The National Advisory Research Resources Council (NARRC) convened for its 125th session at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 11, 2003, in Salon B, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Crystal City, Virginia. Dr. Judith L. Vaitukaitis, Director, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), presided as Chair. The meeting was open to the public until 1:00 p.m., at which time it was closed to the public for the review, discussion, and evaluation of grant applications as provided in Sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5, U.S. Code, and Section 10(d) of Public Law 92-463.
 

Council Members Absent

Open Session

1. Call to Order: Dr. Judith Vaitukaitis, Director, NCRR
Dr. Vaitukaitis welcomed the National Advisory Research Resources Council members and guests to the 125th meeting of the Council. She introduced Colonel (Dr.) Peter Demitry, who has been appointed as the new DoD ex-officio for Council, replacing Lt. Col. Alfred Graziano, who retired in May.
2. Consideration of Minutes: Dr. Judith Vaitukaitis, Director, NCRR
The minutes of the Council meetings held on May 15, 2003, were approved as written.
3. Future Meeting Dates: Dr. Judith Vaitukaitis, Director, NCRR
The next Council meeting will be held on January 22, 2004.
4. Personnel Update: Dr. Judith Vaitukaitis, Director, NCRR
NIH Personnel
Dr. Claude Lenfant, Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) since July 1982, has retired effective August 31, 2003. Dr. Lenfant served with the Institute since 1971, when he took the position of Director of the NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases. Dr. Lenfant also served as Director of the NIH Fogarty International Center in 1981-82.
Dr. Barbara Alving, Deputy Director of NHLBI, has been designated by Elias A. Zerhouni, Director of NIH, to serve as the NHLBI's Acting Director, effective September 1, 2003.
Dr. Story C. Landis was appointed as Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) by Dr. Zerhouni on August 6, 2003. Dr. Landis, who is currently the Scientific Director of the NINDS intramural program, began her appointment on September 1, 2003.
Dr. Jeremy M. Berg has been appointed by Dr. Zerhouni as Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, effective August 27, 2003. Dr. Berg comes to the NIH from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he has been Director of the Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry and Director of the Markey Center for Macromolecular Structure and Function since 1990.
Dr. Kenneth Olden, Director of both the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its National Toxicology Program, announced—on July 29, 2003—his intention to resign as soon as a successor or successors are found and appointed to these positions.
Dr. Ellie Ehrenfeld also announced on September 4, 2003 that she will resign from her position as the Director of the Center for Scientific Review at the end of September.
Dr. Dushanka Kleinman, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, was appointed on July 16, 2003 by Dr. Zerhouni to serve as the NIH liaison with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NCRR Personnel
Ms. Anne Summers retired from her position as Budget Officer in the Office of Financial Management on September 3, 2003. Ms. Summers had over 30 years of service at the NIH as an Administrative Officer, Budget Analyst, and Budget Officer.
Ms. Erin Shannon has been named as the new Budget Officer in the Office of Financial Management. Ms. Shannon has been an active member of the NIH Budget Officer community for many years, and she brings a wealth of knowledge to this position. She formerly served as Budget Officer for the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Dr. Sheryl Brining, former Deputy Director of NCRR's Office of Review (OR), was named Director of the OR in August 2003. Dr. Brining will direct and coordinate the initial scientific and technical review—conducted at NCRR—of applications for research grants and contracts.
Dr. Michael Sayre joined NCRR on August 25, 2003 as a Health Scientist Administrator in the Division of Research Infrastructure. For the past four years, Dr. Sayre was a Scientific Review Administrator in the Center for Scientific Review.
5. Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Update: Dr. Judith Vaitukaitis, Director, NCRR
Under the Loan Repayment Program in FY 2003, NCRR awarded 43 contracts (35 clinical and 8 pediatric) for a total of $2.9M.
6. Legislative and Budget Updates: Dr. Judith Vaitukaitis, Director, NCRR
Dr. Vaitukaitis reported that, on July 10, 2003, the House of Representatives passed the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill. The funding level provides NIH a total of $27.56 billion, an increase of $673,187,000 over the comparable FY 2003 level and the same as the President's budget request. The House of Representatives provided NCRR with an appropriation of $1,053,926,000, the same amount as the President's request.
On June 25, the Senate Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee passed its version of the bill, which provide $27.98 billion for NIH, an increase of $1.09 billion over the comparable FY 2003 level. This action was followed by passage of the bill by the full Appropriations Committee. Within the Senate level, the NCRR would receive $1,186,483,000, an increase of $47,662,000 over the comparable FY 2003 level and an increase of $132,557,000 over the President's budget request. The Senate provided specific funding levels for GCRCs, the IDeA program, and restored funding for extramural construction.

7. Application Review
Council considered 491 applications, for the total amount of $237,433,927.