Intemational
Services
International Highlights
Summary of NIH International Highlights
July 2001
Program Developments
Fogarty International Center
Multilateral
Initiative on Malaria (MIM)
FIC Director Dr. Gerald Keusch and the MIM Secretariat met on June 18
with MIM partner agencies, including the British Medical
Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, WHO and African
scientists, to review progress for the third major
international conference on malaria and key MIM initiatives.
The Scientific Advisory Committee, the International
Organizing Committee and other groups reported on major
milestones in the development of the conference, to be held in
Arusha, Tanzania in November 2002.
In addition, updates on plans to advance the Africa
Malaria Leaders initiative as well as ongoing efforts related
to sharing of malaria reagents and improving Internet
communications at malaria institutions in Africa were
discussed. The
MIM Secretariat will work with the Pasteur Institute to
organize an informational meeting in September for new and
potential MIM partners.
Intergovernmental
meetings
Dr.
Keusch represented NIH Acting Director Dr. Ruth Kirschstein at
the French and American AIDS Foundation and World AIDS
Foundation meetings at the
Institut Pasteur in Paris in June, 2001.
The meetings provide secondary review of proposals in
AIDS research to be funded from resources from the
Foundations. Dr.
Keusch also joined the WHO Advisory Committee on Health
Research as a member of the
Research Policy and Cooperation’s Expert Advisory Panel on
Health Science and Technology Policy.
That meeting was also held in June in Geneva.
Dr. Keusch, FIC Deputy Director Dr. Sharon Hrynkow and
FIC Director of the Division of International Relations
Minerva Rojo met with Permanent Secretary of the Icelandic
Ministry of Health David
Gunnarson to discuss a proposed Letter of Intent between the
NIH and counterparts in Iceland.
Representatives of the Office of the Secretary
participated at the meeting at which it was determined to
examine the Letter with a view toward potentially expanding it
to include other DHHS agencies.
Dr. Hrynkow also represented the NIH at the 43rd
Meeting of the Standing Committee of the European
Medical Research Councils in
Strabourg, France.
In addition, Dr. Hrynkow served on the US delegation,
along with Dr. Joe Harford of the National Cancer Institute,
at the 42nd Session of the Governing Council of the
International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The Governing Council, composed of representatives of
IARC member states, provides oversight and guidance on major
IARC activities and policies.
Dr. Hrynkow and FIC staff met with the Minister of
Health from Croatia to discuss potential areas of strengthened
activity, including in the areas of clinical research, tobacco
policy research and basic science, primarily through the FIC-sponsored
small grants program. Dr. Allen Holt of the Division of
International Relations represented FIC/NIH at the May 21 interagency meeting with the Vietnamese Vice
Minister for Science and Technology,
Chu Hao. It was
agreed that the first full meeting of the U.S.-Vietnam S&T
Committee, established by the U.S.-Vietnam S&T Agreement
signed in November, 2000, will be held in Hanoi in the Fall
2001. Professor
Chu gave a list of nine priority areas for cooperation, with
biomedical research ranked as number one.
It is expected that the U.S. will send delegations in
each priority area in advance of the S&T Committee meeting
to develop plans for cooperative research and make site visits
to Vietnamese research centers.
Organized by NIAID’s Laboratory of Parasitic
Diseases, Dr. Hrynkow and FIC Director of the Division of
International Training and Research Dr. Ken Bridbord met with
three senior Malian
officials in July: the
Minister of Health, the Vice Minister of Health and the Dean
of the Medical School of Mali.
All three meetings were aimed at exploring
opportunities for expanding the already strong NIH-Malian
partnership on malaria to include other priority health
issues. Potential
areas for cooperation that were explored included AIDS and
clinical research. Competitive
mechanisms to receive NIH support were described.
Upcoming: NIH preparations for the
Rio Plus Ten Summit to be held in Brasilia in 2002. This intergovernmental discussion will review progress made
in the decade since the UN Conference in 1992 aimed at
advancing sustainable economic development while protecting
environmental resources.
The 2002 Summit is expected to include health status as
a major theme in advancing sustainable economic development.
