Summary of NIH International Highlights

                                             January-March 2003

                                           Program Developments

                                        Fogarty International Center

IPR Issues 

On December 11, Dr. Gerald Keusch, Director, FIC, and Dr. George Rupp, President of Columbia University, convened a group of senior academic leaders and university technology transfer managers to discuss the balance between Bayh-Dole rights to inventions and obligations as institutions of higher education to generate knowledge and disseminate it as widely as possible. The group focused on biomedical research, patents and licenses as related to global health disparities and access to drugs and other technologies at affordable prices in developing countries. Best (and worst) practices were explored. (FIC contact: Nalini Anand, 6-1491)

Sustainable Science 

Dr. Gerald Keusch participated in a Roundtable on Science & Technology for Sustainability organized by the National Academies on December 12. The program works with the public sector, the private sector, other units within the Academies, and the general public, to energize, strengthen, and, in some cases, create strategic connections between scientific research, technological development, and efforts to achieve sustainable improvements in human well being.

Nutrition 

In his capacity as a scientific advisor for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Enabling Group, Dr. Keusch attended a meeting of the outgoing Enabling Group and its permanent replacement, the incoming Board of Directors, on December 16-17 in Seattle. The agenda included discussion about the GAIN Strategic Four-Year Plan, funding and communications, and issues related to board membership and the search for a board chairperson. GAIN will work to improve nutrition of the world's poor through food fortification and other strategies.

U.S.-France Collaboration 

On December 6, Dr. Claudie Haigneré, French Minister for Research and New Technologies met with Dr. Zerhouni to discuss U.S.-France collaboration in biomedical research. FIC Program Officer for Europe, Mr. Mark Pineda, and Dr. James Lavery, FIC Bioethicist, participated in the meeting.

Gender and Global Health

Dr. Sharon Hrynkow, FIC Deputy Director, and Dr. Vivian Pinn, NIH Associate Director for Women's Health Research, participated in a meeting on gender and globalization, organized by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) in Ottawa Dec 8-9, 2002. CIHR is planning to hold a series of symposia in 2003 that will address gender and health issues in the global context and has invited NIH to provide guidance and input, however possible. FIC will participate at a related meeting in Bangkok during February 16-21, to hear views of researchers from the developing world and to consider with science funding agencies a broad research agenda on gender and global health.

The Secretary has asked DHHS agencies to work together and with counterparts in Israel to develop and conduct a bilateral symposium on women's health. Dr. Hrynkow convened a meeting on January 6 of ORWH and NIH partners (NHLBI, NIA, NIDCR, and NIMH) and CDC, AHRQ, and HRSA to consider overall objectives, potential topics for the program, and logistics. The U.S. side will propose a broad topic of disease prevention and health promotion, and will suggest further two focal areas - the impact of interpersonal violence on women's health, and CVD as related to HRT, for which international collaborative research projects could result. A meeting with the Israeli organizers from the Ministry of Health was postponed from January to February/March. (FIC contact: Judy Levin, 6-4784)

U.S.-Russia S&T 

Dr. Sharon Hrynkow represented NIH at the U.S.-Russia S&T meeting held at the State Department on December 5. The meeting was chaired on the U.S. side by Dr. John Marburger, Science Advisor to President Busch and Director, OSTP, and by Deputy Science Minister Kirpichnikov on the Russian side. Priority topics for consideration of join activity in the life sciences raised by Dr. Hrynkow included infectious diseases, including BT agents, and ecological factors involved in emergence of infectious diseases, neuroscience, and training of young scientists. The Russian side welcomed these proposals and added genomics as another area of interest. (FIC contact: Natalie Tomitch, 6-4784)

Ongoing Dialogue with Visiting Fellows from Low- and Middle-Income Countries 

As part of its continued effort to hear directly from Visiting Fellows on campus about needs and areas of interest, Dr. Hrynkow met with a small group on January 6 that has formed a "think tank" to address specific issues. The discussion focused on current re-entry strategies (with Dr. Aron Primack, Program Officer for the GRIP, contributing to the discussion), formation of an NIH alumni association on return home, and ways to improve communication among the Fellows. The Think Tanks will propose their ideas to the larger group of Visiting Fellows at a meeting FIC will convene in late February. (FIC contact: Chris Keenan, 6-1415)

Disease Control Priorities Program (DCPP)

On December 23, Dr. Dean Jamison, Senior Editor for the WHO/Gates Foundation commissioned Disease Control Priorities Project, attended a meeting at UCSF Institute for Global Health regarding the FIC project on Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries.

