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.
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/.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On August 6, The Lancet published an article regarding prescription drug abuse. The article briefly mentioned the proposed reorganization of the substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research portfolio and stated that there would be likely job losses because of the reorganization. This statement was an unfortunate misunderstanding. No NIH employee will lose a job through the proposed reorganization. NIH is committed to supporting the science of substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research and to the people that steward this important work.
Posted on June 10th, 2011 by Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD
In November of 2010, the Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) recommended the establishment of a new institute for substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research and the dissolution of NIAAA and NIDA. After receiving the SMRB’s recommendation, I established a Task Force of scientific experts to begin a comprehensive review of the NIH substance use, abuse, and addiction research portfolio. The Task Force has met with subject matter experts from across the NIH to learn about our investments in these areas of research. During this review, it has become apparent that our portfolio in substance use, abuse, and addiction research is very complex and that the administrative steps required to implement a reorganization of this magnitude are substantial. Additionally, during the last few months, many stakeholders have requested additional input into the development of the scientific plan for the new Institute.
Based on the complexity of the portfolio, feedback from our stakeholders, and the administrative requirements to implement this reorganization, I have decided that the NIH should take additional time to review and integrate the substance use, abuse, and addiction portfolio before building the proposed institute. This will include the development of a scientific strategic plan for substance use, abuse, and addiction research and the coordination of the intramural programs of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. These processes will be informed by stakeholder input.
The coordination of the substance use, abuse and addiction portfolio across the NIH (including, but not limited to NIDA, NIAAA and NCI) will enable the NIH to determine the scope of the proposed institute and plan for its creation, currently targeted for Fiscal Year 2014 (October 1, 2013). The NIH is committed to continuing and strengthening substance use, abuse, and addiction research. By aligning the efforts across the NIH, we will be able to assess the breadth and depth of the portfolio to ensure the support of research of the highest priority.