Dr. Rachel Nugent (496-1491 or 496-1653) is the chief
contact in the development of NIH input into the Summit
preparations.
National
Academy of Science
Dr. Keusch represented FIC at the Institute of Medicine’s Board of
Global Health Meeting (May, 2001) to discuss a range of
priority global health concerns, including emerging infectious
diseases. Dr. Hrynkow participated at the Institute of Medicine’s
International Food and Nutrition Board (July).
Workshops
and Conferences
Dr.
Keusch provided opening remarks and a special lecture
“Update on Global Micronutrients Research” at the NIH-Central
America and Caribbean Research Cooperation Workshop on
Micronutrients in Central
America and the Caribbean held June 11-15 in Guetemala.
The workshop, supported by the Office of Dietary
Supplements, FIC and other partners, was organized by Dr.Luis
Salicrup of the Division of International Relations working
closelyw with the Institute of Nutrition of Central America
and Panama (INCAP), and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements
(ODS). The goals
of the workshop were to identify research priorities in the
field of nutrition and to establish effective collaborations
between scientists and institutions. The development of
concrete research collaborations and project pre-proposals was
another major aim of the meeting.
Breakout working groups focused on the sharing of
resources and information in five areas of nutrition research
of mutual interest: Iron, Zinc, Riboflavin, B-12, and Folic
Acid. Five
pre-proposals, each with various research and training
activities, resulted from the workshop in the five different
areas.
Dr. Hrynkow represented NIH on a panel on “U.S. Government
Priorities in Global Health”
at the Global Health Council’s Annual Conference held in May
in Washington. Dr.
Barry Bloom moderated the session, which included others
panelists from CDC, USAID and the State Department.
The title of Dr. Hrynkow's presentation was “Medical
Research and Capacity Building as Key to Advancing Global
Health.” Dr.
Hrynkow also attended the NIDA-sponsored conference “International
Forum on Drug Abuse Research”
held in Scottsdale, AZ in June to discuss international
research funding opportunities.
Upcoming: FIC
and partner ICs and agencies will support a major conference
on Stigma and Global Health:
Developing a Research Agenda to be held in Bethesda in
September. One
hundred participants from the developing world are expected to
attend. For more
information, see the conference web site at stigmaconference@nih.gov or contact Emily O. Smith in the
Division of Advanced Studies and Policy Analysis (496-1491) or
Dr. Kathy Michels in the Division of International Training
and Research (496-1653).
Civilian
Research and Development Foundation (CRDF)
Since
its inception in 1997, the CRDF-NIH program has supported
major research projects, many of them leading to publications
in top journals, and to insights insights into the prevention
and treatment of disease.
In response to its most recent 2001 Cooperative Grants
Program announcement, CRDF reports that it has received 1,665
proposals. Of
those, 391 or 24% are in the general field of biology (a 25%
increase); it is expected that 75% of these proposals are in
the fields of biomedical and behavioral research.
To date, five NIH Institutes have pledged to contribute
approximately $700,000 towards funding projects in the
biomedical and behavioral sciences, specifically encouraging
proposals in the fields of alcohol research, bioengineering,
medical rehabilitation research and development of prosthetic
devices. Proposal
review will take place in September.
(FIC Point of Contact: Natalie Tomitch 496-4784)
Russia: In light of the change in U.S. Administration since the last meetings of
the Health Committee (July 2000) and S&T Committee (March
1999) under the Gore-Putin Commission, it is anticipated that
for the foreseeable future, U.S.-Russia formal cooperation in
health and biomedical research will continue on a
ministry-to-ministry basis rather than at the
Vice-Presidential level. FIC has participated in several
interagency meetings to review priorities and recommendations
for future cooperation with Russia which have been held in
efforts to ensure that we maintain momentum on important
collaborative activities.
Among the ideas being discussed is the possibility of
conducting a joint workshop on the "ecology of infectious
diseases", to include U.S. and Russian researchers in
both ecology and virology.
The purpose of such a workshop, organized by NSF, NIAID,
OIRH (BTEP), FIC, and the Russian Foundation for Basic
Research, would be to develop joint proposals in order to
build and sustain collaborative research in this
interdisciplinary scientific area.
