SHE WAS REALLY I THINK SHE
POSITIONED US VERY WELL FOR THE
FUTURE.
VALERIE WAS HERE FOR SEVERAL
DECADES, I THINK MAYBE CLOSE TO
25 YEARS, IF I REMEMBER
CORRECTLY.
SHE HAD SERVED THE LAST FEW
YEARS AS ACTING SCIENTIFIC
DIRECTOR FOR THE INTRAMURAL
RESEARCH PROGRAM, AND SHE
ACTUALLY DID QUITE A BIT TO
INTEGRATE THOSE PROGRAMS, AND
I'LL GET INTO THAT IN A LITTLE
MORE DETAIL MOMENTARILY.
SO SHE WAS ACTING SCIENTIFIC
DIRECTOR.
BEFORE THAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY THE
DIRECTOR OF EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS
FOR MANY YEARS, WHERE SHE RAN
OUR EXTRAMURAL GRANTS PROGRAM.
SHE AND HER STAFF.
SO WE'LL MISS THEM BOTH, AND
THEY BOTH CONTRIBUTED A LOT TO
NLM.
AND WE HAVE SOME NEW PLACES AND
NOT NEW -- NEW FACES, RATHER,
AND SOME NOT NEW FACES NOW IN
NEW PLACES.
IN THE LATTER CATEGORY IS STEVE
SHERRY, NOW ACTING DIRECTOR OF
NLM.
HE HAD BEEN THE NCBI DIRECTOR,
AND NOW THAT HE'S THE ACTING
DIRECTOR OF NLM, KIM PRUITT IS
THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF NCBI, YOU
SEE THESE MUSICAL CHAIRS, AND
SHE HAD BEEN CHIEF OF NCBI'S
INFORMATION ENGINEERING BRANCH.
WE ALSO HAVE A NEW FACE HERE,
DR. RICHARD SCHEUERMANN.
, NOW NLM SIGN TERRIFIC
DIRECTOR, FORMERLY IN CALIFORNIA
WHERE HE DIRECTED INFORMATICS
AND WAS ALSO DIRECTOR OF THE
CAMPUS THERE, AND I'LL SAY A
LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HIM AND
KIM AND STEVE IN THIS NEXT
SLIDE.
SO THIS GIVES YOU THEIR
BACKGROUNDS.
YOU CAN SEE THAT STEVE AND KIM
HAVE BEEN AT NLM FOR 25, 26
YEARS.
THEY'VE HAD A LOT TO DO WITH NIH
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES FROM NLM.
STEVE RECENTLY MOVED THE SRA,
THE SEQUENCE READ ARCHIVE, WHICH
IS MANY PETABYTES OF DATA, IT'S
NOW THE LARGEST BIOMEDICAL
DATABASE IN COMMERCIAL CLOUD
SPACE.
HE ALSO LED EFFORTS ACROSS ALL
OF NIH TO ESTABLISH THE RESEARCH
AUTHORIZATION SERVICE, WHICH
DECREASES THE NUMBER OF LOGINS
YOU HAVE DO IN THE NIH SYSTEM.
SO THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT
CONTRIBUTIONS AND OF COURSE HE
ALSO CONTRIBUTED A LOT TO OUR
MAJOR GENOMIC DATABASES.
AT NCBI, WHEN HE WAS LEADING
THAT, HE WAS THE DIRECTOR, OF
COURSE, AND HE INSTITUTED A
RESILIENCE FOR LIABILITY AND
REPRESENTATION INITIATIVE, WHICH
IS LOOKING TO TRANSFORM NCBI IN
THE COMING YEARS.
HIS BACKGROUND IS IN
ANTHROPOLOGY.
HE ACTUALLY DEVELOPED GENETIC
MODELS LOOKING AT POPULATIONS
THERE.
HE DID A POSTDOC AT LSU MEDICAL
CENTER, AND AGAIN, HE'S BEEN
HERE FOR 2 1/2 DECADES.
KIM HAS ALSO BEEN HERE ABOUT
THAT LENGTH OF TIME.
