FYI from the NHLBI Index

September 2006: Vol. 7, Issue 2
Summaries of Meetings
and Announcements of Upcoming Events

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council's June Meeting

Upcoming NHLBI Workshops and Working Groups

Upcoming 2006 Events

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council's June Meeting

Dr. Nabel welcomed Council members and introduced the four newest members: Victor J. Dzau, M.D., Duke University; Helen H. Hobbs, M.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Joseph Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D., Brigham and Women's Hospital; and Jennie R. Joe, Ph.D., M.P.H., University of Arizona.

Dr. Nabel introduced new NHLBI staff members: Dr. Susan Shurin will serve as Deputy Director of the NHLBI, Dr. Charles Friedman will serve as Director of the new NHLBI Center for Research Informatics and Information Technology, and Dr. Christopher O'Donnell will serve as Senior Advisor to the Director for Genome Research and will continue in his role as Associate Director of the Framingham Heart Study. In addition, Dr. Alan Michelson of Brigham and Women's Hospital will serve as Associate Director for Basic Research, pending administrative clearances.

Dr. Nabel highlighted several items of interest including the NHLBI Legislative Update on the 109th Congress, recent scientific articles published by NHLBI grantees, recent NHBLI press releases, NIH Fact Sheets that are being developed to educate Congress and the public about NIH extramural funding policies and research areas of interest, and recently released NHLBI initiatives.

Dr. Nabel discussed the strategic planning process, which began in April 2006. Each NHLBI extramural division has established a series of Level 1 meetings to identify scientific areas in which the NHBLI is well positioned to make major contributions and to evaluate Institute business and operational policies. A Level 2 meeting will be held in October to aggregate the recommendations from the Level 1 meetings. The Council and members of the NHLBI Board of Extramural Advisors will participate. A final strategic plan is expected in Spring 2007.

The proposed FY 2007 President’s Budget for the NHLBI is $2,865.9 million, a 1.0 percent decrease from the FY 2006 appropriation. The NHLBI payline for research project grants has been increased from the 14.0 percentile to the 15.0 percentile (20.0 percentile for new investigators). Grants between the 14.0 and 15.0 percentile that were not funded earlier in the year can now be funded. Dr. Nabel noted that the current NHLBI payline is one of the highest among the NIH Institutes and Centers.

Dr. Shurin presented an overview of the conduct of NHLBI-sponsored clinical trials and described recent efforts to enhance clinical trial efficiency and effectiveness. Business operations related to clinical trials will be examined carefully during the NHLBI strategic planning process.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni, NIH Director, discussed the NIH budget, presented his vision for the future of the NIH, and announced the new Pathway to Independence Award that will support mentored post-doctoral fellows and help them transition to independent research positions. He also shared his vision of making health care predictive, personalized, and preemptive.

The Council thanked Dr. Zerhouni for his testimony to Congress and presentations to the public about the tremendous return the United States receives on its investment in biomedical research and its importance to the nation’s health and economic competitiveness.

Dr. Toni Scarpa, Director of the NIH Center for Scientific Review, discussed new challenges and opportunities facing the NIH peer review system.

Eighteen new initiatives were presented. Council members made several specific recommendations for consideration prior to their release.

Full minutes of Council meetings and summaries of the initiatives are available.

Upcoming NHLBI Workshops and Working Groups

PIO representatives will be accommodated on a space-available basis and will be responsible for their own travel expenses.

Working Group: Role of Airway Smooth Muscle in Airway Contraction, Inflammation, and Remodeling - Advancing from Basic Knowledge to Clinical Relevance

Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Date: September 11-12, 2006
Contact: Dr. Susan Banks-Schlegel

Workshop: Research Needs in Bronchiectasis

Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Date: September 12-13, 2006
Contact: Dr. Hannah Peavy

Working Group: Cardiovascular Consequences of COPD

Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Date: September 21-22, 2006
Contact: Dr. Antonello Punturieri

Upcoming 2006 Events

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council 223rd Meeting

Date: September 12
Location: Bethesda, MD

Adult Congenital Heart Association 2006 National Conference

Date: September 15-17
Location: San Francisco, CA

National Sarcoidosis Society Walk-a-Thon

Date: September 15-17
Location: Chicago, IL

Sarcoid Networking Association 14th Annual Conference

Date: September 29-30
Location: Seattle, WA

Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum (PXE) International Annual Meeting

Date: September 29 - October 1
Location: Bethesda, MD

Pulmonary Hypertension Association PH Resource Network Symposium

Date: September 30 - October 1
Location: Bethesda, MD

National Hemophilia Foundation 58th Annual Meeting

Date: October 12-14
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Foundation 13th International Patient and Family Conference

Date: October 13-15
Location: San Diego, CA

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council 224th Meeting

Date: October 17
Location: Bethesda, MD

Fanconi Anemia Research Fund 18th Annual Scientific Symposium

Date: October 19-22
Location: Bethesda, MD

Narcolepsy Network Inc. 21st Annual Patient Conference

Date: October 20-22
Location: Irving, TX

Janine Sarcoidosis Outreach Foundation Walk for a Cure

Date: October 28
Location: Houston, TX

National Lymphedema Network 7th International Conference

Date: November 1-5
Location: Nashville, TN

American Heart Assosiation Scientific Sessions 2006

Date: November 12-15
Location: Chicago, IL

Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation National Meeting

Date: November 17-18
Location: San Antonio, TX

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association 5th International Congress on Autoimmunity

Date: November 29 - December 3
Location: Sorrento, Italy

National Stroke Association 2006 National Public Health Stroke Summit

Date: December 6-8
Location: Chicago, IL

American Society of Hematology 48th Annual Meeting and Exposition

Date: December 9-12
Location: Orlando, FL

American Association of Respiratory Care 5th International Respiratory Congress

Date: December 11-14
Location: Las Vegas, NV

International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 8th International Conference

Date: January 12-14, 2007
Location: Bahia Mar Beach, FL

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