(FIC Point of Contact:
Natalie Tomitch 496-4784)
Biodiversity
Network: FIC, in
cooperation with the National Research Council of Italy (CNR),
organized the International Workshop on African Biodiversity,
which took place in Rome, Italy, April 9-11.
The purpose of the workshop was to gather scientists,
experts, industrial partners and policy makers, from Italy,
Africa and the United States, to share information on the
current, state-of-the-art science of discovery and utilization
of plant and marine biodiversity in Africa for the production
of new drugs or products for agricultural use.
Participants included 17 representatives of 12
different African nations, 36 Italian researchers and
administrators, and 11 representatives of USG and academia.
Another aim of the workshop was to lay the foundation
for developing a "Natural Product Research Network"
involving Italy, the United States (including the
International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups, or ICBG,
supported by NIH, NSF and USDA), and African laboratories and
Centers of Excellence. Workshop
outcomes included a commitment to facilitate and expand
research and training for the exploration and utilization of
African biodiversity. CNR
agreed to serve as Secretariat and to establish a website for
the nascent network (tentatively named the Trilateral African
Biodiversity Initiative, or TABI), while FIC has developed a
listserve and a summary document on the key participants and
relevant institutional resources in the three regions.
In addition, CNR announced its intention to develop a
targeted program and call for proposals based on the concepts
and recommendations that emerged from the working groups and
general discussions. FIC
and NCI will identify ways in which they can support and/or
facilitate the Italian strategic initiative using their
ongoing or expanded networks of funded researchers under the
ICBG and other programs (e.g., MIM).
(FIC Point of Contact: Natalie Tomitch 496-4784)
Africa: FIC
arranged two visits to NIH for delegates to the UN General
Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS meeting.
On June 29, the Minister of Health of the Republic of
Guinea, Dr. Saliou Diallo, accompanied by the Ambassador to
the U.S. Mohamed Thiam, met with staff from NIAID.
The CIPRA program was identified as a possible vehicle
for future collaboration.
On July 2, Dr. Jean-Pierre Musongela, Director of the
National AIDS Program and the Blood Bank National Safety
Program, Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire), met with
FIC, OAR, NIAID and NIDA staff.
Regional conflicts, civil wars, advancing and
retreating armies, and large refugee populations have
complicated efforts to address health issues in these
low-resource countries. Both
representatives, however, were able to point to specific steps
and plans in place to meet the most urgent challenges, now
that political solutions are beginning to take effect.
(FIC Points of Contact:
Minerva Rojo and Judy Levin 496-4784)
India: FIC organized and
participated in the visit to NIH of Dr. Nirmal K. Ganguly,
Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
on June 4. Meetings
were held with representatives from NIAID, NICHD, NHLBI, NIMH,
OAR and FIC. NIH
and ICMR are in the process of developing the first meeting of
the U.S.-India Joint Working Group on HIV/STD Prevention
Research, tentatively planned for October 2001 in India.
(FIC Point of Contact:
Amar Bhat and Minerva Rojo 496-4784)
European
Union: FIC represented NIH at the meeting
of the Joint
Consultative Group under the U.S.-EU Science and Technology
Agreement, which took place May 15 in Brussels, Belgium.
Discussions on ongoing and future areas of cooperation
were held with
officials of the European Commission's Directorate-General for
Research. The
EU's Directorate-General for Research announced their
intention to provide up to 200,000 euros in support of
the upcoming meeting of the Multilateral Initiative on
Malaria (MIM) scheduled to be held
in Arusha, Tanzania.
In September, the U.S.-EU Biotechnology Task Force will
meet in Arlington to discuss cooperation in
biotechnology-related activities, including areas of interest
to several NIH institutes.
(FIC Points of Contact:
Amar Bhat and Minerva Rojo 496-4784)
Expansion
of Pan American Fellowship program:
The Pan American Fellowship (PAF) program brings
post-doctoral candidates from Latin America and the Caribbean
to train in NIH intramural laboratories for a period of one to
two years. The
PAF fellows' stipend is shared between the NIH intramural lab
and the supporting Latin American and Caribbean (LAC)
institution, with NIH covering health insurance and lab fees
and the LAC counterpart covering travel to and from NIH.
