Intemational
Services
International
Highlights
Summary of NIH International Highlights
May – July 2002
Program Developments
Fogarty
International Center
FIC
Advisory Board
The
Fogarty International Center Advisory Board met in open
session on Tuesday, May 21 at the Lawton Chiles International
House. Dr. Peter
Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director and Assistant
Secretary-General of the United Nations, spoke about
challenges and opportunities in the global AIDS response and
Dr. Kenneth Bridbord, FIC, followed Dr. Piot's presentation
with an update on FIC international AIDS programs.
Bilateral Activities
China:
Dr. Gerald Keusch and other NIH leaders met with Dr. Chen Zhu, Vice
President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on June 24. Dr.
Chen was Dr. Keusch's counterpart at the recent bilateral
S&T meeting in Beijing.
On June 28, Dr. Zerhouni, Dr. Keusch, Dr. Whitescarver
and Dr. Fauci met with
Dr. Zhang Wenkang, Minister of Public Health of China, to
discuss strengthening collaboration on HIV/AIDS training and
research. The visit to NIH preceded the signing of an MOU by Secretary
Thompson and Minister Zhang to expand U.S.-China cooperation
in HIV/AIDS research.
Korea:
On July 3, Dr. Hrynkow met with
Dr. Hee-Yol Yu, Vice Minister of Science and Technology,
Republic of Korea to discuss NIH-Korea collaboration and a
proposed forum on biomedical sciences to be held later this
year.
At
the invitation of the Korean government, Dr. James Lavery,
with the NIH Clinical Center Department of Clinical Bioethics,
conducted and taught a workshop on Ethical Aspects of
Clinical Research in Seoul, South Korea June 18-21.
Norway:
On May 16, Ms.
Minnie Rojo, Director of the Division of International
Relations, and Mr. Mark Pineda, Program Officer for Western
Europe, met with the Norwegian Minister of Health to discuss
several scientific areas of mutual interest.
The Minister of Health also met with representatives
from NLM and the Office of Science Policy and Planning, Office
of the NIH Director.
Dr. Sharon Hrynkow, FIC Deputy Director, traveled to Norway, June 18-26.
She attended the European Congress of Perinatal
Medicine, where she made a presentation on “NIH
International Opportunities – the Extramural Perspective.” This complemented a presentation
made by Dr. Philip Chen, Office of Intramural Research, on
Intramural Opportunities.
During her visit, Dr. Hrynkow also met with officials
of the Research Council of Norway, the Ministry of Education
and Research, and the National Hospital.
European
Union (EU):
On
May 9, Dr. Sharon Hrynkow, Ms. Minnie Rojo, and Mr. Mark
Pineda met with Achilleas Mitsos, Ph.D., Director-General for
Research, European Commission (EC) to discuss the 6th
Framework and mechanisms to improve research collaboration
between the EU and the U.S. in biomedical research.
Dr.
Hrynkow made a presentation on FIC/NIH International
Activities to a Department of State sponsored group of
European health and sports experts
attending a multi-city program titled "Women in
Sports." They visited NIH after a visit to the CDC in
Atlanta and on their way to New York, to learn how NIH
programs relate to women's health in sport and exercise.
Egypt:
The
annual Board meeting of the U.S. Egypt Joint S&T Fund was
held in Washington, DC in May.
NIH staff from NCI, NIAID, and NLM reviewed 19
proposals, seven of which will be funded in this cycle.
All of the NIH proposals recommended for funding were
considered exemplary projects by reviewers on both the U.S.
and Egyptian sides, and each demonstrated substantial
involvement of junior scientists.
Finally, the Board approved a $1 million increase in
funding from each side for the next fiscal year beginning
June, 2002.
WAF/FAAF:
On June 28, the Boards of the
French-American AIDS Foundation and the World AIDS
Foundation held their annual meeting at the Stone House.
Dr. Zerhouni serves as one of the two DHHS trustees on
both boards. Dr.
Kirschstein, Dr. Keusch and Dr. Bridbord also participated.
Approximately 2 million dollars in grant support was
approved. Among
the other topics discussed were the projected ending of FAAF/WAF
in 2004, when the royalty stream that funds the two
foundations comes to an end.
Initial plans for a major symposium to be held in Paris
in the summer of 2003 were developed. This symposium would review the impact of the FAAF/WAF
programs on the response to HIV/AIDS in developing countries
and the development of local capacity to address the
multifaceted needs of HIV infected individuals.
Multilateral
Activities
WHO:
Dr. Keusch represented NIH at the WHO Advisory Committee on
Health Research held June 18-19 in Geneva. Topics
for discussion were the ACHR Report on Genomics and World
Health, the World Health Summit 2002, and World Health Day
2004. He then
represented the ACHR at the PAHO meeting in Washington, DC on
June 12-14. Topics
discussed were health in human development, health promotion
and protection, environmental protection and development,
development of health systems and services, and disease
prevention and control.
