The National Advisory General Medical Sciences (NAGMS) Council was convened in closed session for its one hundred fifty-first meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2013.
Dr. Judith H. Greenberg, acting director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), presided as chair of the meeting. After a closed session from 8:30 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. on January 24, the meeting was open to the public on January 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:37 p.m.
David A. Agard, Ph.D.Mary (Molly) L. Carnes, M.D.Luisa DiPietro, D.D.S., Ph.D.Karolin Luger, Ph.D.David O. Meltzer, M.D., Ph.D.Scott J. Miller, Ph.D.Vern L. Schramm, Ph.D.Margaret C. Werner-Washburne, Ph.D.Holly A. Wichman, Ph.D.
Denise J. Montell, Ph.D.Marc A. Nivet, Ed.D.
Joseph J. Ferretti, Ph.D.Senior Vice President and Provost EmeritusGeorge Lynn Cross Research ProfessorUniversity of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterOklahoma City, OK 73104
Rebecca W. Heald, Ph.D.Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyDepartment of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeley, CA 94720-3200
Evan D. Kharasch, M.D., Ph.D.Vice Chancellor for ResearchRussell D. and Mary B. Shelden Professor of AnesthesiologyProfessor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Department of AnesthesiologyWashington UniversitySt. Louis, MO 63110
Susan E. Mango, Ph.D.ProfessorDepartment of Molecular and Cellular BiologyHarvard UniversityCambridge, MA 02138
Tom H. Stevens, Ph.D.Philip H. Knight Professor of Natural SciencesDepartment of Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Biology University of OregonEugene, OR 97403-1229
William P. Tansey, Ph.DProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyIngram Professor of Cancer ResearchVanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, TN 37232-8240
Kenneth W. Turteltaub, Ph.DDivision Leader, Biosciences and Biotechnology Division Physical and Life Sciences Directorate andProgram Leader, Biological Detection and Medical Countermeasures Program Global Security Principal DirectorateLawrence Livermore National LaboratoryLivermore, CA 94550
Peter C. M. van Zijl, Ph.D.Director, F. M. Kirby Research CenterKennedy Krieger InstituteProfessor, Departments of Radiology, Oncology and Biophysics Johns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimore, MD 21205
Council roster (available from NIGMS).
Dr. Karen Mowrer, Association of Independent Research InstitutesDr. Kathy Nguyen, American Chemical SocietyDr. Aliza Stein, Science and Technology Policy InitiativeDr. Katherine Weber, American Chemical Society
None
Please see the sign-in sheet (available from NIGMS).
Dr. Greenberg thanked the regular members of the Council who were present and then introduced the special consultants: Joseph J. Ferretti, Ph.D., senior vice president and provost emeritus, George Lynn Cross Research professor, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center; Rebecca W. Heald, Ph.D., professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Evan D. Kharasch, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for research, Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden professor of Anesthesiology, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University; Susan E. Mango, Ph.D., professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University; Tom H. Stevens, Ph.D., Philip H. Knight professor of Natural Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon; William P. Tansey, Ph.D., professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, Ingram professor of cancer research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Kenneth W. Turteltaub, Ph.D., division leader, Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Physical and Life Sciences Directorate and program leader, Biological Detection and Medical Countermeasures Program, Global Security Principal Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Peter C. M. van Zijl, Ph.D., director, F. M. Kirby Research Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, professor, Departments of Radiology, Oncology and Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Greenberg then introduced and welcomed the guests in attendance.
The minutes of the September 6-7, 2012, meeting were approved as submitted.
The following dates for future Council meetings were confirmed:
Acting NIGMS Director Dr. Judith H. Greenberg updated the Council on new NIH and HHS appointments, welcomed new NIGMS staff who had recently joined the Institute and reported that the NIGMS Director search is ongoing. Dr. Greenberg announced the completion of a report detailing progress made toward achieving the four goals of the NIGMS strategic plan issued in 2008. She mentioned a November 2012 workshop on causal factors and interventions that influence the careers of women in science and medicine, an area in which the NIH Working Group on Women in Biomedical Careers has funded research to further understand, and act upon, the issues. Finally, Dr. Greenberg summarized NIH's plans to address the recommendations of the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director working groups on the biomedical workforce, diversity in the biomedical research workforce, and data and informatics.