The government of Costa Rica, through a consortium of
the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Council
of Scientific and Technologic Research (CONICIT), and along
with private and public universities and health centers, has
recently joined the PAF program.
As a result, Costa Rica anticipates sending 5
fellows/year to NIH intramural laboratories for post-doctoral
training. These
Fellows will join other PAFs from Mexico, Chile, and
Argentina. (FIC
Point of Contact: Luis
Salicrup 496-4784)
FIC’s
Division of Epidemiology and Population Studies has initiated The Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study (MISMS) which
will investigate the hypothesis that influenza plays a major
role in the seasonal mortality of chronic diseases such as,
diabetes, ischemic heart disease and stroke, and that
influenza activity varies by geographic location and climate.
This project is being coordinated in collaboration with
colleagues at NIAID and NINDS, and many international
partners.
FIC’s Division
of International Research and Training has a number of
programs now under review:
Ecology of Infectious Diseases (closed May 17, 68
applications received);
International
Training and Research Program in Environmental and
Occupational Health (reviewed in June)
International
Clinical, Operational and Health Services Research and
Training Awards (27 application received, to be reviewed this
month)
The
International Tobacco and Health Research and Capacity
Building Program, a program of the FIC and five partners
within the NIH (NCI, NICHD, NIDA, NIMH and NINR) and in
cooperation with the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative was recently
announced (Letter of Intent due September 4, proposals due
October 26). FIC
and the NIH partners will provide approximately $3.5 million
for the first year of these 5-year grant for a total of
approximately $17 million over the next five years.
National
Institute on Child Health and Human Development
Institute
of Medicine Report on Neurological, Psychiatric, and
Developmental Disorders
The Committee
on Nervous System Disorders in Developing Countries, Board on
Global, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences
(NAS), recently published a report on Neurological,
Psychiatric, and Developmental Disorders: Meeting the
Challenge in the Developing World.
This study was supported and sponsored by NICHD,
NIMH, NINDS, FIC, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and the Global Forum for Health Research.
A similar study on the improvement of birth outcomes in
developing countries is expected this fall.
National
Academy of Sciences International Food and Nutrition Forum
Dr.
Daniel Raiten, Health Scientist Administrator, Office of
Prevention Research and International Programs, NICHD,
attended the second meeting of the NAS International Food and
Nutrition Forum, which is co-sponsored by the NIH, on June 29,
2001. The forum
focused on translation of science into programs and included
presentations by staff from the Academy for Educational
Development and United Nations University.
The formation of the Global Nutrition Institute, a
non-profit organization concerned with global hunger and other
nutrition-related public health issues, was announced.
The meeting was attended by representatives of various
federal agencies and non-governmental organizations, including
the World Bank, Helen Keller International, and the March of
Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.
World
Health Organization-Related Activities
On
June 1-2, 2001, in Reykjavik, Iceland, Dr. Ralph Nitkin,
Director, Biological Sciences and Career Development Program,
National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, NICHD,
attended a meeting at the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry
of Iceland, on emerging therapeutic options in spinal cord
injury. The
Icelandic Health Authorities and the WHO sponsored the
meeting. The goal was to present to WHO the research
activities of scientists throughout the world who are
involved, directly or indirectly, in treating human subjects
with sustained spinal cord injury.
On June
17-23, 2001, Geneva, Dr. Florence Haseltine, Director, Center
for Population Research, NICHD, participated in two WHO
meetings: 1) Family and Reproductive Health Programme, Meeting
of Interested Parties Advisory Body; and
2) Special Programme of Research, Development and
Research Training in Human Reproduction, Meeting of the Policy
and Coordination Committee (PCC).
The PCC includes representatives of many countries who
review programmatic and fiscal management of the Human
Reproduction Programme of WHO.
