If you have comments or questions not related to the current discussions, please direct them to NIH-Listens@mail.nih.gov

If you are looking for general information about the National Institutes of Health, or the 27 Institutes and Centers, please visit http://www.nih.gov/

Joint Council Meeting Update

Today I discussed  NIH’s Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction Functional Integration plans at a joint meeting of the NIAAA and NIDA Councils and the NCAB. During the discussion, we also heard from many members of the public. Thank you for your feedback and interest in this important topic.

NIDA, NIAAA, and NCI will be reporting on the progress of the Functional Integration  at their respective winter advisory group  meetings. Please be sure to check out their websites (NIAAA, NIDA, and NCI) for updates.

Joint NIAAA and NIDA Councils and NCAB Meeting

As previously mentioned, the NIAAA and NIDA Councils and the NCAB will meet via teleconference on Thursday, December 13, 2012 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm EST to discuss the functional integration of NIH substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research. The teleconference line is 1-888-324-8014 (toll-free) and the passcode is 4418818. We will also project slides at https://webmeeting.nih.gov/suaa/.

For additional information, please see the Federal Register Notice.

December 5, 2012 Update: The agenda for this meeting is now posted.

 

NIH Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction Functional Integration

Today, Dr. Collins announced the Trans-NIH Substance Use, Abuse, and Addiction Functional Integration that will enhance the NIH Institute and Center (IC) collaborations around this important scientific and public health topic.

 The Functional Integration is a collaborative framework that will draw on the past two years of collaboration among the NIH ICs on substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research. Already, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have made significant progress at integrating their intramural research programs in substance use, abuse, and addiction, including the appointment of a single Clinical Director for NIAAA and NIDA and the establishment of a joint genetics Intramural Research Program and a common Optogenetics lab. Additionally, they have initiated joint NIAAA and NIDA Council meetings.  By pooling resources and expertise, the Functional Integration will identify cross-cutting areas of research and confront challenges faced by multiple Institutes and Centers.

Over the past two years, we have also engaged in a serious effort to identify new opportunities in substance use, abuse, and addiction research and public health needs that are not currently being pursued across NIH.  We received exceptional feedback from stakeholders through our Scientific Strategic Plan Request for Information, public web meeting, and additional stakeholder meetings. The resulting draft plan will be a starting point for the Functional Integration leadership.

The NIAAA and NIDA Councils and the NCAB will meet on December 13 to discuss the Functional Integration. This is an open meeting and we will post the details within the next few days.

Analysis of Scientific Strategic Plan RFI Comments

Thanks again to everyone that responded to the Request for Information on the Scientific Strategic Plan.  An analysis of the comments is now complete and can be viewed here.  We were very impressed with the depth of the responses and find this input extremely useful as we develop the draft Plan.

Reports of ACD Working Groups

The 508-compliant versions of the reports presented at the June 14 and 15 meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Director are now online. You can access the three reports on our ACD website acd.od.nih.gov or by clicking the below links.

ACD Biomedical Workforce Working Group

ACD Working Group on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce

ACD Data and Informatics Workings Group

Comments Received on Scientific Strategic Plan

Thank you to everyone who responded to the Request for Information on the Scientific Strategic Plan for the proposed Institute on substance use, abuse, and addiction. The comments are now online and can be viewed here. We are currently reviewing these comments and will provide a complete analysis in August.

ACD Meeting on June 14 and 15

The Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) is meeting on Thursday, June 14, and Friday, June 15, 2012. During this meeting, three working groups will present their final draft reports for the ACD’s consideration:

June 14:

  • 1:00p .m. – ACD Working Group on the Biomedical Workforce
  • 2:45 p.m. – ACD Working Group on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce

June 15:

  • 9:15 a.m. – ACD Working Group on Data and Informatics

The full meeting agenda can be viewed here: http://acd.od.nih.gov/agendas/06142012agenda.pdf

The meeting will be held on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD, in Building 31, Room 6C6. The meeting will also be videocast at http://acd.od.nih.gov/.

Web Meeting Slides and Audio File

On April 2, 2012, NIH hosted a one-hour web meeting to discuss the Request for Information (RFI) to solicit new ideas in substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research, and the development of a Scientific Strategic Plan for the proposed new Institute. The web meeting slides, audio file, and transcript are available for those who were not able to join the meeting.

We look forward to receiving your input on the RFI, which closes on Friday, May 11. Please send any questions to NISUADinfo@mail.nih.gov.

Web Meeting to discuss the Request for Information and Scientific Strategic Plan

On February 8, 2012, NIH published a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas for new scientific opportunities and public health needs in substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research.  These ideas will help inform the development of a Scientific Strategic Plan for the proposed new Institute focusing on substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research and public health initiatives.  This RFI closes on Friday, May 11.

NIH will host a one-hour web meeting on Monday, April 2 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm EDT to discuss the RFI and the development of the Scientific Strategic Plan.

Call-in Number: 1-888-848-6508

Participant Passcode: 1329800

Web Meeting: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/nisuad/

Please RSVP to NISUADinfo@mail.nih.gov and also feel free to direct any questions to this address.  We hope you can join us for this discussion and look forward to hearing your input.

Request for Input on Scientific Strategic Plan

In June 2011, Dr. Collins provided an update on the status of the proposed substance use, abuse, and addiction reorganization. Over the intervening months, the NIH has continued to undertake a detailed analysis of our current substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research portfolio. That analysis is still ongoing; however, we do not only want to look at what we have done, but also what we could do.  A planning committee of scientific representatives from the potentially affected Institutes and Centers is currently developing a Scientific Strategic Plan for the proposed Institute.  The planning committee’s goal is to identify new scientific opportunities and public health needs that are not sufficiently addressed by NIH at this time and subsequently assess the identified opportunities and needs, taking into consideration the current scientific strategic plans and missions of NIAAA, NIDA, and other potentially affected ICs.  Together, the portfolio analysis and the Scientific Strategic Plan will allow the NIH, and the research community, to see fully the potential benefits that this reorganization could bring to substance use, abuse, and addiction research.

In order to inform the development of the Scientific Strategic Plan, NIH has published a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas for new scientific opportunities and public health needs in substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research.  This RFI closes on Friday, May 11.

We look forward to receiving your input on this important issue.