SHE'S CURRENTLY HELPING TO LEAD
THE NIH STRATEGIC PLAN FOR DATA
SCIENCE IMPLEMENTATION, SHE'S
ALSO HELPING WITH THE NIH
CONSIDERATION OF PERSISTENT
UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS, YOU MIELT
YOU MIGHTHAVE SEEN THAT IN THE S
LAST AUGUST OF 22 BY THE OFFICE
OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY POLICY AND
THIS NOTION I THINK IS GOING TO
BE ON THE ONE HAND A MAJOR
CONTRIBUTION, MAJOR ADVANCE IN
OPEN SCIENCE AND ATTRIBUTION IN
CREATING INCENTIVES FOR SHARING
RESEARCH PROJECTS.
ON THE OTHER HAND, I THINK IT'S
GOING TO BE VERY CHALLENGING SO
I'M GLAD KIM IS IN THE MIX ON
THAT LEADERSHIP.
HER BACKGROUND IS IN GENETICS,
AND SHE ALSO WAS A CO-OWNER OF A
SMALL BUSINESS AT ONE POINT.
RICHARD SCHEUERMANN COMES TO US
VERY FOCUSED ON GENOMICS KINDS
OF DATA.
HE HAS ALSO HAD LOTS OF NATIONAL
AND INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF
MAJOR DATA RESOURCES AND HAS
DEVELOPED LOTS OF ANALYTIC
METHODS.
HIS BACKGROUND IS IN MOLECULAR
BIOLOGY, BUT HE WAS ALSO A
PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN
MEDICAL CENTER.
SO HE COMES TO US WITH BOTH AN
INTEREST IN DATA IN THE GENOMIC
REALM AND IN THE MEDICAL -- MORE
MEDICAL DATA REALM, AND I THINK
HE'LL BE THE PERFECT GUIDE FOR
OUR GOING FORWARD IN THE
INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM.
SO THIS IS OUR CURRENT
COMPOSITION OF THE TEAM AS IT
NOW IS.
YOU CAN SEE LOTS OF ACTINGS UP
HERE, IN FACT, I THINK ONLY
THREE MEMBERS OF THE LEADERSHIP
TEAM NOW ARE NOT ACTING.
SOME OF THESE ACTINGS ARE
BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE
HAVE SLID FROM ONE POSITION TO
ANOTHER, BUT I CAN SAY THAT
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE RECRUITING FOR
THE POSITION THAT I'M ACTING IN,
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR
OPERATIONS AND INNOVATION.
WE'RE ALSO RECRUITING FOR THE
LISTER HILL CENTER DIRECTOR AND
DEPUTY DIRECTOR.
AND SOME OF THE OTHER SEARCHES
ARE PENDING GETTING GOING.
SO HOPEFULLY IN A YEAR OR SO,
THIS WILL CHANGE AGAIN, BUT WITH
FEWER ACTING TITLES UNDERNEATH.
LET ME FOCUS A BIT ON RICHARD
AND HIS VISION FOR THE IRP.
I THINK THIS IS VERY EXCITING.
HE JOINED US IN THE MIDDLE OF
SEPTEMBER, SO AS I MENTIONED ON
THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, HE'D BEEN
HERE FOR ONLY ABOUT A MONTH, BUT
ALREADY HE'S GOT LOTS OF GOOD
IDEAS AND I THOUGHT I'D PRESENT
SOME OF THOSE.
LET ME GIVE YOU AN ORIENTATION.
OF COURSE THE ORG CHART FOR NLM
IS ON THE LEFT AND YOU CAN SEE
THE MAJOR -- SO THE MAJOR
DIVISIONS OF NLM, SO WE'VE GOT
NCBI, LISTER HILL, LIBRARY
OPERATIONS, EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS.
IF YOU TAKE LISTER HILL AND NCBI
AND BLOW THEM UP HERE, YOU CAN
SEE THEY'VE GOT A NUMBER OF
BRANCHES UNDERNEATH, AND THEY
EACH HAVE A BRANCH THAT HAS
RESEARCH IN IT.
COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND
COMPUTATIONAL HEALTH RESEARCH
BRANCH.
THESE ARE THE INTRAMURAL
RESEARCH PROGRAMS.
EVEN THOUGH R & D HAPPENS IN
OTHER PARTS OF NLM, THESE ARE
THE ONES THAT ARE HEADED BY
PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING YOUR BASIC
RESEARCH.