Drs. Dean Jamison and Karen Hofman, both editors, participated in a meeting of book editors and chapter coordinators for the 2nd edition of the Disease and Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa publication that will be funded by the Africa Region of the World Bank, in Durban, South Africa, December 4-6, 2002. Dr. Jamison is the coordinator for the chapter on Macroeconomics and Health, and Dr. Hofman is the coordinator for the chapter on Developmental Disabilities.

In November Dr. Jamison attended the partners' meeting of the Global Alliance on Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) in Dakar, Senegal and the PAHO Centennial Conference on Immunization, Washington, D.C.

 Division of Advanced Studies and Policy Analysis

Dr. James Lavery, FIC Bioethicist, gave a talk entitled "Standards in international research ethics: the on-going challenge for U.S. IRBs" at the Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) Meeting in San Diego, November 18, 2002.

Dr. Linda Kupfer, FIC Evaluation Officer, designed and implemented an external review of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM), that took place at the NIH, September 30 - October 4, 2002. Results of the review were written up in a report which was presented at the MIM Conference in Arusha, Tanzania, November 18-22, 2002. The MIM Review report can be found on the web at http://mim.nih.gov/.

Dr. Kupfer presented a paper entitled "Strategies to Prevent Brain Drain" at the Global Forum for Health Research, Meeting 6, in Arusha, Tanzania, November 12-15,

Multilateral Activities

World Heath Organization

Mr. George Herrfurth, Multilateral Affairs Coordinator in the Division of International Relations, is working closely with OGHA staff, FIC leadership, and pertinent ICs to provide comments on draft USG position papers for the upcoming WHO Executive Board meeting. NIH comments have been made on those position papers dealing with violence and health and genomics. In addition, NIH drafted the USG position paper on Traditional Medicine that will be used at the meeting.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

Mr. George Herrfurth represented NIH at an interagency meeting chaired by OSTP on November 21 to discuss U.S. participation in the OECD Global Science Forum (GSF). Mr. Herrfurth presented, on behalf of NIH, three new proposals for possible future collaboration with the GSF: (1) health, environment and economic development, (2) international studies on health and economic development, and (3) hypertension and obesity. OSTP will consider these and other possible ideas for potential activities. (FIC contact: George Herrfurth, 6-4784)

Bilateral Activities

The Americas

Brazil: The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) recently joined NIH in the Pan American Fellowship Program (PAF). The PAF brings post-docs from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to train at NIH's intramural labs, providing 50% support from the foreign partner and 50% from NIH. FIOCRUZ will be providing the matching funds for 5-10 Brazilian scientists for the next five years.

Mexico: The Mexican Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) recently joined FIC as a partner in the broad array of FIC/NIH training programs through the D43 mechanism. Over 15 ICs currently work with FIC in these programs, so the leveraging will benefit multiple NIH components. In addition, CONACYT and Canada joined FIC and other partner ICs in the recently announced RFA on "Brain Disorders."

Asia

Korea: On November 12-13, FIC, represented by Ms. Minnie Rojo, Director, Division of International Relations, hosted a delegation of Korean stem cell researchers in meetings with Dr. James Battey, Chair of the NIH Stem Cell Task Force; Dr. Wendy Baldwin, former Deputy Director for Extramural Research; Dr. JudyVaitukaitis, Director, NCRR; and NIH stem cell scientists and administrators from NIDDK, NHLBI, NCI, NIDCR, NIA, NICHD, and NINDS. The productive meetings resulted in agreement to launch collaborative work between several NIH intramural labs and MizMedi Hospital using MizMedi's single cell line currently on the NIH stem cell registry. The discussions also resulted in a productive exchange of ideas for future research and training, including possible NCRR support for the development of a regional stem cell research training center in Seoul. The Korean delegation was headed by Dr. Shin-Yong Moon, Director of Korea's Stem Cell Research.

Vietnam: Dr. Allen Holt, FIC Program Officer for South Asia, represented NIH at the second meeting of the "Governmental Committee for S&T Cooperation Between Vietnam and the U.S." held at the State Department November 25-26. Dr. Norman Neureiter, Science Advisor to the Secretary of State, led the U.S. delegation. Dr. Nguyen Van Tuong, Deputy Director, Department of Science and Training, Vietnamese Ministry of Public Health, noted that his government was pleased with the progress in collaboration through successful typhoid vaccine trials, HIV/AIDS research and other areas. He further noted that his priorities for cooperation in the coming year include toxicology, bioethics, diabetes, food safety, reproductive health, and public health genetics. The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Health is expected to nominate a coordinator for each of these areas of cooperation. ICs interested in activities with Vietnamese counterparts in any of these areas are encouraged to contact Dr. Allen Holt (phone: 496-4784).