Contact: Dr. Judith H. Greenberg, greenbej@nigms.nih.gov, 301-594-2172
NIH Associate Director for Legislative Policy and Analysis Francis Patrick "Pat" White highlighted outcomes from the 2012 Presidential election and changes to key committees of jurisdiction for NIH. He also provided an update on the sequestration, debt ceiling negotiations and legislation thus far in the 113th Congress. Mr. White discussed possible implications of these activities for NIH.
Contact: Francis Patrick White, whitefp@mail.nih.gov, 301-496-3471
Dr. Mary L. "Molly" Carnes of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, reported findings from her recent, NIGMS-supported research on "implicit bias". She has found that the mere existence of cultural stereotypes can lead unintentionally and unwittingly to bias in judgment and decision making, even in those individuals who embrace egalitarian principles and personally disavow prejudice. Her study further indicated that these implicit biases predict behavior better than do explicit beliefs, and that good intentions are not enough to prevent their influence. The study approached implicit gender bias as a habit of mind and aimed to mobilize behavioral change strategies to remediate implicit, habitual gender bias in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) faculty.
Contact: Dr. Mary L. Carnes, mlcarnes@wisc.edu, 608-263-9770
In the 10 years since its inception, the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) consortium has conducted computational and analytical research on infectious disease dynamics to provide insights and tools to researchers, decision makers and public health professionals. MIDAS investigators Dr. Stephen Eubank of Virginia Tech and Dr. Donald S. Burke of the University of Pittsburgh provided an overview of the initiative. MIDAS models range from statistical and analytical methods to large-scale, agent-based models running on supercomputers. In addition to producing scholarly publications, MIDAS supports a data resource, a catalog of historical documents and the development of synthetic populations. MIDAS also supports training and outreach programs that emphasize the recruitment of students from underrepresented groups.
Contacts: Dr. Irene Eckstrand, eckstrai@nigms.nih.gov, 301-594-0943; Dr. Stephen Eubank, seubank@vbi.vt.edu, 540-231-2504; Dr. Donald S. Burke, donburke@pitt.edu, 412-624-3001
One of the most daunting challenges facing the U.S. scientific enterprise continues to be developing our national talent pool to build the diverse and creative scientific workforce needed for the 21st century. While efforts to diversify science by NIH, the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and others over the past four decades have resulted in modest gains in the participation of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, it is clear that the strategies of past decades will not be sufficient to eliminate the pervasive disparity that exists in the scientific workforce. Dr. Cynthia M. Bauerle of HHMI discussed the deliberations and recommendations of the inaugural meeting of the NIGMS/HHMI Advisory Group on URM STEM Persistence, a diverse group of experts working to develop strategies to address the achievement gap.
Contact: Dr. Cynthia M. Bauerle, bauerlec@hhmi.org, 301-215-8853
Since 2005, NIGMS has supported an annual, 3-day workshop for assistant professors in organic and biological chemistry through an investigator-initiated U13 conference grant. As described by Dr. Tadhg Begley of Texas A&M University, the principal investigator of the grant, the workshop aims to mentor junior faculty in the design of successful grant proposals that emphasize scientific impact through unique and productive research programs. The workshop also provides skill development toward success in other academic and professional activities (not including teaching). Dr. Begley reported that a 2012 evaluation of the workshop program confirmed community feedback that the program is effective and highly valued by the participants.
Contacts: Dr. Tadhg P. Begley, begley@mail.chem.tamu.edu, 979-862-4091; Dr. Bob Lees, leesro@mail.nih.gov, 301-594-1338
A summary of applications reviewed by the Council is available from NIGMS.
The meeting adjourned at 12:37 p.m. on January 25, 2013.
I hereby certify that to my knowledge the foregoing minutes are accurate and complete.