UP UNTIL RECENTLY, THESE WERE
SILOED IN EACH OF THESE
DIFFERENT PARTS OF NLM, AND EACH
OF THEM HAD A SCIENTIFIC
DIRECTOR.
NOW RICHARD HAS COME IN AND HE
WILL OVERSEE BOTH OF THESE
BRANCHES, AND I THINK MOVE
FORWARD TO TRY TO FURTHER
INTEGRATE THEM.
THIS IS HIS PLAN RIGHT OUT OF
THE GATES.
I DON'T THINK ANYBODY SHOULD
HOLD ANYBODY TO ANY OF THIS.
BUT IT DOES SHOW HIS VISION AND
I THINK IT'S QUITE COMPELLING.
THE FIRST THING HE WANTS TO DO
IS FINISH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE BLUE RIBBON PANEL
RECOMMENDATIONS.
THIS WAS CARRIED OUT I THINK IN
ABOUT IN 2017, I THINK, HOW TO
GO FORWARD WITH THE INTRAMURAL
RESEARCH PROGRAM.
THIS WILL CONTINUE TO INTEGRATE
THESE TWO PROGRAMS IN EACH OF
THE TWO PARTS OF NLM.
HE WANTS TO POSITION THE
INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM IN A
WAY THAT WILL ALLOW TO LEVERAGE
NLM'S RESOURCES AND ALLOW NLM
RESOURCES TO LEVERAGE THOSE
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.
AND HE SEES THE IMPORTANCE IN
IDENTIFYING AT LEAST ONE
AUDACIOUS HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD
PROJECT FOR THE IRP.
HE WANTS TO MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT
OF NLM IRP AND HE WANTS TO FOCUS
SCIENTIFICALLY ON TRANSLATING
DATA INTO COMPUTABLE KNOWLEDGE.
IN THE NEXT NINE MONTHS, RICHARD
IS GOING TO LAUNCH AN NLM IRP
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, AND
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO
WORKING WITH HIM ON THAT.
SO LET ME TURN NOW TO SOME
ACTIVITIES THAT ARE HAPPENING
WITH OUR STAFF.
WE HAVE -- WE CALL THEM THE
FEVS -- FEDERAL EMPLOYEE
VIEWPOINT SURVEY INITIATIVE.
THIS IS A SURVEY THAT ALL
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ARE ASKED TO
TAKE, AND IT PROVIDES LOTS OF
FEEDBACK ABOUT HOW THEY SEE
THEMSELVES IN THE WORKPLACE AND
HOW THEY SEE THEIR WORKPLACE.
THIS IS DONE ACROSS THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT.
WE'VE ALSO HAD A NUMBER OF OTHER
ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE DRAWN INPUT
FROM NLM STAFF OVER THE LAST
YEAR OR SO, INCLUDING SOMETHING
WE CALL THE FUTURE OF WORK
SURVEY, AND WE HAD A SPECIAL
MEETING WHERE COMMENTS WERE IN
REALTIME SOLICITED FROM STAFF.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE TOOK ALL
OF THIS INPUT AND LEADERSHIP
SIFTED THROUGH IT AND KIND OF
ORGANIZED THE COMMENTS AND THE
SURVEY ANSWERS AND SO FORTH
TOGETHER AND CATEGORIZED THEM,
SYNTHESIZED THEM, IDENTIFIED
THREE HIGH PRIORITY ITEMS
IDENTIFIED BY STAFF, AND THEN WE
ASKED STAFF TO VOLUNTEER AND A
FORM WHAT WE CALL THE FEVS
SUMMER SPRINT TEAMS, AND WHAT
THEY DID WAS THEY THEN PUT
TOGETHER ACTIONABLE PLANS.
WE DID THIS IN THREE DIFFERENT
STEPS.
AND THE IDEA IS TO NOT ONLY HAVE
PLANS THAT ADDRESS HIGH PRIORITY
ITEMS, BUT ALSO TO INCREASE THE
ENGAGEMENT OF NLM PARTICIPANTS.
SO WE HAVE THESE THREE TEAMS NOW
OR THESE THREE INITIATIVES.
ONE IS ON PARTICIPATORY
DECISION-MAKING.
ONE IS ON IMPROVING
COMMUNICATION, AND ONE IS ON
FOSTERING CAREER DEVELOPMENT.