Africa

South Africa: In November, Ms. Judy Levin, Program Officer for Africa and the Middle East, met with the new Health Attaché in the South African Embassy, Ms. Nobayeni Dladla, during her visit to the NIH campus. Ms. Levin provided Ms. Dladla with an overview of the extensive activities of the eleven ICs currently funding extramural projects in South Africa.

Cote d'Ivoire: Ms. Judy Levin hosted the State Department-sponsored visit to NIH of Dr. Toikeusse Mabri, Deputy of the National Assembly, leader of the opposition party, and Chair of the Environment Committee of the National Assembly. Dr. Mabri's visit included discussions with Dr. Aron Primack, DITR/FIC Program Officer for the Fogarty International Training and Research Program in Environmental and Occupational Health (ITREOH), and Dr. Chris Schonwalder, Director for International Programs, NIEHS, regarding opportunities for research collaborations to address health problems related to the environment in Cote d'Ivoire.

Senegal: Ms. Judy Levin hosted Mr. Peter Strzok, President of the Agency to Facilitate the Growth of Rural Organizations (AFGRO), in his meetings with FIC, NCCAM, and NIAID staff to strengthen his role in facilitating research on specific anti-malarial botanicals at the University of Dakar.

Europe

France: On November 20, Mr. Mark Pineda, Program Officer for Western Europe and South Asia, hosted a delegation from France in meetings with NIAID to discuss biodefense-related research and to explore opportunities for future collaboration in this important research area.

Middle East

Egypt: 114 proposals have been received by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo in response to the seventh annual call for applications under the U.S.-Egypt Joint S&T Fund program. NIH will organize the review of 16 proposals. Funding to the Joint Fund has been increased by $1 million in the 2002-2003 funding cycle. FIC will work to build on a recent marine products workshop held in Ismailia, Egypt, organized jointly with NCI's Natural Products Branch, to forge mentorship relations between junior scientists in Egypt and established scientists in the U.S.

Russia and The Newly Independent States (NIS)

Russia: On December 9, Ms. Tomitch joined OAR representatives and staff of OGHA in an interagency meeting hosted by the State Department on the status of the HIV epidemic in Russia and the NIS. Dr. Bill Steiger gave a brief presentation of HHS-wide activities and projects related to HIV/AIDS.

On November 21, Ms. Tomitch joined representatives of OAR, NIAID, and NIDA in a meeting with ten physicians and health administrators from the Amur region of the Russian Far East to discuss opportunities for collaboration in infectious diseases and HIV research.

Kazakhstan: On December 17, Ms. Tomitch joined Dr. Rachel Nugent of FIC/DITR in a meeting with statisticians of the Kazakh Actuarial Center to discuss opportunities for collaboration, including the current competition of the new Health, Environment, and Economic Development Program.

Program Notes

On January 9, FIC released an RFA for the Phase II International Clinical, Operational, and Health Services Research Training Award for AIDS and Tuberculosis (Comprehensive ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB). This program will increase research training across the span of clinical science and public health practice and involve a wide range of health professionals (e.g. nurses, midwives, physicians, dentists, health care administrators and public health workers) in developing countries where HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) or both are significant problems. Co-sponsors on this RFA are the Fogarty International Center (FIC), together with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Office of Research on Women's Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the United States Agency for International Development. The application receipt date is June 10, 2003. The RFA can be found at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-TW-03-003.html.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

International Activities (General)

During December 2002 - January 2003, NCCAM announced two new International Health Research Initiatives:

Planning Grants for International Centers for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine

NCCAM released on December 2nd - in conjunction with the Fogarty International Center - a RFA for a new initiative in international health research, "Planning Grants for International Centers for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (PICRC)." This initiative intends to enhance the understanding of complementary and alternative/traditional medical systems by establishing partnerships and cross-cultural exchange through which foreign and U.S. institutions and investigators can collaborate to design and implement research on CAM/traditional indigenous medical systems (or components thereof) in the culture and/or environments in which they originated.

NCCAM International Postdoctoral Fellowship

NCCAM released on January 6th a PA for a new initiative related to the training of foreign scientists in CAM. The NCCAM International Postdoctoral Fellowship supports training of foreign researchers in rigorous scientific methodology at a clinical or basic research facility in the United States. The purpose of this training is to prepare these scientists to successfully conduct high quality research in CAM when they return to their home countries. The initiative specifically focuses on the domain of alternative medical systems, defined as complete systems of theory and practice that have evolved independently of -- and often prior to - conventional biomedical approaches.