Mul
tilateral Initiative on
Malaria (MIM)
Plans for the 3rd International Conference on
Malaria to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, are nearly complete.
Over 600 participants are expected, with more than half
from malaria-endemic countries.
The conference will consider progress in key fields of
research and will work to enhance malaria collaboration
between control experts and researchers.
FIC, which serves as the MIM Secretariat, NIAID and NLM
are providing significant support for the conference, along
with European science funding agencies and NGOs.
At the end of the year, and according to MIM
guidelines, the MIM Secretariat will be transferred to another
MIM partner agency. Voting
on the new Secretariat is now ongoing.
World
Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
FIC
continues to represent NIH interests in the preparation of the
WSSD to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September.
Dr. Rachel Nugent, Program Officer, Division of
International Training and Research, represented NIH at the
4th Preparatory Committee meeting for the WSSD in Indonesia
from May 23 to June 4. The
purpose of the meeting was to finalize a negotiated plan of
action for sustainable development implementation, and to
confer with international organizations and country
delegations about partnerships for carrying out the plan.
Subcommittee
on International Nutrition Research (SINR)
The
SINR of the Nutrition Coordinating Committee held its second
meeting on June 12. The topics were a review of a draft WHO/FAO
report on Diet, Nutrition and Prevention of Chronic
Diseases and the trends in chronic disease incidence in
developing countries. Guests were Mary Lou Valdez from OS/DHHS
and Professor Barry Popkin, UNC-Chapel Hill. Subcommittee
chairs are Dan Raiten, NICHD and Rachel Nugent, FIC.
Disease
Control Priority Project (DCPP) Update
During
May and June, Dr. Dean Jamison and DCPP editors held meetings
at Harvard University, Boston University, PAHO, and at
NIH to continue to develop the structure of the DCPP volumes
and to identify and finalize the authors list.
Program
Notes
FIC
convened an international consultation on June 4 to consider
the broad topic of brain disorders in the developing world and
potential research needs and opportunities.
Dr.
Torsten Wiesel, Secretary General of the International Brain
Research Organization and Director of the Human Frontier
Science Program, co-chaired the meeting with
Dr. Keusch. The
meeting was called in part to consider recommendations from
the recent IOM report on this topic, supported by FIC, NICHD,
NIMH, and NINDS. A
new program is being considered by the NIH partners for FY
2003.
Dr.
Karen Hofman, Director, Division of Advanced Studies and
Policy Analysis, served as a as panelist and presenter at a
conference on Genomics and Public Policy in Toronto,
Canada, June 7-8, 2002. She
also organized and
chaired a panel on
“Violence and Injury: The Neglected Epidemic” at
the 9th Annual Conference of the Global Health
Council on May 31 in Washington, D.C.
At
the request of NIDA, Dr. Aron Primack, Program Officer,
Division of Research and Training, gave a talk about FIC’s
international programs, particularly the GRIP program, at the
7th NIDA International Forum “Building International
Research on Drug Abuse: Treatment Innovations,” held in
Quebec City, Canada, June 14, 2002.
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 July issue of
the PAHO journal over the signatures of the Directors of PAHO
and NHLBI.
A
follow-up meeting in the fall 2002 is being planned.
EUROPE:
An International Position Paper on "Women's Health and
Menopause: A Comprehensive Approach" has been
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 has been developed by NHLBI in collaboration
with the Giovanni Lorenzini Foundation in Milan, Italy and the
NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, and scientists from
other NIH institutes. The
full report will be published by NHLBI in July 2002.
Chapter 13, Best Clinical Practices was published in
March 2002 and has been widely distributed in the United
States as well as internationally.
Also, the national and international print and
electronic media have called attention to the report, which is
the first of its kind. The
document covers a number of areas related to the health of
women, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis,
Alzheimer's disease, and the role of hormone replacement
therapy.
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.
CHINA:
Dr. Ruth Hegyeli, Associate Director for International
Programs, NHLBI, met with the Chinese Deputy Minister of
Health to discuss joint interests in future collaboration in
the prevention of cardiovascular disease in direct follow-up
of the NHLBI's 20-year collaboration with China in
cardiopulmonary epidemiology.
The proposed new collaboration will focus on
hypertension and obesity and the Institute has shared recent
NHLBI reports with the Chinese Deputy Minister.
GERMANY:
Dr. Ruth Hegyeli, Associate Director for International
Programs, NHLBI attended the 10th International
Congress on Women's Health and Menopause in June.
Many of the speakers in this conference are authors of
chapters in the International Position Paper on "Women's
Health and Menopause: A Comprehensive Approach."
INDIA:
Collaboration
between NHLBI Nobel Laureate Dr. Marshall Nirenberg and a
scientist from India is continuing on drosophila
neuronal cell lineage.
JAPAN:
A joint US-Japan
Symposium on Cardiovascular Disease is planned for
February, 2003 in Japan.
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.
POLAND:
Professor
Andrew Szczeklik, Jagellonian University School of Medicine,
Krakow visited NHLBI in May for discussions concerning
cooperation in pulmonary research, particularly related to
severe and aspirin-induced asthma.