I WON'T GO INTO A LOT OF DETAIL
ON THESE, BUT THESE ARE, AGAIN,
LED BY STAFF, THEY WERE
IDENTIFIED BY STAFF, AND THEY'RE
GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY
STAFF.
I THINK IMPORTANTLY, THEY
HAVE -- EACH OF THESE HAS
VALUATION BUILT INTO IT, RATHER
THAN LOOKING AT THE DATA
AFTERWARDS AND SAYING, HMMM, DID
THIS WORK?
BUT ALSO, AT THE STAFF LEVEL,
INTERESTED IN BUILDING A CULTURE
OF CONTINUOUS INNOVATION AT NLM.
WHEN WE FIRST STARTED TALKING
ABOUT THIS, WE GOT A LOT OF
FEEDBACK LIKE, JEEZ, WE DO A LOT
OF INNOVATION AT NLM, AND THAT
IS TRUE.
BUT WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE
WANT TO BUILD INCENTIVE
STRUCTURE, PERMISSION STRUCTURES
AND TO CLEARLY INDICATE OUR
INTEREST IN INNOVATION, NOT ONLY
IN TERMS OF LARGE INITIATIVES,
BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF PEOPLE'S
EVERYDAY WORK.
WE'VE LAUNCHED THIS WITH THE
HELP OF SOME CONSULTANTS.
WE WANT TO START -- WE'RE
STARTING THIS IN THE OFFICE OF
THE DIRECTOR AND THE LEADERSHIP
TEAM.
WE'RE THEN GOING TO BRING TO
DIVISION DIRECTORS AND SO FORTH
AND BRING IT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO
THE STAFF AND SUPERVISOR LEVELS.
WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER A MODEL
FOR THIS THAT HAS DEVELOPMENT
MEASUREMENT GOVERNANCE, IDEA
GENERATION, DECISION-MAKING AND
ORGANIZATIONAL READINESS
FEATURES BUILT INTO IT.
AND AGAIN, WE'RE DOING THIS
ITERATIVELY, AND THE CONSULTANTS
ARE WORKING WITH US CLOSELY TO
GET AN IDEA OF HOW NLM ACTUALLY
OPERATES.
SO W WE KNOW HOW TO PLACE
THIS GOING FORWARD.
THIS HAS BEEN A PRETTY
THOUGHTFUL PROCESS AND HAS AT
THIS POINT ENGAGED MOSTLY JUST
THE NLM LEADERSHIP TEAM.
ALSO, SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, I
THINK WE HAVE MADE A LOT OF
IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR
PUBLIC-FACING RESOURCES.
CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, AT LEAST ITS
NEW PUBLIC SITE IS PART OF A
MULTI-YEAR MODERNIZATION EFFORT.
ACCESS GOOD ID HAS INCORPORATED
THE NOMENCLATURE INTO IT.
THE NIH COMPARATIVE GENOMICS
RESOURCES, COMPARATIVE GENOME
VIEWER NOW INCLUDES 275 SPECIES.
IT HAS AN IMPROVED AND ENHANCED
BLAST SEARCH CAPABILITIES, AND
IT HAS SOME MORE USEFUL LANDING
PAGES FOR SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF
THAT RESOURCE.
WE'VE ALSO MOVED A NUMBER OF
RESOURCES TO THE CLOUD,
INCLUDING MEDLINEPLUS CONNECT,
DOCLINE, AND OUR DIGITAL
COLLECTIONS, AND CIRCULATING
NOW, WHICH IS FROM THE HISTORY
OF MEDICINE DIVISION, HAS MARKED
ITS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, AND
THIS BRINGS OUR HISTORICAL ITEMS
TO THE PUBLIC.
AND ONE OF OUR FLAGSHIP
PRODUCTS, THE MEDLINEPLUS
WEBSITE, IS NOW 25 YEARS OLD.
SO I GUESS SHE'S ENTERING HER
THIRD YEAR OF MEDICAL SCHOOL.
AND HAS, AS YOU KNOW, OVER A
THOUSAND HEALTH TOPICS IN BOTH
ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
IT HAS HALF A BILLION VISITORS
ANNUALLY, AND I KNOW YOU'RE ALL
AWARE OF THIS RESOURCE.
AND IT'S QUITE REMARKABLE AND
IT'S 25 YEARS OLD.