World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board 

NCCAM provided comments to FIC on the WHO Traditional Medicine Report by the Secretariat to assist in informing the United States Government's position on this report. Discussion of the report is on the agenda of the WHO Executive Board meeting, January 20-28, 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Country-Specific Activities

Canada:  Marguerite Klein and Karen Kun met on January 14th with Dr. Sunita Vohra of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario. Dr. Vohra is a clinical epidemiologist in the Hospital's population health sciences division, and visited NCCAM to discuss plans for developing a CAM center in pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children.

China: Drs. Josh Berman and Mary Ann Richardson met on December 12th with Dr. Shi Xu of Kanglaite USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Kanglaite Pharmaceutical Company in Hangzhou, China. They discussed an injection made from a Traditional Chinese Medicine herb (coix seed), that the company hopes to begin clinical trials on in the U.S. These clinical trials would assess the injection's efficacy -- when used in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiotherapy -- to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments, reduce pain, and inhibit the growth of tumor cells.

A meeting that was to have taken place in November, was rescheduled and held on December 20th with Dr. Yiyuan Tang of the Brain Research Center, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China and his colleague, Dr. Yijun Liu of the Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of the University of Florida. Dr. Stephen Straus, Linda Engel, Karen Kun and Dr. Nancy Pearson attended from NCCAM. The meeting related to Traditional Chinese Medicine research and scientific collaborations between the U.S. and China.

Israel: Drs. Josh Berman and Neal West met with Dr. Israel Yoles from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine of Tel Aviv University on December 16th to discuss clinical trials related to the efficacy of Tofupill, a product derived from soybean, in relation to the alleviation of menopausal symptoms (such as hot flashes and sleep disturbances) and increase in bone mineral density.

Senegal: Dr. Josh Berman, Dr. Shan Wong, and Karen Kun from NCCAM -- and Judith Levin from the Fogarty International Center -- met with Dr. Peter Strozsk of the Association to Facilitate the Growth of Rural Organizations (a non-profit organization affiliated with the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota) to discuss research being conducted at the University of Dakar related to anti-malarial botanicals.

South Africa:  Dr. Nancy Pearson, Dr. Mary Ann Richardson and Karen Kun met with Dr. Barry Kistnasamy, Dean of the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine of the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa, regarding the School's program in Traditional and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM). The Medical School has recently established a TCAM center that is devoted to service provision, education and research in the areas of traditional Indian, Chinese and African Systems of Medicine.

National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute

THE AMERICAS:  The Pan American Hypertension Initiative (PAHI), launched by NHLBI and PAHO has been endorsed by eight international scientific organizations. This initiative is designed to develop collaboration between national programs in hypertension in the Americas. PAHI will focus on the health problems of an estimated 140 million hypertensives in the region, emphasizing the need to prevent and control this condition, and its sequelae of heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, disability and premature deaths. A joint blood pressure measurement standard has been developed with partners in the Americas, and tested by PAHO in its public health programs in Costa Rica. A meeting with PAHO and country representatives was held in April 2001 at NIH to discuss further joint plans for implementing the PAHI initiative in the region. The ten PAHI partners have developed a joint blood pressure measurement standard for use in future studies in the Americas. This measurement standard will be published in the PAHO journal over the signatures of the Directors of PAHO and NHLBI. A follow-up meeting is being planned.

EUROPE:  An International Position Paper on "Women's Health and Menopause: A Comprehensive Approach" was developed in follow-up of the international conference held in Washington in May 2001 on "Women's Health in Menopause: New Strategies for Improved Quality of Life." The document was developed by NHLBI in collaboration with the Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Science Foundation in Milan, Italy and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, and scientists from other NIH institutes. The full report was published by NHLBI in July 2002. Chapter 13, Best Clinical Practices was published in March 2002 and has been widely distributed. Also, the media have called attention to the report as the first of its kind. The document covers a range of issues relating to the health of women: cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, sexuality, psychosocial factors, and the role of hormone replacement therapy. Partners in the private sector have arranged for the International Position Paper to be translated into eleven languages.

AFGHANISTAN:  The NHLBI has developed a proposal for training of Afghan health professionals in blood resources management and training. This is part of a DHHS US-Afghanistan initiative.

INDIA:  Joint research is continuing between NHLBI Nobel Laureate Dr. Marshall Nirenberg and a scientist from India, focusing on the molecular biology of neuronal cells, using drosophila as a model.

JAPAN:  A joint US-Japan Symposium on Advances in Genetic Research in Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) will be held February 24, 25, 2003 in Osaka, Japan, with a follow-up Symposium on Bioethics of Genetic and Molecular Studies at the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in Tokyo on February 26. The Director, NHLBI will lead the US delegation. The topics for discussion will include: 1. The association of candidate genes with CVD in the USA and Japan based on case-control and population studies. 2. The role of gene-environment interactions in CVD in the USA and Japan, and their use in targeted intervention strategies to reduce the risk of CVD in both countries. 3. Comparative genetic studies of animal models and population-based human studies.

