINUTE. IT WAS JUST -- I FOUND IT INTERESTING TO CALL OUT FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT HAD HAD A HIATUS FROM SCIENCE, AND I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE DATA ON THAT AND WHETHER OR NOT THE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUPS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO REACH HAVE A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE EVENTS SUCH AS THAT, AND WHAT THAT DATA MIGHT BE. >> SO MAYBE IT'S NOT CLEAR, FOR THE RE-ENTRY, THAT'S TO ANYBODY. THAT'S NOT TO ONLY INDIVIDUALS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. NO GENDER OR RACIAL, ETHNIC DISADVANTAGED OR DISABILITY CRITERIA FOR THAT IS ON ANY INDIVIDUAL. MEDICAL, FAMILY, PERSONAL, WHATEVER REASONS. IT'S JUST -- THERE IS THIS GAP THAT IF YOU'VE HAD A RESEARCH CAREER AND YOU HAD A GAP FOR A YEAR OR SO, HOW DO YOU RE-ENTER AND BE COMPETITIVE, SO YOU MAY NEED AN EXPERIENCE TO BRUSH UP ON YOUR RESEARCH SKILLS AND GET YOU COMPETITIVE AGAIN AND CURRENTLY THERE IS NO OPPORTUNITY FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO APPLY FOR AN AWARD TO HELP THEMSELVES ALONG. AGAIN WE HAVE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPLEMENTS THAT -- BUT THEN YOU NEED A MENTOR WHO'S FUNDED AND YOU HAVE TO DO RESEARCH WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THEIR FUNDED GRANT. SO I LIKE THE IDEA OF INDIVIDUAL AWARDS, IT PROVIDES AN INDIVIDUAL PATHWAY, SO -- AND I HEAR PATHWAY A LOT AND I THINK IT'S REALLY A KEY POINT. WE NEED TO IDENTIFY THE PATHWAYS OF -- PATHWAYS AND MAKE THAT PLURAL TO HOW TO HELP AN INDIVIDUAL SUCCEED. NIH DOESN'T ALWAYS -- WE DON'T WORK THAT MUCH AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL BUT WE TRIED TO OUTREACH, SO WHERE ALONG THAT PATHWAY CAN WE BE MOST EFFECTIVE GIVEN OUR RESOURCES AND OUR POPULATION AND OUR GOALS. AND THEN WHAT CAN WE TARGET, WHAT CAN WE PROVIDE, SO HERE'S A CLEAR GAP FOR PH.D.s AT THE POSTDOC JUNIOR FACULTY LEVEL, PROVIDES AN INDIVIDUAL OPPORTUNITY, NOW LET'S -- THE BURDEN IS TO REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND SHOW THEM THIS IS HOW YOU CAN DO IT, THIS IS HOW WE CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE THAT CAREER OR DO BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH THAT WILL HELP OUR MISSION IN ORAL HEALTH. >> I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE PATHWAY IN THE PIPELINE, I THINK THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVE. MAYBE SOMEONE WHO'S HERE FROM ADEA MAY HAVE THE SPECIFIC STATISTICS BUT I HEARD RECENTLY THAT THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS TO DENTAL SCHOOL THIS CURRENT YEAR FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES HAS DECREASED, THAT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT'S HAPPENED IN A LONG TIME. AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S SIMILAR DATA FOR PEOPLE APPLYING TO GRADUATE SCHOOL BE, PH.D. PROGRAMS, BUT IT IS A POTENTIAL CONCERN FOR FUTURE CLINICIAN SCIENTISTS >> I DON'T REMEMBER, RECALL OFFHAND THE DATA ON APPLYING FOR PH.D. PROGRAMS IN TERMS OF DIVERSITY. WHEN NIH -- NIH RECENTLY DID AN ANALYSIS OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS, AND DR. BENNETT MENTIONED THAT UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS ACHIEVE FACULTY POSITIONS AT THE SAME RATE, SO THERE'S NO DIFFERENCE IN ACHIEVING A TENURED POSITION, BUT WHAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IS, ONCE INDIVIDUALS HAVE A FACULTY POSITION, FEWER -- THE UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES DO NOT APPLY FOR GRANTS, SO DISPROPORTIONATELY. IT'S NOT ADDRESSING THE SAME P IN THE PIPELINE BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE DATA IN FRONT OF ME. AS DR. BENNETT MENTIONED, A LOT OF OUR DATA COMES FROM NSF, WHICH IS REQUIRED -- IT'S A FEDERAL MANDATE TO -- THEY HAVE A FEDERAL MANDATE TO GATHER THAT DATA ON DIVERSITY AT THE GRADUATE, AND THEN WE MATCH IT TO NIH DATABASES, SO THEY KNOW MORE THE GRADUATE AND THE POSTDOCTORAL LEVEL. AND I DON'T RECALL ABOUT THE END. >> I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC INFORMATION, DR. WEINTRAUB. I'M WITH THE AMERICAN DENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION. THIS YEAR WE DID HAVE A DECREASE IN THE APPLICATIONS, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE THE FACT THAT THERE'S MORE DENTAL SCHOOLS SO THERE'S MAYBE LESS FIRST-TIME -- OR THERE'S LESS SECOND AND THIRD TIME APPLICANTS TO THE DENTAL SCHOOLS, BUT WHAT WE DID SEE IS THAT WHEN IT CAME TO THE ADVANCED DENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM, THAT THERE WAS AN INCREASE. SO EACH THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF DECREASE ON THE PREDOC, ON THE POSTDOC, WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE. >> IF I RECALL, A LOT OF YOUR DATA IS ONLINE. >> YES, WE HAVE A DASHBOARD, WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE ANALYSIS RIGHT NOW, SO I WOULD SAY THE BIG PUSH IS FOR OUR ANNUAL SESSION, WHICH IS IN MARCH IN SAN ANTONIO. THE PUSH IS TO HAVE A LOT OF THAT DATA AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE. >> THANK YOU. >> OKAY. WE NEED TO VOTE ON WHETHER TO APPROVE THIS CONCEPT. WOULD A COUNCILMEMBER LIKE TO -- SECOND? ALL IN FAVOR? ANY OPPOSED? OKAY. THANK YOU. WE'RE FINISHED A LITTLE BIT EARLY. WE WILL RESUME A AT 1:00, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK I CAN GET DR. CHIA ON THE PHONE EARLY BECAUSE HE'S AT A CONFERENCE BUT I CAN TRY. AND AS EVERYONE KNOWS, THERE'S A CAFETEA AND A CONVENIENCE STORE DOWNSTAIRS FOR LUNCH ITEMS, COUNCILMEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO USE THE ROOM NEXT DOOR TO GATHER FOR LUNCH AND WE'LL SEE YOU -- OH, AND STAFF MEMBERS, WE DON'T THINK THE REPORT IS GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN ABOUT TWEB MINUTES, SO YOU SHOULD BE READY TO COME BACK IN 20 MINUTES AFTER WE START.