>>WELCOME, EVERYONE, TO THE OPEN SESSION OF OUR 213th MEETING OF THE NANDS COUNCIL. A COUPLE ANNOUNCEMENTS, DR. RILEY GOT OFFICIALLY APPROVED AS OFFICIAL NINDS COUNCIL MEMBER, SINCE WE LAST MET. APOLOGIES FOR HOW LONG THAT TOOK. THANKS FOR DOING ALL THE PAPERWORK. >> I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE. >> I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY. YEAH, OKAY. A LITTLE BIT OF SAD NEWS. PEOPLE MAY HAVE HEARD BOB FINKELSTEIN HAD A BIKE ACCIDENT WHILE ON VACATION SO LEASE HE'S NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO JOIN US. HE'S GETTING BETTER. A LOT OF PAIN AFTER THOSE THINGS, I CAN CERTAINLY ATTEST TO THAT. EXPECTED TO MAKE A FULL RECOVERY, AS FAR AS WE KNOW IT'S ALL BONES. THEY DO WELL. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING HIM BACK. BUT DAVE OWENS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR DIVISION OF EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES, IS STEPPING IN IN BOB'S PLACE, AND WILL BE RUNNING THE COUNCIL MEETING. AND LASTLY, I WANT TO JUST THANK HOLLY, SUSAN, DAVID, AND KAREN FOR AGREEING TO EXTEND THEIR TIME ON COUNCIL THROUGH THIS MEETING WHILE WE AWAIT THE SECRETARY'S APPROVAL FOR THE NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS. HOPEFULLY IT WILL HAPPEN AND THIS LOOK YOUR LAST MEETING. WE APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT ON COUNCIL OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE. WE'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF RESPITE AND DO SOMETHING ELSE. ENJOY IT WHILE YOU CAN. THANKS SO MUCH, GUYS. AND I THINK THAT WAS IT FOR MY OPENING STATEMENTS, AND LET ME HAND IT OVER TO DAVE. >> THANKS, WALTER. AND GOOD TO SEE EVERYONE. I'LL BE SITTING IN FOR BOB FOR THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS. I'LL DO MY BEST TO CHANNEL BOB, BUT WE'LL SEE. YEAH, OUR LATEST INDICATION HE'S VERY MUCH ON THE MEND AND HE DOES WANT -- DID WANT ME TO THANK EVERYONE FOR WELL WISHES AND GIFTS HE'S RECEIVED. SO, I WILL JUST MOVE FORWARD WITH THE USUAL BUSINESS BEFORE WE GET TO WALTER'S TALK. AND SO AGAIN THE MEETING IS VIDEOCAST. WE WILL BE LIVE. IT WILL BE ARCHIVED. AND I THINK NOW, THIS HAS BEEN OUR FOURTH OR FIFTH MEETING DONE VIA ZOOM SO WE'RE ALL -- WE COULD ALL SAY WE'RE PROS AT THIS POINT. I DO WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE IT WOULD BE GREAT TO KEEP YOUR CAMERAS ON. IF YOU DO WANT TO ASK A QUESTION, EITHER RAISE YOUR ACTUAL HAND OR USE YOUR ZOOM HAND. AND WE WILL BE TAKING VOTES VIA THE CHAT. >> RECORDING IN PROGRESS. >> YOU COULD PUT YES, NO, OR ABSTAIN IN THE CHAT WHEN KELLY ENTERS THE MOTION. OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING, THEY ARE IN YOUR COUNCIL BOOK IN THE FIRST POSTING SECTION, IN THE GENERAL INFO TAB, SORRY, AND SO UNLESS THERE IS A DISCUSSION OF THOSE MINUTES OR QUESTIONS ON THEM, THOSE MINUTES, COULD I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE? >> SO MOVED. >> SECOND? OKAY. AND LET'S VOTE. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN GET OUR FIRST VOTE. LOOKS GOOD. IT LOOKS UNANIMOUS. SO VERY GOOD. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. OUR NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS IS OUR FUTURE COUNCIL DATES, ALSO IN THE GENERAL INFORMATION TAB. AND THESE TAKE US OUT TO 2023. I DO WANT TO NOTE THESE ARE ALL WEDNESDAYS AND THURSDAYS. AND AS YOU SAW FOR THE PRESENT COUNCIL WE DID HAVE TO SHIFT. BUT WE'LL KEEP THOSE. AND I THINK REALLY THE KEY THING IS LOOK AT THOSE DATES, BLOCK THEM IN YOUR CALENDARS, AND IF THERE IS AN ISSUE DO LET US KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. AND THEN I WANT TO MOVE TO EXPEDITED REVIEW. THIS IS A PROCESS WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY GET GRANTS OUT BEFORE COUNCIL. WHAT WE DO IS WE HAVE THREE DESIGNATED COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WILL ACTUALLY APPROVE A SUBSET OF GRANTS, EXPEDITED GRANTS. THESE TEND TO BE R01 GRANTS, ALL USUALLY WITHIN PAYLINE, NO ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES THAT WOULD HOLD UP THE AWARD. SO WE ROTATE THAT RESPONSIBILITY ON A YEARLY BASIS AMONGST COUNCIL MEMBERS. SO WE DO WANT TO THANK CLAUDIA, TOM AND SAMIR FOR AGREEING TO TAKE ON THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE YEAR. JUST TO PUT IN PERSPECTIVE IN ITEMS OF NUMBERS, WE HAD 62 APPLICATIONS ELIGIBLE TO BE EXPEDITED FOR THIS PRESENT COUNCIL. AND I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE STAND IN THAT QUEUE AND HOW MANY HAVE GONE OUT THE DOOR BUT THIS IS A PROCESS WHERE WE CAN DEFINITELY GET AHEAD OF THINGS TO GET AWARDS STARTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I'D LIKE TO FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE NINDS GRANT MANAGEMENT BRANCH INTEGRAL IN GETTING THESE GRANTS OUT THE DOOR. IF IT WASN'T FOR THEM WE COULDN'T GET OUT OF THE SCHEDULE. THANKS TO THEM. ALSO I'D LIKE TO THEN EXTEND THAT THANKS TO ANNA TAYLOR, WHO HAS BEEN ACTING CHIEF OF GMB FOR SOME TIME NOW. SO, MY FINAL ORDER OF BUSINESS, WE USED TO DO, WE WOULD INTRODUCE NEW STAFF MEMBERS OR STAFF MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN PROMOTED. BUT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IS PUT UP A SLIDE WHICH WILL LIST THESE INDIVIDUALS, EITHER PROMOTIONS OR NEW MEMBERS OF STAFF. WITHIN YOUR COUNCIL BOOK, THERE WAS A SECTION WITH DETAILED BIOGRAPHIES OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN READING AND FINDING OUT ABOUT THESE FOLKS. I BELIEVE THAT IS MY FINAL ORDER OF BUSINESS. I CAN PASS IT BACK TO WALTER. >> THANKS VERY MUCH, DAVID. ANY QUESTIONS, FOLKS? OKAY. SO I'M GOING TO GIVE MY DIRECTOR'S REPORT. AND TO TRY AND MAKE IT MORE VALUABLE I PRE-RECORDED IT. HOPEFULLY THAT MAKES IT GO KIND OF IN A MORE ORGANIZED FASHION. BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS I'M GOING TO BE ASKING HOPEFULLY PEOPLE TO HAVE COMMENTS UPON, ONE IS THE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROGRAM AGENCY FOR HEALTH, PROPOSED IN THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET. THE OTHER IS THE SECOND PHASE OF RESEARCH IN THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FOR PARKINSON'S, THIRD ONE WAS THINGS THAT WOULD ADVANCE BASIC FUNDAMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE OUT OF NINDS. WE DO A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, WORK PARTICULARLY ADVANCING SCIENCE IN DISEASE AREAS, AND WE REALLY WANT TO THINK HARD, ARE WE MISSING SOMETHING THAT WE COULD BE DOING TO ADVANCE THE BASIC PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO. SO THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS AS THE REPORT IS PLAYED TO YOU. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE OPEN QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS AFTERWARDS. >> WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER 2021. I'M DR. WALTER KOROSHETZ, PLEASED TO GIVE YOU THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT. FIRST I WANT TO TALK ABOUT SOME LEADERSHIP CHANGES GOING ON AT NIH, DR. MICHAEL GOTTESMAN, AFTER 28 YEARS OF SERVICE IN ROLE AS HEAD OF INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, IS STEPPING DOWN, NIH IS LAUNCHING A NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR HIS REPLACEMENT. MARIE BERNARD, WHO WAS THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGING, WAS NAMED NIH CHIEF OFFICER FOR SCIENCE WORKFORCE DIVERSITY. AND CHRIS AUSTIN, NEUROLOGIST, WHO WAS RUNNING THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR ADVANCING TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCES, HAS LEFT NIH, STEPPED DOWN, AND JONI RUTTER IS SERVING AS ACTING DIRECTOR. AT NINDS WE'RE PLEASED MARY ANN HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS EXECUTIVE OFFICER, JOINED NIH IN 1997, JOINED NINDS IN 2009 AS DEPUTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SERVED AS ACTING EXECUTIVE OFFICER ON TWO OCCASIONS, EXPERT IN ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT, COMPLEX PERSONNEL ISSUES, ADVOCATE FOR DISABILITY HIRING. WE'RE LUCKY TO HAVE MARY ANN WORKING FOR US. THANKS SO MUCH, MARY ANN. I START WITH A PICTURE OF THE BUDGET. I CAN SHOW YOU HERE IN 2018, 19, 2020, 2021, BUT FOR 2022, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY, WE DON'T HAVE A BUDGET YET. SO WE'RE OPERATING UNDER THREE POSSIBILITIES. ONE IS CONTINUING RESOLUTION IN WHICH WE'RE OPERATING NOW ACTUALLY. THAT'S A ZERO PERCENT INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR. THE HOUSE MARK IS 6.2% INCREASE. THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET IS A 5.4% INCREASE. WE DON'T KNOW WHICH OF THESE WE'RE GOING TO GET AT THIS POINT. WE HAVE TO PREPARE FOR THE WORST CASE SCENARIO. I SHOULD SAY THESE NUMBERS HERE IN THIS ROW DO NOT INCLUDE MONEY FOR THE HEAL INITIATIVE, BRAIN INITIATIVE OR CURES ACT ALTHOUGH THERE IS AN INCREASE IN OUR BASE THAT'S TARGETED FOR PAIN RESEARCH THAT'S OUTSIDE OF " HEAL." THAT'S ABOUT $42 MILLION. NOW, IF ONE LOOKS AT FUNDING INCLUDING "BRAIN," INCLUDING THE CURES ACT MONEY WHICH GOES TO "BRAIN," INCLUDING THE HEAL INITIATIVE MONEY, ONE CAN SEE THAT UNDER BOTH THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET AND HOUSE MARK, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OVER 10% IN THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET TO NINDS, AND NOTE THAT BOTH THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET AND HOUSE BUDGET INCLUDES $43 MILLION FOR PAIN RESEARCH IN OUR BASE BUDGET, AND THAT'S OUTSIDE THE INCREASE THAT COMES FROM THE HEAL INITIATIVE. LOOKING TOWARDS 2022, WE ARE -- WE WOULD BE EXTREMELY TIGHT IF WE GOT A CONTINUING RESOLUTION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. IN FACT, WE'D BE ABOUT $24.7 MILLION SHORT. WE'D HAVE TO MAKE THAT UP EITHER BY TRIMMING NON-COMPETING OR NOT INVESTING IN, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS, HPPs, HIGH PROGRAM PRIOR GRANTS, BRIDGES, SUPPLEMENTS, HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE UP FOR ABOUT $24 MILLION. IF WE GET THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, WE THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY HOLD THE 14 PERCENTILE. REMEMBER, THIS INCLUDES OF THE INCREASE IN THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, ABOUT 40% OF IT IS IS TARGETED FOR PAIN RESEARCH. NOW, THE REASON THE PAYLINE IS NOT MOVING IS PRIMARILY BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS IS GOING UP. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, BETWEEN 1920 AND 21 WE SEE STEADY RISE IN APPLICATIONS, SO PERCENTILE SCORES, DENOMINATORS, THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS, ALSO THE COST OF GRANTS HAS GONE UP. AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, 18, 19, 20, 21, THE COST OF THE AVERAGE GRANT IS GOING UP EACH YEAR. AND IT'S AN INCREASE, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERABLE INCREASE BETWEEN 20 AND 21. AND IT'S PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY THE INCREASE IN THE NON-MODULAR COST OF GRANTS. NOW, I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WHEN IT LOOKS AT COST ONE HAS TO THINK ABOUT INFLATION. MICHAEL LAUER DID THIS INTERESTING ANALYSIS COMING OUT IN PUBLICATION AT SOME POINT, LOOKING AT THE COST OF GRANTS AND YEARLY NUMBERS THAT WE REPORT OUT HERE IN THE PINK LINE, BUT THEN ADJUSTED FOR BRDPI, INFLATION RATE FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. DURING THE DOUBLING THERE WAS INCREASE IN MEAN COST OF GRANTS, AND THEN IT CAME DOWN, DURING THAT FLATTENING WAS FLAT, AND THEN STARTED TO GO UP. WE'RE SEEING A SLIGHT INCREASE NOW IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS SINCE OUR BUDGETS IMPROVED. IN ACTUAL FACT, WE'RE IN TERMS OF REAL DOLLARS, INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS, RIGHT NOW WHERE WE ARE IN 2020, SAME PLACE WE WERE IN 1995. SO THIS INCREASE IS REALLY CONSTANT WITH WHAT ONE MIGHT EXPECT FROM INFLATION. WHAT HAS CHANGED, THE NUMBER PERCENT OF SOLICITED PROJECTS AND THEIR FUNDING. SO, DURING THE PERIOD OF THE DOUBLING THERE WERE MORE AND MORE SOLICITED PROJECTS, AND THEN THEY KIND OF FLATTENED OUT DURING THOSE LEAN YEARS. BUT NOW THEY ARE STARTING TO GO UP AGAIN. AND SIMILARLY, THE COST OF THESE SOLICITED PROJECTS, SOLICITED FUNDING THAT GOES WITH THESE SOLICITED PROJECTS, IS ACTUALLY GOING UP PRETTY HIGH, ALMOST TO 50% OF THE NIH BUDGET. AND FOR US, THESE SOLICITED PROJECTS, BRAIN INITIATIVE, HEAL INITIATIVE, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIA, PAIN-TARGETED FUNDING, SO ALL THE TARGETED FUNDING IS DRIVING UP THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY GOING TO -- IT'S CALLED SOLICITED FUNDING AS OPPOSED TO INVESTIGATOR INITIATED RESPONSE TO PARTICULAR RFA. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE BREAKDOWN NOW BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF OUR PORTFOLIO, BASIC BEING RESEARCH THAT'S UNCOVERING MYSTERIES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL WORKINGS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM THAT'S DISEASE AGNOSTIC, BASIC MECHANISTIC, APPLIED IS GOING TOWARD DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPIES, APPLIED CLINICAL IS TESTING CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS IN PATIENTS. AND AS PEOPLE MAY REMEMBER, THERE WAS THIS VERY SHARP DECLINE IN OUR BASIC BASIC RESEARCH, FUNDAMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, AND WE DID A BUNCH OF THINGS TO TRY TO STOP THAT, WHICH WAS SUCCESSFUL. WE WERE ABLE TO PREVENT THE DROP. SINCE THEN WE'VE BEEN PRETTY MUCH FLAT WITH SOME INCREASE OCCURRING MORE RECENTLY. THE DECLINE IN THE BASIC/BASIC RESEARCH WAS DRIVEN BY INCREASE IN BASIC MECHANISMS OF DISEASE RESEARCH THAT OCCURRED AS BETTER TOOLS FOR DISEASE RESEARCH APPEARED. THIS IS OUR CLINICAL RESEARCH, WHICH IS ACTUALLY LOWER THAN WHAT WE'D SEEN IN THE PAST IN OUR TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE NOW QUITE ROBUST, BUT STILL, YOU KNOW, SMALL PERCENTAGE OF OUR RESEARCH, WHICH IS MOSTLY BASIC RESEARCH. JUST SHOWN HERE BLOWN UP YOU CAN SEE WE'RE PRETTY MUCH FLAT IN TERMS OF BASIC/BASIC RESEARCH, SLIGHT INCREASE IN TRANSLATIONAL LATELY, SLIGHT DECREASE IN CLINICAL. AND IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS THAT THE BRAIN INITIATIVE IS REALLY HEAVILY ON THE BASIC RESEARCH SIDE SO IF YOU LOOK AT ALL OUR RESEARCH IN THE GREEN BOX AND TAKE AWAY THE BRAIN RESEARCH, YOU'RE SEEING THE SAME GENERAL PATTERNS, ALTHOUGH BASIC RESEARCH NOW IS DEPRESSED, COMPARED TO WHAT IT IS WITH BRAIN INITIATIVE. AND THE DISEASE BASIC RESEARCH IS ELEVATED BECAUSE MOST OF THE -- SOME BRAIN RESEARCH THAT'S DISEASE RELATED, SOME CLINICAL, SOME TRANSLATIONAL, BUT THE MAJORITY IS BASIC RESEARCH. SO, WE'VE CHALLENGED THE PROGRAM DIRECTORS TO TRY TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE WE MISSING IN TERMS OF MECHANISMS OR THE RESEARCH RESOURCES OR OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE COULD PUT IN PLAY TO ADVANCE FUNDAMENTAL NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH. THERE'S A GROUP THAT'S ACTIVELY ANALYZING LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS, AND THEY WILL BE HOLDING WORKSHOPS AND GETTING INPUT FROM THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO FORCE AND CATALYZE AND PRIORITIZE OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE OF NERVOUS SYSTEM WHICH IS REALLY THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL WE DO. SO IF PEOPLE HAVE SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE SEND THEM IN. BOB RIDDLE LEADING THE GROUP, LYN JAKEMAN DIVISION DIRECTORY FOR DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE ALSO LEADING THIS GROUP. I WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK THE STAFF AT NINDS WHO HAVE BEEN REALLY WORKING EXTREMELY HARD IN CHALLENGING SITUATIONS, WORKING AT HOME DURING A PUBLIC HEALTH ENERGY. HANDLE BIGGER BUDGETS, MORE APPLICATIONS, MORE TOTAL GRANTS, ISSUED MORE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, HELD LOTS OF MEETINGS AND MANAGED CLEARLY EVERY YEAR NEW ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR HELPING US AND NINDS REALLY NOT REALLY LOSING STEP IN THE WORK THAT WE DO IN FUNDING RESEARCH AROUND THE COUNTRY. I WANT TO NOW POINT OUT THIS REALLY AMAZING PROGRAM THAT SHY SILVERBERG AND DEVON ARE LEADING. NINDS HAS TAKEN A LEADERSHIP ROLE TO IMPROVE RIGOR OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS. THIS IS THE NEXT STEP. IT'S AN AMBITIOUS ONE. WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING TO FUND GROUPS THAT WILL DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS THAT WILL IMPROVE EXPERIMENTAL RIGOR, THIS COULD BE TARGETED TRAINEES, BUT I THINK ALL LABORATORIES COULD PROBABLY BENEFIT, YOU KNOW, JUST AS WE PHYSICIANS DO CONTINUING EDUCATION EVERY YEAR, THIS WOULD BE THE EQUIVALENT FOR BASIC LABORATORY RESEARCH. AND ALSO CREATING COORDINATING CENTER THAT WOULD VALIDATE AND TEST THESE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS. AND THEN TRYING TO DISSEMINATE THROUGH CHAMPIONS OF RIGOR AROUND THE COUNTRY. SO, APPLICATIONS ARE DUE OCTOBER 21. SO PLEASE TALK THIS UP AND SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME REALLY INTERESTING AND HELPFUL EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS THROUGH THIS APPLICATION PROCESS. I WANTED TO MENTION IN THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET THERE IS FUNDING FOR A NEW AGENCY CALLED ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECT AGENCY WITHIN NIH, I THINK THAT'S MOST LIKELY WHERE IT WILL END UP. IT'S CALLED ARPA-H. IT'S THOUGHT TO BE A PARALLEL TO THE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECT AGENCY IN DoD CALLED DARPA. AND THEY OPERATE DIFFERENTLY THAN WE DO IN CURRENT NIH MECHANISMS. IT'S MUCH MORE TOP-DOWN. THERE'S THE GROUP THAT RUNS IT, DECIDES ON WHICH PROJECTS ARE HIGH PRIORITY. PROGRAM DIRECTORS ARE HEAVILY MANAGING THESE PROJECTS. THEY DO CALL FOR APPLICATIONS, THE FUNDING GOES OUT QUICKLY. THE FUNDING IS MOVED FROM ONE PROJECT TO ANOTHER, FROM ONE GROUP TO ANOTHER, DEPENDING ON THE SUCCESS RATES. AND IT'S ABLE TO PRODUCE SOME, YOU KNOW, AMAZING RESULTS OVER TWO OR THREE YEARS OF FUNDING. WE WORK, FOR INSTANCE, WITH A DARPA ARM, PROSTHETIC ARM BUILT BY DARPA, AMAZING DIGITAL CONTROL. AND WE WITH DARPA MADE IT AVAILABLE TO OUR RESEARCHERS TO DEVELOP INTERFACES. SO THESE KIND OF PROJECTS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO WORK WELL IN THE DARPA SYSTEM, AND NOW THE QUESTION IS WHAT WOULD ARPA-H LOOK LIKE. SO THIS IS BEING PUT TOGETHER BY FOLKS IN THE WHITE HOUSE AT THIS POINT. AND THERE ARE LISTENING TOURS, ONE LAST COUPLE WEEKS AGO ON NEUROSCIENCE, AND IF PEOPLE HAVE IDEAS ON WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS THEY THINK THAT SHOULD BE TACKLED IN THIS KIND OF MORE OF A TOP-DOWN MANAGEMENT MECHANISM, PLEASE LET US KNOW. I'D BE HAPPY TO PASS THOSE ALONG TO THE PEOPLE IN OSTP. WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS ARPA-H MAY BE BEST ABLE TO MOVE ON? HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGING WITH THESE OPPORTUNITIES? HARD TO KNOW WHAT CHALLENGES YOU FORESEE BUT WITH EXPERIENCE WITH DARPA THERE MAY BE SOMETHING THERE. WE TALKED IN THE PAST WITH POST-ACUTE SEQUELAE OF COVID, A LARGE NEUROLOGICAL COMPONENT WITH IN A TEEING, INABILITY TO PROCESS INFORMATION QUICKLY, MAKE DECISIONS QUICKLY. PEOPLE IN THE PUBLIC VENUES CALL IT BRAIN FOG. TROUBLE WITH SLEEP, HEADACHES, PAIN SYNDROMES ARE REALLY THE MOST PREDOMINANT TROUBLES AFFECTING FOLKS AFTER THEY HAD COVID. AND UNFORTUNATELY EVEN PEOPLE NEVER HOSPITALIZED, CERTAINLY WORSE THAN THOSE HOSPITALIZED, BUT THE BIG SURPRISE WAS THIS OCCURRING IN PEOPLE NEVER HOSPITALIZED. SO THIS PROGRAM, WHICH IS APPROPRIATED $1.15 BILLION BY CONGRESS TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND THE BIOLOGICAL CAUSES AND HOPEFULLY TREATMENTS FOR THIS CONDITION IS LAUNCHING NOW. WE HAVE DATA CENTERS, COORDINATING CENTERS. WE HAVE COHORTS THAT WILL ENROLL UP TO 15,000 PEOPLE, FOLLOWING THEM OVER TIME. SOME OF THEM INFECTED WITH COVID NOW, FOLLOWING HOW THEY RECOVER. OTHERS INFECTED IN THE PAST, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE WITH PERSISTENT SYMPTOMS DIFFER FROM THOSE WHO MADE A FULL RECOVERY. WE HAVE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD STUDIES ABLE TO FOLLOW MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OVER TIME, WHO HAD COVID, SEEING WHAT TYPE OF MEDICAL PROBLEMS COME UP OVER TIME. AND THEN ALSO AUTOPSY STUDIES TO SEE IF THE VIRUS IS STILL PRESENT IN THE BRAIN, IS THERE EVIDENCE OF AUTOIMMUNE ATTACK IN DIFFERENT ORGANS. SO THIS IS A VERY AMBITIOUS PROGRAM, MOVING QUICKLY, HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET ANSWERS FAST ENOUGH AND TEST THEM IN CLINICAL TRIALS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES. ANOTHER MAJOR PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WE'RE INVOLVED IN IS THE ACCELERATED MEDICINE PARTNERSHIP WITH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT GROUPS, INCLUDING MICHAEL J. FOX, ASAP, AND ALSO MULTIPLE INDUSTRY PARTNERS, AND THIS WAS PUT TOGETHER AND IS RUN BY DEB BABCOCK AT NINDS. THE PLAN INITIALLY WAS TO HARMONIZE CLINICAL AND BIOMARKER DATA FROM THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. AND IT'S REALLY BEEN QUITE AMAZING TO SEE WHAT HAS BEEN PRODUCED. THERE HAVE BEEN EIGHT COHORTS WITH THOUSANDS OF PARTICIPANTS NOW. THEY COME FROM NIH-FUNDED PROJECTS, THE HARVARD BIOMARKER STUDY, MICHAEL J. FOX'S PARKINSON'S PROGRESSION INITIATIVE, LEWY BODY DEMENTIA CASES, SOME CLINICAL TRIAL CASES. AND WE HAVE PROTEOMICS, TRANSCRIPTOMICS FROM THE BLOOD, WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING, AND CLINICAL DATA, AND THE PROTEOMICS COMES FROM NOT JUST BLOOD BUT SPINAL FLUID AS WELL. SO ALL THIS DATA IS NOW IN A DATA PORTAL BUILT BY THE VEER VERILY CORPORATION, OFFSHOOT OF GOOGLE, MINING THE DATA, AND WHAT PRACTICE PROBLEMS WE'RE WORKING ON, SINGLE CELL ANALYSIS OF BRAIN NEURONS AND GLIA, LOOKING AT INFLAMMATION IN PARKINSON'S, LOOKING AT OTHER BIOMARKERS THAT MAY BE USEFUL IN PHASE 2 STUDIES TO SHOW THAT A DRUG IS ACTUALLY HITTING A TARGET OR AT LEAST DEMONSTRATING PROOF OF PRINCIPLE. THESE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT INDUSTRY FOLKS AND WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN, IN GETTING PHASE 2 TRIALS GOING IN PARKINSON'S. WE MENTIONED IN THE PAST, WE'RE NOW ABOUT TO LEASE RELEASE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ULTRA RARE GENE NETWORK, BY NINA SCHOR, TO DEVELOP A GROUP TO GET GENE THERAPIES INTO PATIENTS, PARTICULARLY CHILDREN, WITH REALLY TRAGIC RARE NEUROLOGIC DISORDERS. WE'VE CERTAINLY SEEN SUCCESSES WITH SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY AND WE WANT TO ACCELERATE THAT PROCESS OF GETTING MORE DISEASES TESTED IN TERMS OF EITHER ANTISENSE THERAPIES, TO KNOCK OUT A HARMFUL GENE, OR GENE PRODUCT, OR ACTUALLY REPLACING A MUTATION. SO REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS KIND OF SECOND REALLY EXCITING SECOND PHASE I THINK IN THERAPEUTICS FOR NEUROLOGIC DISORDERS. IN TERMS OF TREATMENTS, A NEW PROGRAM IS ALSO COMING OUT, APPLICATIONS DUE OCTOBER 20 FOR THE CENTRAL ORGANIZING GROUP THAT'S GOING TO BE WORKING TO DEVELOP DEVICES TO TREAT NEUROSCIENCE, CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE PROBLEMS. THIS IS A BLUEPRINT PROJECT, SO IT WOULD CATER TO DISORDERS IN ANY OF THE NEUROSCIENCE INSTITUTES AT NIH WHO FORM THIS BLUEPRINT TO COORDINATE NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH. AND THEN IT HAS THIS PHASE WHICH WILL BE RUN BY A MedTech TRANSLATOR WORKING WITH GROUPS TO GET THEIR DEVICES TO THE POINT WHERE THEY CAN COMPETE FOR LARGER FUNDING THAT WOULD GO IN HOPEFULLY AT THE END OF THE FIRST-IN-HUMAN STUDY. SO, VERY SIMILAR TO THE BLUEPRINT NEUROTHERAPEUTICS PROGRAM FOR SMALL MOLECULES OR BIOLOGICS, THIS ONE IS FOR DEVICES AND LED HEAVILY AT NINDS BY NICK LANGELSON AND COLLEAGUES FROM NIBIB. THE BRAIN INITIATIVE CONTINUES TO AMAZE. AND JUST A HEADS-UP IN A THERE'S TREMENDOUS BODY OF WORK PUBLISHED IN BIOARCHIVES WHERE THEY HAVE DONE SINGLE CELL WORK TO IDENTIFY CELL TYPES, IN THE HUMAN, NON-HUMAN PRIMATE AND MOUSE, NOT ONLY TO DEVELOP CELL TYPES FOR TRANSCRIPTOMICS BUT GET PHYSIOLOGIC DATA BY HATCH CLAMPING ON CELLS AND PULLING OUT THE RNA FROM THE CELL AFTER YOU PATCH CLAMPED IT AND LOOKING AT MORPHOLOGY OF CELLS AND ANTI-GRADE AND RETROGRADE TRACING TO GET CONNECTOMICS. THIS IS THE GOOGLE MAP, AND WE EXPECT THIS IS GOING TO BE A REAL EYE OPENER AND TREMENDOUS BODY OF WORK COMING FROM THIS TEAM OF HUNDREDS WORKING IN THIS BRAIN INITIATIVE PROJECT, A TREMENDOUS TEAM PROJECT. WE'RE ALSO IN BRAIN INITIATIVE ON THE DIRECTION OF JOHN NGAI LOOKING AT THE NEXT STAGE, WHOLE BRAIN MICROCONNECTIVITY ANALYSIS PROJECT, MULTIPLE WORKSHOPS LOOKING AT DIFFERENT WAYS OF DEVELOPING A CONNECTOME MAP OF THE BRAIN AT DIFFERENT SCALES GOING ALL THE WAY FROM ELECTROMICROSCOPY TO X-RAY CT, LIGHT MICROSCOPY USING EXPANSION MICROSCOPY WHICH COULD BE DONE IN MAMMALIAN BRAIN AT GIVE MOLECULAR INFORMATION IN A CONNECTOME-TYPE OF MAP. SO REALLY COMPETING PROJECTS TO COME IN THE BRAIN INITIATIVE, IN THE ENSUING YEARS. IN ADDITION, THE NEUROETHICS GROUP HAS MET RECENTLY AND THEIR TOPIC WAS LOOKING AT THE ETHICS PAIN RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS, A COMMON OR CONTROVERSIAL PRACTICE, MAYBE NOT AS COME AN AS IT SHOULD BE, AND PAYING ATTENTION TO THE FACT MONEY DOES NOT CAUSE UNDUE INFLUENCE TO AFFECT INFORMED CONSENT. WE'LL HEAR MORE IN OUR CLOSED SESSION. A COUPLE THINGS TO MENTION ABOUT EFFORTS TO IMPROVE DIVERSITY IN OUR WORKFORCE, THE BRAIN INITIATIVE NOW IN ITS APPLICATIONS HAS A NEW REQUIREMENT THAT APPLICANTS NEED TO ARTICULATE STRATEGIES IN ADVANCE OF PROJECTS, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL MERIT, TO INCLUSIVITY, THIS IS A REQUIREMENT. IF IT'S NOT IN THE APPLICATION THEY DON'T GET REVIEWED AND IT'S A SCORABLE CRITERIA. SO AN EFFORT BY THE BRAIN INITIATIVE FOLKS TO TRY AND IMPROVE THE DIVERSITY OF PEOPLE WORKING IN THE BRAIN INITIATIVE WHICH HAS REALLY BEEN TOUGH TO MOVE BUT HOPEFULLY WE ARE SEEING IMPROVEMENT AND THIS IS ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO ADVANCE THAT. WE ALSO AT NINDS WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER INSTITUTES PUT OUR A NOTICE, GETTING APPLICATIONS FROM PEOPLE TO BRING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES TO SCIENCE AND, YOU KNOW, AS WE MENTIONED IN THE PAST, AT NINDS OUR DATA INDICATE THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IS EXTREMELY LOW, AND WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO TRY TO TRAIN ATTRACT MORE PEOPLE INTO OUR SCIENCE. OUR SUCCESS RATES ARE REALLY THE SAME ACROSS ALL DIFFERENT GROUPS, BUT OUR APPLICATION RATES ARE LOW. AND SO THIS IS A NOTICE TO TRY TO MOVE A COUPLE MORE PEOPLE TO COME INTO THE NINDS FOLD. THE SAME VEIN, THERE'S NEW REQUIREMENTS FROM NIH ALL CONFERENCE GRANTS INCLUDE THIS. THERE'S A SUPPLEMENT, REINTEGRATION PROGRAM, A SUPPLEMENT TO FUND PEOPLE WHO ARE PRE-DOCTORAL STUDENTS OR POSTDOCS AFFECTED BY FINDING THEMSELVES IN UNSAFE OR DISCRIMINATORY ENVIRONMENTS, AND THEY HAVE TO MOVE, A TERRIBLE THING BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY MAKE UP FOR THE TIME LOST. THERE'S A SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM THAT WOULD GO TO THE P.I. THAT THEY MOVE TO TO HELP KIND OF GET THEM MOVING AGAIN IN THEIR SCIENCE, WITH FUNDING FROM THE SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM. THIS IS ALSO COMBINED WITH REENTRY SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE TAKING CARE OF FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES AND WANT TO COME BACK, AND IT'S A SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM THEY CAN GET FUNDING TO COME BACK INTO THE LAB AND RETOOL. NIH, WE MENTIONED THIS IN THE PAST, BUT WANTED TO JUST DO IT AGAIN, THAT NIH HAS A PROCESS FOR FOLKS WHO FEEL THAT THEY HAVE BEEN HARASSED, SEXUALLY HARASSED OR OTHERWISE HARASSED, TO MAKE AN ALLEGATION. THERE'S A WEBSITE PEOPLE CAN REPORT HARASSMENT OR OTHER SERIOUS CONCERNS, WHETHER THEY OCCUR AT A MEETING OR AT THEIR INSTITUTION. AND THEN NINDS WILL LOOK INTO THIS. AND THEN WORK WITH THE INSTITUTION IN WHICH THAT PERSON WAS AN EMPLOYEE, THE PERSON ALLEGED PERPETRATOR, TO WORK WITH THEIR INSTITUTION TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND IF THERE IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. AND IN A SIMILAR VEIN, AT MEETINGS THERE ARE NOW GUIDELINES ORGANIZERS NEED TO PUT THIS IN PLACE. I REMEMBER SOMEONE ENTHUSIASTIC DOING SOMETHING ABOUT SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS, THIS IS ONE STEP AND HOPEFULLY THESE LITTLE STEPS WILL PREVENT ABUSES BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT. THEY ARE GOING TO GET REPORTED. A COUPLE THINGS TO MENTION ABOUT OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR DISEASE ORGANIZATIONS. WE HELD A NON-PROFIT FORUM, VERY SUCCESSFUL MEETING, SAM WHITE, THANKS TO SAM'S WORK IN JULY, 300 REGISTRANTS, 200 PARTICIPANTS, TALKED ABOUT A NUMBER OF REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES, CLINICAL RESEARCH DURING COVID, HOW KIND OF REMOTE PATIENT VISITS IS ACTUALLY WORKING IN SOME CASES. WE TALKED ABOUT HOW TO GET MORE PATIENT ENGAGEMENT IN NIH RESEARCH, TOOLS AND RESOURCES FOR NON-PROFITS, AND IMPORTANCE OF EARLY DIAGNOSES, PARTICULARLY FOR NEUROGENETIC DISORDERS. THIS IS RECORDED SO IF PEOPLE WANT TO GO BACK AND LISTEN, PLEASE DO SO. AND AGAIN TO MENTION HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET A CHANCE TO SEE THE TRAILER AT THE END, OF A MOVIE THAT SUSAN SCHNEIDER-WILLIAMS WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN PUTTING OUT THERE ABOUT THE TROUBLE THAT ROBIN WILLIAMS HAD WITH LEWY BODY DISEASE. HE DIDN'T KNOW HE HAD LEWY BODY DISEASE, WHICH WAS REALLY PART OF THE PROBLEM, AND THINK MAY HAVE LED TO HIS REALLY EARLY DEMISE. SUSAN IS REALLY ENERGETIC AND REALLY FORCEFUL SPEAKER FOR UNDERSTANDING MORE ON LEWY BODY DISEASE. IN THAT REGARD NINDS MANAGES ABOUT 10% OF THE MONEY THAT CAME TO THE AGING INSTITUTE FOR DEMENTIA RESEARCH. WE MANAGE RESEARCH AND IN FRONT TEMPORAL DEMENTIA, LEWY BODY, NOT SO MUCH ALZHEIMER'S BUT IN THESE THREE, ALZHEIMER'S-RELATED DEMENTIAS, AND YOU CAN SEE HERE FROM THE GRAPH OVER TIME THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT WE SEE TO MANAGE THESE HAS DWARFED WHAT WE PUT IN FROM OUR BASE BUDGET. THIS GONNA MOST TO SOLICITED PROGRAMS, RFAs, ALSO PAYLINE FOR RESEARCH, CODE AT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, RELATED DEMENTIA, THE PAYLINE WAS 28th PERCENTILE, TWICE AS GOOD AS OUR REGULAR PAYLINE. SO SOME IS UNSOLICITED RESEARCH AS WELL. FINALLY I WANT TO MENTION AS I HAVE IN THE PAST THAT RICHARD BENSON HAS BEEN LEADING OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING, IN ADVANCING HEALTH EQUITY IN NEUROLOGIC DISORDERS. THIS WILL BE COMING TO A CLIMACTIC END IN A REALLY INTERESTING WORKSHOP, SEPTEMBER 22-SEPTEMBER 24, ONE CAN STILL REGISTER FOR THIS. WITH THAT I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR YOUR ATTENTION. PLEASE LET'S OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS AND IF THERE'S ADVICE ON HOW TO ADVANCE, BETTER ADVANCE BASIC RESEARCH OR ARPA-H OR ANY OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, WE'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT THAT. AND WITH THAT I'M GOING TO STOP NOW. I WONDER IF WE COULD OPEN UP, IF PEOPLE HAVE ANY ADVICE OR SUGGESTION, QUESTIONS. I SEE A HAND UP. TOM? >> YEAH, WALTER, GREAT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO MANY INTERESTING DATA POINTS TO THINK ABOUT. ONE QUESTION I HAD IS IF THERE'S A STRATEGY, A TARGET OR SOME FORETHOUGHT ON HOW MUCH OF THE NINDS WILL BE THESE TARGETED OR PRE-DESIGNED RESEARCH PROGRAMS, AND HOW MANY WILL BE, YOU KNOW, YOUR TRADITIONAL RFA KIND OF BOTTOM-UP SCIENCE. 