RUSSIA:  Two exchange scientists in basic research in cardiovascular disease and in arrhythmia carried out joint research during visits to the USA September-December. Two joint symposia are planned for 2003, one in the United States on basic research, and one in Russia on cardiac arrhythmia. Also, the US and Russian coordinators have agreed to expand the collaboration to a third area: Psycho-social Factors and Cardiovascular Diseases, and a joint workshop will be held in Washington, DC in June 2003 on this topic.

VIETNAM:  Plans have been proposed for exchange visits during Spring 2003 for continued collaboration with Vietnam in the area of aplastic anemia and bone marrow transplantation.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

National Children's Study Meeting Includes International Consultation

 An International Consultation on Longitudinal Cohort Studies (LCS) was held on December 16, 2002, at the National Children's Study (NCS) Assembly Meeting in Baltimore Maryland, convened and supported by the NICHD and the EPA. Over 35 people were invited to participate, including representatives from studies and organizations from 17 different countries. Some attendees provided detailed summaries of their current research, including studies in Brazil, Denmark, Chile, China, Norway, and South Africa. Other participants discussed their plans to begin longitudinal studies. The objectives for this meeting were 1) to provide a forum for international groups to ask questions of and provide feedback to the planners of the NCS, 2) to facilitate the exchange of information among LCS investigators worldwide, and 3) to develop plans for sustaining communication among LCS initiatives internationally. Dr. Jenny Pronczuk de Garbino, Medical Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO) and Coordinator of the WHO Task Force on the Protection of Children's Environmental Health, provided an overview of activities at the WHO, and discussed global alliance. Plans were initiated for developing a volunteer international LCS interest group, and discussion occurred about creating an inventory of international projects, including pilot studies and expertise, and using this inventory to improve and standardize study methods.

Meeting of Trans-NIH Sub-Committee on International Nutrition Research (SCINR)

The SCINR held its fourth meeting on Dec. 17, 2002. The SCINR, co-chaired by Dr. Daniel Raiten, Health Scientist Administrator, Office of the Associate Director for Prevention Research and International Programs (PRIP), NICHD, and Dr. Rachel Nugent, FIC, heard presentations from Lorelei DiSogra, NCI, Director of the 5 A Day for Better Health program, on the international implications and breadth of the 5 A Day approach to prevention of non-infectious diseases. Additional presentations included a review of the NIH regional research activities in Asia presented by Dr. Allen Holt, FIC. Other topics included the ongoing discussions regarding current efforts by WHO to develop interventions to address the growing international burden of chronic disease, including obesity, and the relationship among diet, physical activity, and health

Conference on Fertility Regulation and Systemic Hormones in HIV-infected and At-Risk Women

On January 13-14, 2003, the NIH is sponsoring a conference on "Fertility Regulation and Systemic Hormones in HIV-infected and at-risk Women," in McLean, Virginia. In the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, HIV-infected persons, including women, are living longer, healthier lives. As such, the issue of contraception for these women is now a relevant topic. The objective of this conference is to review the issues around pregnancy for HIV-infected and at-risk women. Contraceptive guidelines for HIV-infected women need to be developed for women on clinical trials, as well as for those seen in routine clinical practice. This conference is supported by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and organized with the help of the NIAID and NICHD. Dr. Patricia Reichelderfer, Microbiologist, Contraception and Reproductive Health Branch (CRHB), Center for Population Research (CPR), NICHD is the key contact for the conference's program content. The meeting has significance for both domestic and international populations. It will include presentations by scientists from France, India, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and by representatives from the WHO.

AFRICA

Global Forum for Health Research Meeting 

Dr. Danuta Krotoski, Acting Associate Director for Prevention Research and International Programs (PRIP), NICHD, attended the sixth annual meeting of the Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR) that was held in Arusha, Tanzania, November 12-15, 2002. The meeting focused on gaps in health research in developing countries and issues related to development and poverty. She also participated in the satellite meeting sponsored by the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI), on behalf of CHNRI Board Member, Dr. Gilman Grave, Chief, Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Growth Branch, Center for Research for Mothers and Children, NICHD. Representatives from governments, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, international foundations, women's organizations, international and national non-governmental organizations, research institutions and universities, private sector companies, and the media attended both meetings that were organized by the GFHR Secretariat, which is located at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Workshop on Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Botswana

Dr. Lynne Mofenson, Chief, Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch, CRMC, will attend the International Workshop on HIV-1 Mother-to-Child Transmission, in Kasane, Botswana, January 21-25, 2003. The primary purpose of the meeting is to gather clinicians and researchers from all over the world, who are involved in prevention of perinatal transmission studies, to outline the needs of and promote interaction and integration among health care programs, interventional trials, and research.