Dr. Susan
Newcomer, Statistician (demography), Demography and Behavioral
Sciences Branch, CPR, NICHD, plans to attend the July 16-17,
2001 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, convened by WHO, UNAIDS,
and CONRAD to review the findings from a UNAIDS/EU RCT on
COL1492. Preliminary findings from this study suggested that the
microbicide under study actually increased the likelihood of
HIV seroconversion. Those
findings resulted in significant changes in a number of
studies related to the acceptability of microbicides that were
just being funded by NICHD. This meeting will review the report and may revise the
earlier findings, with important implications for future
research.
USAID
Program Evaluation
As part of
an evaluation team, Mr. Gray Handley, Associate Director for
Prevention Research and International Programs, NICHD, made
site visits to Johns Hopkins University, Boston University,
the World Health Organization, and the India Clinical
Epidemiology Network to assess the USAID Child Health Research
Program. The team
also made recommendations on the design of a possible
follow-on project.
France
NICHD
Director, Dr. Duane Alexander, attended the annual Council of
Europe Bioethics Committee meeting held in Strasbourg, France,
on June 5-8, 2001. He
participated as the U.S. observer to the meeting.
Dr.
Patricia Reichelderfer, Microbiologist, Contraception and
Reproductive Health Branch, CPR, NICHD, attended the
Rockefeller Foundation Microbicide Initiative and
Science Working Group (SWG) European Outreach meeting,
in Ferney, France, in May
2001. The
SWG is developing a document of scientific and technical
recommendations for the Initiative that will help mobilize the
international community (both public and private sectors) to
develop and deliver effective microbicides as rapidly as
possible. Within five broad areas, 17 specific scientific
topics have been identified for inclusion in this document.
In the area of Pre-clinical Development Pathways, Dr.
Reichelderfer is serving as the topic leader on Toxicology and
ADME (absorption,
distribution, metabolism, and excretion).
Reports for these areas will be completed in July,
2001.
India
The first
meeting of the Indo-U.S. Program on Maternal and Child Health
and Human Development Research, and an associated workshop on
low birth weight research, will be held in New Delhi,
September 25-27, 2001. The
first business meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on
Maternal and Child Health Research (MCH) will define the scope
and priorities of the program. This meeting will be followed by the 9th All Asian Conference
on Diarrheal Diseases that is being hosted by the Indian
Council on Medical Research (ICMR).
Several U.S. members of the JWG-MCH will be
participating in that meeting scheduled for September 28-30.
The NICHD
has initiated planning the development and implementation of a
Perinatal HIV Transmission Prevention in India project, in
collaboration with investigators in southern India, following
consultation with the ICMR, the National AIDS Control
Organization, and the Indian AIDS Society.
To finalize implementation plans, Dr. Jennifer Read,
Medical Officer, Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS (PAMA)
Branch, Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC),
NICHD, and Ms. Dorothy McKelvin, Contracting Officer, NICHD,
participated in site visits.
They met with Dr. N.M. Samuel of the Tamil Nadu Dr.
M.G.R. Medical University and other proposed clinical site
staff, in Chennai (Madras) and Namakkal, India, May 13-20,
2001.
Mexico
The NICHD
Pediatric and Maternal HIV Clinical Trials Network is
expanding international collaborations in Latin
America/Caribbean by funding two prospective, multi-center,
descriptive studies in HIV-infected pregnant women and their
infants and HIV-infected children and adolescents at Latin
American sites in which antiretroviral prophylaxis and
treatment are available.
The NICHD goal is to assist in development of a
clinical trials infrastructure that would enable these sites
to join the NICHD Network and to participate in future
collaborative HIV prevention and treatment trials.
NICHD PAMA Branch Medical Officers Jennifer Read and
Leslie Serchuck, and Contracting Officer Dorothy McKelvin,
traveled to Mexico, June 26-29, 2001, to meet with potential
investigators from one of the preliminary selected sites to
tour their hospital facilities and to evaluate further their
ability to participate in these studies.
Pakistan
Dr. Susan
Meikle, Medical Officer, PAMA Branch, CRMC, NICHD, visited
Karachi, Pakistan, June 16-23, 2001, to participate in the
protocol development for the University of Alabama at
Birmingham and Aga Khan University project on pregnancy
outcomes among Pakistani women.