WE'VE ALSO MADE PROGRESS ON
CLINICAL DATA AS RESEARCH ASSETS
IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
IN LISTER HILL NATIONAL CENTER
FOR BIOMEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS, A
CENTER FOR CLINICAL
OBSERVATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS HAS
BEEN LAUNCHED.
THIS WILL DEVELOP A FISMA
MODERATE ENVIRONMENT FOR
SENSITIVE DATA, AND IT WILL
BE -- LIKE I SAID, IT HAS JUST
GOTTEN LAUNCHED.
THERE ARE NEW INVESTIGATORS AND
NEW-ISH INVESTIGATORS IN THE
IRP.
THE NEWEST ONE IS DR. AUGUSTIN
LUNA, WHO WILL BE WORKING IN THE
INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAM WITH
THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
LOOKING AT USING NETWORK BIOLOGY
TO DRIVE CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS,
AND NEW-ISH INVESTIGATORS
INCLUDE BOTH JEREMY WEISS AND
MICHAEL CHIANG, WHO ARE
DEVELOPING COMPUTATIONAL
APPROACHES TO IMPROVE CLINICAL
CARE.
I SHOULD MENTION THAT MICHAEL
CHIANG IS DIRECTOR OF THE
NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE.
SO INSTITUTE DIRECTORS OFTEN
HAVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS BUT OF
COURSE THEY CAN'T BE IN THEIR
SAME INSTITUTE BECAUSE THERE'S
AN OBVIOUS CONFLICT THERE.
FINALLY IN TERMS OF CLINICAL
DATA, THE EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS
HAVE ISSUED A FUNDING
OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR
PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATICS TO
DELIVER ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS TO
INDIVIDUALS.
FINALLY, LET ME SAY A FEW WORDS
ABOUT THE BUDGET.
AS YOU CAN SEE THIS CHART, THE
DARK ORANGE, WHICH IS MOSTLY ON
THE TOP THERE, ARE THE ACTUAL
FUNDING LINE THAT NLM HAS HAD
OVER THE YEARS.
AS YOU CAN SEE OVER THESE YEARS
WE'VE HAD OVER A $100 MILLION
INCREASE WHICH IS REALLY VERY
GOOD NEWS.
HERE ARE SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS,
YOU KNOW, AND BUDGETS AS WELL AS
THE NIH BUDGETS OVER THE YEARS.
THIS ALL LOOKS VERY GOOD.
AND THEN YOU GET TO THAT LIGHT
BLUE AT THE BOTTOM.
AND I THINK AS YOU'VE ALL HEARD,
WE'RE IN FOR SOME STORMY WEATHER
WHEN IT COMES TO FISCAL
CONSIDERATIONS AT NLM AND PRETTY
MUCH EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
I THINK THE AGREED-UPON DECISION
WAS THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE AN
INCREASE IN FY 24 FUNDING.
AS YOU KNOW RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T
HAVE ANYTHING, THERE IS NO
LEGISLATION RIGHT NOW THAT
REALLY COVERS ALL OF THIS, SO
THIS IS ALL REALLY JUST OUR
ANTICIPATING WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN,
AND THAT ANTICIPATION IS NOT
VERY OPTIMISTIC.
AND SO THE NLM LEADERSHIP HAS
SPENT -- GOSH, I DON'T KNOW, THE
LAST FOUR MONTHS OF SO, I THINK
THAT'S ABOUT RIGHT, DEVELOPING
OUR THINKING ABOUT HOW DO WE
CONTINUE TO DO WHAT WE MUST DO
WELL, HOW DO WE CONSIDER THINGS
THAT ARE NOT AS HIGH A PRIORITY,
AND WHAT DO WE DO WITH THOSE
THINGS.
OPTIONS MIGHT INCLUDE HAVING
SOMETIMES OTHER INSTITUTES ARE
INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING
CO-FUNDING CERTAIN ASPECTS,
WE'VE DONE THAT WITH SRA.
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE MILLIONS OF
DOLLARS THAT NIH IS PROVIDING TO
THAT RESOURCE.
SO THESE ARE THINGS WE'RE
THINKING ABOUT, AND OF COURSE WE
HAVEN'T IDENTIFIED ALL OF THESE
THINGS IN ANY GREAT DETAIL, BUT
WE DID PUT TOGETHER THIS LIST OF
COMMITMENTS TO THE MISSION OF
NLM AND TO OUR INTEREST IN
EXCELLENCE FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD.