50% WAS SURPRISING. I REALIZE IT'S DRIVEN BY BRAIN, HEAL, ADRD, BUT CURIOUS IF THERE'S A STRATEGY HERE OR TARGET. >> RIGHT. SO THAT'S -- THE MONEY COMES FROM CONGRESS. SO CONGRESS CAN DO AS THEY WISH. AND SO I THINK IN MY ESTIMATION FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN, AND I MAY BE OFF, THERE WAS WHEN I FIRST CAME, KIND OF A WALL AROUND NIH, WHICH WAS THE CONGRESS WOULD GIVE US A BUDGET AND WOULD NOT REALLY INFLUENCE HOW THAT WAS SPENT. AND THAT WORKED UNTIL WE HAD THESE 12 FLAT YEARS OF NO BUDGET INCREASES. AND WHEN THAT STARTED TO BREAK IN 2016, THAT'S WHEN WE SAW THAT CONGRESS WAS TARGETING THE FUNDS FOR PARTICULAR PROJECTS. NOW, WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES FOR THAT TO HAPPEN IS NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR TO ME. CONGRESS MAY BE TALKING TO DISEASE ORGANIZATIONS AND BE INFLUENCED BY DISEASE ORGANIZATIONS. I DON'T THINK THAT THERE IS A STRATEGY AT NIH FOR -- I HAVE ACTUALLY SUGGESTED THAT FRANCIS ACTUALLY TALK TO CONGRESS, THAT FOR EVERY INCREASE IN SOLICITED TARGETED FUNDING, THERE SHOULD BE AN EQUAL INCREASE IN NON-TARGETED FUNDING. AND I THINK THAT THEY MAKE A STRONG ARGUMENT THAT THEY NEED TO INCREASE THE BUDGET ACROSS THE INSTITUTES. BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE TAKING HOLD. AND THAT BEING SAID, I CAN TELL YOU FROM THE MANY OTHER INSTITUTES ACROSS NIH, THE BENEFIT HAS COME TO NINDS. SO OUR BUDGET IS OVER $1.2 BILLION HIGHER THAN IT WAS, BUT IT IS HEAVILY SOLICITED IN THESE SOLICITED APPLICATIONS. THE OTHER INSTITUTES, DIABETES OR CHILD HEALTH, THEY HAVEN'T SEEN ANY OF THIS INCREASE IN FUNDING. SO, I THINK THAT'S THE POLITICS OF THE FUNDING WHICH IS REALLY WHAT CONGRESS SAYS IS WHAT WE GET. WE CAN'T -- NO ONE DECIDED THEY DON'T WANT TO SEND THE MONEY BACK, WE DON'T WANT IT, YEAH. BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO PUT THAT DATA OUT THERE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S -- YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE SCIENCE NEEDS TO GO, AND I CAN'T TALK TO CONGRESS, AND TELL THEM, BUT YOU GUYS CAN. I THINK KEN WAS NEXT. >> TWO QUESTIONS. ONE WAS IN THINKING ABOUT ARPA-H, IT'S EASY TO COME UP WITH ENGINEERING EXAMPLES LIKE THE PROSTHETIC ARM WHERE DARPA HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL BUT HAS ANYONE COME UP WITH EXAMPLES OF WHAT THEY IMAGINE JUST SO WE CAN THINK OF, OH, I CAN THINK OF A PROBLEM LIKE THAT. A PROSTHETIC ARM TO ME DOESN'T RESONATE, THAT'S A STRAIGHTENING NEARING PROBLEM, IT'S HARD. LOTS OF WAYS OF ATTACKING IT. WITHIN THE SORT OF NON-ENGINEERING HEALTH ASPECT, HAS SOMEONE COME UP WITH AN EXAMPLE LIKE THIS IS THE KIND OF PROBLEM WE SHOULD BE TACKLING? >> WELL, I THINK THE POINT YOU MAKE IS THAT DARPA SEEMS TO BE BEST IN DEVELOPING A PRODUCT. SO, I THINK THAT'S -- IF YOU TAKE THE DARPA, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE AT NOW. WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM THE WHITE HOUSE THAT'S NOT EXACTLY WHERE THEY WANT TO PUT ALL THEIR MONEY. THEY HAVE TALKING ABOUT A WHOLE EXPANSE OF THINGS, FROM HEALTH EQUITY TO MOLECULAR WORK. AND I MUST -- I HAVE TO CONFESS, AT THE -- IT MAY BE ACTUALLY PUBLIC, BUT AT THE LISTENING SESSION, I DID ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER PROPOSAL FOR ONE THING I THOUGHT WOULD BE HELPFUL, AND THAT IS MY SENSE, I MENTIONED THIS, THAT I THINK WE'RE IN A SECOND -- YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THERAPEUTICS, WE HAVE THE SMALL MOLECULES, ANTIBODIES. THE FIRST PHASE. I THINK THE SECOND PHASE IS GOING TO BE INTERVENTIONS IN GENOMICS IN THE BRAIN. SO WE HAVE THE ADVANCE OF SMA, BUT IN ALS -- >> AND THAT WAS THE SPINAL CORD. >> SPINAL CORD, RIGHT, RIGHT. SO BUT ALL THE BRAIN INITIATIVE WORK, MANY OTHER DISEASE WORK YOU COME OUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU KNOCK DOWN X YOU SEE A BENEFIT. I DON'T THINK A DRUG IS EVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT SO SPECIFICALLY. BUT I THINK THAT GENOMIC THERAPIES, I THINK THAT THEY CAN BE INCREDIBLY POWERFUL AND HAVE MUCH MORE SPECIFICITY, ALLOW YOU TO GET BIGGER EFFECT SIZES, JUST IN THE CELL GROUPS YOU WANT AND NOT HAVE ALL THESE ADVERSE EFFECTS, OF COURSE, OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. I PUT OUT THAT IS ONE THING I WOULD THINK THAT ARPA-H SHOULD THINK ABOUT, IS TRYING TO DEVELOP PLATFORMS TO MOVE THIS GENOMIC THERAPY MORE QUICKLY INTO PEOPLE. OF COURSE, WE HAVE OUR AGENDAS, WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT FOR SOME RARE DISEASES, AND THEN ON THE OTHER HAND THE BRAIN INITIATIVE, I MEAN, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH IF YOU'RE A MOUSE, WE CAN MAKE YOU THINK WHATEVER WE WANT. SO THE POWER OF THESE TECHNIQUES TO MANIPULATE CIRCUITS IS ASTRONOMICAL, AND TO GET THAT INTO PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE LOTS OF STEPS WE HAVE TO GET THROUGH. BUT A LOT OF THAT IS NOT QUITE ENGINEERING BUT IT'S KIND OF CLOSE TO IT. SO THAT'S ONE THING I PUT IN FRONT OF THEM. AND WITH SOME SENSE THAT MAYBE THERE WAS SOME POSITIVE RECEPTION FOR THAT. BUT I'M INTERESTED IN PEOPLE HAVE OTHER IDEAS IN THAT KIND OF A SPACE. SO LIKE THREE OR FOUR, MAYBE FIVE YEARS TOTAL, AND THEY JUST PUT A LOT OF MONEY INTO ONE PROJECT. THEY MANAGE IT, THEY MOVE IT AROUND, COME UP WITH THEIR ENDPOINTS. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DELIVERABLE KIND OF AT THE END OF IT. >> THE OTHER QUESTION WAS RELATED TO THIS NEW STATEMENT ON THE BRAIN INITIATIVE GRANTS OF REQUIREMENT FOR STATEMENT ABOUT SORT OF INCREASING RECRUITMENT OF DIVERSITY. IT REMINDS ME WHEN THIS HAPPENED, THE RIGOR STATEMENTS, ALL GRANTS HAD TO MAKE, AND I'M NOT AGAINST ANY OF IT BUT I REMEMBER STUDY SECTIONS, REVIEWING, WRITING THEM MYSELF, WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT ANYONE EXPECTED IT TO SAY. AND SO WITH RIGOR YOU CAN MAKE UP THINGS BECAUSE WE TRY TO BE RIGOROUS BUT FROM THE SENSE OF RECRUITING UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW WHAT A PANEL OF SUCCESSFUL APPROACHES IS, I DON'T MEAN TO SATISFY BOX CHECKING BUT WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED SUCCESSFUL APPROACHING SHOULD BE TRIED ON OUR BEHALF IF WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. MOST OF US ARE PRETTY BLIND TO HOW WE EVEN GO AFTER THIS. >> RIGHT. SO I THINK THAT WILL WORK ITS WAY OUT. FROM THE VERY BEGINNING I WOULD SAY THAT OUR, YOU KNOW, FROM THE NINDS STANDPOINT, WE THINK THAT PEOPLE COMING IN WITH DIVERSE SET OF IDEAS AND BACKGROUNDS ARE GOING TO MAKE THE SCIENCE STRONGER. AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE -- I MEAN THAT'S PERSONALLY WHAT I WOULD BE LOOKING FOR. WHAT THE REVIEW COMMITTEE LOOKS FOR, YOU'RE RAISING A GOOD POINT. SOMETIMES WE LOSE CONTROL OF THAT. BUT I THINK I WOULD KEEP THEIR EYE ON THE BIG PICTURE. AND INCLUSIVITY IS NOT SKIN COLOR. IT'S EVERYTHING. >> YEAH. JOHN NGAI JUST SAID YES, ANSWERED MY QUESTION, I DON'T KNOW IF HE HAS ACCESS TO A MICRO PHENE. >> CAN YOU HEAR ME? >> YES. >> GREAT QUESTION. WE DON'T WANT IT TO WIND UP EVOLVING TO THE POINT IT'S A PEOPLE PASS-AROUND. THAT'S NOT THE INTENT. THE WAY THIS IS LAID OUT, WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR ANY ONE THING, NOT LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, THE CERTAIN MINORITY OR TYPE. WE'RE LOOKING FOR THE P.I.s TO TELL US HOW DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES WILL BE BROUGHT TO BEAR, IT WOULD BE PERSONAL BACKGROUND, COULD BE CAREER STAGE, SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, INSTITUTIONAL, WHATEVER. IT'S REALLY JUST -- IT'S FOUNDED ON THE -- PREDICATED ON THE BASIS THAT DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES GENERALLY DO LEAD TO MORE CREATIVE SOLUTIONS. WE HAVE DONE A LOT ON THIS. WE HAVE ON THE BRAIN WEBSITE A PAGE, SET OF PAGES DEDICATED TO WHAT IT IS. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND EXAMPLES AND SOME AREAS AND RESOURCES WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO TO, TO THINK ABOUT HOW THEY MIGHT PUT TOGETHER THEIR PLAN FOR THIS. AND NOW THAT IT STARTED TO BE ROLLED OUT WE ALSO HAVE TEAMS WORKING INTENSIVELY ON THE EVALUATION, NOT JUST PUTTING IT OUT THERE SAYING GIVE US A THING. WE HAVE TO TRACK TO SEE, A, WHETHER THIS IS REALLY HELPING US IN TERMS OF HAVING MORE DIVERSE INVESTIGATOR POOL WHICH IS REALLY CRITICAL FOR US. BUT ALSO AS A WAY OF HOLDING PEOPLE TO WHAT THEY PROPOSE, JUST LIKE WE DO WHEN PEOPLE PROPOSE THE SCIENCE. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THESE GREAT POINTS. WE DO WELCOME FEEDBACK ALONG THE WAY FROM NEW FOLKS AND OTHERS. IF YOU GO TO THE BRAIN WEBSITE, THERE'S AN "ABOUT US" TAB, PULL THAT DOWN, THERE'S A WHOLE SECTION ON PDP. WE'VE BEEN SOCIALIZING THROUGH VARIOUS CHANNELS THROUGH OUR BRAIN WEBSITE, DIRECTOR'S CORNER, WE JUST ISSUED A NOTICE, MAYBE KELLY CAN DROP THAT, SOMEBODY CAN DROP THAT IN THE CHAT. WE JUST ISSUED A NOTICE ON THAT. WE APPRECIATE ANY FEEDBACK ON THIS. >> THANKS, JOHN. >> MICHELLE, YOU'VE BEEN LEADING EFFORTS FOR A LONG TIME IN THIS SPACE. DO YOU WANT TO KIND OF GIVE US SUGGESTION OF WHAT YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR IF YOU WERE A REVIEWER IN THIS AREA? >> CAN YOU HEAR ME? I THOUGHT JOHN COVERED IT NICELY. WE REALIZE WHEN IT COMES TO THIS STRATEGY, THERE ARE JUST THAT, STRATEGIES. THERE'S NO ONE MAGIC BULLET. BUT THIS WAS REALLY AN EFFORT TO ALIGN OUR GOALS WITH INCREASING ENHANCING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES WITH REVIEW CRITERIA SO DR. ANDREA MICHENER HAS BEEN LEADING THIS. I THINK IT'S A GOOD STRATEGY. TIME WILL TELL HOW PEOPLE REALLY INTERPRET IT. AND WE'RE REALLY HOPING THAT REVIEWERS WILL HELP US, AS JOHN MENTIONED, ON THAT WEBSITE ARE A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF WAYS THAT WE'RE VIEWING THIS. IT'S TALKING ABOUT INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY, NOT ONLY ON, YOU KNOW, RACE/ETHNICITY, PERSONS WITH DISABILITY, BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF GEOGRAPHY AS WELL AND A LOT OF OTHER DIVERSITY DIMENSIONS. AND SO WE'RE ALREADY SETTING UP AN EVALUATION PLAN TO LOOK IN SO IT WON'T BE SOMETHING WHERE WE'RE PUTTING THE LANGUAGE OUT THERE AND THEN JUST WALKING AWAY HOPING FOR THE BEST. BUT THERE REALLY IS ALREADY BUILT IN A WAY TO EVALUATE IF THE LANGUAGE IS DOING WHAT WE HOPE IT WILL DO RIGHT. SO I THINK WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT. JUST ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE'RE STRATEGICALLY TRYING TO ENHANCE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION AND EQUITY. AND WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES. >> WALTER, THERE WAS A HAND UP. >> THANKS FOR THAT PRESENTATION. COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THE DATA ENCLAVE, YOU COMMENTED ON IT EARLY, WHAT THAT'S REALLY GOING TO PLAY OUT AS, WAS THAT ENVISIONED TO BECOME A SOURCE OF DATA FOR INVESTIGATORS AND DEVELOPING APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND SANDBOXES TO LEVERAGE IT? AND IF YOU COULD ALSO COMMENT ON THAT RELATIONSHIP OF, AS WE ALL ARE NAVIGATING THIS DATA SPACE BETWEEN NIH AND COMMERCIAL ENTITIES, HOW THAT'S PLAYED OUT A LITTLE BIT? >> YEAH, THANKS, CLAUDIA. MAYBE KENNEDY COULD CHIME IN. YEAH, THE IDEA -- WELL, WE'LL HEAR FROM LYN JAKEMAN TO TALK ABOUT TRYING TO DEVELOP A DATA STRATEGY, FOR NINDS, BUT THIS IS A KIND OF PILOT, A PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, HALF THE MONEY CAME FROM THE PARTNERS, AND PARTNERS WANTED THIS DATA ENCLAVE FOR CLINICAL DATA, PROTEOMICS, WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING, EVERYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE, PARKINSON'S, AND WE HAD MICHAEL J. FOX AND ASAP AND WE WERE ABLE TO DO IT AND BROUGHT IN THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS' DATA. AND NOW THE QUESTION IS HOW VALUABLE IS IT? SO FOR INSTANCE WE TALK ABOUT THE SECOND PHASE, THESE COMPANIES HAVE TO GO BACK AND ASK THEIR COMPANIES FOR $2 MILLION TO STAY IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT CAME OUT OF IT. AND SO WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS WE HAVE GRANTS OUT FOR PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY ANALYZE THE DATA, TRY AND UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, PROGRESSION BIOMARKERS, DISTINGUISHING PARKINSON'S FROM CONTROLS, COGNITIVE FROM NON-COGNITIVE TROUBLE, QUESTIONS PEOPLE COULD MINE THIS DATA. WE WORK WITH VERILY, IT WASN'T A MOM AND POP SHOP PORTAL, IT'S THE BEST YOU CAN GET. I YOU HAVE TO HAVE BIOINFORMATICS EXPERTISE TO MAKES HEADS OR TAILS OUT OF THIS. THAT'S A LESSON FOR NEUROSCIENCE IN GENERAL AS DATA COMES IN, THE BRAIN INITIATIVE IS GOING TO BE A GREAT EXAMPLE, WE NEED PEOPLE WITH BIOINFORMATICS WORKING WITH US TO REALLY MAKE VALUE OF THIS DATA. COLLECTING THE DATA FOR SAKE OF COLLECTING IT IS VERY WASTEFUL. BUT TRYING TO GET VALUE IN MY ESTIMATION WHAT WE NEED BIOINFORMATICIANS WORKING WITH NEURO PEOPLE. THIS IS OUR TEST PILOT TO SEE HOW WE CAN DO THAT. DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING ON TOP? YOU'RE IN A BETTER POSITION. MAYBE SHE MIGHT HAVE STEPPED AWAY. HOLLY, YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP. >> YEAH, THANKS, WALTER. I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT ARPA-H. SO, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT IT'S BEEN IMAGINED IS THAT IT WILL FACILITATE TAKING THE SCIENCE THAT THE NIH PRODUCES AND SORT OF BEING MORE EFFICIENT OR FACILITATING TRANSFER INTO PHARMA COMPANIES. OR APPLICATIONS, LET'S JUST SAY THAT. SO I'M WONDERING AS THIS OCCURS WHERE WILL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PATENTS FIT IN? BECAUSE I THINK THIS HAS BEEN A BIG ISSUE FOR THE NIH AND MAYBE DARPA HAS ADDRESSED THIS, SO THAT'S WHAT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT. >> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. THE I.T. BELONGS TO THE INVESTIGATORS, BUT THE EXCEPTION IF THERE'S AN INTRAMURAL COMPONENT, SO LIKE WITH NCATS, THEN THEY SHARE THE I.T. I DON'T THINK DARPA OWNS THE I.P. I THINK THE I.P. BELONGS TO WHATEVER COMPANY EVENTUALLY TAKES ON THE PRODUCT. I WOULD HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK. >> ACTUALLY IT SEEMS TO ME THAT PART OF THE CONCEPTION OF ARPA-H OVERLAPS WITH NCATS. AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD CLARIFY THAT. >> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. AND I THINK THAT THAT STILL IS TO BE WORKED OUT. I'VE NOT HEARD A DISCUSSION OF IT. YOU KNOW, CHRIS AUSTIN WAS A FRIEND OF MINE, AND HE LEFT THE DAY AFTER ARPA-H WAS SENT OUT. YEAH, IF POSSIBLE, SOME OF THE ROBOTICS-TYPE WORK, SCREENING-TYPE WORK NCATS DOES, MAY STAY IN NCATS AND ARPA-H WORK WITH THEM, COULD POTENTIALLY -- THE THING ABOUT ARPA-H THEY GENERALLY -- PROJECTS ARE SHORT TERM THAT DON'T HAVE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TEN OR FIFTEEN YEARS. NCATS IS DIFFERENT. THEY HAVE A FACILITY, INFRASTRUCTURE TO WORK PRODUCTS. I WOULD GUESS MAYBE MORE ARPA-H MIGHT CONTRACT WITH NCATS TO DO SOME STUFF. KEN? >> PERHAPS THIS COULD BE THE FINAL QUESTION. I DO BELIEVE WE NEED TO KIND OF MOVE. >> PEOPLE CAN SEND ME E-MAILS, HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON E-MAILS. WE DO NEED HELP ON THE PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND BASIC FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE SUGGESTIONS. SO THINK ABOUT THAT AND SEND ME E-MAILS. OKAY, KEN. >> YEAH, THANKS, WALTER. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AS WELL. I MADE A LOT OF NOTES. I'M GOING TO GO TO MY MANAGEMENT HERE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSIONS. I WANT TO TRY AND ADDRESS THE COMMENT AND QUESTION HOLLY MADE. ONE OF THE THINGS IS THAT I WAS INVOLVED IN SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS IN THE FORMER COMPANY I WORKED WITH WHERE THEY BROUGHT ASSETS TO THE TABLE IN THE NCATS PROGRAM. IT'S NOT ONLY IN NEGOTIATION. I MEAN, YOU CAN TAKE THE ASSETS AND PUT IT THERE AND THEN THE ACADEMIC INVESTIGATORS MAY LOOK FOR COMPLETELY NEW INDICATIONS AND THEN THE I.P. GOES TO THE INSTITUTION BECAUSE THE IDEA ORIGINALLY CAME FROM THEM. THERE ARE A DOZEN WAYS OF DOING IT. ONE OF THE OTHER ASPECTS OF PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT I'VE SEEN WORK REALLY WELL, ESPECIALLY IF YOU GO BACK TO MAJOR DISEASES, A FEW YEARS AGO TRYING TO MAKE BREAKTHROUGHS FOR IMAGING BIOMARKERS IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES THAT YOU HAVE NIH, YOU HAVE PHARMA, ACADEMICS COMING TOGETHER, BUT FOR THE MOST PART THEY WERE WORKING PRIMARILY IN THE PRE-COMPETITIVE SPACE. SO, WHERE I.P., YEAH, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT GOES OUT THERE THAT PEOPLE PUT INFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, PRETTY COMPETITIVE, BECAUSE PHARMA TENDS TO FOCUS ON SPECIFIC ASSETS. OF COURSE, THERE ARE DEVICE COMPANIES AND SO FORTH THAT LOOK AT DEVICES, THEY LOOK AT APPROACHES, IMAGING SEQUENCING OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE. BUT THERE IS A SPACE, PRETTY COMPETITIVELY, TO WORK AS WELL IN THIS AREA. >> THAT'S TRUE. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THE ACCELERATED MEDICINE PROGRAM FOR PARKINSON'S AND OTHER AM PROJECTS WORK ON IN THAT SPACE. THANKS VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE INPUT. KEEP SENDING E-MAILS. AND, DAVE, BACK TO YOU. >> THANK YOU, WALTER. THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S INPUT. NEXT SESSION ON NINDS DATA SCIENCE PLANNING, LED BY OUR OWN LYN JAKEMAN FROM OUR DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE, THE DIRECTOR. AND I THINK WITH THAT I'LL PASS IT ON TO LYNN. >> WE'LL DO OUR BEST. FOR THOSE SITTING FOR A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR, I'M NOT OFFENDED IF YOU STAND UP AND STRETCH. WE HAVE -- THANK YOU DAVID, THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ENGAGED, THANK YOU TO NINDS STAFF AND VIDEOCAST AUDIENCE LISTENING, THIS IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT AREA FOR US RIGHT NOW, AS YOU KNOW IT'S ALREADY STARTED POPPING UP IN OUR DISCUSSIONS. WHAT I WANT TO DO IN THE EFFECTS 50 MEN'S IS INTRODUCE OUR GUEST SPEAKER AND TRANSITION, SHE'S GOING TO GIVE A TALK ABOUT NIH AND WHERE WE'RE AT WITH DATA SCIENCE AND I'LL TRANSITION, GIVE YOU A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS WITH TRYING TO PROVIDE FRAMEWORK FOR STRATEGIC PLAN FOR OUR DATA SCIENCE. AND THEN I'M HOPING TO LEAVE 15 MINUTES FOR HONEST DISCUSSION. LET ME BEGIN. I'LL SHARE MY SLIDES. WE DID PRACTICE THIS WITH KELLY YESTERDAY. I THINK I'VE GOT THE SEQUENCE OF MY BUTTON PUSHING RIGHT. WE WILL MOVE HERE AND THEN -- HELLO -- AND THERE, AND I SHOULD BE SHARING MY SLIDES IN THE RIGHT FORMAT. >> YOU'RE GOOD, LYN. >> EXCELLENT. ALL RIGHT. I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE SUSAN GREGURICK, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE NIH OFFICE OF DATA SCIENCE STRATEGY IN OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR. SUSAN GOT HER Ph.D. IN COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY FROM UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND IN BALTIMORE. SHE WAS RESEARCH PROFESSOR IN COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING AND BIOINFORMATICS SERVESSED A PROGRAM DIRECTOR AT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OFFICE OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, AND IN 2007 JOINED NIH. SHE WORKED IN THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCE, NIGMS, IN 2013 BECAME DIRECTOR OF THE BIOPHYSICS, BIOTECHNOLOGY, COMPUTATIONAL BIOSCIENCES. OBVIOUSLY, WITH THAT RICH BACKGROUND IT'S NOT SURPRISING SHE WAS TAPPED IN 2018 TO SERVE AS SENIOR ADVISER TO THE NIH DIRECTOR TO HELP VISION AND DEVELOP OFFICE OF DATA SCIENCE STRATEGY. SHE LED THAT ROLE, IN 2019 WAS APPOINTED ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF DATA SCIENCE STRATEGY. IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, DR. GREGURICK HAS DONE AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF WORK TO BRING TOGETHER 27 DISPARATE INSTITUTES AND CENTERS AROUND IDEAS THAT WILL ADVANCE ECOSYSTEM AND DATA THAT WE ALL INVEST IN. I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE THING, THAT SUSAN HAS RECEIVED A NUMBER OF HONORS IN 2020, LEADERSHIP IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AWARD FROM WASHINGTON ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, SHE TENDS TO PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ELSEWHERE. IS A HUGE ADVOCATE OF WOMEN IN TECH. IF YOU GET A CHANCE IN MARCH OF 2021 GAVE A LECTURE ON WOMEN LEADING THE WAY, HIGHLIGHTED SOME NIH STAFF THAT ARE REALLY LEADING WOMEN IN DATA SCIENCE RESEARCH. I HAVE TO STOP HERE BECAUSE I HAVE TO KEEP THE CLOCK GOING BUT I WANT TO THANK SUSAN FOR JOINING US. SUSAN, I WILL DRIVE YOUR SLIDES. TAKE IT AWAY. >> THANK YOU. THANK YOU, WALTER, AND LYN FOR THE NICE INTRODUCTION. I'M BLUSHING AND HONORED TO BE HERE TODAY TO TALK TO COUNCIL NINDS. AND REALLY HIGHLIGHT NOT JUST WHAT WE'RE DOING AT NIH IN DATA SCIENCE AND DATA SCIENCE STRATEGY BUT ACTUALLY FOCUS ON WHAT YOUR INSTITUTE IS CURRENTLY DOING IN DATA SCIENCE SO IT HELPS GIVE YOU SOME IDEAS AND FOOD FOR THOUGHT AS YOU WORK TOWARDS DEVELOPING YOUR DATA SCIENCE STRATEGIC PLAN WHICH I'M SUPPORTIVE MUCH, CAN'T WAIT TO SEE SEE WHAT COMES OUT I'LL WORK WITH LYN TO UNDERSTAND YOUR NEEDS. STATER WITH USE CASES. THESE ARE HIGH LEVEL USE CASES. I'M GOING TO TALK TO EACH OF THEM. THE NEXT CLICK IS PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE IS THINKING ABOUT. I JUST POSTED THIS AS AN R01 POTENTIAL GRANTEE WHO IN 2023 IS GOING TO MEET THE PLAN, ASKING NIH AND THEMSELVES HOW DO THEY PUT THOSE FAIR FINDABLE ACCESS ABLE INTRACTABLE REDUCE DATA PRINCIPLES INTO REAL PRACTICE. THEY ARE GOING TO WANT TO KNOW WHERE TO START, WHAT TO DO. I HOPE THAT FROM WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE FROM MY TALK WE HAVE SOME GOOD IDEAS IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION. ANOTHER COMPELLING USE CASE, THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE WORKING ON, AND IT'S POSED AS A WAY TO THINK INTEROPERABLE PLAT FORMS, STUDYING PEDIATRIC CANCERS ARE CHALLENGING BECAUSE NO ONE SINGLE SOURCE HAS ENOUGH DATA TO ALLOW YOU TO AGGREGATE THAT DATA EFFECTIVELY INTO CAUSAL VARIANTS. SO WE WANT TO PROVIDE RESEARCHERS ABILITY TO LOOK FOR PARTICIPANTS, DEDUPLICATE ACROSS SYSTEMS. NEXT CLICK IS REALLY ABOUT A.I. AND DATA SCIENCE. I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE A.I. WORK WE'RE DOING SPONSORED BY MY OFFICE. THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE A.I. SNAPSHOT. THERE'S AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF GREAT WORK IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING ACROSS NIH INCLUDING BRIDGE TO A.I. I CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS IF YOU LIKE. THE NEXT SLIDE, WHAT I HOPE TO SHOW YOU, OUR VISION FOR CREATING MODERNIZED INTEGRATED AND FAIR BIOMEDICAL DATA ECOSYSTEM WORKING IN FIVE SECTORS. I'LL TALK ABOUT DATA INFRASTRUCTURE, CLOUD COMPUTING. I'LL TALK ABOUT DATA ECOSYSTEM, REPOSITORIES, KNOWLEDGE BASES, FAIR DATA. I'LL TALK ABOUT TOOLS AND ANALYTICS AND FINALLY THE WAY IN WHICH WE'RE ADVANCING OUR WORKFORCE. I HOPE TO HIT ALL THESE. NEXT SLIDE IS REALLY THE FIRST PART. IT'S A STORY OF ENABLING CLOUD COMPUTING FOR DATA STORAGE AND COMPUTE THROUGH OUR NEW PROGRAM, STARTED IN 2018, SO NEW-ISH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DISCOVERY EXPERIMENTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY, THE STRIDES INITIATIVE. STRIDES IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THREE CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDERS TO PROVIDE STATE OF ART DATA STORAGE DISCOUNTS AND CLOUD COMPUTING CAPABILITIES WITHIN OUR PARTNERS. WE ALSO PROVIDE TRAINING AND EDUCATION FOR RESEARCHERS, FROM UNDERGRADUATES TO EXPERIENCED P.I.s, TO WORK IN OUR CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS. FINALLY WE PROVIDE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS, COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH STRATEGIES FOR DATA INFORMATION. OUR PARTNERS INCLUDE AWS, GOOGLE, AND NEW PARTNER IN JUNE, MICROSOFT AZURE. I HOPE YOU FOLLOW STRIDES ALONG OUR JOURNEY TO SEE ADDITIONAL PARTNERS WE BRING ON FOR CAPABILITIES. YOU MAY ASK, NEXT SLIDE, WHY WOULD WE DO THIS? WHY ARE