This project is part of the Global Network for
Women’s and Children’s Health Research. Dr. Meikle is the
staff science coordinator for the Global Network, a new
program of cooperative agreements co-funded by NICHD, NIDCR,
NCCAM and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and linked
with the FIC International Maternal and Child Health Research
Training Program.
Russia
Dr. Duane
Alexander traveled to Moscow during July 2001 and joined the
U.S. Ambassador to Russia to discuss ongoing health
cooperation with the Minister of Health.
United
Kingdom
Dr. Leonid
Margolis, Head, Section on Intercellular Interactions,
Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, NICHD,
presented a plenary session lecture at the Sixth Annual
European Meeting on Experimental AIDS Research in Edinburgh,
Scotland, June 21-27, 2001.
He also met with investigators at St. George’s
Hospital, in London, England, June 28-July 2, 2001, to discuss
potential collaborative efforts in the area of microbicide
research.
Zimbabwe
Dr. Lynne
Mofenson, Associate Branch Chief for Clinical Research, PAMA
Branch, CRMC, NICHD, attended a workshop on Antiretroviral
Drug Access and Implementation in Harare, Zimbabwe, on June
21-28, 2001. She
presented information about antiretroviral treatment of
children and use of antiretrovirals to prevent transmission
and use during pregnancy.
She also assisted in the planning for research related
to these issues focused on Zimbabwe and conducted a site visit
to the Prevention Trials Network site in Harare.
National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Fifteen research groups from Europe and the United States are
participating in a consortium supported by the Division of
Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases to combine the
data for all the genetic markers on chromosome 20.
Subcontracts have been issued to groups in France, Sweden, and
the United Kingdom. There are 24 data sets, including 2 on
African Americans; 13 on whites (6 on residents of Europe and
7 on U.S. residents); 2 on Japanese; 6 on Mexican Americans;
and 1 on Native Americans. This is the largest number of data
sets ever analyzed for a single disease, and it will be used
to map genes for diabetes.
In
FY 00, the Phoenix Epidemiology Branch and the Nutrition
Division, Centro de Investigacion en Alimentaci\n
y Desarrollo, Hermosillo, Mexico, completed a 5-year follow-up
of Pima Indians residing in Mexico who had impaired glucose
tolerance Glucose tolerance tests were performed on
patients who had impaired glucose tolerance in the original
survey and on an age- and sex-matched control group with
normal glucose tolerance. The purpose of this follow-up study
was to determine the initial incidence of diabetes in this
group.
The
Clinical Diabetes and Nutrition Section is in the process of
establishing a collaborative effort on proteomic approaches
with the University of Auckland, Australia. The Section has
established a consortium that includes St. Mary’s Hospital,
London, England, and Institut Pasteur, France, to study
chromosome 1. In addition, the Section continues to
collaborate with the University of G`teborg,
Sweden, to study insulin resistance.
The
Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition continues to
supports several international
activities: In fiscal year 2000 (FY 00), the Joint U.S.-Japan
Nutrition and Metabolism Panel increased collaboration and
productive efforts in research in three priority areas:
obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic disorders; metabolic
bone disease; and nutrition and host defense. Within each of
these areas, emphasis continues to be on problems of common
concern to the United States, Japan, and other
countries in Asia.
A
clinical trial, entitled Iron and Vitamin A Deficiency in
Children Due to Helicobacter
pylori, supports a joint effort between the University of
Alabama, Birmingham, and the B. C. Memorial Children’s
Hospital, Calcutta. The
study is a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial
to test the hypothesis that H.
pylori–induced hypochlorohydria and achlorohydria in the
stomach are important factors in the luminal absorption of
nonheme iron and provitamin A in food and may be responsible
for iron and vitamin A deficiency in children from developing
countries. The intervention in this trial is iron and vitamin
A therapy combined with the administration of antibiotics to
eliminate H. pylori
infection.
Another
collaborative effort between
Tufts University, Massachusetts, and the Chinese Academy of
Preventive Medicine, in Beijing and Shanghai, studies the
relative effects of diet and exercise on body composition. Two
hypotheses will be tested: (1) Physical activity but not
dietary fat intake is a significant predictor of individual
variability in total body fat. (2) The proportion of body fat
located centrally is negatively associated with physical
activity and not significantly associated with dietary fat
intake.