University of Nairobi STD/AIDS Collaborative Group Meeting 

Dr. Patricia Reichelderfer, Microbiologist, CRHB, CPR, NICHD, and Dr. Fulvia Veronese, Coordinator for Etiology and Pathogenesis and Microbicides Research, OAR, will participate in the January 28-31, 2003, University of Nairobi Sexually Transmitted Diseases/AIDS Collaborative Group Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting sessions will focus on a wide range of topics including an overview of HIV in Africa and an update on introducing antiretrovirals into Sub-Saharan Africa; bacterial and viral STDs; HIV epidemiology; vaccine studies; opportunistic and other infections; training programs; and presentations on intervention studies.

Meeting in South Africa on Demographic and Socio-Economic Impact of AIDS

 A scientific meeting on the "Empirical Evidence for the Demographic and Socio-Economic Impact of AIDS" will be held in Durban, South Africa, March 26-28, 2003. The meeting is sponsored by the NIH and the Wellcome Trust, and organized by the Health Economic HIV/AIDS Research Department, University of Natal, South Africa; the Center for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the INSP, Cuernavaca, Mexico. Dr. Susan Newcomer, Statistician/Demographer, Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch, NICHD, will attend the meeting, which is supported by a NICHD conference grant and OAR Prevention Science Initiative funds. Dr. Newcomer has helped plan this meeting, which will involve empirically-based presentations in two broad areas: 1) demographic impacts of HIV/AIDS on: adult mortality, child mortality, fertility, family and household structure, and population structure and growth; and 2) socio-economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on: family welfare, formal social security systems, informal social support networks, health services, and on various sectors including education, defense, government, agriculture and the private sector.

ASIA

Afghanistan Physician Training Initiative

 On December 3, 2002, Dr. Anne Willoughby, Director, CRMC, and Dr. Krotoski, ADPRIP, NICHD, met with Dr. John Gallin, Director, NIH Clinical Center, to discuss the formulation of plans for a proposed initiative to train Afghan physicians. This initiative would be implemented and coordinated in conjunction with the DHHS Office of Global Health Affairs. Staff from the Fogarty International Center and the Clinical Center also attended the meeting.

Neonatal Research Network and Pediatric Pharmacology Meetings in Japan

 Dr. Linda Wright, Deputy Director, CRMC, recently presented at several meetings on pediatric pharmacology and neonatal research networks in Japan. These included: the Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Clinical Pharmacology, Osaka, December 7-10, 2002; Pediatric Drug Development Research Group Meetings, in Kyoto, December 10-12, and in Tokyo, December 12-15; and the Japan Society of Premature and Newborn Medicine, Osaka, December 15-18. Dr. Wright's attendance at these meetings was sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Health, the Osaka Medical Center for Maternal and Child Health, and the National Center for Child Health and Development (Tokyo).

Workshop on Acute Lower Respiratory Infection in India

 The Indian Council for Medical Research and the NICHD, the two nodal agencies for the Indo-U.S. Joint Program on MCHDR, are sponsoring a workshop entitled, "Strategies to Reduce the Burden of Acute Lower Respiratory Infection in India," scheduled for March 11-13, 2003, in Agra, India. The prevalence of acute lower respiratory tract infections worldwide is a growing problem, with the situation in India becoming particularly problematic. Efforts to develop appropriate diagnostic, treatment, and care modalities are ongoing and require a continuous infusion of new evidence-based strategies.

EUROPE

Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Focus Group Meeting

Representing NICHD, Dr. Mary L. Hediger and Dr. Gitanjali Saluja, both of the Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research, attended the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Focus Group Meeting in Toulouse, France, October 31-November 3, 2002. The HBSC is a cross-national research study of factors associated with the health behavior and health status of adolescents. The HBSC survey is currently conducted in 35 European countries, North America (U.S. and Canada), Greenland and Israel in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Dr. Hediger met with the international focus group on adolescent obesity, eating and dieting behavior, and Dr. Saluja with the international group on violence and injury prevention, to plan the international report from the most recent HBSC survey cycle (2001/2002) and discuss further international collaboration.

WHO Meeting of the Writing Committee for the Reference Guide on HIV-related Care, Treatment and Support of HIV-infected Women and their Children.