THEY ARE NOT SURPRISING, I
THINK, TO COLLECT, CURATE,
PRESERVE BIOMEDICAL INFORMATION
AND CONNECT TO THE WORLD, THAT
IS FUNDAMENTAL OBVIOUSLY, ALSO
PROVIDING ACCESS TO THAT
INFORMATION.
THE THIRD BULLET HERE SPEAKS TO
OUR ROLE AS A RESEARCH
INSTITUTION, AND THE IDEA IS TO
BUT SORT FRAN TRANSFORMATIVE REH
IN INFORMATION LIBRARY SCIENCE
AS WELL AS IN ENGINEERING AND
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.
AND TO LEAD EXCELLENCE FOR
RESILIENCE, RELIABILITY AND
REPRESENTATION FOR THE
INFORMATION SCIENCES.
THESE ARE THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
FOR INVESTMENT.
ONE IS TO HAVE INTENTIONAL
STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING OUR
UNIFIED COLLECTION.
THIS MEANS PUTTING LOTS OF
THOUGHT INTO THINGS, AND MAYBE
THINKING IN NEW WAYS ABOUT THOSE
COLLECTIONS.
SECOND IS ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS,
PROVIDING THAT WHILE PROTECTING
THE RIGHTS OF BOTH USERS AND
CONTRIBUTORS.
AND I THINK WE SEE HEADLINES
TODAY THAT ENDANGER THAT IN SOME
PLACES.
NEXT IS IN TERMS OF OUR
RESEARCH, T -- TO SUPPORT EARLY
CAREER RESEARCHERS.
NEXT IS THE HIGH VALUE TECHNICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL EMBRACE
THE FUTURE, AND FINALLY, MAKING
SURE THAT ALL OF OUR DECISIONS
ABOUT THESE COMMITMENTS AND
INVESTMENTS ARE DRIVEN BY DATA
AND EVIDENCE.
AND SO WITH THAT, LET ME THANK
YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION, AND ASK
YOU IF YOU'VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS.
YES?
>> THE IMPLICATION OF NOT HAVING
A BUDGET AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
FISCAL YEAR, WHAT THAT OFTEN
DOES, THESE ARE GENERAL ANSWERS,
RIGHT, IS IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE
TO BE VERY CAREFUL IF WE HAVE A
CONTINUING RESOLUTION, AS WE
HAVE NOW, WHICH WAS AT LAST
YEAR'S FISCAL LEVELS OF FUNDING.
WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL
BECAUSE THAT'S NOT A GUARANTEE,
FOR EXAMPLE, THAT ONCE WE GET
THE NEXT TRANCHE OF MONEY,
WHETHER IT'S THE WHOLE BUDGET OR
ANOTHER CONTINUING RESOLUTION,
THAT LEVEL MIGHT BE LOWER.
SO IN PRACTICAL TERMS, WHAT IT
MEANS IS WHEN WE GET OUR MONEY
WITHOUT HAVING REAL
UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE FULL
YEAR IS GOING TO BE, WE'RE VERY
CONSERVATIVE.
WE HAVE TO BE.
IN EXTRAMURAL PROGRAMS, FOR
EXAMPLE, WHAT THAT VERY OFTEN
MEANS IS THEY HAVE A WHOLE LIST
OF GRANTS THEY WOULD LIKE TO
FUND, AND THEY KNOW THAT IF THEY
GOT THE BUDGET THAT THEY HAD
LAST YEAR, THEY CAN FUND THIS
MANY, BUT WHAT THAT MEANS IS
EVEN IF THEY'VE GOT ALL OF THESE
GRANTS LINED UP, THEY FUND JUST
A FEW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
YEAR UNTIL IT CLEAR WHAT FUNDS
THEY'LL HAVE AVAILABLE, AND THAT
ACTUALLY IS WHY SOMETIMES YOU
GET LOTS OF GRANTS GOING ON AT
THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR FROM
NLM AND THE REST OF NIH FOR THAT
MATTER AND OTHER AGENCIES AS
WELL.
GREAT QUESTION.
WE HAVE A CONTINUING RESOLUTION,
YOU CAN'T START ANYTHING NEW.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
IT ALL DEPENDS.