The
Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (DKUHD)
supports a number of initiatives
with foreign components.
There is a sizable portfolio of work on the therapy for
iron overload, a problem of particular importance in
thalassemia. One study, on “Modeling of Mixed Ligand Therapy
for Iron Overload”, is being performed at King’s College,
London. The other study, “Non–Transferrin-Bound Plasma
Iron and Deferoxamine Therapy”, is being
conducted at University College, London.
NIDDK
has major European collaborations on the development of
genomic resources for the zebra fish. NIDDK, together with the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, (NICHD),
National Institutes of Health (NIH), oversees a large program
to develop tools for understanding development of organ
formation in the zebra fish, an important research tool for
the understanding of developmental biology of the endocrine, gastrointestinal and nephro-urinary
systems.
The DKUHD and the
Medical Research Council, Canada, are cofunding the
Diabetic Nephropathy Clinical Trial: Renin–Angiotensin
System Blockage, which is investigating efficacy of blockade
of the renin–angiotensin system to prevent the
progression of diabetic nephropaty. Research is being
performed at the University of Minnesota, U.S. Minneapolis;McGill
University, Montreal, and the University of Toronto.
Another
supported initiative is the Chronic Prostatitis Collaborative
Research Network that includes a site at Queen’s University,
Kingston, Ontario.
National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
International
Association for Dental Research
Drs. Lois Cohen and Kevin Hardwick participated in the General
Session of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR),
held in Chiba, Japan,
June 27-30, 2001. During
the meeting, NIDCR sponsored a symposium entitled,
“International Collaborative Research: Ethical and Legal
Issues.” This
symposium was held in memory of Dr. David Barmes, a former
NIDCR employee, and Dr. Cohen introduced the session with a
brief tribute to him. Dr. James Lavery of Fogarty was instrumental in organizing
the session, and presented an overview of international
bioethical issues. Dr.
Juntra Karbwung, from WHO, was also on the program, and
presented an overview of WHO efforts to develop capacity for
research ethics. A
new film highlighting NIDCR’s international collaborative
research efforts premiered during the symposium, which also
featured one of NIDCR’s international collaborative oral
health research planning grantees.
Also at the Japan
meeting, the NIDCR sponsored a symposium on Teledentistry: Evidence-based Research for Providing Dental, Oral and
Craniofacial Services and Public Education.
During a special symposium on Geriatric Oral Health:
Japanese and Global Themes, Dr. Cohen presented an overview of
NIDCR’s international agenda and funding mechanisms
In addition
to attending scientific sessions, Drs. Cohen and Hardwick also
participated in business meetings of both the IADR and other
organizations. In
the exhibit hall, Dr. Cohen and Hardwick set up and maintained
a booth featuring the NIDCR Office of International Health
display. Meeting
participants had access to a wide range of literature
highlighting the Institute’s international mission, research
priorities and funding mechanisms.
International Collaborative Oral Health Research Planning Grants
At the IADR meeting in Chiba, staff attended a meeting of one
of the networks being established through the R21
International Collaborative Oral Health Research Planning
Grants: International
Consortium to Conduct Research into Temporomandibular
Disorders (PI: Sam Dworkin, University of Washington).
A
meeting of another planning grant network, Models of Health
Inequalities in Childhood Dental Caries (PI: Cynthia Pine,
University of Dundee, Scotland),
was held on the NIH campus on May 21-22.
Collaboration with Other
Organizations
An international conference to explore issues and develop
research teams and protocols to look at methods for the
prevention of craniofacial anomalies was held in Park City,
Utah, May 24-26, as part of the NIDCR-WHO project to help
support international collaborative research in craniofacial
anomalies. More
than 40 researchers attended the meeting from every continent.
Lois
Cohen continued to revise and update the co-authored panel
report on Global Oral Health, which is part of the American
Dental Association’s Future of Dentistry Project.
That document is to be reviewed by the ADA Board of
Trustees and eventually the ADA House of Delegates at its
October meeting.