 Dr. Lynne Mofenson, Chief, Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch, CRMC, attended a consultation meeting at WHO in Geneva on November 5-6, 2002. Dr. Mofenson is a member of the WHO Writing Committee that is developing a reference manual for the care and treatment of HIV-infected women and their children for developing countries. Dr. Mofenson chairs the Working Group that is writing the chapter on Care of the HIV-Exposed Child. This manual is anticipated to be completed in early 2003 for distribution to developing countries to assist in the development and implementation of programs for HIV-infected mothers and children.

Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics

Dr. Duane Alexander, Director, NICHD, attended the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics meeting in Strasbourg, France, December 2-8, 2002, as the U.S. observer, a role he has held for the past eight years.

Workshop on Prevention of Breastfeeding Transmission of HIV

Dr. Jennifer Read, Medical Officer, PAMA Branch, CRMC, attended the Workshop on Prevention of Breastfeeding Transmission of HIV: Strengthening the Research Agenda, in Ghent, Belgium, on December 12-13, 2002. This meeting was co-sponsored by the Ghent International AIDS Society/Clinical Trial PartnershipWorking Group on HIV in Women and Children and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together investigators from around the world to discuss completed, ongoing, and planned research regarding breastfeeding transmission of HIV. Dr. Read presented data from the Breastfeeding and HIV International Transmission Study, an individual patient data meta-analysis of HIV transmission among breastfeeding children of HIV-infected women enrolled in nine clinical trials conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

NIDCR staff have been in discussions with representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Health and with staff from the Fogarty International Center and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, regarding a proposed US-Israel Bilateral Symposium on Women's Health. There is interest in convening such an event in Israel during 2003 and in including oral health in the program agenda.

Representatives from Israel's Ministry of Health - the Chief Scientist, Dr. Rami Rahamimoff (Hadassah School of Medicine), and the former Chief Scientist, Dr. Bracha Rager (Ben Gurion Medical School) - visited the NIH campus in September to discuss plans for the development of an Israeli Medical Research Council. Because the proposed MRC would include a component to support dental research, their visit included a meeting with the Director, NIDCR, and staff from OIH. Topics of mutual interest and potential collaborative activity include training clinical dental researchers and strengthening the capacity to conduct such research.

Staff participated in a meeting on September 18 with the Executive Directors of the American Dental Association, the International Association for Dental Research, and the American Dental Education Association, and the Regional Advisor for Oral Health, Pan American Health Organization, to share information and to discuss global oral health issues of mutual concern. Subjects discussed included: current status of processing F-1 student visas; opportunities for research in India, Pakistan, Japan and the Middle East as well as opportunities to assist research communities in Argentina and Uruguay; issues which had been anticipated to surface at the FDI World Dental Congress in Vienna; Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries - a project of the NIH, FIC, World Bank, WHO and the Gates Foundation, and progress in the development of an African Oral Health Education Association (AOHEA).

Staff participated in the inaugural meeting of the Pan-European Federation of the International Association for Dental Research, held in Cardiff, Wales, September 23-26. This meeting was the first time that the British, Irish, Continental European, and Scandinavian Divisions of IADR have held a joint meeting. Office of International Health personnel displayed and staffed the NIDCR International Research Exhibit, and presented a session on scientific opportunities for international collaborative research.

From September 28-October 5, staff, including the Deputy Director, NIDCR, participated in the FDI World Dental Congress in Vienna, Austria. During that time, a meeting of the WHO Collaborating Centers was convened by the newly appointed Oral Health Officer, WHO-Geneva, Dr. Poul-Erik Petersen. The primary topic for discussion at that meeting was an evolving strategy to integrate oral health initiatives into the existing program structures of the Non-Communicable Diseases cluster of WHO. Redesignation procedures for the collaborating centers were reviewed. (nb. NIDCR's designation as a WHO Collaborating Center in Oral Health Research has been approved through July 2004). NIDCR's activities with the Genetics Program of WHO and our interest in revisiting the Basic Methods Manual for Oral Health Surveys were raised as information items for the benefit of the other Centers.

Other activities covered at the FDI Congress included: Sessions for the public health dental officers; a meeting to introduce the new WHO oral health officer to the American Dental Association president, president-elect and executive director; meetings regarding planning for the scientific program for the FDI Congresses in Sydney and India; and sessions on oral health promotion, global oral health goals and women in dentistry. The Associate Director for International Health presented on the topic of "Women World Leaders: The Case for Oral Health" at a special luncheon convened on October 4th.

At the FDI 2003 World Dental Congress in Sydney, NIDCR Director, Dr. Larry Tabak, is scheduled to present a major session on "Saliva as a Diagnostic Tool." Other programs in which staff will be involved include the Public Health Section, a proposed session on the legacy of David Barmes for the 21st century, and a session of women in dentistry.