WE INTERESTED IN BRINGING DATASETS TO THE CLOUD? I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON THREE ACTUAL EXAMPLES WORKING WITH NINDS ON. THIS IS TO PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR EXAMPLE FOR ZEBRAFISH DATASETS FOR PRE-PROCESSING OVER 355 TERRA THE GUYS OF ZEBRAFISH BRAIN, ELECTRON MICROSCOPY DATA IN AWS, UTILIZING THEIR CAPABILITIES FOR LARGE SCALE PROCESSING IS ADVANCING MANY INSTITUTES AND CENTER GOALS IMAGING. WE'RE WORKING ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE BIOMARKER PROGRAM TO MIGRATE THE $10 MILLION A YEAR PROGRAM TO THE CLOUD. FINALLY WORKING TO SUPPORT TRANSLATIONAL NEURORADIOLOGY TO DEVELOP PROCESSES AND STORAGE SYSTEMS. WE'RE HOPING THIS PROGRAM WILL ENHANCE THAT CAPABILITY, WE'RE MORE THAN DELIGHTED TO WORK WITH NINDS TO BRING HIGH-VALUE DATASETS AND PROGRAMS TO OUR CLOUD SERVICE PROVIDERS AS A PARTNERSHIP. THE NEXT SLIDE WILL TALK ABOUT MOVING JUST FROM BRINGING DATASETS AND COMPUTE TO THE CLOUD TO REALLY THINKING ABOUT THESE AS A MORE INTEGRATED AND CLOUD-BASED DATA ECO-SYSTEMS. I'LL TALK ABOUT FIVE MAIN DATA PLATFORMS. YOU MAY KNOW ABOUT SOME. NHGRI-FUNDED PLATFORM FOR GENOMICS DATA SUCH AS GTEx. THE BIODATA CATALYST BRINGING TOGETHER CLINICAL AND RELATED DATA SETS. KIDS FIRST RESOURCE CENTER BRINGING PEDIATRIC DATA TO THE CLOUD. AND NCBI'S PARTNERSHIP IS THROUGH DBGaP AND DATA FROM GENOMICS, PROTEOMICS TO IMAGING DATA TO THE CLOUD. WHAT WE'RE AIMING TO DO IS PROVIDE INTRAOPERABLE FRAMEWORK ALLOWING RESEARCHERS TO DO ANNUAL SILLS ACROSS ALL CLOUD PLATFORMS. I'LL TELL YOU HOW WE'RE DOING THAT BUT THE FIRST THING WE DID, CREATED A STREAMLINED WAY TO LOG ON AND BE AUTHENTICATED ACROSS ALL. NOW WE'RE WORKING TO CREATE DATA VISAS TO CHAIR DATA, THIS IS IN LINE WITH THE EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR CYBERSECURITY PROVIDING AUTHENTICATION AND ROBUST PRACTICES. THE NEXT CLICK, WHAT THIS WILL ENABLE. THIS PROGRAM IS REALLY A USE-BASED OR RESEARCH-BASED PROGRAM. THIS IS ONE OF THE RESEARCHER STORIES, USE CASES DRIVING OUR INTEGRATED CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM. ALLOWING RESEARCHERS TO INVESTIGATE GENETIC FACTORS RELATED TO CONGENITAL HEALTH DEFECTS IN CHILDREN. THIS IS A STUDY UTILIZING HEALTHY CONTROL DATA FROM TWO NHLBI COHORTS AS WELL AS FROM NHGRI ANVIL PROGRAM AND KIDS FIRST PLATFORM. RESEARCHERS WILL BE ABLE TO PULL THEIR DATA ACROSS THESE THREE SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLS AND FOR GENETIC VARIANTS AND POWER ANALYSIS ON THE ANVIL PROGRAM AND PLATFORM POWERED BY TERRA. YOU'RE WORKING WITH VERILY, SO SOME INTERESTING CAPABILITIES IN THE FUTURE. WE'RE NOW MOVING TOWARDS BEING ABLE TO FIND DATA PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN ACROSS THESE ARE PLATFORM AND PULL THEM TOGETHER FOR ANALYSIS. I HOPE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DEVELOP ADDITIONAL USE CASES THAT WOULD INCLUDE SOME OF YOUR RESEARCHERS AS WELL. THE NEXT SLIDE MOVES US INTO THINKING ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THE NIH POLICY FOR DATA MANAGEMENT AND SHARING. AND I WANT TO JUST HIGHLIGHT TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS POLICY SO THE NEXT SLIDE WILL PICK UP WHERE THE POLICY IS. SO, EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 25, 2023, I'M SURE YOU'RE AWARE, AS A REMINDER NIH RESEARCHERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO PLAN FOR HOW YOU WILL MANAGE YOUR DATA AND SHARE IT THROUGH THE SUBMISSION OF DATA MANAGEMENT SHARING PLAN. THIS PLAN WILL BE SUBMITTED AND MANAGED AND SHARED, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT INTELLECTUAL RESTRICTIONS. THE PLAN IS SUBMITTED AS PART OF BUDGET JUSTIFICATION, REQUIRED FOR EXTRAMURAL AWARDS OR PART OF THE TECHNICAL EVALUATION FOR CONTRACTS. NEXT CLICK ILLUSTRATES THAT THIS IS REQUIRED NOT JUST FOR NIH AWARDEES BUT ALSO FOR OUR INTRAMURAL INVESTIGATORS AS WELL WITH THE EXCEPTION DATA THAT DO NOT GENERATE -- RESEARCH THAT DOES NOT GENERATE DATA SUCH AS TRAINING OR INFRASTRUCTURE OR DEVELOPMENT GRANTS, NON-RESEARCH ACTIVITIES WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THIS PLAN. THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE SOME DYNAMICS OF DATA SHARING AND FAIR DATA IN THE FUTURE. AND WHAT MY OFFICE IS DOING WORKING WITH ALL OF THE INSTITUTES AND CENTERS IS TO PREPARE FOR WHAT COULD BE ONSLAUGHT OF A LOT OF DATA. NEXT SLIDE WILL SHOW ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE DOING. FIRST THING WE DID, THIS WAS ALMOST TWO YEARS AGO NOW, WE ISSUED A SOLICITATION TO OPTIMIZE FUNDING FOR NIH DATA REPOSITORIES AND KNOWLEDGE BASES. THIS WILL SHOW YOU HIGHLIGHTS. FOCUSES ON SCIENTIFIC IMPACT OF RESOURCES, HIGHLIGHTS HOW THE INVESTIGATORS INTEND TO ENGAGE COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS JOURNALS. FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT, ALSO FOCUSING ON QUALITY OF THE DATA AND SERVICES AS WELL AS EFFICIENCY OF OPERATION OF RESOURCE AND FINALLY GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE. FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENTS ARE MEANT TO FUND DATA RESOURCES, AS RESOURCES, NOT AS INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED GRANTS. NEXT CLICK, I'M VERY HAPPY TO PARTNER WITH NINDS, SUPPORT OF DR. ADAM FERGUSON, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO AND THE EXCITING THING IT'S MOVING IN THE DIRECTION MANY DATA SCIENCE ACTIVITIES ARE MOVING WHERE IT'S OPTIMIZING TWO DATABASE EFFORTS, ONE IN TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY, THE OTHER IN SPINAL CORD INJURY, TO MAKE SURE THAT DATA, MACHINE WRITING AND READABLE, SPAN INJURY TYPES AND SPECIES SO YOU AS RESEARCHERS MAY ACCELERATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF NEUROTRAUMA IN THE TRANSLATIONAL SPACE. THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF EXACTLY WHERE THIS FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT AND THESE PROGRAMS ARE MOVING INTO. NEXT SLIDE IS REALLY ABOUT HOW WE CAN POSITION RESOURCES THAT ARE MAYBE NOT QUITE READY FOR THAT FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT THAT POSITION THEM TO BECOME READY. THIS YEAR WE ISSUED NOTICE OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO SUPPORT EXISTING DATA REPOSITORIES TO ALIGN FAIR AND TRUST PRINCIPLES TO DEVELOP EVALUATION CRITERIA, TO DEVELOP UTILITY, GREATER IMPACT, AND NEXT SLIDE HIGHLIGHTS FOCUSES, TO INCREASE FAIRNESS AND TRUSTWORTHINESS OF DATA REPOSITORIES, AND THE NEXT SLIDE CLICK WILL TELL YOU ABOUT TWO EFFORTS. YOU KNOW ABOUT FAIR, BUT TRUST IS REALLY TRANSPARENCY OF DATA RESOURCES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, RELIABILITY OF RESOURCE, SUSTAINABILITY AND USER FOCUS OF THE RESOURCE. FINALLY TECHNOLOGY. I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, NEXT CLICK, ALSO SUPPLEMENT DR. FERGUSON'S AWARD TO PROVIDE FAIR VISION FOR THE OUTCOMES IN THE NEUROTRAUMA TOP-NT REPOSITORY. THE NEXT SLIDE, IF DATA IS LIKE OIL, THEN IT'S BEEN SAID SOFTWARE IS THE REFINERY. I WANT TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE'RE NOT ONLY CREATING SUSTAINABLE DATA ECOSYSTEM BUT HELPING THE SOFTWARE MARCH WITH THE DATA AS WE CREATE AN ECOSYSTEM CAPABLE FOR BOTH. NEXT SLIDE WILL TALK ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS WE'VE DONE TO ENHANCE SUPPORT OF SOFTWARE TOOLS FOR OPEN SCIENCE. THE NEXT CLICK WILL TELL YOU THAT THE GOALS OF THIS NOSI TO INVEST IN RESEARCH SOFTWARE TOOLS WITH RECOGNIZABLE VALUABLE, STRONG USER BASE, WHAT THE P.I. WANTED TO DO WAS INCREASE USABILITY BY LEVERAGING BEST PRACTICES AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT ADVANCES TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION BETWEEN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, CLINICAL SCIENTISTS, AND BRINGING IN NEW PEOPLE PERHAPS IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING OR INDUSTRY. AND TO DEVELOP THOSE BEST PRACTICES TO ENHANCE GREATER USABILITY OF SOFTWARE. NEXT CLICK, PLEASED TO AGAIN PARTNER WITH NINDS TO SUPPORT UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL, DR. WU IS DEVELOPING SOFTWARE. WE'RE RUN THE PROGRAM FOR TWO YEARS NOW AND I THINK THAT WE'LL BE MOVING THIS INTO A SUSTAINABLE FUNDING INITIATIVE, PLEASED TO SAY WITH THE SUPPORT OF HOPEFULLY ALL OUR INSTITUTES AND CENTERS. NEXT SLIDE IS JUST A BRIEF OUTLINE OF A PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE WITH NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH SMART AND CONNECTED HEALTH. NEXT CLICK TELLS YOU THAT THE MOTIVATION FOR THIS PROGRAM IS TO ACCELERATE INNOVATIONS AND COMPUTE INFORMATION SCIENCE, ALSO TO SUPPORTS TRANSFORMATION OF HEALTH IN MEDICINE. IT'S FOCUSING ON ENHANCING DATA SCIENCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO ENHANCE PROGRAMS WITHIN ALL OF OUR INSTITUTES AND CENTERS. I WANT TO TALK JUST BRIEFLY ABOUT BUILDING SCIENTIFIC DATA WORKFORCE. THE NEXT SLIDE IS TRANSITION SLIDE. WE CAN MOVE ON. I HAVE A PASSION, MANY PASSIONS, BUT THIS ONE IS REALLY BRINGING DATA SCIENCE TO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNITIES. AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID LAST YEAR WAS WE COLLABORATED WITH HOWARD UNIVERSITY TO ENHANCE CAPABILITIES TO BRING DATA SCIENCE WITH FOCUS ON HEALTH DISPARITIES. WE OFFERED A COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING SERIES WITH HOWARD UNIVERSITY. WE ALSO COLLABORATED ON C ODE-A-THONS AND TRAINING CAPABILITIES, MOVING FROM PILOT TO IMPLEMENTATION, CREATING DATA SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES WITH HBCUs, WITH SUPPLEMENTS TO MINORITY -- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINORITY HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH CENTERS AND MINORITY INSTITUTIONS, RCMIs, AS WELL AS OTHER INSTITUTIONS TO PROVIDE ENHANCED TRAINING CAPSTONE PROJECTS, AS WELL AS CODE-A-THONS ACROSS ALL OF OUR MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS. THE NEXT SLIDE, THE FOCUS OF THE WORK WE'RE DOING ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITHIN MY OFFICE. THIS IS MANY A.I. EFFORTS ACROSS NIH, BRIDGE TO A.I., AIM AHEAD, SOME WORK WITHIN MY OFFICE WITH THREE GOALS TO ADDRESS WORKFORCE GAP, WORKING TO TRAIN NEW INVESTIGATORS AT THE INTERFACE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, BIOMEDICINE AND DATA SCIENCE TO REALLY ADVANCE THE FIELD OF DATA GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR CREATING HUMAN AND MACHINE READABLE DATASETS, SOMETHING CALLED OUT IN OUR ACD A.I. WORKING GROUP REPORT, FOCUS ON TRANSPARENCY OF NOT ONLY DATA BUT ALGORITHMS. FINALLY WE ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE A.I. READINESS OF EXISTING SUPPORTED DATA IN THE FIELD OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, WE WANTED TO BRING THIS CAPABILITY TO NIH SO WITH THE NEXT CLICK YOU'LL SEE WE HAD A NOSI SUPPLEMENT TO EXISTING GRANTEES TO SUPPLEMENT, TO ENHANCE A.I. READINESS OF DATASETS. WE WERE ABLE TO FUND THREE AWARDS AT NINDS. I'M EXCITED ABOUT EACH OF THESE BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL UNIQUE. YOU'LL SEE THE GRANTEES AND INSTITUTIONS AS WELL AS WORK THEY ARE DOING TO IMPROVE A.I. READINESS FOR EXAMPLE OF PLASMA MEMBRANE DATA OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF DATA RELATED TO STROKE OR DATA THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR CARDIAC ARREST. WITH THAT I HOPE I LEFT ENOUGH TIME FOR QUESTIONS. THAT'S MY OPPORTUNITY TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU, LYN, AND HOPEFULLY ADDRESS COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL. >> GREAT. I'M GOING TO STOP SHARING FOR A SECOND TO JUST SEE IF THERE ARE A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS, AND THEN I WILL TRANSITION TO SHOW WHAT YOU WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. ANY QUICK QUESTIONS FOR SUSAN? SHE'S ALSO AVAILABLE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS IN THE CHAT. I SEE YOUR PHYSICAL HAND WAVING. >> YES. MY OTHER HAND IS WAVING TOO. THANK YOU. THAT WAS HELPFUL. I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT DATA MANAGEMENT, LIKE HOW AND WHO IS EVALUATING THE DATA MANAGEMENT PLANS WHAT ARE THEY, WHO IS JUDGING THEM, HOW ARE THEY GOVERNED? >> SUCH A GREAT QUESTION. MY UNDERSTANDING, THEY ARE SUBMITTED AT THE TIME OF THE APPLICATION, THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY REVIEWED OR SCORED. THEY MAY BE LOOKED AT BY THE STUDY SECTIONS BUT THEY WON'T BE SCORED. YOUR PROGRAM OFFICER WILL LOOK AT THESE, NO DOUBT BE IN COMMUNICATION WITH YOU IF THEY NEED BACK AND FORTH, BUT AT THIS PARTICULAR MOMENT AS WE ROLL OUT OUR DATA MANAGEMENT SHARING POLICY, THE REVIEW WILL BE IN THE PROGRAM OFFICER'S VIEW. BUT I KNOW THE OFFICE OF EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH IS LOOKING TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO PROGRAM OFFICERS, AS WELL AS PERHAPS EVEN SOME TEMPLATES AND ADDITIONAL TOOLS FOR US TO HELP MANAGE THOSE. I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION. >> IT DOES. I'LL ASK EVERYONE TO PUT A PIN ON THAT, SOMETHING WE NEED TO COME BACK AND DISCUSS, AN AREA OF EXPERTISE THAT NOT EVERY INDIVIDUAL HAS, THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME SORT OF STANDARDIZATION ACROSS. >> SUSAN? >> YEAH, THANKS, LYN. VERY EXCITING PRESENTATION. ESPECIALLY SOMEBODY WORKING IN A RARE DISEASE, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WITH ALL THE EXCITEMENT WE LOOK FOR ALL NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS. MY QUESTION REVOLVES AROUND INFORMED CONSENT, WE'RE PAINFULLY AWARE OF THE LIMITATIONS THAT WERE IMPOSED ON INFORMED CONSENT THAT WERE SIGNED, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF COLLECTING DATA ALREADY THERE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A COMMENT BUT I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN KNOWING IF ANY OF THESE INITIATIVES ARE PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON HOW TO WRITE GOOD INFORMED CONSENTS TODAY AS WE SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE TODAY AND MAYBE CAN IMAGINE HOPEFULLY WHAT SOON WE'LL WANT TO DO. >> SUCH A GREAT QUESTION. WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF RFIS ON INFORMED CONSENT AND CONSENT LANGUAGE AS WELL AS STRUCTURING CONTROLLED ACCESS DATA TO STREAMLINE THIS. I BELIEVE THERE IS AN RFI OUT, MAY HAVE CLOSED ON STREAMLINING INFORMED CONSENT, YOU'LL SEE IN THE FUTURE A MORE STREAMLINED CAPABILITY FROM NIH ON INFORMED CONSENTS. IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS COMING UP NOW AS WE WANT TO AGGREGATE DATA TOGETHER, THE WAY DATA CONSENT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. SO WE ALSO NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT GOVERNANCE WHEN WE'RE AGGREGATING DATA ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S DATA THAT HAS TO DEAL WITH RARE DISEASES. SO I DON'T HAVE A FIRM ANSWER IN TERMS OF EXACTLY WHAT WE'LL DO BUT I KNOW THIS IS LANGUAGE THAT IS COMING FORWARD. >> YEAH, JUST TO JUMP IN, DR. KOROSHETZ, RECENT DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE, THAT DESCRIBES THIS RFI AND I BELIEVE IT'S STILL OPEN FOR ANOTHER COUPLE WEEKS. >> I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE TIME TO RESPOND TO THAT RFI. >> GREAT. THANK YOU. >> KEN? >> THANK YOU. DR. GREGURICK, FANTASTIC PRESENTATION. MY QUESTION IS AROUND DATA STANDARDIZATION. AS WE GET CLOSER TO 2023, I'M WONDERING IS THERE SOME THINKING AROUND STANDARDIZATION OF DATA SO THAT ONE WOULD BE ABLE NOT JUST TO QUERY THE DATA IN TERMS OF FINDING DATA, I MEAN THERE'S ALL KINDS OF DATA, RIGHT? BUT TO BE ABLE TO ALLOW RESEARCHERS TO ACTUALLY HYPOTHESIS TEST AND USE DATA FROM DISPARATE DATABASES, RIGHT, THAT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, IN SILICO DATA OR IN VITRO DATA OR IN VIVO DATA OR HUMAN CLINICAL TRIAL DATA, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF STANDARDIZATION IS THERE GOING TO BE IN PLACE SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, DO SOME HYPOTHESIS TESTING AND NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DIFFERENT DATASETS AND DIFFERENT FORMATS SO YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO? >> THAT'S SUCH A GREAT QUESTION, KEN. IT'S ONE OF THE HARDEST PARTS ABOUT DATA SCIENCE, EXACTLY THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME EFFORTS, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF COVID IT'S REALLY LEAPFROGGED OUR EFFORTS THINKING ABOUT CLINICAL DATA ELEMENTS AND HOW WE CAN USE THOSE ACROSS MANY PROGRAMS, WITHIN PROGRAMS, AND I THINK THIS INSTITUTE YOU'RE PROBABLY LEADERS IN COMMON DATA ELEMENTS, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING WE HAVE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF WHAT ARE SOME COMMON CLINICAL DATA ELEMENTS ACROSS MANY PROGRAMS. IF YOU LOOK AT RADx PROGRAM, SOMETHING WE'VE IMPLEMENTED FOR RADx PROGRAMMING, HELPING WITH DATA HARMONIZATION BUT WE CAN GO FURTHER. ONE OF THE EFFORTS THAT I DIDN'T SPEAK ABOUT BUT WE ARE PILOTING EFFORTS OF BRINGING FHIR, FAST HEALTH CARE INTRAOPERABLE RESOURCES, IT'S WELL KNOWN IN THE I.T. SECTOR MAKING HEALTH I.T. MUCH MORE INTRAOPERABLE, NOW BRINGING RESOURCES TO WORK TOWARDS NOT JUST FHIR RESOURCES, FOR HARMONIZING, BUT ALSO HARMONIZING BIG DATA WITH CLINICAL DATA, A FIRST STEP, BUT THIS IS GOING TO BE A LOT OF WORK AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME REALLY SERIOUS RESEARCH IN DATA HARMONIZATION ONTOLOGY AND POTENTIALLY NEW RESOURCES AS WELL. SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS ON THE HORIZON BUT IT'S STILL VERY MUCH A RESEARCH QUESTION. >> THANK YOU. >> I THINK WE HAVE TIME FOR A COUPLE QUICK QUESTIONS, TIM AND CLAUDIA, IF THEY ARE QUICK OR WE'LL PUT THOSE IN THE SECOND SESSION OR TYPE THEM IN THE CHAT BOX. >> I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S QUICK. RELATED TO KEN'S QUESTION, THROUGH THE EYES OF R01 INVESTIGATOR, DATA UNLESS IT'S CURATED IS NOT REALLY USEFUL TO ANYBODY. IN SOME CASES OBVIOUS HOW YOU CURATE DATA BUT RNAseq DATASET DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING UNTIL YOU CURATE. A LOT OF OTHER DATASETS THAT AREN'T MEANINGFUL UNLESS THEY HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY CAREFULLY JOB CURATING FOR THE PUBLIC. IT'S A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF DEMAND. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN MIND ABOUT HOW -- WHAT STRUCTURE TO IMPOSE ON CURATION. >> YOU'RE CHANNELED MY FRIEND AND SUPERVISOR DR. JOHN MARSH, EXACTLY ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WE'VE BEEN WORRYING ABOUT, A LONG TAIL OF DATA AND AMOUNT OF HUMAN CURATION THAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT CAN WE DO TO FACILITATE THAT. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF EFFORTS THAT WE ARE WORKING ON CURRENTLY THAT WILL ROLL OUT THIS FALL, WORKING WITH REPOSITORIES TO STREAM LINE, SEARCH AND CURATE METADATA BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME AND WILL INVOLVE NOT JUST NIH BUT POTENTIALLY SOCIETIES, I'VE BEEN SPEAKING WITH FASA, SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO NEED COMMUNITY INPUT AND HELP WITH. >> THANK YOU. >> TWO COMMENTS. ONE IS AROUND BIAS, YOU SPOKE ABOUT EFFORTS TO BE DONE THERE, (INDISCERNIBLE) INTO THE DATA. WHAT EFFORTS WILL WE BE TAKING TO REALLY ADDRESS HOW YOU'RE MANAGING DATA AGAINST OTHER FACTORS THAT PROPAGATE ISSUES AROUND BIAS AND THE SECOND BROAD STATEMENT AROUND PERFORMANCE, HEAVY INVESTMENT IN UP-FRONT SIDE OF MODEL GENERATIONS, WHAT IS NINDS THINKING AROUND VALIDATION AND IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORKS THAT COME SUBSEQUENTLY, SO FEW OF THESE A.I. -- SOBERING TO SEE HOW FEW ARE ADOPTED OR HAVE MEANINGFUL AND SUSTAINED IMPACT, WITH THE A.I. LIFE CYCLE BEING A CIRCLE IN PERPETUITY AND PERFORMANCE, I WORRY ABOUT THE STRUCTURE NEEDED TO MOVE FROM DATA TO TRULY IMPACT. >> THANK YOU. REALLY GREAT QUESTIONS. WE'RE JUST STARTING DEVELOPING FRAMEWORK FOR HOW WE WOULD THINK ABOUT DATA BIAS, DENSITY OR SPARSE DATA FOR EXAMPLE. AND HOW WE CAN MOVE FROM TRAINING DATA TO MODEL PREPARATION. SO I THINK THIS IS STILL REALLY EARLY, AT LEAST FROM THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN MY OFFICE AS WELL AS IN THE BRIDGE TO A.I. BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS ON OUR ACTION LIST. I WOULD CERTAINLY BE INTERESTED ALSO IN WORKING WITH NINDS. YOU HAVE GREAT CAPABILITIES FOR A.I. AND MODEL GENERATION, UNDERSTANDING DATA AND DATA BIAS. SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS ON THE HORIZON, AND I HOPE THAT YOU'LL SEE FURTHER EFFORTS WE WILL BE THINKING ABOUT IT. >> GREAT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU, SUSAN, FOR JOINING US. I HOPE YOU CAN STAY ON FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING AT HIGH LEVEL, AND THERE MAY BE MORE QUESTIONS THAT MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER THAT I CAN'T ANSWER GOING FORWARD. I'M GOING TO RESHARE MY SCREEN, SEE IF I CAN DO THIS TWICE IN ONE DAY. ONE SECOND. SO NOW I'M GOING TO SHIFT GEARS A LITTLE BIT. SUSAN IS OUR PARTNER HERE FROM THE NIH STANDPOINT BUT I'M TRYING TO WRANGLE TOGETHER OUR STAFF TO BE THINKING ABOUT WHAT DATA SCIENCE PLANNING LOOKS LIKE FOR NINDS. AND SO REALLY NINDS HAS BEEN INVESTED IN DATA SCIENCE, DATA SHARING, HARMONIZATION FOR MANY YEARS, I'D SAY DECADES. BUT OUR STORY TODAY STARTS HERE WITH THE NINDS 2021 TO 2026 STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH COUNCIL MEMBERS KNOW IS A LIVING DOCUMENT ON OUR WEBSITE WITH OUTREACH TO EXTERNAL INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS. AND ONE OF THE CROSS-CUTTING THEMES THAT WE SAW ACROSS ALL OF OUR MISSION COMPONENTS WAS TO FOSTER DATA SHARING AND FOSTER DATA SCIENCE. AND SO WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING SINCE THE FALL IS TO BRING TOGETHER OUR OWN STAFF TO INITIATE DATA SCIENCE PLANNING EFFORT. I WANT TO GO THROUGH WHAT WE'RE AT AND AT A HIGH LEVEL BECAUSE OTHERWISE IT WOULD BE A THREE-HOUR PRESENTATION. I'LL START WITH TIMELINE. WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR IS BROUGHT TOGETHER SUBCOMMITTEES, I'LL HIGHLIGHT THEM IN A MINUTE, TO TRY AND INTERNALLY DEFINE INITIAL GOALS AND IDENTIFY KNOWLEDGE GAPS, ONE THING TO ASK YOU, WHAT OTHER INFORMATION DO WE NEED TO GET STARTED. WE'LL MOVE TO PHASE 2, SOMETIME IN THE AUTUMN AND WINTER, WHERE THEY WILL ENHANCE AND INCREASE AND ACCELERATE CONSULTATION AND EVALUATE DATA WE COLLECT AND PREPARE A PLAN AND RELEASE THE PLAN, REFINE, ASSESS IT, HOPEFULLY IMPLEMENT BEGINNING IN JANUARY 2023, WHICH AS YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO IS A CRITICAL TIME FOR US BECAUSE THIS WHOLE TIMELINE CORRESPONDS TO THE TIMELINE OF THE FINAL NIH POLICY FOR DATA MANAGEMENT AND SHARING OR BIG DMS. WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS SUSAN EMPHASIZED, IT'S GOING TO BE APPLICABLE TO ALL RESEARCH THAT NIH FUNDS OR PARTIALLY FUNDS. ANOTHER ASPECT OF THIS, AS SUSAN ANSWERED THE QUESTION, THE ACTUAL EVALUATION IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANS TO DETERMINED WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE ACCEPTABLE PLANS IS GOING TO HAPPEN AT THE DISCRETION OF THE INSTITUTES AND CENTERS. SO AS SUSAN SAID, YOUR PROGRAM OFFICERS WILL BE LOOKING AT YOUR DATA PLANS TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE GOING TO BE ADEQUATE FOR THE RESEARCH THAT YOU'RE PROPOSING. AND THEN THE OTHER THING TO KEEP IN MIND AS THIS IS WRITTEN, IF YOU WANT TO SIT BACK, PUT YOUR FEET UP ON A CHAIR AND READ SOME READING, THIS WHOLE POLICY AND SUBPOLICIES AND ADDITIONAL MATERIALS IS SOME FASCINATING READING. BUT THE ACTUAL COMMITMENT TO A DATA SHARING PLAN IS GOING TO BE PART OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD. AND AS SUCH, IT'S GOING TO BE EVALUATED DURING THE NEXT EVALUATION OF YOUR GRANT, AND THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IF THE PLAN IS NOT IMPLEMENTED. I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THOSE THINGS IN ADDITION TO THE THINGS SUSAN HIGHLIGHTED. WE'RE TRYING TO GEAR UP AND GET READY. THIS SLIDE I DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ THE NAMES BUT ALL THE PEOPLE AT NINDS ACROSS ALL OF OUR EXTRAMURAL DIVISIONS MATCHED THEMSELVES UP, OUR PLAN HAS BEEN ALIGNED WITH THE 2018 PLAN. I NEED TO UPGRADE TO THE PIECHART YOU'RE USING NOW, SUSAN. BUT WE'VE ALIGNED THESE WITH THOSE PILLARS. THE NEXT SLIDE I JUST WANT TO TALK THROUGH REALLY HIGH LEVEL, MONTHS OF WORK BUT ONLY ONE SENTENCE PER SUBCOMMITTEE IN TERMS OF WHERE THEY THINK NINDS SHOULD REALLY BE FOCUSING OUR PLANNING EFFORT. SO, THIS WILL BE THE LONGEST AND MOST TALKING OF ALL OF MY SLIDES TODAY. OUR INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP RECOGNIZING NINDS DATA IS GOING TO BE DISTRIBUTED AMONG SEVERAL DIFFERENT REPOSITORIES AND KNOWLEDGE BASES, THEY IMPLY WE SHOULD REALLY THINK ABOUT PLANNING AND COORDINATION, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE SECURE ACCESS AND INTRAOPERABILITY. WE PARTNER TO TRY AND BUILD FEDERATED SOLUTIONS INTO OUR DATA ACCESS. OUR DATA ECOSYSTEM GROUP CHARGED WITH LOOKING AT THE DATA ECOSYSTEM SAID WE SHOULD REALLY FOCUS ON INCENTIVIZING BROAD SHARING OF HIGH QUALITY DATA, SO CURATED DATA, HIGH QUALITY DATA, INCENTIVIZE NOT JUST WITH THE STICK OF THE BIG DMS BUT ALSO WITH CARROTS TO ENCOURAGE CULTURE THAT'S GOING TO CITE PEOPLE FOR SHARING QUALITY DATA, NOT JUST CITE THEM FOR PUBLISHING A PAPER IN A ONE-WORD JOURNAL. AND ALSO MAKING THAT DATA FIND A BLE AND REUSABLE. DATA MAT, THEY RECOGNIZED IN ORDER FOR DATA TO TRULY ACCELERATE NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH TO THE NEXT LEVEL, IN ORDER TO INCORPORATE MACHINE LEARNING AND ARTIFICIAL APPROACHES TO GET REAL HYPOTHESES TESTING WE NOT TO ADVANCE ANALYTIC TOOLS AND BUILD PARTNERSHIPS, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO REALLY ADVANCE THE FIELD IF WE SIMPLY WORK WITHIN NINDS DATA BUT ALSO BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER AGENCIES, OTHER INSTITUTES, NIH AS A WHOLE, AND PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERS. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE ECHOED A COMMON THEME, SUSAN POINTED OUT, I HEARD IT BEFORE, THAT REALLY WHETHER WE NEED TO BUILD CAPACITY IS AT THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN DATA SCIENCE AND COMPUTATIONAL EXPERTISE, AND NEUROSCIENCE, NEUROLOGY, NEUROSURGERY EXPERTISE. AND THIS SUBGROUP ACTUALLY IDENTIFIED PLACE WITH NINDS WHERE WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY OUR CLINICAL RESEARCHERS WHO GENERATE DATA BUT ARE REALLY TRAINED TO CARE FOR PATIENTS AND COLLECT CLINICAL DATA BUT REALLY OFTEN LACK THIS COMPUTATIONAL AND DATA SCIENCE TRAINING. AND FINALLY STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY SUBGROUP REALLY TOOK ON SOME OF THE PRACTICAL ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING OF IN ADVANCE OF 2023. AND THEY RELAYED IMPORTANCE OF DEFINING ROLES, WHO DOES WHAT, IF PROGRAM OFFICERS ARE REVIEWING DATA PLANS WHO DOES WHAT, WHO IS GOING TO CREATE USE AGREEMENTS THAT ARE GOING TO WORK FOR COLLABORATIONS THAT MAY HAVE MULTI-SITES, AND SO THEY ADVISE, WE THINK ABOUT DEVELOPING RESOURCES THAT WILL FACILITATE NOT ONLY COMPLIANCE BUT RESPONSIBLE COMPLIANCE INCORPORATING ETHICS, NEUROETHICS, SIMPLIFYING OVERSIGHT AT OUR END OF WHAT OUR DATA IS LOOKING FOR. SO THOSE ARE THE OVERARCHING GOALS CREATED BY OUR FIVE SUBCOMMITTEES. MOVING FASTER SO WE HAVE TIME FOR CONVERSATION, WE'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED SOME INITIAL CROSS-CUTTING THEMES, MANY OF THEM WE'VE DISCUSSED BEFORE, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT RIGHT AT THE TOP WAS THE SENSE WE NEED TO INCORPORATE BIOETHICS AND NEUROETHICS CONSIDERATIONS AND DATA SHARING, WE'RE LOOKING AT NEUROSCIENCE, NEUROLOGICAL DATA FROM THE BRAIN AND HOW THE BRAIN THINKS AND WHAT THE BRAIN DOES. WE ALSO WANT TO EMPHASIZE ENHANCING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT, INCLUDING PROFESSIONALS AND PATIENTS AND PATIENT GROUPS AND FAMILIES, IN THE DATA PLANNING, AS WE ROLL OUT PLANNING PROCESS AND IN PROGRAMS WE DEVELOP. AND FINALLY EMPHASIZE THAT AS OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE STATED, IF THE DATA ISN'T OF VALUE, WE MAY NOT WANT TO INVEST A LOT OF MONEY INTO STORING IT, SHARING IT, DISTRIBUTING IT. SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR DECISIONS REALLY EMPHASIZE RIGOROUS SCIENCE, RICH METADATA AND TRANSPARENCY FOR REPRODUCIBILITY. WHERE ARE WE NOW? WALTER TALKED ABOUT IN HIS DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE TODAY WE'RE BUILDING PILOTS IN DIFFERENT AREAS, WHAT OUR VISION IS FOR OUR DATA SCIENCE STRATEGY IS THAT WE WILL DEVELOP A PICTURE GOING FORWARD OF HOW THESE ARE ALL GOING TO INTEROPERATE, WHETHER WE'LL HAVE STANDARDS TO GO ACROSS ALL OF OUR MISSION OR MAYBE STANDARDS FOR THERAPEUTIC DEVELOPMENT AND STANDARDS FOR BASIC RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT. SO WE'RE BUILDING THIS PUZZLE HERE, AND THIS VISION. WE'RE SUPPORTING RESEARCH PROJECT GRANTS, NETWORKS, COORDINATING CENTERS, ALL CHARGED TO NOT ONLY CREATE BUT CHOLATE AND CURATE HIGH-QUALITY DATA STEPS AS A STARTING POINT. WE'VE BEEN IN THE BUSINESS SINCE EARLY 2000s TO DEVELOP AND USE DATA STANDARDS INCLUDING IN THE CLINICAL REALM, COMMON DATA ELEMENTS, STANDARDS, VENTURING INTO PILOTS TO ALSO CREATE COMMON DATA ELEMENTS. SUPPORTING PROJECTS WITH POLICIES FACILITATING DATA SHARING AND ENABLE ANALYSIS, I'LL GIVE SOME EXAMPLES WITH SOME INITIATIVES THAT WE'RE SIGNED ON TO. SUSAN HIGHLIGHTED SOME WE'RE WORKING ON. AND SUSTAINING PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, PRIVATE AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, IN ORDER TO EXPAND IMPACT OF OUR COMBINED DATA ELEMENTS. EVERYBODY CAN LOOK FOR THEIR FAVORITE PROGRAM THAT WE ALREADY SUPPORT THAT MAY INVOLVE LIKE WALTER HIGHLIGHTED, ACCELERATED MEDICINES PARTNERSHIP FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE, PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, WE ALSO AS SUSAN EMPHASIZED PARKINSON'S DISEASE BIOMARKER PROGRAM GOING ON FOR TEN YEARS NOW, WITH ODSS MIGRATING TO THE CLOUD. YOU KNOW OF COMMON DATA ELEMENTS EFFORTS. WE'RE ALSO BIG INVESTORS IN THE FEDERAL INTRAAGENCY TRAUMATIC BRAIN RESEARCH REPOSITORY GENERATING ANALYTICAL DATA, CREATED WITH COVID NEURODATA BANK AND BIOBANK AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, BEGIN TO COLLECT NEUROLOGICAL DATA ON PERSONS WHO APPEAR -- REGISTERED WITH COVID OR HAVING HAD COVID. THE BRAIN INITIATIVE AND HEAL INITIATIVE, CLINICAL NETWORKS, SILENT STROKE NET, NEURO NET HAVE DATA COORDINATING CENTERS, WORKING WITH OFFERS OF DIRECTOR AND COMMON FUND ON THE UNDIAGNOSED DISEASE NETWORKS, NCATS ON RARE DISEASE NETWORKS, OUR OWN CENTERS WITHOUT WALLS NETWORKS, AND REPOSITORIES INCLUDING BIOSEND AND HUMAN DATA REPOSITORY AND INVESTMENT IN CHORALE INSTITUTE. THESE ARE ARE ACTIVE TODAY, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES WE'RE SIGNED ON TO. THIS IS A REALLY ACTIVE AREA. ALL OF IT IS IN PREPARATION FOR CREATING A WORKFORCE AND ECOSYSTEM AND EXPECTATIONS FOR GETTING MORE OUT OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO SHARE. THEY INCLUDE INITIATIVES THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY NINDS, AS WELL AS THOSE WE'RE SIGNED ON TO FROM OFFICE OF DIRECTOR, AND YOU CAN SEE THE BIG IMPACT OF THE BRAIN INITIATIVE, INITIATIVE TO FACILITATE THE DATA, TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF DATA COMING OUT OF THE BRAIN INITIATIVE. I'M GOING TO END NOW, AND I HAVE LAUNCHED AND SENT IN ADVANCE TO COUNCIL MEMBERS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS TODAY. FIRST GIVEN BREADTH AND HETEROGENEITY, WHAT ROLE SHOULD NINDS PLAY AS WE MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE TO MOVE FORWARD? THE SECOND QUESTION, HOW CAN WE HELP YOU, WITH A STEPS CAN WE TAKE TO BE RESPONSIVE TO STRATEGIC PLAN FOR NIH DATA SCIENCE, AND FINAL DATA POLICY FOR DATA MANAGEMENT SHARING. FINALLY WHAT DO WE MISS, WHAT OTHER CONSIDERATIONS DO WE NEED TO PRIORITIZE. WITH THOSE QUESTIONS IN MIND I'LL SEE IF I CAN STOP SHARING AND OPEN FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF DISCUSSION. WE HAVE HANDS UP AND WE'RE READY TO GO. I'LL START WITH GINA. I ASK TOM AND HOLLY AND KEN AND ME TO BE SURE TO CHIME IN ON THE DISCUSSION, BE SURE TO MAKE TIME FOR THEM. >> I WANT TO FIRST SAY THIS IS GREAT INITIATIVE, SO IMPORTANT, EVERYTHING I DO IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF THERE WERE DATABASES I COULD ACCESS. AND GIVE MY DATA TO. HOWEVER, I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE NIGHTMARE THIS WILL BE FOR INDIVIDUAL SCIENTISTS, R01 HOLDERS, BECAUSE OFTEN THERE'S NOT THE EXPERTISE IN THE LABORATORY TO CONVERT DATA INTO A FORMAT THAT OTHERS CAN USE. OR EVEN PUT IT IN THE LAB NOTEBOOKS IN A WAY THAT OTHER PEOPLE CAN ACCESS WHEN THEY ACCESS THE ELECTRONIC DATA. IT'S GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE AND FOR SOME PEOPLE MIGHT BE REALLY IMPOSSIBLE UNLESS THEY GET HELP SO I WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THE IDEA THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO HAND-HOLD LIKE EKEMINI SAID BEFORE. >> AS YOU THINK ABOUT THIS FORWARD, THAT SECOND QUESTION CAME OUT OF OUR INTERNAL DISCUSSION ALONG THAT PATH. WE CAN'T DO IT ALL BUT WHAT CAN WE DO THAT WOULD FACILITATE THAT? WHERE CAN WE PRIORITIZE TO MAKE IT EASIER AT BIG INSTITUTES WITH A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE BUT AT ALL INSTITUTES. TOM? >> I AGREE WITH THE COMMENTS. THE KEY CHALLENGE IS BASIC/BASIC AND CATEGORIES AND TRANSLATE BASIC DISEASE STUDIES, WHETHER INVESTIGATORS ARE DOING DISCOVERY SCIENCE AND MOTOR ALONG A HYPOTHESIS AND DO A SINGLE CELL RNA-SEQ STUDY, DATA IS INTERESTING, RELATES TO THEIR PROJECT BUT OTHER EXAMPLES IN BASIC SCIENCE WITH STRUCTURE ANALYSES OR STRUCTURE FUNCTION STUDIES IN DRUG EFFECTS WHERE IT'S REALLY INTERESTING DATA BUT IT'S IDIOSYNCRATIC TO THE STUDY. WHAT WE NEED HERE IS SOMETHING MORE PERSONALIZED, LOOK LIKE A CRO, WHERE BECAUSE IT'S SO -- I ROUTINELY SUBMIT DATA TO GEO, WHERE PUBLISH IT, BUT IT'S IN A FORMAT I CHOSE, AMONG SEVERAL, NOT NECESSARILY IN ANY STANDARDIZED WAY. FOUR YEARS LATER I'LL GET REQUESTS, REQUESTER WON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE OR SHE IS ASKING FOR, THE DATA WON'T BE QUITE THE FORMAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN. AND THE PAPER WAS FOUR YEARS AGO, DATA WAS SIX YEARS AGO, IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET TO. SO IF WE HAVE A PERSONALIZED APPROACH, SOMEBODY WHO IS NOT SO SWIFT AT THIS CAN ESSENTIALLY SAY HERE'S MY SC RNAseq DATA, TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD UPLOAD AND APPLY TO REQUESTERS, THEY ARE NOT THE NORM YOU WOULD ASK FOR GENOMIC DATA. I WOULD HELP ON QUER ON -- REQUESTER SIDE, IF THERE WAS A BIOINFORMATIC GROUP, IT WOULD TAKE EXISTING DATASETS, SAY THIS IS THE FORMAT, ORCHESTRATE UPLOADS. ALSO ORCHESTRATE REQUESTS. >> GREAT. THANKS, TOM. SOME OF THOSE INITIATIVES WILL COME FROM THE COMMUNITIES AS THEY GATHER TOGETHER AND DEVELOP STANDARDS AND WE CAN ENCOURAGE THAT. SOME WILL COME ACROSS THE NIH WHICH I'M GLAD SUSAN IS HERE AS WELL. THIS IS SOMETHING DEFINITELY I'M WRITING DOWN THAT WE CAN BRING BACK TO OUR SUBCOMMITTEES AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE DO THAT, HOW WE PROVIDE THAT SUPPORT TO HELP INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATORS FIGURE OUT WHAT TO SHARE, HOW TO SHARE IT, HOW TO ASK FOR IT. I LIKED THAT. THANKS. KEN, I SEE YOUR HAND UP. >> THANK YOU. AGAIN, FANTASTIC PRESENTATION. NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER THREE, OKAY? NUMBER ONE, UP WON'T BE SURPRISED TO HEAR ME SAY BASED ON MY PREVIOUS QUESTION MAYBE NINDS MAYBES THROUGH DR. GREGURICK'S OFFICE, COULD BE THE CENTRAL SOURCE OF DATA STANDARDIZATION TO SAY TO GRANTEES, TO ALL OTHER INSTITUTIONS GETTING MONEY FROM NINDS, THESE ARE THE STANDARD SETS OF FORMATTING YOU WANT TO PUT YOUR DATA INTO SO IT WELCOME USABLE AND CURATABLE, TO TIM'S POINT, IN OUR SYSTEM. IN ADDITION TO OPENING UP FUNDS TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO DO THOSE KINDS OF STUDIES, YOU CAN SET THE STANDARD. NIH CAN SET THE STANDARD, WHAT KIND OF DATASETS AND FORMAT TO MAKE THIS ALL WORK TOGETHER. AND THEN NUMBER THREE, IT'S THE OLD QUESTION, RIGHT? AND WHAT ELSE? SO WHAT I'M SEEING, YOU KNOW, IS, YOU KNOW, DATA THAT, YOU KNOW, MAY BE IN DISCOVERY OR RESEARCH PHASE, WHAT'S BIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT, CLINICAL DATA THAT CAN TELL US WHAT'S CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL, BUT WHAT I'M NOT SEEING IS THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU INTEND TO GO THERE. THE OTHER END FOR ME IS QUALITY OF LIFE. RIGHT? SO YOU GO FROM BIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT, CLINICALLY MEANINGFUL, TO DOES THIS REALLY IMPACT MY QUALITY OF LIFE? AND THERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REAL WORLD EVIDENCE, HEALTH ECONOMICS AND OUTCOMES RESEARCH DATA, YOU KNOW, DATA THAT REALLY SPEAK TO -- SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME? THOSE KIND OF DATA, ARE THEY BEING CONSIDERED TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS KIND OF PROGRAM. >> YOU KNOW, IT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION, KEN. I THINK TRADITIONALLY WE FOCUSED ON FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES. AND WE'VE INCORPORATE THE QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURES OUTCOME, HAVE COMMON DATA ELEMENTS DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY TO LOOK AT THAT. BUT I THINK THIS IS REALLY WHERE WE NEED THE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND FROM THE PEOPLE WE SERVE TO TELL US WHAT THOSE OUTCOMES WILL LOOK LIKE AND WHAT STANDARDS WE MIGHT WANT TO INCORPORATE MOVING FORWARD. BUT THANK YOU. DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? >> YEAH, NO, COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD BECAUSE IT'S GETTING BROADER AND BROADER, NOW TALKING ABOUT SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. >> GREAT, THANKS. >> THANK YOU. I JUST HAD MAYBE A COMMENT AND A BRIEF QUESTION. IT SEEMS IMPORTANT TO HAVE MULTIPLE LEVELS OF DATA THAT'S DEPOSITED IN THESE REPOSITORIES, GENOMIC INFORMATION, RAW SEQUENCE FOR EXAMPLE AND PROCESS DATA, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY I THINK METADATA TABLES ABOUT DETAILS CONCERNING THE DATA. ANCESTRY INFORMATION, SPECIALLY IF CONSENT FORMAL LOUD FOR THAT, PROSPECTIVELY PEOPLE WILL WANT THAT AND EVENTUALLY IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL VARIATION YOU'LL NEED LARGE TO PROVIDE THEM BUT AGGREGATE DATA WOULD SO, YOU KNOW, THOUGHT OF WHAT WOULD NEED TO BE THERE IN ORDER TO KEEP THE DATA FRESH AND USEFUL DOWN THE ROAD. MY QUESTION, DOWN THE ROAD SUSTAINABILITY, WHAT ABOUT FUNDING NEEDED OVER THE LONG TERM TO KEEP THESE REPOSITORIES ALIVE AS IT WERE? IS THAT INCLUDED IN THE ORIGINAL FUNDING OR IS THAT AN ONGOING COMMITMENT OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? >> OH MY GOSH. THAT IS THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION. AND I'LL TRY AND ANSWER IT AS WELL AS I UNDERSTAND. SUSAN MAY BE ABLE TO HELP ME OUT. ONE OF THE STRATEGIES I THINK THAT THE NIH IS LOOKING FOR IS THE DATA THAT ARE USED WILL BECOME SELF-SUSTAINING AND DATA THAT ARE NOT USED WILL BECOME LESS SELF-SUSTAINING. AND THE IDEA THAT THE FORMER DATA SCIENCE LEAD AT NIH HAD -- WAS THIS IDEA OF DATA COMMONS, PEOPLE WILL COME TO THE DATA THEY NEED, IF IT'S OF QUALITY THAT WILL BECOME SUSTAINING. BUT THERE'S A LOT OF NUANCES IN THERE. WE COULD GO ON FOR HOURS OVER A COUPLE BEERS I THINK TO REALLY THINK THROUGH ALL OF THAT BECAUSE AT SOME POINT IF ALL OF THE DATA IS ON THE CLOUD WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THE COST OF ACTUALLY ACCESSING AND USING THAT DATA ON THE CLOUD, RIGHT? WHICH IS NOT -- NIH IS GETTING THAT MONEY, IT'S GOING ELSEWHERE. THESE ARE ALL REALLY IMPORTANT POINTS IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY. IN TERMS OF THE MULTIPLE LEVELS OF DATA AND QUANTIFYING ALL THAT, I THINK WE DO REALIZE THIS IS AN EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE ENDEAVOR. AND I THINK THAT ONE OF THE PILOTS THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING, AMP PD PILOT, EKIMINI MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCE LOOKING AT THOSE NUMBERS, BUT COLLECTING THE GENOMIC DATA, PROTEOMIC DATA, CLINICAL DATA AND ALIGNING FOR EIGHT DATA COHORTS, FOR ONE DISEASE AREA, HAS BEEN A BIG EXPENSE, THAT'S WHERE WE'VE UTILIZED THE INPUT FROM PRIVATE PARTNERS TO HELP PAY FOR THIS IN THE PRE-COMPETITIVE SPACE. BUT WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT FOR ALL THE DATA OBVIOUSLY. AND SO THAT'S WHERE SOME DECISIONS HAVE TO BE MADE. THAT'S WHY WE'RE LOOKING FOR HELP, THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES WE WANT TO GRAB ONTO. >> IF I MADE JUMP IN HERE. >> YEAH. >> WHAT YOU'VE JUST DESCRIBED, WE'RE DOING ON THE GP 2 SIDE OF THINGS, TAKING LARGE DATASETS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND COLLATING DATA TOGETHER. I DON'T HAVE COST INFORMATION BUT COULD HAVE IT BY THE MEETING TOMORROW TO GIVE A SENSE OF SCALE, BUT IT'S NOT CHEAP. AND THAT'S ON THE GENOMIC SIDE OF THINGS. ON THE BASIC SCIENCE SIDE, I THINK FROM MY PERSPECTIVE IT MAKES SENSE TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT PRINCIPLES IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, PUTTING SOMETHING IN A FINDABLE REPOSITORY THAT'S REPUTABLE, AND PUTTING IT IN A FINAL FORMAT THAT IS SUITABLE FOR THAT PARTICULAR REPOSITORY. AND MAKING GRANTEES TELL YOU THAT INFORMATION. ON THE STAFF SIDE MONITORING THAT'S HAPPENING AND CHECKING QUALITY OF IT, THAT'S ANOTHER CONVERSATION. BUT ACTUALLY GETTING PEOPLE TO TELL YOU WHERE THE DATA IS, IS ONE STEP. THE NEXT STEP I THINK WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE THINKING ABOUT NEXT YEAR IS HOW DO YOU TAKE THE DATA THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, WHICH AGAIN TAKES STAFF TIME TO GO THROUGH LOOKING AT ALL THE SINGLE CELL RNAseq, LOOKING AT OUTCOMES OF THOSE PROJECTS, AND THINKING ABOUT DOING A META-ANALYSIS, THAT'S THE NEXT LAYER MAKING SURE IT'S CLEAN, PUTTING IT TOGETHER, RUNNING A NEW ANALYSIS. BUT FIRST STEP, NINDS SHOULD BE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT, IS GETTING PEOPLE TO USE REPOSITORIES THAT EXIST AND ONLY CREATE NEW REPOSITORIES FOR WHERE THERE'S NO FUNCTIONAL REPOSITORY FOR THAT DATA. >> GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I KNOW I'M 53 MINUTES WITH MY 50 MINUTES ALLOTTED, DAVE TURNED ON HIS CAMERA TO LET ME KNOW WE HAD TO WRAP UP. >> DAVID HAD HIS HAND UP FOR A WHILE. >> I CAN'T SEE HIS HAND. >> I'M ONE OF THE MANY. >> I'M SORRY. >> ASKING ABOUT CONSENTS, THERE WAS A REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ABOUT CONSENT LANGUAGE BUT I WORRY THAT YOU MAY HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF DATA WITH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DIFFERENT CONSENT LANGUAGES USED, ALTHOUGH YOU HAVE IT, YOU CAN'T SHARE IT BECAUSE -- >> RIGHT. >> THE THOUGHT OF CREATING LIKE A NATIONAL STANDARD SO NIH DOESN'T HAVE TO PARSE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL DATA SOURCE WHAT THEY ARE ALLOWED TO LET PEOPLE DO WITH THAT. >> I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT QUICKLY FOR YOU BUT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT IT AND NIH IS THINKING ABOUT IT AND WE'RE WORKING ON IT. SO I'LL TRY AND GET BACK TO YOU WITH ANY INFORMATION I CAN ON THAT. HOLLY, I DID ASK YOU IN ADVANCE TO MAKE A COMMENT SO I'LL GIVE YOU A SECOND TO DO SO. >> THANKS. I FEEL LIKE THIS IS REALLY A HUGE UNDERTAKING. AND I'M HAPPY TO KNOW THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTORY OF THE NIH IS VERY INTERESTED IN THIS. ONE OF MY GENERAL COMMENTS IS I DON'T -- I MEAN, I FIND IT STRANGE THAT IT'S THE NINDS THAT IS SPEARHEADING THIS, WHEN BASICALLY EVERY INSTITUTE SHOULD BE DOING THIS, AND WHAT I KNOW THROUGH MY INTERACTIONS WITH THE EYE INSTITUTE IS THAT THEY HAVE ALSO IN SOME OF THEIR LARGER COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS STARTED DATA SHARING ARRANGEMENTS. FOR INSTANCE, WITH THE AUDACIOUS GOALS INITIATIVE, WE, ALL THE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN THAT, HAVE HAD HANDS HELD IN UPLOADING THEIR VARIOUS TYPES OF DATASETS AT A REPOSITORY AT ST. JUDE. SO THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE. THAT'S ONE COMMENT ABOUT HOW BIG THIS IS. AND I FEEL LIKE EVERYBODY DOESN'T NEED TO INVENT THE WHEEL. >> RIGHT. >> I'M GLAD THAT, YOU KNOW, SUSAN IS -- THE OTHER COMMENT I HAVE IS, YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS AT DIFFERENT SCALES, AND SO FOR INSTANCE A COMMENT ABOUT HOW EXPENSIVE THIS IS GOING TO BE AND THE APPETITE THAT THE NIH HAS TO SUPPORT THIS, SO TWO EXAMPLES ARE ZEN BASE AND WARM BASE, BEEN IN OPERATION, NIH FUNDED FOR DECADES. AND I CAN TELL YOU EVERY TIME THOSE GRANTS THAT SUPPORT THOSE DATABASES AND THESE COMMUNITIES COME UP FOR RENEWAL, IT'S ALWAYS NAIL BITING, TOUCH AND GO, WHETHER OR NOT THOSE ENDEAVORS WILL BE SUPPORTED. SO I FEEL LIKE ONE THING THE NIH BROADLY HAS TO ACCEPT IS THIS HUGE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO DOING THIS. >> GREAT. THANK YOU. ONE QUICK RESPONSE TO YOUR FIRST COMMENT, AND TODAY'S DISCUSSION WAS FOCUSED ON WHAT NINDS SHOULD BE DOING, WE'RE NOT TRYING TO TAKE ON THE ENTIRE NIH. I JUST BROUGHT SUSAN HERE TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE. BUT EVERY ONE OF THE 27 INSTITUTES AND CENTERS ARE HAVING THESE SAME DISCUSSIONS WITH THEIR COUNCILS. SUSAN'S GOING TO MANY OF THOSE TO COLLECT INFORMATION FOR HER PLANNING BUT WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT FOR NINDS WHAT MAKES SENSE FOR US. SO THANK YOU. AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO DAVE. THANK YOU FOR THE EXTRA TIME. I APPRECIATE IT. >> VERY IMPORTANT. THE RESPONSE TO THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION, I'D SAY MORE A BILLION DOLLAR QUESTION. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF. I THINK WE ARE AT A POINT WHERE WE WERE GOING TO TAKE A BREAK. WE'RE 15 MINUTES OVER BUT PEOPLE SHOULD STRETCH THEIR LEGS AND GET UP. WHY DON'T WE START BACK IN TEN MINUTES. SEE THAT WOULD BE 3:17. >> THANKS, DAVE. ANDREW, YOU'RE GOING TO SHOW THE VIDEO NOW ALSO. >> CAUSES DELUSIONS, THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN PRESENT IN SOMEONE. >> NEARLY EVERY REGION OF THE BRAIN WAS UNDER ATTACK, EXPERIENCED HIMSELF DISINTEGRATING. >> HE SAID TO ME ONE-YEAR WHAT'S GOING ON. I'M NOT MY. >> IT AMAZED ME ROBIN COULD WALK OR MOVE. >> PEOPLE WHO ARE BRILLIANT CAN TOLERATE DEGENERATIVE DISEASES BETTER. ROBIN WILLIAMS WAS A GENIUS. >> STEVE CORN, DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF TRAINING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SPEAKING TO EFFECTIVE MENTORING. TAKE IT AWAY. >> THANK YOU. WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY. I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOME THINGS WE'RE DOING IN MENTORSHIP AND TALK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR TRAINING. AND THE -- WE HAVE A BIG GAP IN WHAT WE'RE DOING. THAT'S WHAT I'M REALLY WANTING YOUR ADVICE ON, A BIG QUESTION TO ASK YOU. BEFORE I START, I WANT TO SAY TALKING ABOUT MENTORSHIP AT NINDS, THIS IS REALLY DOING THINGS RELATED TO MENTORSHIP, IT'S PARTNERSHIP WITH MICHELLE JONES LINDEN AND HER OFFERS AND MY OFFICE, WE WORK ON EVERYTHING TOGETHER WITH REGARDS TO MENTORSHIP. SO I HAVE FIVE ITEMS HERE IN YELLOW, I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH THEM VERY QUICKLY. THIS JUST GIVES YOU A FLAVOR OF SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING WITH REGARD TO MENTORSHIP, AND THEN THE BIG QUESTION FOR COUNCIL THAT I WANT TO LEAVE A LOT OF TIME FOR IS THE FIRST PART IS HOW CAN WE BETTER ENGAGE INSTITUTIONS TO PRIORITIZE STRONG MENTORSHIP, WITH A SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION I'LL GET TO WHEN WE GET THERE. THE FIRST THING I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT A COUPLE K12 PROGRAMS, EXPLAIN WHAT THEY ARE. THEY HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL AND I BELIEVE THAT A LARGE PART OF THE REASON FOR THE SUCCESS IS THAT WE BUILT THE PROGRAMS AROUND STRONG MENTORSHIP AND COMMUNITY BUILDING, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE LANDIS AWARD THAT NINDS STARTED FOUR YEARS AGO, FOR OUTSTANDING MENTORSHIP. I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOME WORKSHOPS THAT WE DO RELATED TO MENTORSHIP TO GIVE A FLAVOR OF THE KINDS OF THINGS WE'RE DOING. THERE'S LANGUAGE IN INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING GRANTS ON MENTORSHIP, I'M GOING TO MENTION THAT BRIEFLY. YOU'LL SEE WHY WHEN I GET THERE. THEN I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT, MICHELLE JONES LONDON AND I RAN A WORKSHOP ON TRAINING AND MEANTORYSHIP, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, AND WE HEARD SOMETHING INTERESTING FROM TRAINEES TO RELATES TO WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT TODAY. I'LL START WITH THE K12s, INSTITUTIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS. WE RUN TWO NATIONAL PROBLEMS, THE INSTITUTION HAVING AN AWART, WARD, OUR IS FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY. AND YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBERS AT THE TOP. AND THE IDEA IS TO LAUNCH JUNIOR FACULTY INTO K AWARDS. BUT THE KEYS TO THE PROGRAMS ARE OVERSIGHT, MENTORSHIP AND COMMUNITY BUILDING, FOR BOTH SCHOLARS AND APPLICANTS AND ANNUAL MEETING THAT CONTINUES THAT MENTORSHIP. I WANT TO SHOW SOME DATA THAT I THINK REFLECTS IMPACT OF MENTORSHIP. NEUROSURGEONS, 19 SCHOLARS FINISHED THE PROGRAM, 78% HAVE GOTTEN NIH FUNDING. IF YOU LOOK DOWN HERE YOU'LL SEE 18 OF THE 19, 95%, HAVE GOTTEN MAJOR FUNDING EITHER FROM NIH OR ELSEWHERE. THE SUCCESS RATE FOR R01s OR EQUIVALENTS ARE HIGH. THESE ARE SCHOLARS, FUNDED, PICKED, THE CREAM OF THE CREAM. IF YOU LOOK AT THE APPLICANTS, THESE ARE PEOPLE NOT SELECTED FOR FUNDING. THERE WERE 64 OF THOSE. THESE ARE NEUROSURGEONS. 84% OF THE PEOPLE NOT SELECTED FOR FUNDING CONTINUED TO APPLY FOR NIH FUNDING. AND HALF OF THOSE WHO CONTINUED TO APPLY WERE SUCCESSFUL. AND IN AS MUCH AS THIS IS BY DESIGN OF THE PROGRAMS, I FOUND IT PLEASANTLY SHOCKING THAT SO MANY NEUROSURGEONS WHO DID NOT GET FUNDED BY THE K12 CONTINUE AND WERE ACTUALLY SUCCESSFUL GETTING FUNDING. NIECE ARE SIMILAR NUMBERS FOR CHILD NEUROLOGY K12, ONLY 12 SCHOLARS, YOU CAN SEE TEN OF THE TWELVE HAVE GOTTEN NIH FUNDING, ONE MORE HAS GOTTEN PRIVATE FUNDING. SO 11 OF THE 12 HAVE BEEN FUNDED. TWO OUT OF TWO THAT APPLIED FOR R01s GOT THEM. THERE'S BEEN A DROP-OFF OF APPLICANTS BUT OF THE ONES WHO TRIED TO GET FUNDING OVER HALF HAVE GOTTEN FUNDING. AND AGAIN, I THINK THIS REFLECTS THE FACT THAT THOSE WHO APPLY ARE BROUGHT INTO A COMMUNITY AND GIVEN REALLY STRONG MENTORSHIP AND IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE. OKAY. ON THE LANDIS AWARD, SOMETHING DIFFERENT, WE STARTED THIS PROGRAM ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO. WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT IT TEN YEARS AGO, FINALLY LAUNCHED IT. IT'S AN AWARD WITH TWO PURPOSES, ONE TO RECOGNIZE INDIVIDUALS FOR SUPERIOR MENTORSHIP AND TRAINING. WE WANTED TO SHOW PEOPLE WE REALLY CARE. IT WAS TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY BEING NOT ONLY THE INDIVIDUALS UP FOR AWARDS BUT SHARES INSTITUTIONAL LEADERS, IMPORTANT TO US, AND THE BEST WAY WE COULD SHOW TO CREATE THIS AWARD TO SHOW THIS PROVIDED REAL MONEY, $100,000 SUPPLEMENT, TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL MENTORSHIP, A SUPPLEMENT TO R01s, IT COMES WITH FULL AND DIRECT. AND IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED, NOT SELECTED BUT CONSIDERED, THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE TO BE NOMINATED BY TWO, AT LEAST TWO CURRENT OR FORMER TRAINEES. IT'S RECOGNIZE OF INDIVIDUAL BY THEIR TRAINEES THAT THEY WERE REALLY IMPORTANT TO THEIR CAREERS. THE INTENTION IS TO SUPPORT FIVE INDIVIDUALS PER YEAR, WE SUPPORTED 26, THAT REFLECTS THE FACT ONCE YOU GET DOWN TO A SMALL NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS IT CAN BE ARBITRARY TO PICK ONE OVER ANOTHER. PEOPLE HAVE TO BE IN A TENURE TRACK OR EQUIVALENT POSITION. ON ADVICE OF COUNCIL, WE HAVE DIVIDED THIS UP INTO THREE CAREER STAGES. JUNIOR, 7-12 YEARS FROM START. MID-CAREER OR SENIOR, AND THEN WE CIRCLE BACK AND START WITH JUNIOR AGAIN, GO THROUGH THIS CYCLE. AGAIN, IT WOULD NOT BE A FAIR COMPARISON TO COMPARE JUNIOR PERSON'S RECORD OF MENTORSHIP TO A SENIOR PERSON'S RECORD OF MENTORSHIP. SO THESE BULLETS REFLECT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. THE LANGUAGE CULTIVATES PURSUIT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE AN RIGORS. IT'S NOT JUST THE INDIVIDUAL DOES RIGOROUS RESEARCH BUT THEY HAVE A LAB CULTURE CULTIVATING PURSUIT OF SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITED LENS. EXCELLENCE, PURSUING INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY IN THEIR LABORATORIES. THEY HAVE TO WALK THE WALK, NOT JUST CARE ABOUT IT. THEY HAVE TO INVEST IN THEIR MENTEES DEVELOPMENT REGARDLESS OF CAREER INTEREST, NOT IMPORTANT THEY NOT ONLY CARE OF THOSE THAT PURSUE ACADEMIC CAREERS BUT REALLY WHATEVER -- THEY HAVE TO HELP THEIR MENTEES REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN. AND, AGAIN, THEY NEED TO HELP THEM ACHIEVE FULL SCIENTIFIC POTENTIAL, MEASURED IN PRODUCT, OBVIOUSLY THEIR TRAINEES NEED TO HAVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS. HERE'S THE INFORMATION WE GET. SO PEOPLE ARE -- INDIVIDUALS ARE NOMINATED WHEN SOMEBODY IS NOMINATED AND ELIGIBLE WE SEND THEM A REQUEST, STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY OF MENTORING, THEY COULD HAVE TEN LETTERS COMMITTED FROM TRAINEES OR MENTEES, TWO PUBLICATIONS THAT REPRESENT RIGOR OF THEIR WORK, AND LAST TWO ITEMS, YOU KNOW, WE CERTAINLY PAY LITTLE ATTENTION TO CV, THE LIST OF TRAINEES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS RARELY COMES INTO PLAY BUT CAN IN SOME CASES. OBVIOUSLY, WHEN PEOPLE BEING NOMINATED, THERE ARE LOTS OF GREAT MENTORS OUT THERE, WE GET LOTS OF GREAT CANDIDATES FOR THIS. THE KEY IS HAVING A VERY LARGE REVIEW COMMITTEE THAT'S SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE INSTITUTE, AND THE KEY TO MAKING THIS REVIEW WORK IS THAT MANY REVIEWERS, EVERYBODY READS AT LEAST TEN, USUALLY MORE APPLICATIONS, BETWEEN 10 AND 15 APPLICATIONS. BUT THERE ARE MANY REVIEWERS THAT READ EVERY SINGLE APPLICATION BECAUSE IF YOU JUST READ FIVE, YOU'D SEE FIVE YOU LIKED. YOU NEED TO COMPARE THEM ALL TO GET A SENSE OF WHAT ALL THE DIFFERENT CANDIDATES ARE DOING RELATIVE TO MENTORSHIP. I SHOW YOU THIS LIST NOT BECAUSE I WANT TO SPEND TIME, IT WILL EQUAL GENDER DISTRIBUTION, TO GET A SENSE OF INSTITUTIONS PEOPLE CAME FROM, BOTH COASTS, MIDDLE OF COUNTRY, LARGE, FAMOUS, SMALL INSTITUTIONS, THE INSTITUTION PEOPLE COME FROM IS IRRELEVANT. WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TRAINEE LETTERS AND THE PHILOSOPHY, REALLY WHAT AN INDIVIDUAL HAS DONE. AND I'LL JUST SAY TO YOU THESE WERE THREE STATEMENTS BY PEOPLE BUT PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY WHO GETS THIS AWARD CONSIDERS IT ONE OF THE MOST SPECIAL THINGS THEY HAVE EVER GOTTEN. THEY HAVE BEEN NOMINATED BY THEIR MENTEES, AS BEING REALLY IMPORTANT TO THEIR LIVES. AND THERE'S SO MUCH APPRECIATION FOR THAT. AND THEN THE FACT THAT THEY ARE RECOGNIZED AMONG THIS GREAT CROWD AS BEING REALLY SPECIAL, IT'S REALLY A REAL HONOR FOR ALL OF THESE PEOPLE. THAT'S THE WAY THEY FEEL. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE DO TO TRY TO SEND A MESSAGE THAT WE REALLY CARE ABOUT MENTORING. WE HEAR FROM LOTS OF TRAINEES, BUT THEY WANT TO NOMINATE THEIR MENTORS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO RECOGNIZE THEM. OKAY. ANOTHER THING WE DO IS RUN LOTS OF WORKSHOPS. WE'VE RUN MANY IN THE PAST, HAVE MANY PLANNED. I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU WORKSHOPS THAT WE IN OUR OFFICE TRAINING AND WORKSHOP WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE, ORGANIZED. WE COULD DOUBLE OR TRIPLE IF WE HAD THE WORKSHOPS BY MICHELLE'S OFFICE OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH MICHELLE'S OFFICE, A SMALL EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE DO. I HAVE THIS LIST, THE POINT IS THE TARGETS THAT WE HIT. WE HIT MENTORSHIP, RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS, TRAINEES AND FACULTY IN T32s, F32s, OVERALL, SO WE HIT LOTS OF FACULTY AND LOTS OF TRAINEES OF LOTS OF DIFFERENT (INDISCERNIBLE). T32s REQUIRE FORMAL PLANS, AGAIN TARGETING FACULTY OF THESE T32s, LOTS OF INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS, SPELLED OUT. WE REQUIRE DEMONSTRATED ACCESS TO APPROPRIATE ROLE MODELS. WE HAVE PLANNED AN ANNUAL WORKSHOP SHUT DOWN BY THE PANDEMIC BUT AS SOON AS WE CAN GET BACK IN PERSON WE'LL HOLD IT. BIG FOCUS IS MENTORSHIP. A NEW THING IN THE T32s IS REQUIRED LETTER FROM THE DEAN THAT DESCRIBES POLICIES THAT THE INSTITUTION HAS FOR CONSIDERATION OF MENTORSHIP AND PROMOTION, TENURE DECISIONS, RECOGNITION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTORSHIP, WHAT ARE POLICIES, HOW DO THEY RECOGNIZE MENTORSHIP, AND HOW DO THEY PROTECT TRAINEES FROM SITUATIONS, THIS CAN BE THINGS LIKE MENTORS LEADING THE INSTITUTION, OR WHEN ANYTHING HAPPENS, MENTOR RUNS OUT OF MONEY, HOW DO THEY DEAL WITH TRAINEES SO THEY ARE NOT LEFT SORT OF FLOATING PART WAY THROUGH A CAREER. THIS IS A SCORABLE ITEM IN THE GRANT BUT I'LL TELL YOU IN THE VERY SHORT HISTORY OF THE EXISTENCE OF THIS LETTER REVIEWERS ARE LOOKING AT WHETHER THE DEAN ADDRESSES IT. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN JUDGING WHETHER THEY THINK THE POLICIES ARE GOOD ONES OR NOT, AND THAT'S KIND OF UNDERSTANDABLE, BUT THAT IS AN IMPORTANT POINT I WANT TO BRING OUT. MICHELLE AND I HELD A MEETING FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING ON TRAINING, MENTORSHIP, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION, AND A SURPRISING AND WHAT I LABELED A PLEA, IT REALLY WAS A PLEA FROM A LARGE NUMBER OF THESE TRAINEES, WAS NIH NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP STUDENTS ESCAPE FROM TOXIC LAB ENVIRONMENTS AND MENTORS. AND THIS IS NOT ABOUT MENTORS ACTING ILLEGALLY OR HARASSING THEM. THESE ARE MENTORS WHO ARE IN A SENSE JUST NOT TREATING TRAINEES WELL. THAT CAN BE ANYWHERE ALONG THE SPECTRUM. OUR RESPONSE IS WOW, IT'S NOT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR WHAT WE CAN DO, AS A FUNDING AGENCY TO HELP IN THIS REGARD BUT THEY REALLY WANTED OUR HELP. AND WALTER TALKED ABOUT THIS, I HAVE THE SLIDE TO SHOW YOU NIH HAS TWO NEW PROGRAMS THAT RELATE TO UNLAWFUL HARASSMENT. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BAD MENTORSHIP, TOXIC ENVIRONMENTS, I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT UNLAWFUL BEHAVIOR. IT'S BOTH PROMOTING GOOD MENTORSHIP AND HELPING TRAINEES DEAL WITH BAD SITUATIONS. AGAIN THE SUMMARY, WE NEED LOTS OF ACTIVITIES IN PLACE DIRECTED AT TRAINEES, MENTORS EVER DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRAINEES. WHAT WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF IS A WAY TO INCENTIVIZE INSTITUTIONS TO INVEST IN OTHER MENTORSHIP AND PROTECT TRAINEES FROM POOR MENTORSHIP OR TOXIC SITUATIONS. MY QUESTION FOR COUNCIL, WHERE I WANT THE BULK OF THE TIME SPENT FOR THIS IN DISCUSSION WAS NUMBER ONE HOW CAN WE BETTER ENGAGE INSTITUTIONS TO PRIORITIZE STRONG MENTORSHIP BUT ALSO HOW CAN WE INCENTIVIZE INSTITUTIONS TO MONITOR AND EVALUATE MENTORSHIP AND PROTECT TRAINEES FROM POOR MENTORSHIP, YOU CAN DEFINE "POOR" HOWEVER YOU'D LIKE, AND TO HELP STUDENTS ESCAPE FROM TOXIC SITUATIONS. WE TALK TO FACULTY, IT'S TREMENDOUSLY DIFFICULT FOR FACULTY IN A DEPARTMENT TO INTERVENE IN A MENTOR/MENTEE RELATIONSHIP. AND STUDENTS ARE ON THEIR OWN IN A DIFFICULT POWER STRUGGLE. THE QUESTION IS HOW CAN WE ENGAGE INSTITUTIONS TO HELP. AND SO WITH THAT I'M SORRY, THE QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP. >> THANKS, STEVE. I SEE ED'S HAND IS UP. KICK IT OFF,ED. >> THANK YOU. STEVE, THAT'S A GREAT PRESENTATION. I THINK THE ISSUES YOU BROUGHT UP ARE ONES THAT ARE FELT BY REALLY EVERYBODY THAT'S EVER BEEN A DEPARTMENT CHAIR OR DEAN. AND I'LL PUT MYSELF IN THAT LATTER CATEGORY. AND I DON'T KNOW THAT ANYBODY HAS THE ANSWER, BUT IT'S ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE I THINK ALL OF US HAVE PROBLEM PROBLEM -- PROBABLY HAD EXPERIENCES WE FOUND OUT TOO LATE, NOT EARLY ENOUGH. IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ALWAYS ACT AS EARLY AS WE ENTIRE BUT WE CAN ALL DO BETTER. ONE OF THE -- I DON'T EXPECT, YOU KNOW, RESOLUTION HERE TODAY BUT ONE THING THAT -- ONE IDEA, IT'S NOT ORIGINAL, I'M SURE IT'S BEEN DISCUSSED, WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S SOME COUNCIL OF DEANS OR NIH, SOME ORGANIZATION COULD ACTUALLY HAVE SOME MEETING OF DEANS, LEADERS OF ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS, WOULD HAVE TO INCLUDE LEGAL COUNSEL AND SO FORTH TO HAVE A SERIOUS DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS. THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DONE RECENTLY, I'M NOT AWARE OF IT, BUT THAT COULD REALLY PROVIDE SOME UNIQUE INSIGHTS. IT MIGHT BE A GOOD PLACE TO START BECAUSE WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW, FOR A LONG TIME AND I THINK SOME OF US HAVE NOT SEEN THE KIND OF PROGRESS WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. THANKS A LOT. >> MAY I SPEAK NEXT? >> SURE, GINA, GO AHEAD. >> I'VE SEEN TERRIBLE ACTORS, CAUSING LEAKS IN THE PIPELINE FOR WOMEN, FOR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, FOR EVERYBODY ACTUALLY. REALLY GREAT TALENT LOST BECAUSE OF TOXIC ENVIRONMENTS IN LABORATORIES. KIND OF THE OPPOSITE OF EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE WORKING FOR. I THINK SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE AND PERHAPS ON MANY FRONTS TOP-DOWN AS PERHAPS ED WAS TALKING ABOUT AND ALSO BOTTOM-UP. PERHAPS IF THERE WAS A CLUB THAT COULD BE USED, NOT SAYING PEOPLE CAN'T BE REMEDIATED, IN FACT WITH THE IDEA PEOPLE CAN BE REMEDIATED, BAD MENTORS, POOR MENTORS CAN BECOME GOOD MENTORS IF THEY ARE MOTIVATED TO DO SO. SO I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME -- A BIG STICK BEHIND THIS INITIATIVE WE ALL VALUE GOOD MENTORSHIP AND I GUESS THE BIGGEST STICK IS FUNDING. IF WE HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THE BRAIN INITIATIVE PLAN FOR ENHANCING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVE, PART OF THE REVIEW CRITERIA IS DIVERSIFYING SCIENCE, ENHANCING MENTORING AND TRAINING PERHAPS IT COULD BE A NON-COMPETING RENEWAL CRITERIA SO IF A P.I. HAS BEHAVED BADLY AND YOU CAN SEE IT OBVIOUSLY THAT STUDENTS, TRAINEES ARE LEAVING THE LAB IN DROVES UNHAPPILY, AND THE REPORT COMES IN OF THAT NATURE TO THE NIH, THE NIH CAN WORK WITH INSTITUTION TO FREEZE FUNDING UNTIL REMEDIATION OCCURS. THAT THIS COULD BE INSTEAD OF TOP-DOWN, THIS COULD BE BOTTOM-UP, TRAINEES THEMSELVES OR FORMER TRAINEES CAN REPORT THESE BAD BEHAVIORS AND THEN ACTION CAN BE TAKEN. >> LET ME JUST SAY THE ISSUE OF COURSE IS THAT A COMPLAINT FROM A SINGLE TRAINEE DOESN'T MEAN A LOT. THE QUESTION IS, AT NIH WE HAVE REVIEW COMMITTEES AND HOW REVIEW COMMITTEES DEAL WITH IT, AND WE HAVE FOAs WHERE WE CAN PUT THINGS INTO FOAs. IT'S NOT IMMEDIATELY FEASIBLE TO SAY, WELL, WE SEE A PROGRESS REPORT BUT WE KNOW YOU'VE BEEN A BAD MENTOR SO WE'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU -- IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. SO REALLY QUESTION IS WE'RE THINKING MORE IN TERMS OF IS THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO LEAN ON THE INSTITUTIONS IN A FEASIBLE WAY THROUGH -- FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, THE TRAINING WORLD, THE T32s ARE A WAY TO DO THAT BUT HOW DO WE ACTUALLY GET SOMETHING TO HAPPEN AS OPPOSED TO A TEAM WRITING, OH, YES, WE CARE, A REVIEW COMMITTEE SAID, OH YES, THE DEAN SAID HE CARED A LOT. YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING FROM AN NIH PERSPECTIVE? >> I THINK DATA ARE IMPORTANT. WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER ABOUT A SINGLE REPORT IS NOT ENOUGH. A BAD MENTOR IS A BAD MENTOR TO MORE THAN ONE PERSON USUALLY. SO THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECORD, YEAH, I AGREE. >> TOM? >> STEVE, GREAT TALK. THREE IDEAS. ONE, NOT SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THIS DISCUSSION YOU HAVE ACCUMULATED SO MANY INTERESTING BOTTOM-UP IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO MENTOR THROUGH YOUR PROGRAMS, SORT OF A BEST PRACTICES LIST WOULD BE REALLY USEFUL TO CIRCULATE, TO -- I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT WOULD GO TO BUT I WOULD BE INTERESTED, I THINK MOST P.I.s WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT. PICK AND CHOOSE SOME THINGS. SECONDE TO ECHO GINA'S POINT, GETTING THE DATA, THINKING AS A CHAIR, IS USEFUL. ACGME REQUIRES A LOT OF HOT-WIRED POST GRADUATE PROGRAMS TO COLLECT SURVEY TOOLS ANONYMIZED AND REPORTED. SO IT CAN BE ACTED UPON IN A WAY THAT DOESN'T EXPOSE THE TRAINEE. AND THEN THE THIRD POINT THAT'S KEY, LINKS TO ACADEMIC PROMOTIONS PROCESS. I DON'T THINK NINDS CAN BE THE ENTIRE POLICE PERSON HERE. I THINK WHAT THE SCHOOLS HAVE TO DO, INSTITUTIONS, IS TO SHOW THE NINDS THAT THIS IS INTEGRATED INTO THEIR ACADEMIC PROMOTIONS IN THIS DATA-DRIVEN WAY. SO IF SOMEBODY HAPPENS TO BE AN NIH GRANTEE OR NOT, TRAINEES RECEIVE A YEARLY SURVEY, POSTDOCS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS, DATA IS THERE FOR TRAINEES, BAD EXPERIENCES WITH THIS FACULTY MEMBER, AND THIS FACULTY MEMBER IS NOW FLAGGED IN THE ACADEMIC PROMOTIONS PROCESS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE, SO IT'S BECOME THE NORMAL POLICE ACTION OF THE INSTITUTION THAT THE FACULTY IS IN, DOESN'T HAVE TO HAVE NINDS STRETCH TO DO IT SO MUCH. LETTERS MIGHT HAVE HAVE TO VALIDATE THAT FOR A FACULTY MEMBER'S NINDS GRANTS OR SOMETHING BUT THAT'S THREE THINGS HERE. >> THANKS. AARON? >> DR. CORN, YOU MENTIONED FROM THE WORKSHOP THAT TRAINEES REPORTED TOXIC LAB ENVIRONMENTS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S A GENERALITY. DO YOU HAVE SPECIFIC DETAILS OF HOW YOU WOULD DEFINE A TOXIC LAB ENVIRONMENT? I THINK LABELING SOMETHING "TOXIC" MIGHT NOT BE HELPFUL BUT IF YOU HAD SPECIFICS, FOR EXAMPLE, I ENCOURAGE MY TRAINEES TO BE IN A LAB AT ALL TIMES WHEN NOT EATING OR SLEEPING OR IN CLASS. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT BUT THAT'S WHAT I PUT INTO IT, SO IT WOULD JUST BE GOOD TO KNOW WHAT TRAINEES THINKS IS A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT, MORE SPECIFICS THAN GENERALITIES THAT YOU PRESENTED. >> LET ME SAY I CAN'T -- OBVIOUSLY CAN'T GIVE YOU AN ANSWER ABOUT A LIST OF SPECIFICS. I AGREE WITH YOU. I THINK YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL, HAD RECENT DISCUSSIONS WITH FACULTY ABOUT THIS, ABOUT TRAINEES COMPLAINING ABOUT THINGS THAT FACULTY WOULD NOT VIEW AS BAD THINGS, TRAINEES ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT IT. I THINK THERE ARE PRACTICES THAT HAPPEN THAT ARE ABUSIVE, SUCH AS GIVING A FAVORED -- TAKING A BIG PROJECT AWAY FROM SOMEBODY AND GIVING IT TO A FAVORED PERSON, OR NOT ALLOWING SOMEBODY TO BE A FIRST AUTHOR BECAUSE OF SOMETHING, OR -- I MEAN, THERE ARE ABUSIVE THINGS THAT HAPPEN. AND I THINK EVERYBODY KNOWS THESE THINGS OCCUR, AND I KEEP A LIST OF WHAT PEOPLE SAY, OH, THIS HAPPENED TO ME. BUT AGAIN, I AGREE WITH YOU, JUST TO LABEL SOMETHING TOXIC ISN'T HELPFUL BUT THERE ARE BAD LAB ENVIRONMENTS, AND TRAINEES HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME ESCAPING. I KNOW ONE POSTDOC WHO WAS PERSONALLY TOLD BY SOMEBODY I WILL DESTROY YOUR CAREER IF YOU LEAVE ME FOR THAT JOB RIGHT NOW. THAT'S PRETTY TOXIC. >> THE OTHER TWO THINGS ARE GENERALITIES, WITHOUT KNOWING SPECIFICS ABOUT -- >> ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. I AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY. THAT'S WHY WE -- THAT'S SORT OF WHY IN A SENSE MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO HAVE THE INSTITUTION DO SOMETHING TO MONITOR MENTORSHIP, HOWEVER IT SEES FIT. AND TO CARE ABOUT IT AND TO ACT ON IT. AND THEN BAD THINGS WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO PEOPLE NECESSARILY. >> GREAT POINT. >> THANK YOU FOR THE DISCUSSION. THE QUESTION WHAT NINDS CAN DO, ESPECIALLY GOING FORWARD, I THINK IT'S HELPFUL TO HAVE DISCUSSION AND SHED LIGHT ON HOW TO MODERNIZING, NEEDS OF THE WORKFORCE, SHIFTING FROM REALLY PASSIVE TO ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT, FROM MORE STRUCTURED RELATIONSHIP TO BIDIRECTIONAL AND WHAT ARE EXAMPLES ACROSS INSTITUTIONS WHERE PROGRAMS ARE PUT IN PLACE TO DEAL WITH DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION, EXAMPLE OF TEACHER OF HIDDEN CURRICULUM, MEDICAL SCHOOL INTO ACADEMICS, ALL SOFT SKILLS THAT AREN'T TAUGHT IN A CLASSROOM. I COULD IMAGINE SOME TYPE OF EFFORT BRINGING TOGETHER AND THINKING MORE IN THIS DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED LANDSCAPE, WHAT DOES MENTORING LOOK LIKE TODAY, ALL THE CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD, BUT MORE AN INNOVATEIVE SPIN. NINDS COULD PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE. >> THANK YOU. ALLAN? >> I THINK NIH MAKES DECISIONS ABOUT CUTTING FUNDING, I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD WORK. IT'S AN ACCUSATION, AS IF YOU'RE TAKING THIS INDIVIDUAL TO COURT. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO PROVE THAT. I THINK JUST TO ARBITRARILY SAY TWO STUDENTS WROTE TERRIBLE REVIEWS, YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON, LIKELY THERE COULD BE TWO OTHER PEOPLE IN THE LAB TWO THINK THE PERSON IS FANTASTIC. ONE OF THE BIG PROBLEMS IS THAT YOU HAVE A BIG LAB, THE P.I. IS SPENDING ALL THEIR TIME WITH THE PERSON WHO IS GENERATING TO GO IN AS HIGH IMPACT PAPERS, IGNORING THE OTHERS. THAT IS SEEN BY SOME INDIVIDUALS AS LOUSY MENTORING, TERRIBLE PERSON. I THINK WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AT UCSF IS THAT WHEN NIH HEARS THESE THINGS, THE HEAD OF THE NEUROSCIENCE PROGRAM AT THAT INSTITUTION MUST BE INFORMED, AND THEN THEY WILL DEAL WITH IT INTERNALLY. THAT'S WHAT WE DO. I HOPE THAT IT'S NOT GETTING BACK TO NIH THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE AT UCSF, OF COURSE IT'S POSSIBLE, BUT I THINK THAT HAS TO BE DEALT WITH INITIALLY INTERNALLY. I THINK TO HAVE NIH START CUTTING FUNDING COULD BE REALLY PROBLEMATIC. >> I AGREE. I THINK WE ALL AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT. I THINK WE ALSO TEND IN TRAINING AT LEAST TO MUCH PREFER CARROTS TO STICKS. AND THE QUESTION, IF I COULD REFRAME IT AGAIN, RELATED IN THE SENSE OF GETTING INSTITUTIONS TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN PROMOTING GOOD MENTORSHIP AND MONITORING MENTORSHIP TO PREVENT BAD MENTORSHIP. OR DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. AGAIN, WHAT DOES BAD MEAN, YOU COULD USE YOUR OWN DEFINITIONS. THE QUESTION IS, IS THERE SOME WAY WE CAN INCENTIVIZE MORE ATTENTION, THE LANDIS AWARD, THE QUESTION, IS THERE A MORE -- >> HOLLY? >> I WANT TO COMMENT. I AGREE WITH ALLAN THAT THE NINDS SHOULD NOT BE IN A POSITION OF -- UNLESS THERE HAS BEEN ESSENTIALLY A COURT-LIKE PROCEEDING TO INDICATE THAT SOMEBODY HAS, YOU KNOW, BEEN EGREGIOUS IN THEIR BEHAVIOR. HOWEVER, I DON'T THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT LEVEL. I DO FEEL LIKE IT'S REALLY WISER AND MORE RESPECTFUL TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SITUATION TO ENGAGE A CHAIR OR A MENTOR OF THE FACULTY MEMBER OR AN OMBUDSPERSON AT THE INSTITUTION TO HAVE A FIRST PASS CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTORING WITH THE FACULTY MEMBERS. AGAIN, SPEAKING FROM A CHAIR AND HAVING YOUNG FACULTY COME IN, WHAT IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO MENTOR? A LOT OF THEM, YOU KNOW, ARE VERY UNTHOUGHTFUL IN HOW THEY VOICE THEIR EXPECTATIONS TO THEIR TRAINEES. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE FOUND EFFECTIVE, AGAIN THIS IS SORT OF ALONG THE LINES OF THE TRAINING SUGGESTIONS, THAT YOU MADE EARLIER, WE BASICALLY HAD A FACULTY AND TRAINEE MEETING IN OUR DEPARTMENT SO THAT EVERYBODY COULD BASICALLY RAISE QUESTIONS. ACTUALLY WE HAD IT WRITTEN DOWN, ALL ANONYMIZED, COMMENTS AND CONCERNS ABOUT TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP. AND WE HAD A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION, WE DO IT EVERY YEAR TO HELP PEOPLE BRING THESE TOPICS FACE TO FACE TO THE GROUP. I THINK THE STICK THING IS A BAD IDEA. >> STEVE, ARE YOU CONTEMPLATING? >> I'M WAITING IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SAY ANYTHING. I NEED TO EMPHASIZE WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR STICKS. WE'RE LOOKING FOR CARROTS. >> PERHAPS FOR TIME PURPOSES, TIM, COULD YOU BE THE LAST COMMENT? >> SURE. I THINK THE ISSUES WE FACE, YOU CAN THINK ABOUT PARENTING TEENAGERS. IF YOU SURVEY TEENAGERS, HOW THEY THINK YOUR PARENTING IS GOING, YOU'RE GOING TO GET A WIDE SPECTRUM. I HAD A COUPLE GREAT TEENAGERS BUT IF YOU SURVEYED THEM THEY WOULDN'T HAVE SAID IT WAS GOING GREAT. THE OUTCOME YOU MEASURE LATER. I WORRY PAYING ATTENTION TO MOMENT-TO-MOMENT FEELINGS OF SOMEONE IN THE LAB HOW THEY THINK THEIR MENTORSHIP IS GOING, BECAUSE P.I., I AGREE YOU HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR, SELFISH BEHAVIOR FROM THE P.I., BUT SOME P.I.s MIGHT DECIDE THIS IS TOUGH LOVE, THIS IS BETTER IN THE LONG RUN, FOR YOU BECOMING A PRODUCTIVE SCIENTIST IN SOME REALM. THE TRAINEE MIGHT NOT AGREE. YOU KNOW, THE P.I. DOES HAVE THE UPPER HAND. I DON'T WANT TO BE TOXIC BUT IT'S NOT AREA TO -- EASY TO MEASURE ON MOMENT-TO-MOMENT BASIS, I'M WORRIED ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK AT THIS. >> ONE MORE THING. IT'S ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL HOW YOU GATHER THE DATA. ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT BE, YOU KNOW -- IF YOU'VE HAD CHILDREN YOU KNOW ANY ONE MOMENT, ANY ONE OF OUR CHILDREN CAN BE COMPLAINING ABOUT YOU. AND MIGHT BE VERY VOCIFEROUS. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE THAT ARE CLEARLY -- THERE ARE LEAKS IN THE PIPELINE, EVERY ONE OF THE TRAINEES HAVE DROPPED OUT COMPLETELY OF SCIENCE. IF YOU INTERVIEW THEM, YOU WILL FIND THAT THEY DID IT BECAUSE THEY FOUND IT TO BE A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT JUST CASUAL SINGLE INSTANCES. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO REALLY ARE HARMFUL TO OUR PROFESSION. HARMFUL TO SCIENCE. THEY ARE DOING HARM. AND THAT HAPPENS. EVERY ONE OF US KNOWS OF SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE THIS, SO I THINK CARROTS BECOME STICKS IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT REWARDING AN INTUITION FOR HAVING GOOD MENTORS, WITH TRAINING GRANTS, THAT IS A STICK. THAT CARROT IS A STICK, IF YOU DON'T REWARD THEM, BECAUSE YOU SEE TRAINEES HAVE NOT GONE ON TO THIS -- TO BE PROFESSIONALS IN THIS INSTITUTION, THAT IS THE STICK, RIGHT? YEAH, ANYWAY. >> HERE, THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, CERTAINLY WE'VE SEEN THIS. THERE ARE SOME REAL VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN THE LABS THAT I THINK IT'S NOT JUST THEIR CAREERS BUT THEIR MENTAL HEALTH IS AFFECTED BY WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH. I KNOW IN ONE INSTANCE WE HAD TO PROHIBIT AN INVESTIGATOR FROM EVER HAVING A GRADUATE STUDENT OR A POSTDOC. AND SO BUT IN TERMS OF WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT, I THINK IT REALLY HAS TO BE THE INSTITUTION'S. WE CAN POTENTIALLY DEVELOP SOME TOOLS TO HELP THE INSTITUTIONS UNCOVER AND MEASURE THINGS BUT THEY HAVE TO DECIDE IF SOMEONE'S PULLING A LOT OF MONEY FROM NIH AND THEY ARE A BAD ACTOR THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE GRADUATE STUDENTS. THE OTHER THING, YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT I REMEMBER, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF PEOPLE PICKING LABS, SOME WERE PRETTY NAIVE ABOUT WHAT LAB THEY PICKED. BUT, YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER BEN BARRIS HAS YouTube VIDEOS WARNING PEOPLE WHAT NOT TO DO AND PEOPLE STILL KEEP DOING THEM. EVEN GETTING THE INSTITUTIONS TO EDUCATE THEIR TRAINEES BEFORE THEY PICK A LAB WOULD GO A LONG WAY. I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY LITTLE THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE, BUT FOR THE BAD ACTORS, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S REALLY HARASSMENT I MEAN NIH DOES HAVE A PORTAL NOW WHERE PEOPLE CAN REPORT HARASSMENT, IF IT GETS TO THAT POINT. BUT WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING. WE HAVE TO GO TO THE INSTITUTION AND SAY THIS IS WHAT WE GOT AND ASK THEM TO GET A REPLY BACK TO US. >> SEEING A LOT OF NODDING, IT'S TRICKY WITH THE DUE PROCESS SITUATION. STEVE, THANK YOU. >> ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS FOR ME IS TO KNOW I'M FUNDING PEOPLE THAT I'VE SEEN ABUSE PEOPLE IN THE PAST. AND I DON'T HAVE A WAY NOT TO CUT THEIR FUNDS OFF. I HAVE TO JUST LIVE WITH THAT. BUT IT'S NOT AN EASY THING TO LIVE WITH. >> WE'RE GOING TO KEEP THINKING TOO. ALL RIGHT. THANKS A LOT, STEVE. THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S INPUT. WE GAINED TIME. STEVE, YOU GET THE COOKIE. MOVING ALONG, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE HEAL INITIATIVE. SO AS EVERYONE PROBABLY KNOWS, NINDS PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN THREE LARGE NATIONAL INITIATIVES, BRAIN, HEAL, AND THE ALZHEIMER'S INITIATIVE, WHERE NINDS IS LEAD ON RELATED DEMENTIAS. AND WE'VE BEEN AT EACH COUNCIL WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE OF ONE OF THOSE INITIATIVES. THIS TIME IT'S GOING TO BE "HEAL." WE'RE GOING TO WELCOME LINDA PORTER, DIRECTOR OF OUR OFFICE OF PAIN POLICY, ALSO ONE OF THE LEADS IN OUR "HEAL" PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION. LINDA WILL LET US KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN "HEAL." SO LINDA? >> THANK YOU, DAVE. >> TAKE IT AWAY. >> I'LL SHARE MY SCREEN AND GET STARTED. JUST A QUICK CHECK-IN, EVERYBODY CAN SEE THE SCREEN AND CAN HEAR ME? >> LOOKS GOOD, LINDA. >> OKAY, GREAT. THANKS, KELLY. SO, IN THE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, IT'S CHALLENGING, I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THE OVERVIEW OF THE ENTIRE PROGRAM AND HIT HIGHLIGHTS ON A FEW OF THE SPECIFICS. ALSO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW "HEAL" STARTED AND HOW IT'S EVOLVING OVER TIME TO MEET SOME NEEDS OF THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY THAT ARE NOT SOLELY BASED ON WHERE RESEARCH GAPS ARE BUT CROSS-CUTTING THEMES. "HEAL" HAS BEEN PRETTY ADEPT AND FLEXIBLE AND MEETING SOME NEEDS AS YOU'LL GET THE SENSE AS WE GO THROUGH. SO, TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON HOW AND WHEN "HEAL" STARTED, IN 2017 THE ADMINISTRATION CALLED A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY BASED ON THE OPIOID OVERUSE AND OPIOID DEATHS FROM OVERDOSES, PARTLY TO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, PARTLY ILLICIT DRUGS. DATA SHOWS PARTLY BECAUSE OF COVID THAT SITUATION HAS NOT IMPROVED. WE HAD 90,000 DRUG DEATHS LAST YEAR, MANY WERE RELATED TO PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS, CERTAINLY NOT ALL, THE DEATHS ARE STARTING TO SHIFT FROM PRIMARILY PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION CAUSE. ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE HAVE 50 MILLION PEOPLE WHO LIVE WITH PAIN, ABOUT HALF OF THOSE WHO REPORT SEVERE DAILY PAIN, ANOTHER 20 MILLION WITH HIGH IMPACT CHRONIC PAIN, PAIN THAT INTERFERES WITH THEIR LIFE OR AS THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO GO TO SCHOOL OR TO WORK, SOCIAL LIFE, ET CETERA. AND SO SOMETHING THAT'S VERY DISABLING SITUATION. SO IN THE RESPONSE TO OPIOID CRISIS THE NIH SET UP A NUMBER OF CROSS-CUTTING MEETINGS RELATED TO PAIN RESEARCH AND TO OPIOID RESEARCH AND OPIOID OVERDOSE RESEARCH. AND IN THE HOPES OF LONG TERM OF BALANCING THOSE TWO AREAS IN A WAY WE COULD BEGIN TO SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS THE OPIOID CRISIS. AND SO CURRENTLY, LET LET ME GO BACK. 2018, NIH WAS GIVEN $500 MILLION PER YEAR FOR TWO YEARS TO ALLOCATE FUND TO THESE TWO AREAS OF RESEARCH. THAT WAS ONGOING ENDURING FUNDS IN THE BASE OF THE NIH BUDGET, AND SO THAT $500 MILLION COMES IN EVERY YEAR, SO WE WERE ABLE TO SET UP A NUMBER OF REALLY IMPORTANT ENDURING PROGRAMS. SO CURRENTLY WE'VE INVESTED ABOUT A BILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS IN RESEARCH THROUGH "HEAL," THE 500 PROJECTS THAT EXTEND ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. AND INCLUDE LARGE COLLABORATION PROJECTS, THAT BRING IN BOTH COMMUNITIES AS ADDRESS A NUMBER OF HEALTH CARE SETTINGS. LOTS OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH STAKEHOLDERS IS INVOLVED IN THIS PROGRAM. THE SETUP, UNIQUE WAY, THAT SERVES THE PURPOSES OF "HEAL." SO THIS GIVES AN IDEA OF THE STRUCTURED WAY IT'S SET UP BY PROGRAM OVER HERE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, WHERE THE PROGRAM, PAIN MANAGEMENT SIDE AND OPIOID MANAGEMENT. PAIN MANAGEMENT SIDE WE HAVE TEAMS THAT ADDRESS PRE-CLINICAL AND TRANSLATION RESEARCH, MANY OF WHOM ARE WITH THE NINDS, BUT NOT ALL, THIS IS A TRANS-NIH PROGRAM. TEAMS THAT ADDRESS CLINICAL RESEARCH IN PAIN MANAGEMENT. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CIRCLE, OPIOID SIDE WITH MEDICATION PROGRAM, A PROGRAM TO TREAT BABIES BORN WITH EXPOSURE TO SUBSTANCES, PREVENTION STRATEGIES, HIGHLIGHTING ADOLESCENTS, STRATEGIES, SORRY, AND TRANSLATIONAL PROGRAMS TO BRING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TOOLS INTO THE RESEARCH REALM. STRUCTURALLY, NIH HAS A DIRECTOR, DR. REBECCA BAKER, AND SHE IS WITH THE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, AND REBECCA HAS REALLY LED THE PROGRAM PRETTY MUCH FROM ITS INITIATION AND THROUGH THE CURRENT EVOLUTION THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE, RESTRUCTURING SOME PROGRAMS AND CARRYING ON OTHER SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS. "HEAL" IS NOT SEPARATE, IT'S A LARGE PROGRAM WITH EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF INSTITUTE DIRECTORS WHOSE INSTITUTES HAVE PAIN OR OUD RESEARCH, AND THEY HELP IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, IN OVERSIGHT OF THE PROGRAM TO HELP REVIEW NEW PROGRAMS COMING IN, LOOK AT FUNDING PLANS, WORK WITH SOME EXTERNAL ADVISORY GROUPS. THERE'S A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WORKING GROUP WHICH IS MORE OR LESS A SUBWORKING GROUP OF THE ADVISORY COUNCILS ACROSS NIH. NINDS COUNCIL MEMBERS, COMMUNICATION BACK AND FORTH, THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE THAT MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS TO "HEAL," THIS IS MADE UP OF ACADEMIC AND PHARMACEUTICAL EXPERTS TO HELP "HEAL" IN ITS VARIOUS RELATED TO DEVICE TREATMENT, ANALGESIC THERAPY DEVELOPMENT. AND RECENTLY SET UP IS A "HEAL" COMMUNITY PARTNER COMMITTEE WHICH IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY ENTHUSIASTICALLY PARTICIPATING. THEY HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE WITH PAIN OR OUD OR THEY SUFFER FROM PAIN OR HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS OR HAVE EXPERIENCES WORKING IN THIS AREA. SO I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT GROUP AS WE GO THROUGH THE SLIDES. IF WE LOOK AT "HEAL," PAIN RESEARCH, PAIN RESEARCH TODAY, BREAKING IT DOWN INTO CLINICAL AND PRE-CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SESSIONS, ON THE LEFT BACK PAIN, HEMODIALYSIS, EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH NETWORK, IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM FOR BRINGING INTERVENTIONS INTO HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS, AND THEN WE HAVE A PHASE 1 EPPIC NET OR EARLY PHASE NETWORK STRUCTURE SET UP THROUGH "HEAL," BEING MANAGED THROUGH NINDS. ON PRE-CLINICAL SIDE PROGRAMS FROM BEGINNING WITH "HEAL," AND THIS IS FOR THERAPY DEVELOPMENT, TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH, AND TOOLS THAT SUPPORT THOSE AREAS. WE HAVE A PAIN TARGET DISCOVERY FOUNDATION PROGRAM, PRE-CLINICAL SCREENING PLATFORM, I'LL GO THROUGH THESE IN MORE DETAIL, HIGHLIGHTING TITLES HERE. BIOMARKERS PROGRAM RELEVANT TO THE CLINICAL SIDE, DEVICE DEVELOPMENT, OPTIMIZATION OF THERAPIES, THERAPEUTIC PIPELINE, AND ANOTHER SCREENING PLATFORM FOR EARLY PHASE DRUG DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN CELL BASED, SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM WHICH "HEAL" HAS BEEN VERY STRONGLY SUPPORTING IN THE AREA OF PAIN RESEARCH. STARTING WITH A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PRE-CLINICAL SIDE, PRE-CLINICAL TRANSLATIONAL, THREE PROGRAMS THAT YOU SEE HERE HAVE BEEN VERY ACTIVE AND REALLY WONDERFUL PROGRAMS THAT HAVE COME IN. DISCOVERY AND VALIDATION OF NOVEL TARGETS FOR NEW PAIN THERAPIES NON-ADDICTIVE, THESE DO NOT INCLUDE WORK ON DIFFERENT FORMULATIONS OF OPIOIDS, NON-OPIOID. AND THIS IS FROM THE TEAM, FOLKS FROM NINDS INVOLVED TO DATE. "HEAL" HAS FUNDED 34 PROJECTS, SUM OF $60 MILLION, AND REALLY WIDE RANGE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TARGETS ARE INCLUDED, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WITH 34 PROJECTS FUNDED. OPTIMIZATION PROJECT, THESE ARE CONTRACT DRIVEN FOR OPTIMIZATION OF SMALL MOLECULES AND BIOLOGICS, AND THESE ARE PRIMARILY IN THE AREA OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN, FUNDED THROUGH "HEAL" UNDER SIX CONTRACTS, AND TO DATE "HEAL" SPENT $7.5 MILLION. BIOMARKER PROGRAM IS FOR -- THIS IS AN EVOLVING PROGRAM. DISCOVERY AND VALIDATION OF BIOMARKERS THAT CAN HELP IN CLINICAL PAIN RESEARCH, ALSO IN CLINICAL SETTINGS OVER THE LONGER TERM. NINE PROJECTS FUNDED HERE, CLOSE TO $32 MILLION. THE THREE PROGRAMS IN THIS SLIDE REPRESENT AN AREA OF REALIGNMENT OF ANALGESIC OR THERAPY PIPELINE THAT MIKE WILL TALK ABOUT TOMORROW. ELEMENTS OF EACH HAVE BEEN SHIFTED A LITTLE BIT TO BE INCLUDED INTO A REALIGNMENT PROGRAM FOR ANALGESIC DEVELOPMENT AND I'LL COME BACK TO THAT MOMENT MOMENTARILY. WE HAVE TWO SCREENING PLATFORMS, ONE LED BY NINDS AT THE TOP OF THE SLIDE, PRE-CLINICAL SCREENING PLATFORM FOR PAIN, WHICH WE CALL PSPP. IT'S BASED ON A PROGRAM THAT NINDS RAN FOR YEARS FOR EPILEPSY THERAPY DEVELOPMENT, TAKING IN AT NO COST TO THE INVESTIGATORS WHO COULD BE FROM ACADEMIA, INDUSTRY, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, TAKE IN A PROMISING SMALL MOLECULE OR BIOLOGIC, DEVICE OR NATURAL PRODUCT AS WELL, AND RUN IT THROUGH A WHOLE SERIES OF RELEVANT SCREENS, IN VITRO OR IN VIVO, TO SEE IF THEY WERE PROMISING THE OWNER OF THE ASSET GETS THE DATA, CONFIDENTIAL, AND THEY CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH IT AS APPROPRIATE, ONCE THEY GET THE SCREENING PLATFORM. NCATS RUNS AN INTRAMURAL/EXTRAMURAL COLLABORATION FOR SCREENING TOOLS THAT ARE HUMAN BASED MODELS, THEY HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THIS INCLUDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, 3D TISSUE-BASED MODELS. THE ONE I LIST YEAR IS ONE THAT IS PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO THE PAIN RESEARCH PROGRAM, AND TO DATE "HEAL" HAS FUNDED FIVE AWARDS IN THIS REALM, TO THE TOTAL OF $7 MILLION. AND SO WE ALSO HAVE AS PART OF THE PRE-CLINICAL TRANSLATIONAL PROGRAM A PROGRAM TO TEST AND OPTIMIZE DEVICES FOR NON-ADDICTIVE PAIN THERAPY. A BROAD RANGE HAVE COME IN THROUGH 14 GRANTS, TOTAL OF $23 MILLION. AND SO THESE CAN BE SORT OF EARLY TARGET IDENTIFICATION OR CAN BE LATER STAGE TRANSLATIONAL THERAPEUTIC DEVICE DEVELOPMENT, AND I GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE STUDIES THAT IS IN THE RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS ON THE "HEAL" WEBSITE, AND JUST AS A REMINDER IN YOUR PRE-COUNCIL PACKET YOU GOT A TWO-SIDED ONE-PAGER YOU CAN LINK TO THE "HEAL" WEBSITE AND LOOK AT PROGRAMS QUICKLY, SEE DIFFERENT RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS AND CROSS-CUTTING PROGRAMS THAT "HEAL" IS SUPPORTING. SO THIS IS ON MORE DETAIL, IT'S EFFECTIVELY A NEW TYPE OF SIMULATION TOOL, IF YOU WILL, USING INJECTABLE LIQUID POLYMER THAT CAN SORT OF -- I THINK LIKE CRAZY GLUE, TARGETS A NERVE AND CAN SERVE BASICALLY AS ELECTRODE STIMULATION, AND IS MUCH LESS INVASIVE AND MUCH LESS ADVERSE EFFECTS THAN METAL ELECTRODE IMPLANTED HERE. MY ADVANCE SEEMS TO BE STUCK. HERE WE GO. ANOTHER RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT IN THE PRE-CLINICAL ARENA, BIOMARKERS. THIS ONE IS IN SICKLE CELL DISEASE PAIN, ONE OF OUR INVESTIGATORS HAS DEVELOPED WHAT WE HOPE TO BE A BIOMARKER FOR SICKLE CELL DISEASE PAIN. BASICALLY USING INFLAMMATORY INDEX, TAKING BLOOD SAMPLES FROM FOLKS WITH SICKLE CELL CURRENTLY IN PAIN OR CURRENTLY PAIN FREE OR LOW PAIN LEVELS. AND THEY TAKE A PLASMA SAMPLE AND TEST IT FOR GENETIC ACTIVITY IN THE PAIN/NO PAIN SITUATION. AND ARE TRYING TO SEE IF THIS CAN BE USED AS A BIOMARKER FOR EXISTING SICKLE CELL DISEASE PAIN. AND SO I MENTIONED EARLY ON IN THE FIRST SLIDE THERE ARE THREE PROGRAMS, SOME COMPONENTS ARE INTEGRATED TOGETHER TO REALIGN ANALGESIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM THROUGH "HEAL" IN WHICH THE PROGRAM WOULD OFFER INVESTIGATORS A MORE OR LESS START TO FINISH OPPORTUNITY WITH RESOURCES FOR THEM TO TAKE ASSETS THROUGH THE THERAPEUTIC PIPELINE, ALL THE WAY OUT TO READY FOR PHASE 2 TESTING OF THE PARTICULAR ASSET, AND SO IT'S SET UP IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS BECAUSE THIS WOULD BE COMPLICATED, COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS, A PLANNING PHASE WHERE TEAMS CAN COME TOGETHER AND BUILD A CAPACITY AND DO INITIAL STUDIES ON TARGETS THAT THEY HAVE BEEN WANTING TO STUDY, MODELS THAT NEED TO BE DEVELOPED. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT WILL BE THE LARGER RESEARCH PROGRAMS THAT CAN TAKE AN ASSET THROUGH INITIAL THERAPEUTIC DEVELOPMENT, PROVIDE RESOURCES TO STUDY THE MECHANISMS, GET APPROPRIATE ASSAYS AND TESTING, DEVELOP BIOMARKERS NEEDED FOR FURTHER STUDIES, AND THEN TAKE THOSE PRODUCTS INTO AN OPTIMIZATION STAGE WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE A LEAD PRODUCT AT THAT POINT AND THE RESOURCES WOULD BE FOR OPTIMIZATION THROUGH IND PHASE 1 AND THEN READY FOR PHASE 2, WHICH COULD COME THROUGH "HEAL" EPPIC NET PROGRAM OR THROUGH OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO RUN PHASE 2 TRIALS. THIS IS A COMPLEX AND EXCITING PROGRAM. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT TOMORROW IN THE CLOSED SESSION. SO HE WILL GIVE YOU MORE DETAIL ON HOW THIS WORKS AND WHERE WE ARE IN THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE OF THE PROGRAM THROUGH "HEAL." THEN A COUPLE QUICK ITEMS TO HIGHLIGHT ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE, "HEAL" REALLY HAS HAD THREE YEARS OF FUNDING, FIRST YEAR WAS MOSTLY NIH GETTING PROCESSES PUT IN PLACE TO ACCEPT, REVIEW, FUND APPLICATIONS. AND SO MOST OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE ON THE PROJECTS HAS BEEN IN YEAR TWO AND THREE OF "HEAL." AND TO DATE, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME EARLY ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM THE PROGRAMS, WE HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, TWO PATENTS FOR SMALL MOLECULES THAT MODULATE PAIN, RECEPTORS, AND THEY ARE TARGETING CHRONIC PAIN AND MIGRAINE. WE HAVE A PORTABLE ELECTRODE DEVICE TO INHIBIT SIGNALING, INTO THE PERIPHERAL NERVES, AND THAT'S BEEN VALIDATED AS BEING EFFICACIOUS. AND THEN ANOTHER ON DRUG CANDIDATE THAT HAS RECEIVED AN IND AND IS READY TO MOVE FORWARD INTO FURTHER CLINICAL TESTING. NOW I'M GOING TO SWITCH GEARS TO AN OVERVIEW OF THE PAIN CLINICAL SIDE OF "HEAL." AND THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU THE SEVERAL NETWORKS ESTABLISHED BY "HEAL," NOT JUST ALL THE PROGRAMS, I'LL TRY AND SUMMARIZE A COUPLE OF THEM. AND YOU CAN SEE STARTING SORT OF THROUGH THE LEVELS OF SORT OF EVALUATION THAT ASSETS WOULD BE GOING THROUGH INTERVENTIONS WOULD BE GOING THROUGH, SO WE HAVE EPPIC NET, THE EARLY PHASE, PHASE 2 NETWORK SET UP BY "HEAL." AND ITS INFRASTRUCTURE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. IT HAS A CCC, AND NUMEROUS DIFFERENT CLINICAL SITES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH HUBS WHERE THE RESEARCH, THE ACTUAL RESEARCH CAN HAPPEN. THEY ARE READY TO TAKE IN CLINICAL TRIALS AND GET THEM STARTED AS THEY COME THROUGH FOR REVIEW AND AWARD, AND THEN MOVE OUT INTO THE EPPIC NET SYSTEM, YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT MUCH MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM AND THE ANTICIPATED TRIALS COMING IN, TOMORROW IN THE CLOSED SESSION. INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE. THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO RECRUIT AT EACH OF THE SITES FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PAIN CONDITIONS, AND SO THE CAPACITY IS NATIONWIDE, AND REALLY COULD TAKE IN SMALL SORT OF RARE DISEASE POPULATIONS, OR COULD ACCOMMODATE LARGER TRIALS WITH MORE PREVALENT CONDITIONS. AND THERE'S A BACPAC CONSORTIUM. THIS IS CONGLOMERATE OF PROJECTS THAT ARE LOOKING AT TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR DIAGNOSTICS AND INTERVENTIONS, ALSO TO RUN SOME EFFECTIVENESS TRIALS, SO IT'S KIND OF A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT BACK PAIN, ALL THE WAY FROM DIAGNOSIS UP TO EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS. AND THIS IS AN AREA WHERE THERE OBVIOUSLY HAS BEEN A GREAT NEED FOR COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH GIVEN THE PREFERENCE AND COMPLEXITY OF LOW BACK PAIN. WE HAVE THE HOPE PROGRAM, WHICH IS ONE LARGE TRIAL TO LOOK AT A COMBINATION OF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CARE INCLUDING BUPRENORPHINE AND NON-PHARMACOLOGY CARE CARE FOR END STAGE RENAL DISEASE UNDERGOING HEMODIALYSIS, A PAINFUL SITUATION, A SITUATION IN WHICH OPIOIDS ARE HIGHLY PRESCRIBED. PAIN EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH NETWORK IS A LARGE RESEARCH NETWORK LEVERAGED OFF OF NCATS PROGRAMS, FOR CLINICAL TRIAL WORK, AND WE HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT LARGE CLINICAL TRIALS, EIGHT TRIALS ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED AT THE TUNE OF $60 MILLION. MANY INSTITUTES ACROSS NIH ARE ACTUALLY MANAGING THE INDIVIDUAL TRIALS. THEN THE PRAGMATIC AND IMPLEMENTATION STUDIES, THESE ARE COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS, HYBRID WITH IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS, TO BRING NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPIES INTO DIFFERENT HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS. THIS IS PRIMARILY READ THROUGH NCCIH WITH SEVEN ONGOING PROJECTS. BIOMARKER SIGNATURES AND ENDPOINTS PROGRAM IS INCLUDED HERE, AS WELL AS IT WAS IN THE PRE-CLINICAL SIDE BECAUSE IT'S RELEVANT TO BOTH, I'LL COME TO THAT IN A SEC. THIS GIVES YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE TYPES OF PAIN CONDITIONS, I DIDN'T LIST ALL INTERVENTIONS USED OR EVALUATED IN EACH OF THE STUDIES BECAUSE IT GETS COMPLICATED BUT TO GIVE AN IDEA OF THE BREADTH OF COVERAGE OF DIFFERENT PAIN CONDITIONS ACROSS THE DIFFERENT GEO CLINICAL PAIN MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS, YOU COULD HAVE A QUICK LOOK HERE, I'M NOT GOING TO READ THEM ALL. IT'S REALLY JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THE BREADTH. WHAT THIS DOESN'T SHOW YOU IS THAT WE HAVE WITHIN PRISM, ALL PHARMACOLOGICAL LARGE RANGING INTERVENTIONS. EFFECTIVENESS NETWORK ON THE FAR LEFT TESTING -- >> IT DIDN'T ADVANCE. YOUR SLIDE HAS NOT ADVANCED. >> I'M ON THE ONE WITH THE FIVE BUBBLES. >> WE DON'T SEE FIVE BUBBLES. >> IT DID NOT GO FORWARD. >> IT'S ON MY SCREEN SO I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO FIX THAT. >> WE HAVE TO COME OUT AND COME BACK. >> SHARE AND UNSHARE AGAIN? >> YEAH, I THINK YOU DO, LINDA. >> IS IT ADVANCING NOW? >> NOPE. >> OKAY. I SHOULD RESUME SHARE OR PUT IN A NEW SHARE? >> RESHARE. >> STOP AND RESTART, OR I CAN STOP YOU IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE. >> NOT SHARING ANY LONGER, NOW I'M GOING TO SHARE AGAIN. >> NOW YOU'RE BACK IN BUSINESS. >> YOU CAN SEE IT MOVE NOW? >> YES. >> OKAY, GREAT. THANKS. LET ME JUST GET MY PULSE BACK AND SEE WHERE I WAS HERE. OH, BIOMARKERS, CONDITIONS BEING TESTED HERE EXCEPT FOR THE NEUROPATHIC PAIN ARE BIOMARKERS BEING EVALUATED, CRANIO ONE IS A DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKER. COMING BACK TO EPPIC NET, HIGHLIGHTING THIS PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE MUCH MORE DETAIL OF STUDIES COMING THROUGH EPPIC NET WILL BE DISCUSSED TOMORROW. IT EXPECTS TO SOON BE STARTING UP A TRIAL FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS, WITH A NEW ASSET FOR PHASE 1 STUDIES. A COUPLE RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THIS PAIN CLINICAL SIDE IS THAT THAT BACPAC IS PUTTING TOGETHER PROGRAMS TO START WITH A NUMBER OF RESOURCES TO TARGET INTERVENTIONS BASED ON ETIOLOGY, AND FOR PRECISION MEDICINE IN BACPAC. WE HAVE AN IND THAT WAS NEEDED FOR THE RENAL DIALYSIS PAIN PROGRAM FOR THE USE OF BUPRENORPHINE. THAT'S BEEN AWARDED. AND THEN PATIENTS IN SOME PROGRAMS WILL PROVIDE SOME IMPORTANT RESOURCES IN THE FUTURE, GIVEN THAT A LOT OF THE INTERVENTIONS OR SCREENING TOOLS HAVE BEEN CONVERTED FOR ONLINE, SOME INTERVENTIONS ARE BEING TESTED, AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE FINDING IS THAT MANY OF THESE DIFFERENT APPROACHES THAT WE WERE FORCED INTO DOING THROUGH THE STUDIES THROUGH TIME OF COVID WILL ACTUALLY TURN OUT TO BE VALUABLE AS FAR AS EFFICIENCY OF STUDIES, GOOD INTERACTION, AND POTENTIAL GREATER OUTREACH THROUGH TELEMEDICINE, FOR EXAMPLE, TO FOLKS WHO ARE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OR HARD TO REACH. ANOTHER BIG ONE IS HARMONIZATION OF COMMON DATA ELEMENTS THROUGH CLINICAL STUDIES. THIS SLIDE GIVES YOU VERY BRIEFLY WE PUT TOGETHER AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE CLINICAL PROGRAMS A SORT OF CORE COMMON DATA ELEMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE COLLECTED BY ALL OF THE "HEAL" PAIN STUDIES, AND ACTUALLY BEYOND "HEAL" INTO OTHER STUDIES, AND THE UNIQUE PAIN DOMAINS ARE AT THE BOTTOM HERE. THEY WERE AGREED UPON THROUGH A LONG ITERATIVE PROCESS INCLUDING SEVERAL EXPERTS IN THE AREA THAT HELPED US OUT. AND SO THESE ARE ALL BEING SUPPORTIVE IN A VERY, VERY CONSISTENT WAY. SO ALL THE DATA DEFINITIONS AND MEANS OF DATA COLLECTION ARE COMPLETELY HARMONIZED ACROSS ALL THE "HEAL" STUDIES WHICH IS QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. AND SO I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT "HEAL" IS REALLY MOVING INTO CROSS-CUTTING AREAS THAT WILL APPLY ACROSS "HEAL," TO THE PAIN AND LUD SIDE DEVELOPING A DATA ECOSYSTEM THAT WILL ACCOMMODATE WHAT YOU SEE ON THE LEFT, THE HUGE AMOUNT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF DATA THAT "HEAL" WILL BE TAKING IN ACROSS ALL THE PROGRAMS. AND SO THE DATA ECOSYSTEM IS EVOLVING. IT'S EVOLVING REALLY RAPIDLY, AND IT'S REALLY MEANT TO ENABLE USE, RESOURCE TO HARMONIZE DATA, TO ALLOW FOR CROSS-STUDY ANALYSES WITHIN "HEAL," THE DATA WOULD BE SUSTAINABLE, IT WOULD HAVE A STORAGE LONG-TERM ENDURING POTENTIAL TO IT, AND THE LEAD ON THIS HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB. WE HAVE A CONTRACT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO TO HELP SET UP A PLATFORM FOR THE DATA THAT WILL PROVIDE RESOURCES TO REALLY MAKE DATA MORE USEFUL AND MORE ENDURING ACROSS ALL THESE COMPLICATED "HEAL" STUDIES. "HEAL" ALSO HAS REALLY JUMPED INTO PATIENT ENGAGEMENT, STAKEHOLDERS, DIVERSITY WITHIN THE CLINICAL TRIALS AND ACROSS CLINICAL TRIALS FOR "HEAL." AND THEY ARE GOING AT IT FROM A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES INCLUDING STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, WITHIN THE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE, WITHIN THE INDIVIDUAL TRIALS. "HEAL" IS PROVIDING RESOURCES FOR THE INVESTIGATORS TO IMPROVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THEIR TRIALS IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE THAT ALREADY BUILT IN, IN THE EARLY PART OF THE APPLICATION. ALSO RESOURCES TO ENHANCE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ACROSS TRIALS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FOR MINORITY POPULATIONS AND HEALTH -- AND POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE WITH HEALTH DISPARITIES. SO, AGAIN, A LOT OF EFFORTS ARE BEING DONE HERE, SOME WORKSHOPS HAVE BEEN HELD FOR PATIENTS AND INVESTIGATORS RELATED TO PATIENT ENGAGEMENT. THE RESOURCES HAVE BEEN PUT OUT THROUGH SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE OF SPECIAL INTEREST FOR THE INVESTIGATORS. AND WE HOPE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS MANY AWARDS WILL BE MADE TO ENHANCE THE INDIVIDUAL STUDIES WITHIN "HEAL" ON BOTH THE PAIN AND OUD SIDE. HEAL PARTNER COMMUNITY, ACTUALLY, SORRY, LET ME STEP BACK. THE DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENTS AND ENGAGEMENT SUPPLEMENTS COVER -- I THINK WILL ADD A LOT OF -- MAYBE NOT ALL NEW BUT A LOT OF INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE WAYS OF IMPROVING PATIENT ENGAGEMENT, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, INCLUDING THE DIVERSITY OF ENROLLED POPULATION, THROUGH THINGS LIKE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARDS, OUTSIDE STAKEHOLDERS, PATIENT NAVIGATORS BROUGHT INTO THE STUDIES TO ENHANCE RECRUITMENT AND ENROLLMENT, A CULTURE OF INCLUSION. SO A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS POPPED UP IN THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE THE INFORMATION THAT IS LEARNED ABOUT WHAT'S EFFECTIVE FOR DIVERSITY AND ENGAGEMENT WILL BE SHARED ACROSS THE INVESTIGATORS OF ALL CLINICAL STUDIES. PARTICIPANT WILL HAPPEN THROUGH THE HEAL PARTNER COMMUNITY. HERE IS A LIST OF FOLKS WHO ENTHUSIASTICALLY JOINED THE COMMITTEE, PROVIDED NIH WITH SUPER IDEAS HOW TO MOVE FORWARD TO IMPROVE ENHANCED STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGEMENT AND MAKE POPULATIONS MORE DIVERSE. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM IN CONCERT WITH INTERNAL NIH WORKING GROUP TO HELP SUPPORT PARTNER COMMITTEE IN INFORMING THEM AND HELPING TO FULFILL THE RECOMMENDATIONS THEY MAKE TO IMPROVE THE "HEAL" STUDIES. "HEAL" SUPPORTS SUPPLEMENTS ENHANCED DIVERSITY IN THE RESEARCH WORKFORCE, AND THIS IS AN ONGOING SUPPLEMENT THAT'S BEEN FUNDED OVER TWO YEARS TO HELP INVESTIGATORS FROM DIVERSE POPULATIONS ENTER THE WORKFORCE. I'M GOING TO STOP THERE, JUST TO CATCH MY BREATH FOR A SECOND. THERE ARE ALSO -- TO MOVE FORWARD INTO FIVE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS FOR FISCAL 22 FUNDS, THAT WOULD BE SUPPORTED BY "HEAL" SO THESE CONTACTS HAVE ALSO BEEN REVIEWED BY THE "HEAL" MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WORKING GROUPS, ALL THE LEVELS OF GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES WITHIN "HEAL." WE WANT TO PRESENT THEM HERE TODAY, I DON'T THINK I HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT, AND WE'LL ALSO ASK YOU FOR APPROVAL FOR THESE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS, SO I WANT TO ASK YOU SHOULD I STOP HERE QUICKLY TO TAKE QUESTIONS IN THE "HEAL" PROGRAM OR JUST GO THROUGH THESE AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS TAKE A FEW MINUTES. >> GO THROUGH THEM NOW. WE'RE GOING TO DO ADDITIONAL CONCEPT CLEARANCE AFTER NINA'S TALK ON THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM BUT MAYBE WE COULD GO THROUGH THESE NOW AND SEE IF WE NEED TO DISCUSS THEM OR GET A VOTE ON THEM AND HAVE GENERAL QUESTIONS. >> GREAT. THE FIRST ONE IS TO IMPROVE COORDINATED CARE FOR PAIN MANAGEMENT THROUGH INDIVIDUAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS. THESE WOULD BE BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT PAIN IS TYPICALLY TREATED THROUGH PRIMARY CARE AND SOMETIMES THROUGH SPECIALTY CARE CLINICS, VERY LITTLE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO, OFTEN WITH A SINGLE MODALITY INTERVENTION WHICH IS NOT EFFECTIVE, CONSIDERING THAT THE PSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL REQUIRES PHARMACOLOGICAL AND NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS AS NEEDED SO THIS CONCEPT CALLS FOR LARGE RESEARCH PROJECTS EMBEDDED IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS, WHERE THE FOCUS WOULD BE ON IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE TO EMBED WHAT WE NOW KNOW ARE EVIDENCE-BASED COORDINATED CARE MODELS, INTO THE SYSTEMS, GIVEN THE AVAILABILITY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF SYSTEMS TO UPTAKE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CARE THAT WOULD BE NEEDED. THE IDEA TO FOCUS THEM IN PRIMARY CARE WITH INTEGRATED REFERRALS TO SPECIALTY CARE, OR TO CENTER THEM INTO SPECIALTY CARE, BUT THEY WOULD BE COORDINATED CARE WITH MINIMAL REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS MEDICATION IF NEEDED, PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS, COGNITIVE INTERVENTIONS, OTHER TYPES OF INTERVENTION AS APPROPRIATE. THE OTHER PIECE COULD BE, I WOULD LIKE YOUR FEEDBACK ON THIS, THE INCLUSION OF COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CARE NOT YET EVIDENCE-BASED AND PUT THEM TOGETHER IN A HYBRID SYSTEM THAT WOULD ALLOW EMBEDDING OR IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE PROGRAMS INTO THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM. SO I KNOW THIS IS QUICK BUT I HAVE 90 SECONDS FOR EACH. THIS IS THE FIRST ONE, HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS, RESEARCH PROJECTS PLUS COORDINATING CENTER TO MAKE SURE ALL THE PROJECTS ARE WORKING TOGETHER AND LEARNING AND COORDINATING. THE SECOND ONE THAT I'M GOING TO PRESENT IS ADVANCEMENT OF HEALTH EQUITIES IN PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC PAIN AND COMORBIDITIES, WHO ARE WITHIN UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, THAT ARE POPULATIONS WHICH HAVE HEALTH DISPARITIES BECAUSE OF ETHNIC, RACIAL, RURAL, GEOGRAPHIC REASONS. AND SO, AGAIN, THIS IS COMORBIDITIES, SO IT COULD BE PAIN, OUD, PAIN IN CHRONIC MEDICAL PROBLEMS, PARTICULARLY MENTAL HEALTH, WHICH IS VERY OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC PAIN. SO, THIS CONCEPT WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH RESEARCH PROJECTS, AND THE RESEARCH PROJECTS COULD COME IN, SORT OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES WHERE EFFECTIVE SET OF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CARE INTERVENTIONS FOR PAIN AND OUD TESTED IN UNDERSERVED POPULATION, CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE TO THAT POPULATION OR ADAPTED IN A WAY THAT THAT POPULATION WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THAT TYPE OF CARE. THESE COULD BE INDIVIDUAL OR MULTI-LEVEL APPROACHES, THEY COULD ALSO APPLY FOR STUDIES THAT WOULD BE TARGETED TO A SPECIFIC POPULATION THAT WAS UNDERSERVED, OR A POPULATION WITH HEALTH DISPARITIES BASED ON RACE, ETHNICITY, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, ALSO INTERVENTIONS THAT COULD BE MORE GLOBALLY APPLIED AT SYSTEMS LEVEL TO DIFFERENT POPULATIONS OR COMBINATION OF POPULATIONS THAT ARE UNDERSERVED WHERE HEALTH EQUITY IS NEEDED TO BE ACHIEVED. SO ONCE AGAIN, I'M GOING TO MOVE ON VERY QUICKLY. THE NEXT ONE, I HAVE TO KEEP MOVING THIS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T READ PARTS OF THE SLIDES. THIS ONE IS ONE OF TWO WORKFORCE ENHANCEMENT CONCEPTS. AND THIS ONE IS TARGETED THROUGH THE K99/R00 MECHANISM TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE IN MENTORED POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS TO WORK TOWARDS INDEPENDENT CAREER. SO MOST OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE K99/R00, AND SO THE MECHANISM IS ESTABLISHED, IT'S MEANT TO BE A TRANSITION AWARD WHERE THEY CAN HAVE A FEW MORE YEARS OF MENTORED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, HIGH QUALITY LAB, WITH HIGH QUALITY CANDIDATE, AND THEN COULD MOVE ON WITH THE FUNDS FROM THE MECHANISM, INTO AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM. AND SO THE RATIONALE BEHIND THIS IS THAT WE HAVE A RELATIVELY SMALL PAIN RESEARCH NETWORK, A VERY LARGE NEW SET OF RESOURCES AND EXPANDED RESEARCH AGENDAS THROUGH "HEAL," AND SO THERE'S A REAL NEED FOR NEW FOLKS TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE CLINICAL RESEARCH AGENDA, THIS WOULD BE PUT OUT THROUGH THREE FOAs WITH THREE TYPES OF RESEARCH APPROPRIATE FOR EACH OF THE FOAs, THE CANDIDATE WOULD WANT TO DO CLINICAL TRIAL WHERE THEY ARE A CO-INVESTIGATOR, STILL HAVE MORE ESTABLISHED COLLEAGUE, INDEPENDENT, SO PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR ON A CLINICAL TRIAL, OR COULD BE NON-CLINICAL RESEARCH, SO IT WOULD COVER A REALM OF EXPANSION OF THE RESEARCH WORKFORCE FOR PAIN. AND THE NEXT CONCEPT IS RELATED TO THIS ONE, IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, EXCEPT THAT THIS IS VERY MUCH TARGETED TO THE CLINICAL PAIN RESEARCH WORKFORCE, FOR CLINICAL PAIN FOR PROVIDERS TO DRAW THEM IN AND KEEP THEM IN THE WORKFORCE. WE'VE DONE SOME SURVEYS IN THIS AREA, AND THERE'S A RECOGNITION THAT THIS PARTICULAR RESOURCE FOR CLINICAL PAIN RESEARCH, IT'S A SHRINKING FIELD. A NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE RETIRING OR MOVING OUT. OR JUST FINDING IT TOO DIFFICULT TO RUN THEIR CLINICAL PROGRAMS AND ALSO TO BE ABLE TO DO SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMS BECAUSE IT'S OFTEN NOT WORTH IT TO ACADEMIC CENTER WHERE THEY ARE TO HAVE THEM OUT OF THE CLINIC AND INTO THE LABORATORY. SO, THIS IS BASED ON WHAT STEVE DESCRIBED AS NATIONAL K12, NOT INSTITUTIONAL, IT'S NATIONWIDE, TO SPONSOR MENTEES IN GOOD LABS WITH QUALITY MENTORING, BUT NOT INSTITUTIONALLY BASED. AGAIN, YOU WOULD HAVE A NETWORK OF MENTORS THAT COULD BE MATCHED UP TO THE MENTEES THAT WOULD CROSS INSTITUTIONS THAT WOULD BE ACROSS THE NATION. WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS PULL BACK TOGETHER K12 OR COORDINATING CENTER THAT COULD ESTABLISH A BIGGER GOAL. AND THIS WOULD APPLY TO ALL THE NEW CLINICAL PAIN PEOPLE COMING IN, SO WE WANT TO DO THIS FOR COORDINATING CENTER THAT COULD ESTABLISH A NETWORK SO REALLY ENHANCE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MENTORS, MENTEES, CLINICAL RESEARCHERS, WITH TRANSLATIONAL AND BASIC RESEARCHERS, AND NETWORK WOULD HOLD EVENTS EVERY YEAR, WE COULD BRING BASIC TRANSLATIONAL CLINICAL RESEARCHERS TOGETHER, HELP WITH COLLABORATION, HELP WITH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, WE HAD A MENTION AT THE MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WORKING GROUP FOR "HEAL" LAST WEEK THAT SOME EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS SUCH AS CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY MIGHT BE AN IMPORTANT THING FOR THIS NETWORK TO TAKE ON THROUGH THE COORDINATING CENTER. SO, AGAIN, IT'S TO ENHANCE AND PROVIDE ENDURING WORKFORCE FOR WHAT WE'VE GOT, A HUGE NUMBER OF RESOURCES, COMING IN TO EXPAND PAIN RESEARCH GLOBALLY, AND WE HOPE IT WILL BE DONE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY FOR SUCCESS. THE LAST ONE IS A BIOMARKER PROGRAM WHICH IS UNDER REALIGNMENT, SO WE HAD INPUT FROM THE PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE THAT I TALKED ABOUT, ACADEMIC AND PHARMACEUTICAL SPECIALISTS IN THERAPY DEVELOPMENT AND THEY HAD A LONG REPORT, THAT JUST CAME OUT, THROUGH A LONG SET OF CONVERSATIONS AND INTERVIEWS WITH THE TEAM WHERE BIOMARKERS WOULD BE MOST VALUABLE AND "HEAL" COULD MAKE THE BEST INVESTMENT IN BIOMARKER DEVELOPMENT TO SERVICE -- THESE WILL BE TARGETED TO PHASE 2 CLINICAL TRIALS. AND SO THE PROGNOSTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC BIOMARKERS FROM THE EARLIER PROGRAM WOULD BE VERY VALUABLE, LONG TIME IN COMING, THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT GOAL FOR LONG TERM USE. SO THIS PROGRAM IS STILL EVOLVING A LITTLE BIT. MDWG HAD A CONVERSATION LAST WEEK, THE GOAL TO PULL TOGETHER A TOOLKIT THAT WOULD FACILITATE PHASE 2 TRIALS AND THE APPROACH WOULD BE THAT THERE WOULD BE THREE COMPONENTS. ONE IS DISCOVERY. SO THESE WOULD BE TEAM-BASED RESEARCH PROJECTS TO LOOK WHAT IS MOST LIKELY THE MOST VALUABLE TOOL WOULD BE A BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURE RATHER THAN INDIVIDUAL BIOMARKERS. THE SIGNATURE WOULD HELP IN STRATIFICATION OF PATIENTS, BY RESPONSE PREDICTION, COULD BE FOR TRIALS, ALSO USED FOR THE CLINIC. BIOMARKERS THAT COULD HELP MONITOR TREATMENT RESPONSE, AGAIN FOR CLINICAL TRIALS ALSO IN THE CLINIC AND MAY HELP TO PROVIDE MECHANISTIC INFORMATION FOR REVERSE TRANSLATION INTO PRE-CLINICAL RESEARCH. WE HAVE BETTER HUMAN RELEVANT MODELS THAT COULD BE HELPED THROUGH APPROPRIATE BIOMARKERS. THESE TYPES OF BIOMARKERS COULD MOVE INTO VALIDATION AND THEN INTO AN IMPLEMENTATION PHASE WHICH COULD BE PRIMARILY AT THIS POINT USED IN THE PHASE 2 CLINICAL TRIAL PROGRAMS, OBVIOUSLY EPPIC NET WOULD BE ONE OF THE BENEFICIARIES OF SOME REALLY GOOD AND SOLID BIOMARKERS IN THIS AREA. THIS IS FIVE CONCEPTS THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED BY "HEAL" FOR FY 22 FUNDS, IF FUNDS ARE MADE AVAILABLE. THE ANTICIPATION BEING THAT WE HOPE THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL MONIES COMING THROUGH THE NEXT -- THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 22. THANK YOU. AND TURN TO DAVID TO SEE WHAT KIND OF TIME I HAVE AND IF WE NEED TO HAVE A DISCUSSION AN% THEN RUN THESE THROUGH NOW FOR APPROVAL OR IF YOU WANT -- >> I WOULD SAY WE'LL OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS, IF PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS ON INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVES LET'S HAVE THAT NOW. UNLESS IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S AN ISSUE WE COULD VOTE ON THEM ALL AT ONCE. >> OKAY. >> KEN? YOU MAY BE MUTED, KEN. >> YEAH, SORRY. LINDA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANOTHER FANTASTIC PRESENTATION. THE FIRST OF THOSE FIVE INITIATIVES IN YOUR SPONSORS THERE IS A P MISSING, PAYERS, YOU HAVE PROVIDERS, I CAN'T REMEMBER. YOU HAD PAYERS. BUT THERE WAS A P MISSING, I THINK. I WAS WONDERING, THE P I WAS THINKING ABOUT WAS ACTUALLY PRACTITIONERS, NOT NECESSARILY PRESCRIBERS. YOU HAVE PATIENTS, YOU HAVE PAYERS, AND YOU HAD ANOTHER P. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT IS. I WAS WONDERING ABOUT PRACTITIONERS. >> YEAH, IT'S ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL. AND SO WE'LL MAKE SURE WE GET THE Ps ALIGNED PROPERLY. I CAN PULL THE SLIDE UP. AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE WRITTEN HERE AND -- >> YEAH, BECAUSE OF THE PARTICULAR INITIATIVE I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WOULDN'T HAVE PRESCRIBERS BUT STILL NEED PRACTITIONERS. >> YEAH, PATIENTS, PAYERS, POLICYMAKERS. >> POLICYMAKERS, RIGHT. >> CLEARLY THE PROVIDER SHOULD BE ON THE LIST. OKAY, SO WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT GOES IN. THANK YOU. >> YES. >> ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OR SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE MOST WELCOME. >> OKAY, HEARING NONE, WHY DON'T WE MOVE -- OH, ALLAN? >> . ? >> I THINK YOU'RE ON MUTE. >> RIGHT. OXFORD DICTIONARY SAYS THAT'S THE MOST COMMON WORD THESE DAYS. AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PAIN COMMUNITY, I SAID IT WHEN WE WERE ON THE COMMITTEE, I PERSONALLY DON'T BELIEVE THAT 50/50 SPLIT IS BEING SUSTAINED. IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THAT NIH INDEPENDENTLY OR NINDS ABOUT GET A QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS ADDED TO PAIN RESEARCH, SAID AT THE BEGINNING. NOTHING I CAN DO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE INITIAL IDEA, THERE BE A 50/50 SPLIT, APPROXIMATELY. IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE. AND JUST FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT HAPPEN. >> THANKS, ALLAN. AND JUST THERE'S A LOT OF HARD WORK IN THE HEAL LEADERSHIP TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. IT'S A GRADUAL SHIFT BECAUSE OF THE WAY FUNDING WORKS, MULTIPLE YEARS FOR MULTIPLE THINGS. WITH BALANCING IT'S HARD TO SORT OUT. WE'RE WORKING HARD PARTLY THROUGH CONSIDERATIONS OF CONCEPTS FOR INITIATIVES AND IF THERE ARE FUNDS LEFT AT THE END OF THE YEAR THAT THERE IS AN EFFORT TO PRIORITIZE MERITORIOUS GOOD PAIN RESEARCH. SO, YEAH, THERE'S A LOT OF DISCUSSION THERE. I THINK THERE'S A GOOD AWARENESS AND GOOD EFFORT TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. "HEAL" IS TRANSPARENT ABOUT BUDGETS, AND SO AS THINGS CHANGE OVER THE YEAR TO COME, THAT WILL -- IT WILL BE -- INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE, AND SO FAIRLY EASY TO KEEP TRACK OF IT. >> THE OTHER THING, I MENTIONED IT AGAIN AT THE "HEAL" MEETING, RELEVANT TO COUNCIL, WHEN THERE'S A PAIN-RELEVANT GRANT THAT CLEARLY HITS ON HEAL INITIATIVE TARGETS BUT DOESN'T MAKE PAYLINES, CLOSE BUT DOESN'T GET THERE, IS THERE A WAY TO LOOK AND SAY THIS IS IDEAL FOR "HEAL" FUNDING RATHER THAN SAYING TO THIS INDIVIDUAL OR THIS PLACE, SORRY, GUYS, YOU DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT, COME BACK NINE MONTHS LATER? IT SEEMS LIKE AN ACTUAL THING TO DO, GOOD SCIENCE, BUT DIDN'T MAKE PAYLINE AT REGULAR STUDY SECTION, DIFFICULT TO HAVE A LOOK AT THAT. >> NO, IT'S COMPLICATED. I WILL SAY THAT THE SBIR PROGRAM HAS BEEN CONSIDERED THAT WAY, WHERE, YOU KNOW, "HEAL" DOLLARS MIGHT BE USED FOR THOSE PROGRAMS WHERE THE APPLICATIONS THAT COME IN WERE REALLY GOOD AND OTHER INSTITUTES MAY OR NOT BE ABLE TO PICK THEM UP, HIGH INTEREST TO "HEAL." WALTER MAY WANT TO JUMP IN HERE. THERE'S NOT AN ESTABLISHED PROCESS FOR "HEAL" TO DO TESTING. ANYWAY, LOOKS LIKE WALTER IS GOING TO SAY SOMETHING SO I'LL LET HIM TAKE THIS ONE. >> WELL, I THINK THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET, I SUSPECT, BECAUSE OF JUST WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, HAS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE I.C.s. NOT JUST US. THE OTHER I.C.s, PAIN RESEARCH. SO THIS WOULD THEN ALLOW THE I.C.s TO MAKE THAT DETERMINATION. "HEAL" MONEY IS TRICKIER, IT COMES TO US BUT DOESN'T BELONG TO US. IT'S SET OUT OF COURSE ALL OF THE INSTITUTES. >> I'M NOT SUGGESTING -- >> WE HAVE TAR GET MONEY TO HOLD OUT, HIGH PRIORITY GRANTS IN THE PAIN SPACE. WE COULD DO THAT. >> I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT NINDS MAKE THE DECISION. I'M SAYING THAT NINDS WAS A STUDY SECTION, LOOK AT THE GRANT, SEND IT OVER TO "HEAL" TO HAVE A LOOK AT IT, AND THEY DECIDE WHETHER IT'S PROGRAMMATICALLY, HIGH PRIORITY, GREAT REVIEWS, BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU THAT I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT THE FUNDING CUT, WHATEVER, A PAYLINE AT "HEAL," IS A LITTLE BIT EASIER THAN TYPICAL INSTITUTION -- NINDS FUNDING LEVELS. >> YEAH. YEAH, RIGHT NOW -- ANOTHER INTERESTING TID-BIT IN TERMS OF OPIOID MONEY THERE'S AN ENTIRE INSTITUTE, NIDA TO -- >> SURE. >> EVERY SINGLE GRANT THEY COULD PUT INTO "HEAL" MONEY. >> THIS IS TIM RYAN. ISN'T THERE A PARALLEL MECHANISM TO THE ADRD SYSTEM WHERE GRANTS -- PEOPLE DIDN'T APPLY DIRECTLY TO ADRD SOMETIMES BUT GOT CHANNELED THAT WAY BY SOME MYSTERIOUS MECHANISMS THROUGH A COMPUTER READING AN ABSTRACT, PROGRAM PORED OVER IT. SIMILAR TO WHAT ALLAN IS ASKING FOR WITH RESPECT TO "HEAL." >> I WOULD SAY THE PROBLEM IS EVERY NIDA GRANT WOULD BE LIKE THAT, MONEY WOULD JUST GO -- >> I SEE. >> YEAH. YOU CAN MAKE IT PAIN SPECIFIC. >> WE CAN THINK ABOUT WAYS TO DO THAT. >> OKAY. I'M GOING TO WALK US BACK TO THE CONCEPTS. UNLESS THERE'S ANYTHING MORE TO ASK ABOUT THOSE FIVE CONCEPTS I'M GOING TO ASK FOR A MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD, CONCEPTS WE DO IF FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE IN 22, CORRECT, LINDA? >> THAT'S CORRECT. >> OKAY. COULD I GET MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD? >> SO MOVED. >> SECOND? OKAY. THANK YOU. LET'S VOTE IN THE CHAT. ALL RIGHT. LOOKS GOOD. OKAY, LINDA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >> THANK YOU. >> OKAY. WE'RE NOW GOING TO HEAR FROM NINA SCHOR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ABOUT AN UPDATE ON THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM. NINA? >> I'M NOW GOING TO TRY TO GET MY SLIDES IN THE RIGHT MODE. >> LOOKS GOOD, YEAH. >> GOOD, OKAY. VERY GOOD. SO, IT REALLY IS A PLEASURE TO PRESENT AN UPDATE ON THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM. THIS IS GOING TO BE A WHIRLWIND TOUR OF THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM FROM SEPTEMBER 2020 TO AUGUST 2021. I'M GOING TO APOLOGIZE AHEAD OF TIME TO THE STAR TREK FOLKS FOR THE SUBTITLES OF THE SECTIONS. BEFORE WE START, I JUST REALLY WANT TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO LORNA ROLE WHO STEPPED DOWN FROM THE SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR POSITION, THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HEARING FROM ME AS ACTING SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR. SHE STAYED ON AS SENIOR INVESTIGATOR. LITERALLY PUT CHOLINERGIC TRANSITION IN THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM ON THE MAP AND IS CONTINUING NOT ONLY TO DO HER RESEARCH BUT TO SERVE AS A MENTOR TO MANY OF OUR JUNIOR INVESTIGATORS. JUST A VERY BRIEF SUMMARY OF HOW INTRAMURAL SCIENCE DIFFERS FROM EXTRAMURAL SCIENCE, THE FUNDING MECHANISM IS REALLY AN INTRAMURAL NINDS ALLOCATION. IT IS GOVERNED BY THE VIEW OF THE BOARD OF SCIENTIFIC COUNSELORS OF NINDS, UPON WHICH SOME OF YOU HAVE SERVED. THE REVIEW SUBSTRATE IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM A GRANT APPLICATION. I THINK THIS IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE. IT REALLY IS A WRITE-UP, AN ORAL PRESENTATION OF THE ENTIRE PROGRAM AND LAB OF THE INVESTIGATOR, NOT OF A SINGLE PROJECT. AND SO WE'RE USING EXTRAMURAL SPACE, YOU WRITE A GRANT APPLICATION FOR EVERY PROJECT, OR GROUP OF PROJECTS YOU WANT TO DO, THE INTRAMURAL INVESTIGATORS EVERY FOUR YEARS PRESENT THEIR ENTIRE PROGRAM. IT GIVES THEM A FREEDOM, A RISK-TAKING ABILITY THAT I DON'T THINK I EVER HAD AN EXTRAMURAL INVESTIGATOR. THAT REALLY IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE. THEIR LABS TEND TO BE A LITTLE SMALLER, ON AVERAGE, THAN IN THE EXTRAMURAL SPACE. AND THEY PRESENT TO THE BSC APPROXIMATELY EVERY FOUR YEARS. SO THE ENTERPRISE, I WANT TO TELL BUT SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE RECRUITED, AND ABOUT WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY DO. FIRST OF ALL, REBECCA GOTTESMAN WAS JUST RECENTLY RECRUITED TO JOIN US. SHE'S NOW THE CHIEF OF THE NINDS STROKE BRANCH, CAME TO US FROM HOPKINS, AS MANY OF YOU DOUBTLESS KNOW SHE REALLY IS AN EXPERT ON VASCULAR CONTRIBUTIONS TO COGNITIVE LOSS AND DEMENTIA. SHE'S A NEUROEPIDEMIOLOGYIST, SUPERB IN THAT REGARD. SHE WILL BE REVITALIZING OUR STROKE BRANCH. IN SEPTEMBER OF 2020 MENG-MENG FU JOINED US, POSTDOC WITH BEN BARRIS AT STANFORD, WORKING ON OLIGODENDROCYTES. DESMOND BRAIN JOINED US THIS SUMMER, A NEUROSURGEON WHO CAME TO US FROM MAYO. REALLY A NEURO-ONCOLOGY NEUROSURGEON, AND IS INTERESTED IN THE ROLE THAT THE PRIMARY CILIUM PLAYS AS A SCAFFOLD FOR ONCOGENIC PATHWAYS IN NEURO-ONCOLOGY. MARK WAGNER JOINED US JUST THIS MONTH. HE WORKS ON MOTOR CONTROL AND PARTICULARLY ON THE TALK BETWEEN CEREBELLUM AND CORTEX. A STADTMAN INVESTIGATOR. THE NEXT TWO ILLUSTRATE FLEXIBILITY OF CAREER PATH AT NIH, IRENE CORTESA AND SARA INATI WERE CLINICIANS, AS THEIR YOUNG FAMILIES ARE GROWING AND MADE THE TRANSITION TO ASSISTANT CLINICAL INVESTIGATOR PUTTING THEM IN A POSITION WHICH CAN LEAD TO THE TENURE TRACK. IRENE WORKS ON PML, PROGRESSIVE MULTI-FOCAL GLUCOENCEPHALOPATHY, INTERACTION BETWEEN IMMUNE SYSTEM AND MYELINATION, AND SARA INATE WORKS FOR MANY YEARS AS A STAFF CLINICIAN WITH OUR NEUROSURGEONS, WHO WERE DOING SURGERY FOR MEDICALLY REFRACTIVE REFOCAL EPILEPSY. AND SO THEY REALLY MADE THIS TRANSITION INTO WHAT WE HOPE WILL BE TENURE TRACK POSITIONS, JUST THIS SUMMER. SO PRIORITIES IN RECRUITMENT, I THINK IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING BECAUSE I'M DOING AT LEAST 2 1/2 JOBS AT THE SAME TIME, THAT WE ARE FOCUSING IN PART ON RECRUITMENT OF THE NEXT SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, AND THAT SHOULD BE OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY FAIRLY SOON. I THINK THE CRITICAL THING FOR US IS TO DEFINE TRACTABLE STRATEGIC OBJECT OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITY PROGRAMS, WE'RE NOT AN ENORMOUS ENTERPRISE, MAYBE 60 P.I.s. AND PROMOTION AND RECRUITMENT NOW NEEDS TO FOCUS ON WHAT THE PROGRAMMATIC VISION IS. I THINK WE'RE ROLLING PAST THE TIME AT THIS POINT WHERE WE CAN RECRUIT PEOPLE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE OUTSTANDING SCIENTISTS. WE HAVE TO ASK I THINK HOW CAN WE RECRUIT IN ORDER TO BRING EXCELLENT PROGRAMS TO OUTSTANDING PROGRAMS. WHAT'S THE HOLE WE'RE GOING TO FILL? I THINK WE ALSO NEED, AS IS THE CASE THROUGHOUT NIH, TO RECRUIT TO ENHANCE COLLABORATION AND TO ENHANCE THE DIVERSITY OF THE INTRAMURAL FACULTY AND STAFF. AND I REALLY THINK THAT WE OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO LORNA FOR BEGINNING THAT PROCESS OF DIVERSIFYING THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES OUR INTRAMURAL INVESTIGATORS. SO, DISCOVERY, I'M GOING TO BRAG ABOUT THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S LONG OVERDUE. FIRST OF ALL, ONE OF OUR NEUROSURGEONS IS CURRENTLY ACTING CHIEF OF THE SURGICAL NEUROLOGY BRANCH. HE WAS AWARDED TENURE THIS YEAR. HIS WORK IS REALLY, REALLY INNOVATIVE AND LEVERAGES HIS ROLE IN THE OPERATING ROOM TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW VERBAL MEMORIES ARE STORED AND HOW THEY ARE RECALLED AFTER STORAGE. RICHARD IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE SURGICAL NEUROLOGY BRANCH. HE'S A BASIC SCIENTIST AND REALLY PUT PARKIN AND PINK ON THE MAP, PATHOGENESIS OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE. IN 2021 WON THE BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE AND SUBSEQUENTLY WAS ELECTED A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. AVI NATH WAS THE 2021 SORIANO LECTURE WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE NEXT MONTH. AND I LOVE THIS DESIGNATION. IT WAS THE DONATION FOR THIS LECTURESHIP WAS MADE TO ACKNOWLEDGE A BRILLIANT LECTURE DELIVERED BY AN OUTSTANDING SCIENTIST. AND I THINK AVI FITS THE BILL VERY, VERY WELL. ANTONY WAS A 2021 ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY FRONTIERS LECTURER, THE WAY MICROTUBULES ARE SORT OF SCULPTED AND RECONFIGURED BY THE ENZYMES THAT PLAY A ROLE IN THEIR CLEAVAGE. AND WE JUST LEARNED THAT ZAYD KHALIQ WAS CHOSEN AS ONE OF SEVERAL INVESTIGATORS TO PRESENT AT FRANCIS COLLINS' DIRECTORS SEMINAR SERIES THIS COMING YEAR. ZAYD WORKS ON DOPAMINERGIC CELLS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND I'LL HAVE THE PLEASURE OF INTRODUCES HIM AT THE PRESTIGIOUS SEMINAR SERIES. I'LL EMBARRASS WALTER, IT'S WHAT THEY MAY ME TO DO THESE DAYS, TO LET YOU KNOW THAT HE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS THE INAUGURAL RECIPIENT OF THE ANA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS IN A SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ROLE. SO, PRIORITIES REALLY FROM THAT STANDPOINT ARE TO REWARD AND PROMOTE EXCEPTIONAL FACULTY AND PROGRAMS, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE REWARD NOT JUST INDIVIDUAL FACULTY BUT PROGRAMS AND COLLABORATIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO PROGRAMS OF EXCELLENCE AT NIH. AND TO REALLY SHOWCASE EXCELLENCE AND UNIQUENESS OF THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM SO WE CAN RECRUIT VERY BROADLY AND BRING DIVERSITY EVEN BEYOND WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE TO OUR FACULTY AND STAFF. SO SPACE AS YOU ALL KNOW IS THE FINAL FRONTIER, NO DIFFERENT OUTSIDE OF NINDS THAN IT IS WITHIN NINDS. I'M GOING TO SHOWCASE TWO NEW SPACES AT NIH THAT ARE COLLABORATIVE SPACES IN WHICH WE PLAY A ROLE. THE FIRST IS THE CARD, CENTER FOR ALZHEIMER'S AND RELATED DEMENTIAS HEADED BY ANDREW SINGLETON AND NIA. THIS IS VERY MUCH A COLLABORATION BETWEEN NINDS AND NIA. AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THIS T4 4, WHICH IS A TEMPORARY BUILDING, WHICH WILL INITIALLY HOUSE THIS CARD, WHICH HOPEFULLY WILL BRING EXTRAMURAL INVESTIGATORS AND TRAINEES TO NIH FOR PERIODS EVER TIME TO COLLABORATE WITH US, AND TO THINK VERY DEEPLY AND VERY INNOVATIVELY ABOUT SOLUTIONS TO THE DEMENTIAS RELATED TO ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. AND THEN THE QUESTION FOR THE FUTURE IS HOW DO WE EQUIP A SPACE THAT ALREADY EXISTS, THE NIH CLINICAL CENTER, SO THAT WE CAN ADMIT AND STUDY AND INVOLVE CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 3 YEARS IN STUDIES THAT ARE INPATIENT STUDIES, AND I THINK THE SPACE PROBABLY ALREADY EXISTS AND IS UNDERUTILIZED BUT REALLY NEEDS TO BE THOUGHTFULLY AND CAREFULLY AND SAFELY EQUIPPED TO HOUSE THESE NEW AGED PATIENTS, IT'S GOOD AND RIGHT AND EQUITABLE AND CLINICALLY IMPORTANT THING FOR US TO DO, PARTICULARLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY RELATED TO GENE-TARGETED THERAPIES WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO INTERVENE BEFORE THERE ARE SYMPTOMS IN EVIDENCE. SO, THE PRIORITIES IN THIS REGARD ARE TO THINK HARD ABOUT PROGRAMMATIC CO-LOCATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY PART OF OUR PROGRAM, SO THAT WE GO FROM BEING A REALLY EXCEPTIONAL APARTMENT BUILDING TO BEING MUCH MORE OF A COMMUNITY. WE'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT FORGING AHEAD WITH AFFINITY GROUPS WITHIN OUR PROGRAMS, SO THAT PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE COLLABORATING AND WHO SHOULD BE THINKING AS A COMMUNITY CAN ACTUALLY DO SO WITH FACILITY. NIH-WIDE AND MULTI-INSTITUTE CORE FACILITIES AND NINDS UNIQUE CORE FACILITIES ARE BEING OPTIMIZED. THERE ARE MANY THINGS WE CAN DO WITH AN EXISTING SPACE TO MAKE THESE MORE ACCESSIBLE AND MORE EFFECTIVE, AND THEN TO DO THE SAME THING WITH INDIVIDUAL LABORATORIES. NOW THE NEXT GENERATION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND YOU'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THIS ALREADY FOR THE EXTRAMURAL PROGRAM. I WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO TWO PEOPLE WHO GET INVOLVED IN THIS WITH US IN THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM. YVETTE PITTMAN IS OUR DIRECTOR OF TRAINING AND MENTORING, SHE HAS BEGUN TO PULL TOGETHER THESE PROGRAMS AND TO LEVERAGE SOME OF THE EXPERTISE OF OUR EXISTING FACULTY TO MENTOR NEW TRAINEES. AND REALLY TO BEGIN TO THINK DEEPLY HOW WE MENTOR MENTORS SO THEY BECOME AS GOOD AND EFFECTIVE AS THEY CAN BE WITH OUR EXCEPTIONAL TRAINEES. AND JENN DELAWDER, OUR LINK TO HUMAN RESOURCES, TO TAKE OUR NEW FACULTY AND MENTOR THEM NOT ONLY ON THE SCIENTIFIC SIDE BUT ON THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT SIDE AND ON THE BENEFITS SIDE SO THEY MAKE THEIR MOST OUT OF THEIR TIME AS FACULTY AT NINDS. LORNA LAUNCHED A DIVERSITY TRAINING FUND WHICH I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT. THIS GIVES YOU THE NUMBERS FOR 2019 THROUGH 2021. FOR TRAINEES, THAT ARE IN GROUPS THAT ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN SCIENCE, WE'RE RECOGNIZING WE WANT TO INCENTIVIZE GIVING TRAINEES UNDER OUR TENT, AND SO WHAT SHE DID WAS SAY THAT INSTEAD OF AN INDIVIDUAL LABORATORY PAYING OUT OF THEIR FUNDS FOR THOSE TRAINEES, THAT WE WOULD PAY FOR THEM CENTRALLY IN THE OFFICE OF THE SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR. THIS IS QUITE A ROBUST PROGRAM AND WE JUST LEARNED THAT LESS THAN A MONTH AGO THAT ONE OF THESE -- ONE OF OUR UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY POSTDOCS, PABLO MIRANDA FERNANDEZ, WAS NAMED BY POST-BACCALAUREATE STUDENTS AND TRAINEES AS A DISTINGUISHED MENTOR, AND SO I FEEL PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT THE FACT THAT OUR PIPELINE IS ONE THAT DOESN'T JUST INCLUDE MANY JUNIOR PEOPLE MENTORED BY OUR MOST SENIOR PEOPLE BUT EVERY STEP OF THAT PIPELINE INCLUDES PEOPLE WHO ARE MENTORING THE PEOPLE BEHIND THEM. SO I WANT TO SAY A WORD ABOUT THE NINDS SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS AND PROGRAMS THAT RELATE TO THIS. RITA DEVINE AND ANGEL ARE RESPONSIBLE, INCLUDING PROGRAMS THAT MENTOR NOT ONLY GENERALLY COLLEGE AND MEDICAL STUDENTS IN SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCES BUT ALSO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE AREA, MANY OF WHOM ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND HISPANIC INDIVIDUALS, AND PARTICULARLY WOMEN FROM THAT DEMOGRAPHIC, AND ALSO SPECIAL PROGRAM THAT BRINGS TO NIH INDIVIDUALS FROM NATIVE AMERICAN BACKGROUNDS. THIS YEAR WE DID THESE PROGRAMS ALL VIRTUALLY, IT WAS TRULY AMAZING TO SEE THE PROJECTS WITH WHICH THESE STUDENTS WERE CRUNCHING DATA, LEARNING HOW TO DO STATISTICAL ANALYSES, LEARNING HOW TO READ THE LITERATURE AND ANALYZE IT CRITICALLY AND DO META-ANALYSES, MANY, MANY THINGS WERE DONE ON ZOOM THAT IN THE PAST WE THOUGHT COULD ONLY BE DONE IN PERSON. SO THE PRIORITIES FOR THIS WE'VE ALREADY MOVED TOWARDS MAKING OUR FACULTY MEETINGS MORE INCLUSIVE. I DARE SAY THAT IT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO THAT OUR FACULTY MEETINGS WERE ONLY OPEN TO TENURE TRACK FACULTY. WE HAVE NOW BROUGHT THE ASSISTANT CLINICAL INVESTIGATORS IN, AND WE'RE MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF BRINGING STAFF IN AS WELL. I JUST THINK THERE SHOULD BE NOTHING SECRETIVE. THERE SHOULD BE NO APPEARANCE OF HIDING ANYTHING FROM ANYBODY IN FACULTY MEETINGS. I MEET MONTHLY AS LORNA DID WITH THE PRE-TENURE FACULTY, AND I MEET MONTHLY AS WELL WITH THE NINDS REPRESENTATIVES TO THE WOMEN SCIENTIST ASSOCIATION AT NIH. AND WE HAVE INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM REPRESENTATION ON THE UNITE INITIATIVE AND THOSE INDIVIDUALS OFTEN COME AND PRESENT AT OUR FACULTY MEETINGS AND AT OUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS. SO, THE PANDEMIC, I KIND OF DUB THIS A LA STAR TREK AS THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, SOMETHING WE NEVER THOUGHT WE WOULD DEAL HAVE AND GIVE KUDOS TO RETURN TO THE PHYSICAL WORKPLACE COMMITTEE, THESE ARE VOLUNTEERS WHO LITERALLY EVERY WEEK WERE ENSURING THAT OUR PEOPLE WERE SAFE AND WERE ADHERING TO GUIDELINES THAT ORIGINALLY WERE HANDED TO US BY NIH, AND NOW ARE HANDED TO US BY HHS, RELATIVE TO PEOPLE DENSITY AND SPACES, RELATIVE TO MASKING, RELATIVE TO KEEPING PRIVATE THE QUESTION OF WHETHER ONE IS OR IS NOT VACCINATED AND THEREFORE NEEDED TO ENSURE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MASKING OF EVERYONE AT ALL TIMES. AND THESE INDIVIDUALS REALLY MONITORED THAT AND REALLY ENSURED THAT EVERYBODY HAD THE ABILITY TO PROPERLY CLEAN, TO PROPERLY CONFIGURE A SPACE TO CONTINUE TO DO THEIR SCIENCE. WE SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATED MANY, MANY THINGS THAT I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO, DURING A PANDEMIC. WE DID THEM PRODUCTIVELY. THE EVIDENCE FOR THAT IS HERE. THESE ARE GRAPHS OF TOTAL PUBLICATIONS BY YEAR THROUGH 2020. AND THEN FOR 2021, TOTAL PUBLICATIONS BY MONTH. THESE ARE MENTEES, YEAR BY YEAR, AND YOU SEE THAT IF ANYTHING WE GREW OUR PROGRAMS ON THE WHOLE DURING THE PANDEMIC. AND THIS IS CURRENT 2021 NUMBERS. SO MENTORING, TEACHING, PUBLISHING, ARE ALIVE AND WELL AT NINDS, EVEN THROUGH THE PANDEMIC. PRIORITIES ARE MAINTAIN NOT ONLY MOMENTUM BUT ESPECIALLY MORALE, DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF THE PANDEMIC. I'M SURE THIS IS NO DIFFERENT ON THE OUTSIDE THAN IT IS ON THE INSIDE OF NINDS. TO ENHANCE AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE AT NIH DURING THESE CHALLENGES. AND ONCE IT BECOMES CLEAR WHAT THE PROGRESSION FROM WHETHER WE ARE NOW TO RETURN TO THE WORKPLACE IN THE NEW NORMAL ARE FROM HHS, AND NIH, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT HYBRID NEW WORKPLACE IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND TO LEVERAGE IT TO ADVANTAGE IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR PROGRAMS ROBUST. SO FINALLY THE VOYAGE HOME TOWARDS A NEW NORMAL, I REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT TWO VERY SPECIAL PROGRAMS. THE FIRST IS, AGAIN, A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MARK COOKSON AT NIA AND MICHAEL WARD AND NINDS. WITH MANY, MANY, MANY COLLABORATORS INVOLVED. AND THIS IS CALLED INDI, iPSC NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE INITIATIVE, THE WHOLE IDEA WHICH IS CURRENTLY UP AND RUNNING, ONGOING, IS TO CREATE A PANEL, AN AVAILABLE COLLECTION OF ISOGENIC PLURIPOTENT STEM CELL LINES THAT EACH OF WHICH HAS ONE GENETIC ABERRATION THAT IS ON THIS UNIFORM GENETIC BACKGROUND THAT IS IMPLICATED IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE OR ALZHEIMER'S-RELATED DEMENTIA SO YOU COULD STUDY A PANEL OF LINES, AS AN INVESTIGATOR, ISOGENIC, EXCEPT FOR UNIQUE MUTATIONS IMPLICATED IN DEMENTIA. SO THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY STUDY HUMAN ENGINEERED ADULT CELL LINES, STEM CELL LINES, AS THEY DEVELOP, AS THEY ARE MANIPULATED, AS THEY ARE TREATED, AND KNOW THAT THE ONLY GENETIC ABERRATION IS THE ONE THAT HAS BEEN ENGINEERED IN THERE. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTROL AND ENGINEERED FOR A MUTATION, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE AMONG THE MUTATIONS IS THE SINGLE MUTATION AND THE BACKGROUND IS UNIFORM ACROSS THESE LINES. THE LINES WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH JACKSON LABORATORIES, AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF THESE LINES HAS ALREADY STARTED. AND THIS REALLY IS PART OF OUR INITIATIVE TO DIVERSIFY AND EXPAND DISEASE MODELS AND TO LEVERAGE THE POSSIBILITY THAT THEY COULD BE CLOSER AND CLOSER RELATED TO THE HUMAN DISEASE CONDITION. AND THE SECOND THING I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS REALLY THE ROLE OF NIH AND NINDS AS PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS. I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE WORK OF AVI NATH AND HIS VERY LARGE GROUP OF COLLEAGUES WHO ARE STUDYING POST-ACUTE SEQUELAE OF COVID-19, REALLY NOT ONLY SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND THIS UNIQUE POST VIRAL DISORDER BUT SO THAT WE USE IT AS A LEVERAGE POINT TO STUDY OTHER DISORDERS THAT WE THINK MAY BE RELATED TO IT, DISORDERS LIKE CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME AND GULF WAR SYNDROME. AND AVI AND HIS GROUP ARE DOING EXTRAORDINARILY DEEP, DEEP PHENOTYPING OF THESE CASES, CREATING A DATABASE THAT THEY HOPE THEN TO MAKE WIDELY AVAILABLE IN THIS REGARD. AND I THINK THIS UNDERSCORES THE ROLE THAT NIH PLAYS AS A RESOURCE AND NATIONAL CORE FACILITY FOR THE EXTRAMURAL COMMUNITY. SO THE PRIORITIES ARE, AGAIN, TO RECRUIT THE NEXT SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, TO EXPAND EXPERIMENTAL MODEL SYSTEMS, TO DEFINE AND YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS EARLIER, WHAT IS IT THAT WE MEAN BY COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOINFORMATICS? IT SEEMS EVERYBODY MEANS SOMETHING ELSE BY THIS. AND TO THEN DEFINE WHAT IT IS THAT WE AS AN INTRAMURAL COMMUNITY SHOULD BE DOING AND PROVIDING, NOT ONLY TO OUR OWN INVESTIGATORS BUT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE EXTRAMURAL WORLD IN THIS SPACE TO UNDERSTAND AND HELP SOLVE PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES THAT INVOLVE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, TO ENHANCE ACCESS TO BIOSPECIMENS AND DATA, AND TO OPTIMIZE WHAT WE MEAN BY THE NEW NORMAL, WHEN IT COMES TO THE WORKFORCE AND WORKPLACE CULTURE IN THIS VERY ODD FOR MOST OF US AND VERY NEW HYBRID PARADIGM. SO MAY WE ALL GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH AND ON TO STRANGE NEW WORLDS AS THEY SAY ON STAR TREK. HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. >> TIM, I WANT TO MAKE ONE QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT, WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN TEN MEMBERS IN THE MEETING. WE DO HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE CONCEPT CLEARANCE. I KNOW WE'LL RUN OVER A TIME BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE WAS AWARE OF THAT. >> A DISCUSSION IN CLOSED SESSION TOMORROW BUT SEEMS LIKE ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES WHEN YOU ANNOUNCED FUTURE HIRING WOULD BE ALIGNED WITH PROGRAM OBJECTIVES, WHICH IS EVERY INSTITUTION TRIES TO DO THAT IF THEY DON'T HAVE AN INFINITE POT OF MONEY, WHO WILL BE SETTING SAID PROGRAMMATIC OBJECTIVES AND HOW -- THAT SEEMS LIKE THE HARDEST THING TO DEFINE, WHO WOULD LIKE TO SAY WHAT THEY ARE. >> RIGHT. I THINK I WILL ANSWER THAT IN TWO WAYS THAT ARE GOING TO BE SEQUENTIAL JUST BY HAPPENSTANCE. WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN, AND HAVE GONE QUITE A LONG WAYS INTO A STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS FOR INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, AND IT WAS DONE, VERY MUCH DOVETAILED WITH THE WHOLE NINDS STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS. SO WE HAVE BEGUN TO DEFINE WHAT ARE OUR PROGRAMMATIC STRENGTHS IN OUR CURRENT PROGRAM, AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO SLICE THIS VERY DIVERSE PIE, SO THAT WE FORM, IF NOT BRANCHES, AT LEAST AFFINITY GROUPS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE PARTICULAR INTERESTS AND TO HAVE THOSE GROUPS ACTUALLY COME TOGETHER AND SAY IS THERE ONE RECRUITMENT THAT COULD TAKE YOUR GROUP OF INVESTIGATORS AS A WHOLE, A COMMUNITY, A PROGRAM, TO THE NEXT LEVEL, RATHER THAN SAYING WHO IS OUT THERE THAT'S REALLY GOOD AND HOW DO WE MAKE THEM HAPPY ONCE THEY GET HERE TO SAY WHAT IS MISSING FROM OUR PORTFOLIO, IN OUR PARTICULAR PROGRAMMATIC GROUP. AND TO FORM FIVE OR SIX OR SEVEN PROGRAMMATIC GROUPS, EACH OF WHICH SAYS WHAT WOULD TAKE US -- >> SOUNDS GREAT A PAPER BUT CONSIDERING THAT'S NOT HOW HIRING WAS DONE IN THE PAST, NOT EVERYONE WILL FIT INTO AN OBJECTIVE ANYMORE. >> ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. >> SOME PEOPLE WILL FEEL STRANDED AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU GOING TO SAY WE THINK YOU SHOULD PROBABLY FIND A NEW PLACE WHERE YOU'LL FIT IN. >> WELL, I MEAN, I THINK OF THE TRICK, THE REASON YOU RECRUIT AS A SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, SOMEBODY FOR WHOM THIS IS NOT THEIR FIRST RODEO, WHO HAS DONE THIS BEFORE AND HAS DEFINED PEOPLE IN A WAY THAT BUILDS CONSENSUS, I WOULD BET YOU ANYTHING THAT IF I SAT DOWN NOW I COULD TAKE EVERY SINGLE INVESTIGATOR IN THE INTRAMURAL PROGRAM AND FORM, YOU KNOW, A SET OF SIX OR SEVEN GROUPS INTO WHICH EVERYBODY WOULD FIT IN AT LEAST ONE AND SOME PEOPLE WOULD FIT INTO TWO OR THREE. I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE THE OF RECRUITING A SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR WITH THE KIND OF VISION THAT ALLOWS THEM ON ONE HAND TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW AND INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE, MUCH THEIR OWN MAKING, WHILE NOT COMPLETELY DISSOLVING WHAT WE'VE ALREADY BUILT. AND THAT'S WHY LEADERSHIP IS A SKILL THAT IS SEPARATE AND DISTINCT FROM BEING A GREAT SCIENTIST. AND THANKFULLY FOR US THEY OVERLAP IN MANY PEOPLE, BUT NOT IN ALL. AND I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK FOR THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO DO THAT TO BE OUR LEADERSHIP. >> THANKS. >> ED, FINAL COMMENT. >> FIRST, NINA, THANKS FOR MODELING GREAT LEADERSHIP AND SCIENCE. TERRIFIC. COULD YOU BRIEFLY EXPAND AVI NATH'S WORK, ARE THERE CHILDREN INVOLVED IN THE LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP OF POST-COVID SYMPTOMS? >> GREAT QUESTION. NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART, EVERYBODY WILL KNOW WHY. YES, THE ANSWER IS YES. BOTH ORGANICALLY BECAUSE THE PARENTS OF CHILDREN HAVE CONTACTED AVI AND SAID IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO FOR MY 10-YEAR-OLD OR 12-YEAR-OLD, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF SEVERAL OF US, MYSELF INCLUDED, ARE INVOLVED IN A COLLABORATION WITH NICHD THAT HAS CREATED A DATABASE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT CHILDREN NOT ONLY ACUTELY BUT FOLLOWING THEM IN THE LONG TERM, AND FEEDING THEM INTO BOTH AVI'S AND OUR EXTRAMURAL DATABASE THAT'S SORT OF AN OFFSHOT OF EPPIC NET TO TRY TO CAPTURE PEDIATRIC, IF YOU WILL, PEDIATRIC VERSION OF PACS, OR LONG-TERM COVID, LONG HAULERS. THERE ARE MANY OF US ADVOCATING FOR THAT, AS PART OF THAT DATABASE. >> OKAY. I THINK I KNOW ONE PERSON DOES NEED TO LEAVE RELATIVELY SOON, WE DO NEED TO MOVE FORWARD TO THE CONCEPT CLEARANCE TO MAKE SURE WE GET IT. THANK YOU, NINA. FINAL ITEM IS CONCEPT CLEARANCE. WE'VE ALWAYS PRESENTED NEW CONCEPTS TO COUNCIL TO GET FEEDBACK AND GIVE APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD, NOT DETAILED PRESENTATIONS OR PROPOSALS BECAUSE IT'S JUST THE BROAD CONCEPT. WE HAVE QUITE A FEW. A GOOD NUMBER OF ARE REISSUES, HAVE ALREADY BEEN PRESENTED BEFORE COUNCIL, BEFORE TWO COUNCILS. WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF GOING THROUGH ANY OF THESE. WE HAD THE DETAIL WRITEUPS IN ECB. UNLESS THERE ARE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS ASK FOR A GENERAL MOTION TO APPROVE REISSUES AND VOTE ON THAT AND THERE WILL BE FOUR VERY BRIEF PRESENTATIONS OF FOUR NEW IDEAS. HAVING SAID THAT ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON RENEWALS? HEARING NONE, COULD I GET A MOTION THEN THAT WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR RENEWALS. >> MOTION. >> SECOND? >> SECOND. >> LET'S TAKE A VOTE. AND MOVING TO THE FIRST, FROM DIVISION OF CLINICAL RESEARCH. CODRON, ARE YOU THERE? >> I'M HERE. IF I COULD SHARE MY SCREEN. I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN AND GO TO THE PRESENTATION, GIVE ME ONE SECOND. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ANYMORE. >> LOOKS GOOD, CODRIN. >> ARE YOU SEEING MY SLIDES? >> YES. >> YES. >> START THE SLIDE SHOW. >> I THINK I DID. LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE SEEING MY COVER SLIDE. YEAH, COVER SLIDE, GOOD, FINE. BRIEFLY I'M GOING TO PRESENT THE INITIAL WORK WE'RE PROPOSING TO ADDRESS WHAT MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST UNDERADDRESSED AREAS IN NEUROLOGY, FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, LOOKING AT BIOMARKERS AND OUTCOME MEASURES. OUTLINING THE PROBLEM FOR YOU, THIS IS REALLY THE SECOND MOST COMMON PRESENTATION IN NEUROLOGY CLINICS, THIS IS UNDERESTIMATED BECAUSE OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED. SO THE PROBLEM IS ENORMOUS. 1/6 OF CASE THAT'S PRESENT IN NEUROLOGY CLINICS ARE FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, THE COST IS STAGGERING. THE MOST RECENT PAPER LOOKING AT THIS LOOKED AT ER AND INPATIENT COSTS. THIS IS PRIMARILY OUTPATIENT, BUT A BILLION A YEAR, INTRACTABLE EPILEPSIES, DEGENERATIVE DISORDERS, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT MAJOR PROBLEM THAT REALLY HAS NO SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN IT. THERE'S BEEN FORTUNATELY A LOT OF ADVANCES IN TERMS OF SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING, LIKE I'LL BE HAPPY TO TALK IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT ABOUT WHY THIS HAS FALLEN OFF THE RADAR EVEN THOUGH HISTORICALLY NEUROLOGY WAS WELL APPRECIATED. SO WE KNOW THERE ARE A NUMBER OF CIRCUIT ISSUES AND MOVEMENT DISORDER, FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS, MOTOR AREAS, TEMPO PARIETAL JUNCTION, AGENCY OF MOVEMENT, OVERALL WE END UP WITH ABNORMAL MANIFESTATIONS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE ULTIMATELY DISCONNECT BETWEEN PERCEIVED ACTION OF THE PERSON AND ACTUAL CONSEQUENCE OF VOLUNTARY ACTIVITIES. SO THESE ARE IDENTIFIABLE PHYSIOLOGIC ABNORMALITIES, TO MAKE IT CLEAR HOPEFULLY NOBODY THINKS IN THIS DAY AND AGE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE PATIENTS ARE DOING VOLUNTARILY, THESE ARE PATIENTS WHO ARE SEVERELY SUFFERING WITH THESE CONDITIONS. SO THIS IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT. WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS NEEDED IN THIS POPULATION BUT REALLY THE MAIN ITEM THAT'S COMING UP IS NEED FOR RELIABLE OUTCOME MEASURES. SEVERAL LINES OF THERAPY ARE BEING STUDIES, AND THERE ARE INSIPIENT EVIDENCE THESE ARE HELPING BUT REGULAR TRIALS IS LIMITED BY AVAILABILITY OF OUTCOME MEASURES SO THE FIELD IS TELLING US, ALMOST RANDOMLY FROM REVIEWS LOOKING AT WHAT'S THE BIGGEST NEED IN FUNCTIONAL DISORDERS, BIOMARKERS, DEFINED SENSITIVITY SPECIFICITY TO TAKE THESE INTO CLINICAL TRIALS TO REFINE THESE THERAPIES. THAT'S THE NEED. OUR SOLUTION IS TRY TO COVER THE SPECTRUM OF BIOMARKER FROM DEVELOPMENT TO CLINICAL TRIAL READINESS. IN TERMS OF SCHEDULE OF DEVELOPMENT WE HAVE EXCELLENT BIOMARKER FOAs FROM DISCOVERY TO CLINICAL VALIDATION, PLAN TO PUT OUT NOTICE OF SPECIAL INTEREST, LINKING TO THESE EXISTING FOAs AND PROPOSING CLINICAL TRIAL READINESS, LOOKING AT THE VALIDATION OF BIOMARKERS AND CLINICAL OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS WHICH ARE NOT CAPTURED IN THE BIOMEDICAL FOA, SO ANYTHING DOING WITH CLINICAL OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS, LOOKING AT CLINICAL TRIAL READINESS, MAKING SURE THAT THE OUTCOMES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE DEFINED PURPOSE AND DEFINED CONTEXT IN CLINICAL TRIALS FOR THIS POPULATION. THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE YOU, JUST QUICKLY OUTLINING THE TEAM. WE HAVE EXPERTISE IN MOVEMENT DISORDERS, EPILEPSY, THE TWO BY FAR DOMINANT AREAS WE SEE FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGIC DISORDERS, AND WE HAVE A PSYCHIATRIST WORKING WITH US, INVOLVED IN DISCUSSION WAS COLLEAGUES BECAUSE THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHALLENGES HERE. I'LL MENTION COLLEAGUES IN NIMH, MARJORIE HAS BEEN OUR LIAISON, PROVIDING GOOD SCIENTIFIC INPUT HERE. AND WE PLAN TO BE IN DISCUSSIONS MOVING FORWARD. I'LL STOP THERE AND USUALLY I HAVE TROUBLE STOPPING SHARING. THERE WE GO. HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS. >> WE'LL JUST VOTE ON EACH INDIVIDUALLY IF THERE ARE AREN'T QUESTIONS. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS CONCEPT? GINA, KAREN. AND SECOND? OKAY. LET'S VOTE. THANK YOU, CODRIN. NEXT UP JILL MORRIS. >> I'M SHARING MY SCREEN. CAN YOU SEE IT NOW? >> LOOKS GOOD. >> OKAY. SO THE GOAL OF THIS CONCEPT CLEARANCE IS TO SUPPORT NATURAL HISTORY STUDIES TO IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE CLINICAL AND -- UTILITY OF CLINICAL OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS USED TO DETERMINE EFFICACY AND CLINICAL TRIALS. CANDIDATE THERAPEUTICS, NEUROLOGICAL AND NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS. THIS IS ADDRESSES THE GAP IN ABILITY TO BRING THERAPEUTICS TO THE CLINIC FOR ULTRA RARE DISEASES, DISORDERS HAVE CHALLENGES THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR THE COMMUNITIES TO PERFORM NATURAL HISTORY STUDIES ON THEIR OWN. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S LIMITED RESOURCES FUNDING, THERE'S LACK OF COMMERCIAL INTEREST, AND UNIQUE STATISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS BECAUSE OF LOW NUMBER OF PATIENTS. SO THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY WILL BE TO PERFORM NATURAL HISTORY STUDIES TO IDENTIFY THESE CLINICAL OUTCOME ASSESSMENTS WHICH INCLUDE CLINICIAN-REPORTED OUTCOME SO CLINICAL FINDINGS, OBSERVER REPORTED OUTCOME SO OBSERVABLE SCIENCE OR EVENTS RELATED TO THE PATIENT HEALTH AND THESE ARE TYPICALLY REPORTED BY THE PARENT OR CAREGIVER OF A PERSON WHO CAN'T REPORT THAT THEMSELVES. SO EXAMPLE WOULD BE A NUMBER OF SEIZURES OR QUALITY OF SLEEP. THERE IS PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES WHICH IS SELF-EXPLANATORY, EXAMPLE COULD BE GRADING SCALES FOR PAIN. AND THERE ARE THE PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES, THESE ARE STANDARDIZED TESTS THAT A PATIENT UNDERTAKES UNDER THE INSTRUCTION OF AN INDIVIDUAL, SO THE EXAMPLE IS MEASURING GAIT SPEED OR MEMORY OR COGNITIVE TESTS. SO THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY WOULD SYNERGIZE WITH ACTIVITIES THAT ARE OCCURRING WITHIN NIH SO WE HAVE CANDIDATE THERAPEUTICS THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED IN THE R01 SPACE THROUGH NINDS' TRANSLATIONAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, AS WELL AS PRIVATE EFFORTS SO LONG TERM GOAL IS TO ENABLE THESE CLINICAL TRIALS. IN THE U.S. THERE ISN'T AN OFFICIAL DEFINITION OF AN ULTRA RARE DISORDER. THERE IS A DEFINITION FOR RARE DISORDER WHICH IS A CONDITION AFFECTING FEWER THAN 200,000 INDIVIDUALS IN THE U.S., .06% OF THE POPULATION. SO HERE WE'RE GOING TO USE THE DEFINITION FROM EUROPEAN, ONE IN ON A THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS, .002% OF THE POPULATION, 1 IN 50,000, ALLOWING NATURAL HISTORY STUDIES, ENCOURAGE INNOVATIVE AND EFFICIENT STUDY DESIGNS, FOR EXAMPLE REMOTE ASSESSMENT AS THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS ARE GOING TO BE LIMITED AND MAY BE GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED. WE'LL ENCOURAGE THE PARTICIPATION OF THE PATIENT COMMUNITY. THIS CAN AID WITH IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE STUDY PARTICIPANTS AS WELL AS PROVIDING PATIENT PERSPECTIVE. THE USE OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE COLLABORATIONS AND RESOURCES, AND OBVIOUSLY WE'LL REQUIRE USE OF RIGOROUS AND SCIENTIFICALLY APPROPRIATE STATISTICAL METHODOLOGIES, AND FINALLY THERE HAS TO BE A NEED, A THERAPEUTIC UNDER DEVELOPMENT, THAT WILL NEED TO HAVE A CLINICAL OUTCOME ASSESSMENT TO MEASURE EFFICACY FOR AN UPCOMING CLINICAL TRIAL. I THANK THE WORKING GROUP THAT WORKED TO DEVELOP THIS CONCEPT. >> GREAT. THANKS, JILL. ANY QUESTIONS FOR JILL? GINA? >> HOW STRICT IS THAT CRITERIA FOR HAVING LESS THAN 6,500 PATIENTS, IF IT'S 7,000, WOULD IT STILL BE ALL RIGHT? >> YEAH. I MEAN, WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THE SPECIFICS BUT THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT. WE HAVE TO DISCUSS AND TALK TO EACH GROUP ABOUT THE CUTOFF, WHAT IT WOULD BE. >> A QUESTION ABOUT THE TEMPORAL PATTERNS, LOOKING FOR CLINICAL TRIAL YOU'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT CHANGES IN PROGRESSION OF DISEASE. DOES THAT MEAN FOR THIS INITIAL STUDY YOU'LL HAVE TO SEE PATIENTS SURVEYED OVER TIME? IS THAT GOING TO BE AN ISSUE? >> YES, SO THE FUNDING OPPORTUNITY WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IS, YOU KNOW, FIVE-YEAR PROGRAM WITH INITIAL DISCUSSIONS, THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT THESE PATIENTS OVER A SERIES OF TIME IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY CLINICAL OUTCOME MEASURES, THIS IS A CONSIDERATION WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING THIS CONCEPT. >> OKAY. NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, A MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD? FROM SUSAN. SECOND? GINA. OKAY. LET'S VOTE ON THAT ONE. THANK YOU, JILL. >> THANK YOU. >> NOW MICHELLE JONES LINDEN. >> OKAY. I'M HERE. LET ME SEE, CAN I SHARE MY V IDEO? I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT A COLLABORATION WITH MY OFFICE, ENHANCED NEUROSCIENCE WORKFORCE DIVERSITY, ALSO STEVE'S OFFICE, TRAINING OFFICE. SO AS YOU KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, IN TERMS OF THE PROGRAMS THAT NINDS HAS FOR TRAINING, IT'S REALLY A POINT OF PRIDE FOR US THAT WE COVER STARTING AT HIGH SCHOOL, ALL THE WAY TO JUNIOR FACULTY. SPECIAL ATTENTION ON TRANSITION AWARD THROUGH THE NIH BLUEPRINT THINKING ABOUT HOW WE CAN MOVE PEOPLE ALONG THE PATHWAY. DURING A RECENT -- WE HEARD ABOUT THIS A COUPLE TIMES, LISTENING FOCUS SESSIONS, STRATEGIC PLANNING GROUP, ALSO AT EXTRAMURAL MEETINGS WHERE WE'VE HAD T32s, R25 P.I.s, MISSING TRANSITION FROM COLLEGE TO GRADUATE SCHOOL FOR PEOPLE THAT MAYBE DIDN'T HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A REAL AUTHENTIC RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. NORMALLY WE CALL THAT A POSTBAC EXPERIENCE. YOU HEARD FROM NINE A INTRAMURAL HAS DONE THAT BUT EXTRAMURAL HAS NOT FUNDED PROGRAMS WITHIN THAT SPACE EXCEPT FOR DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM, ONE MENTOR, ONE INDIVIDUAL. NIH AS A WHOLE, MOST POST BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS EXIST AT NIGMS, FROWN UPON HAVING ONE AREA OF RESEARCH, FOR EXAMPLE NOT ABLE TO REALLY HAVE JUST A NEUROSCIENCE PROGRAM. YOU HAVE TO HAVE ALL SCIENCES INCLUDED. WITH THOSE THOUGHTS WE DECIDED TO DO A PILOT POSTBAC PROGRAM, THE KEY COMPONENTS TO MAKE SURE IT'S WELL STRUCTURED, THAT IT'S TRULY A PROGRAM, FOR TWO YEARS AND PARTNER WITH AN INSTITUTION WITH EXPERIENCES WITH GRADUATE TRAINING. AND THEN FINALLY HAVE A PEER NETWORK, NOT A ONE-OFF BUT DEVELOP A COHORT DESIGN. SO WHEN IT COMES TO GROWING THIS POOL, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT INCREASING DIVERSITY, AS I SAID BEFORE WE USED TO CALL IT A PIPELINE, NOW A PATHWAY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL OF THE TALENT ALONG THE PATHWAY AND FEEL LIKE THIS PROGRAM COULD HELP US DO THAT. THE PROGRAM WOULD BE FOR RECENT UNDERGRADUATES, AS I SAID, WHO DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES. THE THOUGHT IS THAT OBVIOUSLY WE'RE ASSESSING OUR PROGRAMS AND EVALUATING ALL THE TIME, NOT THAT WE FORGOT THE POSTBAC, BUT WANTED TO NOT HAVE ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AND WHEN I SAY THAT WHAT I MEAN IS THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO CREATE A PROGRAM WHERE WE WERE DE-RISKING DUE TO MAYBE BIAS, OR EXTENDING THE TIME FOR SOME OF THESE DIVERSE INDIVIDUALS FROM DIVERSE GROUPS BECAUSE GRADUATE PROGRAMS WERE MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON BIAS, NOT THE FACT THESE INDIVIDUALS WEREN'T ALREADY TALENTED ENOUGH TO GET INTO A GRADUATE PROGRAM SO WITH THIS LANGUAGE MAKING SURE IT'S TARGETED FOR INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT RESEARCH EXPOSURE, HOPEFULLY MITIGATING THAT. WE'VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE FROM OUR ENDURE PROGRAM IN TERMS OF RERISKING. THE OTHER THOUGHT TO SEE INTEGRATED WITH T32 PROGRAMS, WE KNOW THERE'S ALREADY BEEN REVIEW IN TERMS OF MENTORSHIP, RESEARCH ACCESS, RESOURCES, AND HISTORY OF TRAINEE ENGAGEMENT, THAT WAY WE'LL BE INCORPORATING THESE POSTBAC TRAINEES, IN AN ENVIRONMENT WITH A SENSE OF BELONGING AMONG PARTICIPANTS IN AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED VIBRANT NEUROSCIENCE COMMUNITY. TALKING ABOUT EXPECTATIONS BUT IN TERMS OF INSTITUTIONS WE WANT TO PLACE POSTBACS WHERE THEY ARE CELEBRATED, ANOTHER UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE IF IT'S NOT A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT WITH STRONG MENTORSHIP IT CAN TURN PEOPLE OFF SCIENCE SO WE WANT TO REALLY NOT HAVE THAT BE THE SITUATION SO IN ANY PROGRAM THAT WE DEVELOP THERE WILL BE STRONG LANGUAGE AND REQUIREMENTS ABOUT INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT LETTERS THAT MUST DESCRIBE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IS PROMOTED AND THAT'S AT ALL LEVELS SO PARTICIPANT TRAINEES, STAFF, FACULTY, LEADERSHIP. FINALLY I ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THIS, PUTTING A COHORT DESIGN AROUND THIS, SO THAT IT'S NOT ONLY THE RESEARCH EXPOSURE THAT THEY GET BUT ALSO CAREER BUILDING ACTIVITIES WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE SIMILAR GOALS. AND SO SORT OF THE SPECIFICS IS ANTICIPATE 12 POSTBAC TRAINEES, FOUR PER COHORT, STARTING WITH FIVE INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAMS, IN EACH A TOTAL OF FOUR YEARS OF TIME. BUDGET WOULD INCLUDE SALARY COSTS FOR THESE POSTBACS, PLUS SMALL SUPPLIES, ENRICHMENT BUDGET, AND THEN SORT OF WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH MOSTLY ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS TRY TO CREATE BIGGER NETWORK SO HAVING AN ANNUAL GROUP MEETING FOR NOT ONLY THE P.I.s OF THE GRANT BUT THEN ALSO THE MENTEES, AND THEN OF COURSE IT TAKES MANAGEMENT OF THE PROGRAM LIKE THIS SEVERAL SMALLER ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS FOR PROGRAM MANAGER. SO WITH THAT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE SOME QUESTIONS. >> WE DID HAVE A QUESTION IN THE CHAT ABOUT SALARY, HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO SIMILAR PROGRAMS AS LOS ANGELES, IT COULD BE DIFFICULT TO LIVE THERE ON THAT. >> YEAH, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH OTHER PROGRAMS. IF THE INSTITUTION WANTS TO ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE -- INCLUDE SOME SUPPORT TO MAKE IT FOR SCALE FOR THAT ENVIRONMENT, THAT'S FINE AS WELL. A LOT OF THE FINAL COSTS WILL BE GUIDED BY OUR GUIDELINES OR NIH POLICY GUIDELINES IN TERMS OF COST FOR THAT CAREER STAGE. THE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WILL HAVE TO HAPPEN IS CAN'T EXCEED COST OF ZERO LEVEL GRADUATE SCHOOLS STIPEND, NRSA GUIDELINES. >> TIM? >> MAYBE I MISSED IT, WILL THE APPLICATION YOU ANTICIPATE INVOLVE SOMETHING LIKE SIMILAR THINGS FOR TRAINING PROGRAM APPLICATIONS WHICH DEMONSTRATE YOU HAVE FACULTY THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE MENTORS FOR THESE PROGRAMS? >> ABSOLUTELY. >> OKAY. WHICH MEANS YOU ANTICIPATE THAT THEREFORE LIKE WITH T32 THESE WOULD NEED TO BE FUNDED LABS, NOT JUST EVIDENCE OF GOOD MENTORS BUT RESEARCH PROGRAMS THEY COULD GET PLUGGED INTO? >> EXACTLY. THEY NEED PEOPLE STEERING THIS. GIVEN IT'S TWO YEARS, NOT TO HAVE UNCERTAINTY THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. >> THANKS. >> AARON? >> THIS IS A WONDERFUL PROGRAM. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE KIND OF PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T HAD RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, IT SEEMS THAT IF YOU'RE GOING AFTER PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T HAD RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, SOME OF THEM NECESSARILY ONCE THEY ARE IN THIS RESEARCH EXPERIENCE WILL FIND OUT IT'S NOT FOR THEM. SO THAT COULD STILL BE A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME. ON THE OTHER HAND, INDIVIDUALS WHO SOUGHT OUT RESEARCH, GIVES EXTRA TIME FOR LARGER STAGE, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS CAN HELP THEM ONCE THEY ARE IN GRAD SCHOOL, HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING. I WORKED AT ONE OF THESE PROGRAMS BEFORE MED SCHOOL AND HIT THE GROUND RUNNING ONCE I STARTED MY Ph.D. PROGRAM. WONDERING IF THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES. >> YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT. WE'LL HAVE TO BALANCE THAT. THE LANGUAGE, WE'LL TRY TO MAKE IT -- WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT NECESSARILY ZERO, YOU KNOW, STARTING FROM NO -- NEVER HAVING PICKED UP A PIPETTE BUT I THINK THE REAL CONCERN FOR US, WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE, THERE ARE VERY TALENTED DIVERSE STUDENTS WHO MAYBE HAD TWO YEARS OF RESEARCH EXPERIENCE BUT EITHER THROUGH THEIR OWN IMPOSTOR SYNDROME THEY ARE DEALING WITH OR BIAS FROM A C IN THEIR FRESHMAN YEAR, PEOPLE ARE NOT ACCEPTING THEM TO GRADUATE SCHOOL, WE DON'T WANT TO PROPAGATE THAT. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE USING APPROPRIATE CRITERIA IN EVALUATING PEOPLE FOR ADMISSION INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL. WE KNOW ABOUT THE GRE EXIT AND ALL OF THAT, GETTING RID OF UNNECESSARY FILTERS. WHAT I IMAGINE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS WILL BE TO BE NAMED, WE'LL CALL THEM SLOTS. WE CAN HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH A PROGRAM IDENTIFIES SOMEONE THAT MAYBE HAD SOME RESEARCH EXPERIENCE, AS YOU'RE SAYING WASN'T TO THE CALIBER WHERE THEY FEEL AS THOUGH IT WOULD MAKE THEM COMPETITIVE FOR RESEARCH PROGRAM THAT THEY ARE LOOKING TO. I'M SURE WE'LL BE OPEN TO THOSE EXCEPTIONS, BUT AS A GENERAL RULE WE DO NOT WANT TO EXTEND TIME OR FUND PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALREADY HAD PRETTY INTENSIVE HANDS-ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCES. WE WANT TO CREATE THIS OPPORTUNITY AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW THE POOL, NOT JUST KEEP CREAMING OFF THE TOP. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? >> YES. THANK YOU. >> THIS IS DAVID. I'M SORRY MY CAMERA IS OUT SO I CAN'T RAISE MY HAND. IF IT'S A ONE-YEAR PROGRAM I'M UNCLEAR ON WHO IT'S TARGETED AT. >> IT'S A TWO-YEAR. >> OKAY. I MISUNDERSTOOD. >> WE WENT BACK AND FORTH WITH THAT. TWO YEAR IS MORE REALISTIC GETTING PEOPLE TIME TO ACTUALLY APPLY AND GET ACCEPTED. >> HOLLY, LAST QUESTION. >> YEAH, THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED MORE CLARIFICATION ON THIS QUESTION THAT AARON ASKED. FOR INSTANCE IN TERMS OF SOMEBODY WHO HAS HAD SOME EXPERIENCE AND THEREFORE MAY APPEAR FOR GRADUATE STUDENT APPLICATION SELECTION COMMITTEES, THEY MAY APPEAR ALREADY LIKE GREAT BUT WHO ARE YOU GOING TO EXCLUDE? PEOPLE WHO HAD A SUMMER INTERNSHIP? I THINK IT'S A TRICKY QUESTION. >> I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO DEFINE LIKE IF IT'S JUST SOMEONE WHO HAS AN 8-WEEK SUMMER RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND MAYBE IS AT, YOU KNOW, A LESSER RESOURCE INSTITUTION AND DURING THAT ACADEMIC YEAR THEY DON'T HAVE ANY EXPOSURE TO RESEARCH, WE WOULDN'T WANT TO EXCLUDE THEM BASED ON, YOU KNOW, AN 8-WEEK RESEARCH EXPERIENCE. THAT WOULDN'T MAKE A LOT OF SENSE. WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD EXPOSURE BUT ARE R 1 INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE MAYBE THROUGH HONORS CLASSES RESEARCH EXPOSURE, PROJECTS, AND THEN ALSO DURING THE SUMMER. YOU KNOW, THOSE CANDIDATES WE WOULD FEEL PROBABLY DON'T NEED THIS PROGRAM AS MUCH AS SOMEONE WHO HAS NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY. >> YEAH, I GET THAT. >> OKAY. I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. DO WE HAVE A MOTION FOR THE PROGRAM MICHELLE JUST MENTIONED? I SEE MOTION. SECOND? OKAY. LET'S VOTE ON THAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ONE FINAL CONCEPT, DANIEL MILLER FROM OUR NEURODEGENERATION CLUSTER. HE WILL VERBALLY SPEAK TO US. MAYBE NOT. >> CAN YOU HEAR ME AND SEE MY SLIDE? >> YES. >> IS IT IN PRESENTER MODE? >> NOT YET. >> NOW, OKAY. I'M GOING TO TRY TO DO THIS WITHOUT MOST OF MY SLIDES. I'M BRINGING TO THE GROUP TODAY INITIATIVE THAT WE SORT OF FORMED WITH COLLEAGUES OF MINE, AND RAND, JANE, OTHER PEOPLE, TO COMPETE COMMUNICATIONS CONTRACT FOR THE NIH NEUROBIOBANK, I THOUGHT I WOULD GIVE BACKGROUND. IT'S A FEDERATED HUMAN BRAIN REPOSITORY RUN BY THE NIH, SIX SITES, WE BANK ABOUT 15,000 SUBJECTS, 11,000 INDIVIDUALS PRE-ENROLLED FOR DONATION. AND THE MISSION IS REALLY PRETTY SIMPLE, TO RAISE AWARENESS OF BRAIN DONATION, DEMOCRATIZE BANKING AND ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY HUMAN BRAIN TISSUE. SO, IT'S FUNDED BY A LOT OF BLUEPRINT I.C.s AND BLUEPRINT, CO-DIRECTED BY ME AND ABIGAIL FROM THE NIH SIDE, WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS COMPETE A CONTRACT FOR OUTREACH AND RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS. RIGHT NOW ALL OF SIX SITES ARE DOING THEIR OWN OUTREACH BUT WE HAVE BIG CHALLENGES IN THE AREA OF BANKING FROM SUBJECTS OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, DIVERSE SES, REACHING PEOPLE THAT ARE SORT OF SCIENCE NAIVE, OF REACHING PEOPLE THAT DON'T DIE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS SO THAT WOULD BE UNAFFECTED CONTROLS, FOLKS IN EARLY STAGES OF DISEASE, AND WE HOPE TO GET FROM A NEUROBIOBANK COMMUNICATIONS CONTRACT HELP IN REACHING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, HARMONIZING OUTREACH EFFORTS GOING ON, AND FINDING GAPS FOR MISSING POPULATIONS, GENERATING OUTREACH EFFORTS TO RAISE AWARENESS, IMPORTANCE OF BRAIN DONATION. I'M HAPPY TO REFERENCE MORE SLIDES IF THERE ARE MORE QUESTIONS BUT I THINK I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT AND SEE IF FOLKS HAVE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. >> THANKS, DAN. QUESTIONS FOR DAN? CAN WE TAKE THE SLIDE DOWN? SEEING NO HANDS, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS CONCEPT? THERE'S A MOTION. A SECOND. OKAY. LET'S VOTE. I BELIEVE THAT'S IT. WITH THAT WE ARE DONE FOR THE DAY. I APOLOGIZE WE WENT OVER 30 MINUTES. WE'LL SEE HOW WE DO TOMORROW BUT WE'LL REJOIN FOR THE CLOSED SESSION, OTHERWISE I BELIEVE I CAN WISH EVERYONE A GOOD EVENING. >> GOOD EVENING.