Other
On June 1, Lois Cohen presented a lecture on “Oral Health in
the Global Community,” at the School of Dental Medicine,
SUNY at Stony Brook. The
lecture was given as part of a session honoring Dr. Leo
Sreebny, a long-time oral health and salivary researcher.
On
June 14, NIDCR staff met with Dr. R.K. Bali, President of the
Dental Council of India,
which is part of the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Bali is also the president of the Indian
Association of Public Health Dentistry.
Discussion centered around India's plans to conduct its
first national oral health epidemiology study, involving over
220,000 people. NIDCR
staff discussed NIDCR's past surveys and the current oral
health component to NHANES, and provided contacts with
appropriate staff from NCHS and CDC.
Some informal technical assistance or consultation is
likely to be ongoing as India’s plans progress.
NIDCR
staff attended a global summit on dental infection control in
Orlando, Florida, June 16-17.
This meeting was held jointly by the CDC and the
Organization for Safety and Asepsis Procedures (OSAP), an
organization which works to provide training and education in
the areas of infection control and occupational safety in the
dental clinic setting.
Lois
Cohen is continuing to serve on the DHHS Data Council
workgroup on health systems performance, which is examining
issues related to measuring performance of health systems on
an international basis. In
addition to DHHS agencies, USAID and the World Bank are
included as working members of this group.
NIDCR
is working with the Fogarty International Center to organize a
David E. Barmes Lecture in Global Health, in memory of Dr.
David Barmes, who passed away January 13.
The lecture is scheduled for the afternoon of October
22, 2001, and is intended to be of interest to a broad
multi-disciplinary, trans-NIH audience.
NIDCR
has completed work to produce a film showcasing the
Institute’s international research agenda and international
oral health research opportunities. The film contains two case studies – noma research in Niger
and cleft lip and palate research in the Philippines – to
make a strong case for international collaborative research.
The video will be used to promote interest among the
scientific community in collaboration in areas of global need. The film is scheduled to be officially premiered at the
Barmes Lecture in Global Health in October.
National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
The
Americas
The “Pan American Hypertension Initiative” (PAHI),
launched by NHLBI and PAHO has been endorsed by six
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. In
follow-up of PAHI activities, Ministers of Health of countries
of North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean
unanimously endorsed a joint resolution at the Directing
Council meeting at PAHI Headquarters on September 29, 2000.
The resolution gives CVD increased attention in future
public health program sin the Americas, with particular
emphasis on hypertension.
A meeting with PAHO and country representatives was
held in April 2001 at NIH to discuss joint plans for
implementing the PAHI initiative in the region. A follow-up meeting in FY 2002 is being planned.
Europe
NHLBI participated in an international conference held in
Washington in May 2001 on “Women’s Health in Menopause:
New Strategies Improved Quality of Life.” The conference covered
a number of areas related to the health of women, including
cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s
disease, etc. Several
European organizations are also participating under the
leadership of the Giovanni Lorenzini Foundation in Milan,
Italy. A joint
international document addressing “Women’s Health in
Menopause” is being developed by participants in the
meeting.
China
A
US-PRC 20th Anniversary Celebration was held in
China in June to recognize twenty years of successful joint collaboration in
cardiopulmonary epidemiology.
Topics for new directions in joint research were
explored during a joint symposium on Future Directions in
Cardiovascular and Cardiopulmonary Research in the 21st
Century.
Russia
A
US-Russia Joint Symposium on Cardiac Arrhythmias was held in
Washington, D.C., May 23-25, 2001. US
and Russian scientists exchanged information on the latest
advances in research and discuss new areas for scientific
exchanges and joint research projects.
A
US-Russia Joint Symposium on Basic Research in Cardiovascular
and Pulmonary Diseases is planned in Moscow September 10-12.
Japan
The
NHLBI Director for International Programs
participated in the International Congress of
Preventive Cardiology and the WHO Symposium on Health
Promotion and Disease Prevention in Osaka in May and a
satellite symposium in Kyoto in June on an international study
of cardiovascular prevention.
Updated May 2003
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