Plans are proceeding with the Fogarty International Center, NIH, the World Bank, Gates Foundation and the WHO to update a book on Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. The first edition's chapter on Oral Health, was co-authored by the late David Barmes and Douglas Brathall, University of Malmo, Sweden. This chapter will also be updated, and additional authors will be convened during 2003 - involving dental economists, sociologists and developing country dental scientists who are familiar with these issues.

On October 16, Dame Margaret Seward, immediate past Chief Dental Officer, Department of Health, UK, presented a seminar at the NIDCR entitled, "Perspectives On Dental Public Health". PHS dental officers and staff participated in this update of current changes in the National Health Service that impact the delivery of oral health services.

On October 28, the second David E. Barmes Global Health Lecture was presented in the Masur Auditorium and video-cast (http://videocast.nih.gov/pastevents.aspf/c-998). The topic "Determinants of Global Health: Nutrition, Immunity and Infection" was presented by Professor Emeritus Nevin Scrimshaw of MIT. This event, cosponsored by NIDCR and the Fogarty International Center (FIC) marked the beginning of the FIC's 35th anniversary year-long celebrations.

Following the Barmes Lecture, the Friends of the NIDCR hosted its 2002 Gala Annual Awards Dinner at the National Press Club. The Dinner honored the Honorable Steny Hoyer (Lifetime Achievement Award); Mary Woolley (Public Advocacy Award); Rosie Mestel (Media Award); Mark Mayo (Slavkin Oral Health Science Education Award) and included special guests among NIDCR, FIC staff, and the Barmes Lecturer and Elizabeth and Mark Barmes, children of the late David Barmes among others.

NIDCR staff participated in the Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR) November 12-15 in Arusha, Tanzania. This was the 6th of a series of annual meetings focusing on correcting what it calls the 10/90 Gap - the fact that less than 10 percent of global spending on health research is devoted to diseases or conditions that account for 90 percent of the global disease burden. This was the first occasion in the six years of the forum that oral health research was addressed, and NIDCR led a session on scientific opportunities for international collaborative oral health research, showing the award winning video, Science Knows No Country. The relevance of the visuals on Noma and oral-facial anomalies were evident, and participants from Africa, Sri Lanka, Canada, Colombia and the US were in attendance at that specific session. Attendees at the GFHR include researchers, research sponsors, and health policymakers.

Dr. Charlotte Ndiaye from Senegal has been appointed as the new Regional Advisor for Oral Health for the WHO Regional Office for Africa, to succeed Dr. Samuel Thorpe of Sierra Leone, who recently retired from the post. Dr. Ndiaye has assumed her duties at the Regional Office in Brazzaville, The Congo.

Dr. Lois Cohen, Associate Director for International Health, NIDCR, presented the first Dean's Lecture at the School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, on November 26. The new Dean, Afaf Meleis (formerly of UCSF-School of Nursing), is a leader in the Global Congress on Women's Health Initiatives, and invited Dr. Cohen to address the topic of scientific opportunities for international collaborative research on women's health.

NIDCR will host a seminar on January 14 on "Approaches and Challenges for Conducting Systematic Reviews of the Literature". Principal presenters are: Dr. Arthur Bonito, Co-PI, Evidence-based Practice Center, Research Triangle Institute, University of North Carolina; and Dr. Elizabeth Treasure, Professor of Dental Public Health, University of Cardiff, Wales.

The International Health Officer has been re-appointed to second year terms on two American Dental Association committees - the Dentistry Overseas Steering Committee, which provides oversight for the ADA's international volunteer program, and the Committee on International Programs and Development, which provides guidance to the ADA regarding its international programs.

The Associate Director for International Health was re-appointed as a consultant to the ADA Committee on International Programs and Development.

The World Health Organization has published a report entitled, "Global Strategies to Reduce the Health-Care Burden of Craniofacial Anomalies." This report is a product of the ongoing NIDCR-WHO project to help support international collaborative research in craniofacial anomalies, and is based on meetings held in Geneva in November 2000 and in Park City, Utah, in May 2001. The publication covers the four main topics involved in the collaboration - genetics, gene-environment interactions, treatment and prevention - and includes priorities and recommendations for research in the field of craniofacial birth defects.

Plans are proceeding for the Second International Women's Leadership Conference in Dental Education Research and Service, Goteborg, Sweden, as well as an NIDCR-sponsored Hands-On Workshop on Ethical Issues in International Collaborative Research, scheduled for the IADR annual session in the same city, June 2002. OIH will also staff the NIDCR International Exhibit.

May 2003