IT MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS FOR
DIFFERENT PARTS OF NLM BUT YOU
CAN'T START SOMETHING NEW.
GREAT POINT.
THANKS, DIANE.
>> CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND
HOW RESEARCH COMPUTATIONAL
BIOLOGY FITS WITHIN THE NATIONAL
LIBRARY OF MEDICINE STRUCTURE AS
OPPOSED TO SOMEPLACE ELSE IN THE
NIH, JUST SO I BETTER
UNDERSTAND, LIKE, WHAT THE SCOPE
OF THE LIBRARY IS AND HOW THAT
COHERES?
>> GOOD QUESTION.
WHEN I THINK OF NLM, LIBRARIES
ESSENTIALLY AS INFORMATION
SOURCES.
SO IT'S ALL ABOUT INFORMATION.
COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY IS THE
INFORMATION THAT IT LEVERAGES,
IS DATA.
IN THAT AREA, VERY OFTEN GENOMIC
DATA, THOSE KINDS OF DATA.
SO IT'S AN INFORMATION SCIENCE
RESEARCH FOCUS, IS THE WAY I
WOULD SAY, AND I SEE A VERY
CLEAR RELATIONSHIP FOR THE
LIBRARY.
I COULD IMAGINE SOMETHING THAT
WOULD DO COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS
OF LITERATURE, RIGHT?
AGAIN, IT'S THE INFORMATION THAT
YOU'RE LOOKING AT, BIOMEDICAL
INFORMATION.
AND I SHOULD MENTION ACTUALLY
OUR INTRAMURAL PROGRAM, THEY
ALSO HAVE NATURAL LANGUAGE
PROCESSING ACTIVITIES THAT GO
ON.
THEY APPLY THESE THINGS TO THE
BIOMEDICAL LITERATURE, AS WELL
AS TO MEDICAL INFORMATION IN
ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS AND SO
FORTH, SO THERE'S A TIGHTER
CONNECTION THAN WHAT I MIGHT
HAVE JUST SUGGESTED.
>> SO A LOT OF THE BEHIND THE
SCENES FOR MANY OF OUR DATABASES
ARE DRIVEN BY ALGORITHMS, WHICH
BUILDS ON NATURAL LANGUAGE
PROCESSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO HAVING ALL OF THAT KIND
OF WITHIN OUR STRUCTURE, SO
PEOPLE KNOW WHO TO CONNECT WITH
FOR THE DATA AND HOW TO
INTERPRET TO BEST CREATE THESE
ALGORITHMS, AND NING ABOUT
TTHINK ABOUTTHINGS OF INTRODUCIY
HELPFUL FOR US WITH OUR PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES.
>> YES.
>> IS THERE A MOVE TO TRY AND DO
ANYTHING WITH THE CSR IN TERMS
OF GRANT REVIEWS AND DATA MINING
TO SEE NOVELTIES --
>> I SEE WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
YES, WELL, I DON'T KNOW I OF ANY
OF OUR INVESTIGATORS THAT ARE
DOING THAT.
BUT THAT'S DONE AT PLACES IN THE
NIH, THE NIH LIBRARY DOES SOME
OF THAT.
DO YOU WANT TO ADD?
>> -- GENERATIVE AI, SO THEY'RE
USING THE OPENAI VERSION FROM
MICROSOFT AZURE.
NIDDK IS INVESTING IN A PROJECT
TO TAKE GRANT PROPOSALS AND PUT
THEM INTO A CUSTOMIZED PRIVATE
AND SECURE LLM, LARGE LANGUAGE
MODEL, SORRY, AND CREATE A
BACKBONE FOR A DATA MANAGEMENT
OUTPUT THAT FOLLOWS THE REQUIRED
QUESTIONS AND ALSO MAPS TO
COMMON DATA ELEMENTS AND OTHER
PROTOCOLS, AND THAT WOULD HELP
WITH DATA MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT
FOR THE NIH DATA MANAGEMENT AND
SHARING INITIATIVE.
>> YOU ALSO HAVE AN OFFICE OF
PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS AT NIH, AND
THEY ROUTINELY DO THOSE KINDS OF
THINGS.
ALL RIGHT.
THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR ATTENTION,
AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD
MEETING.
THANK YOU.