The National Advisory General Medical Sciences (NAGMS) Council convened remotely for its 183rd meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September, 7, 2023.
Jon R. Lorsch, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), presided as meeting chair. After an open session from 9:30 a.m. to 11:57 a.m., the closed session convened from 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Natalie Ahn, Ph.D. Angela Byars-Winston, Ph.D. Angela DePace, Ph.D. Ron G. King, Ph.D., M.B.A. Terri Goss Kinzy, Ph.D. Danielle Li, Ph.D. David H. Mathews, M.D., Ph.D. Lesilee Rose, Ph.D. Amy Rosenzweig, Ph.D. Melanie Sanford, Ph.D. Pamela Stacks, Ph.D.Jeffrey Sun, J.D., Ph.D. Wendy Young, Ph.D.
Ronald M. Przygodzki, M.D.
Christina Kendziorski, Ph.D. Professor Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 53706
Reena Zutshi, Ph.D. President and Chief Executive Officer Luceome Biotechnologies Tucson, AZ 85719
Saad Bhamla, Ph.D. Assistant Professor School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332
Christal Sohl, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry San Diego State University San Diego, CA 92182
Council roster (available from NIGMS)
Not tracked because meeting was available via unrestricted NIH videocast.
Dr. Lorsch welcomed Council members and guests. Council members approved the minutes from the May 18, 2023, meeting.
Council confirmed the following dates for future meetings:
Dr. Lorsch explained policies and procedures regarding confidentiality and avoidance of conflict-of-interest situations to Council members.
Dr. Lorsch announced NIGMS staff changes and a reorganization of two divisions, which will add a branch to each division. The changes will not alter their scientific focus, but they will allow staff to better handle workloads.
Two upcoming lectures were highlighted: the Judith H. Greenberg Early Career Investigator Lecture on September 27, 2023, and the DeWitt Stetten Jr. Lecture on November 8, 2023.
Dr. Lorsch mentioned the products from NIGMS-funded training grant supplements for developing lab safety curricular materials, some of which can be found on the NIGMS laboratory safety training and guidelines webpage. He also shared community educational resources, including the K-12 STEM teaching resources portal, NIH’s Kahoot! page, and the NIGMS image and video gallery.
Dr. Lorsch provided updates on the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) program, part of NIH’s efforts to enhance diversity within the academic biomedical research workforce. Eligibility requirements for the UE5 mentoring centers have been expanded at the organizational level to include higher education institutions and at the program director/principal investigator level to include full-time faculty members at academic organizations.
Council received news that NIGMS has now funded one IDeA Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) hub in each of the four IDeA regions. These hubs support small business concerns in these regions to develop educational products that promote entrepreneurship in IDeA states’ academic institutions.
Council members discussed whether postdoctoral research experience was still necessary for various career pathways and whether NIGMS should consider piloting a program to support the development of a skilled biotechnology technician workforce—for example, a community college-based apprenticeship program.
The presentation summarized the response to the recommendations from the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program evaluation report. NIGMS will:
The NIGMS IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) are part of the congressionally mandated IDeA program to build research capacity in 23 states and Puerto Rico. These networks have three interrelated objectives:
An NAGMS Council working group convened to determine whether the program has met its goals and what lessons have been learned to inform future efforts. The working group found that NIGMS’ long-term commitment to INBRE is in large part responsible for the significant growth of biomedical research capacity in IDeA states. The working group recommended that the program should include the explicit goal of enhancing diversity in the biomedical workforce and collecting data that can measure progress toward that goal. Members also suggested that gathering qualitative/anecdotal impact testimonials could be important in explaining to others the ways INBRE has affected the research culture at partner institutions.
The purpose of the MOSAIC program is to facilitate the transition of postdoctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds into independent, tenure-track or equivalent research-intensive faculty positions. The career transition award (K99/R00) provides career development and research support to the postdoctoral scholars as they finish their training and when they launch their independent faculty careers. The institutionally focused research education award (UE5) provides mentoring and professional networks for the postdoctoral researchers along with opportunities to enhance their professional skills. There are no substantial changes to the program.
NIGMS received Council approval to reissue these notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs).
IPERT supports creative educational activities designed to equip a diverse cohort of participants with the technical, operational, and professional skills required for careers in the biomedical research workforce. There are no substantial changes to the program.
NIGMS received Council approval to reissue this NOFO.
The Research on Interventions program will be reissued with minor updates. These changes encourage proposed rigorous research that informs or tests interventions to enhance research-oriented individuals' interest, motivation, persistence, and preparedness for careers in the biomedical research workforce.
The goal of the Bridges to the Doctorate program is to develop a diverse pool of well-trained scientists who transition from master’s degree programs to complete rigorous biomedical, research-focused doctoral degree programs (e.g., Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D.) in biomedical fields relevant to the NIGMS mission. The NOFO will be reissued with proposed expanded institutional eligibility for master’s degree partner institutions to include all historically Black colleges and universities and Tribal colleges and universities. It will also likely eliminate the requirement for the Ph.D.-granting organization to have funding greater than or equal to an average of $7.5 million total costs in NIH research project grant funding per year over the past 3 fiscal years.
This portion of the meeting was closed to the public in accordance with the determination that it was concerned with matters exempt from mandatory disclosure under sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., and section 1009(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1014).
Members exited the meeting during the discussion and voting process on applications from their own institutions or other applications that presented a potential conflict of interest, real or apparent. Members signed a statement to this effect at the beginning of the meeting.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences considered 1,081 research and training applications requesting $391,814,092 in total costs. The Council recommended 1,081 applications with a total cost of $391,814,092.
The meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m. on September 7, 2023.
I hereby certify that, to my knowledge, the foregoing minutes are accurate and complete.
Jon R. Lorsch, Ph.D. Chair National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council
Erica Brown, Ph.D. Executive Secretary National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council