RUSSIA:
Academician Vsevolod Tkachuk visited the United States in May
and June to discuss joint plans for US-Russia Joint
Symposia in Basic Research on Cardiovascular and Pulmonary
Diseases in the United States in 2003, and in Cardiac
Arrhythmia in Russia in 2003.
Dr. Tkachuk is Dean of the School of Medicine, Moscow
Statae University and also head of the Laboratory of Molecular
Endocrinology, Cardiology Research Center.
Academician
Evgeny Chazov, Director, Cardiology Research Center, Moscow
will be a member of the Russian delegation visiting the United
States July 28-31. He
will give a presentation on "Cardiovascular Diseases"
during the US-Russia Health Committee meeting on July 31.
Exchanges
of scientists in basic research in cardiovascular disease and
in arrhythmia are continuing with visits of two Russian
scientists to the US in fall 2002.
One scientist will visit Brigham and Women's Hospital,
Boston, Massachusetts. Another
Russian scientist will work at the University of Rochester
Medical Center, Rochester, NY.
National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Meeting
of Trans-NIH Subcommittee on International Nutrition Research
The second meeting of
the NIH Subcommittee on International Nutrition Research (SCINR)
was held on June 12, 2002.
A proposal for a collaborative multi-country study on
the interaction of diet, physical activity, and health was
presented and discussed.
In addition, a representative of the DHHS Office of
Global Health Affairs (OGHA) presented an overview of OGHA
activities and discussed ways in which SCINR could serve as a
technical resource to that office on relevant matters of
health. These
discussions included comments from SCINR representatives on a
draft of a FAO/WHO report on Diet and Chronic Diseases and
recommendations to explore ways to expand the evidence base to
support such policy documents.
Gates
Foundation Executive Visits NICHD
Former
NCI Director, Dr. Richard Klausner, has recently been
named Executive Director of the Global Health Program at
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle,
Washington. On
July 1, 2002, Dr. Klausner visited NICHD to meet with the
Institute’s Director, Dr. Duane Alexander.
In addition, Dr. Linda Wright, Deputy Director, Center
for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC), NICHD, and Dr.
Susie Meikle, Medical Officer, CRMC, NICHD, had the
opportunity to brief Dr. Klausner about the Global Network for
Women’s and Children’s Health Research, which has been
established in partnership with the Gates Foundation.
THE AMERICAS:
NICHD
International Site Development Initiative (NISDI)
Dr.
Leslie Serchuck, Medical Officer, Pediatric, Adolescent, and
Maternal AIDS Branch (PAMA), CRMC, and Dr. Jennifer Read,
Medical Officer, PAMA Branch, CRMC, conducted two trainings,
on May 14-15, 2002 (Washington, DC) and May 21-23, 2002 (Sao
Paulo, Brazil), for international investigators participating
in the following two observational protocols: "A
Prospective, Observational Study Of HIV -Infected Pregnant
Women and Their Infants at Clinical Sites in Latin American
and Caribbean Countries" and
"A Prospective, Observational Study Of HIV-Exposed and
HIV -Infected Children at Clinical Sites in Latin American and
Caribbean Countries."
Forty-three principal investigators, study
coordinators, and research nurses from the Bahamas, Mexico,
Argentina, and Brazil attended the two trainings.
Both protocols are anticipated to begin enrollment in
mid-August, 2002.
Brazil
Infant Post-Exposure Prophylaxis of Perinatal HIV Infection
Clinical Trial
Protocol
development has been completed for “NICHD/HPTN 040: Phase
III Randomized Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Three
Neonatal Antiretroviral Regimens for Prevention of Intrapartum
HIV-1 Transmission,” a trial comparing three different
antiretroviral regimens given to neonates born to HIV-infected
women who did not receive antiretroviral therapy during
pregnancy due to late diagnosis or lack of prenatal care.
Dr. Heather Watts, Medical Officer, PAMA Branch, CRMC,
is the NICHD Co-Chair of this study and responsible for
protocol development. This study will be conducted at several sites in Brazil and
the U.S. and may be expanded to additional Latin American and
Caribbean sites. Brazilian
and U.S. government agencies are reviewing the protocol, and
enrollment is expected to begin in the fall of this year.
IRB
Training for Global Network Research Units in Latin America
Dr. Pierre Buekens,
University of North Carolina School of Public Health, and Dr.
Jose Belizan, Latin American Center for Perinatology (CLAP),
one of the research units in the Global Network for Women's
and Children's Health Research, hosted an Institutional
Review Board training with representatives from the Office
of Human Research Protection (OHRP) from June 26-27, 2002,
in Montevideo, Uruguay. Representatives
from all of the Latin American Global Network Research Units
and from other projects funded by FIC attended the meeting.
Participants also included Dr. Susan Meikle, Medical
Officer, CRMC, NICHD, as well as Dr. Scott Royal from Research
Triangle Institute (the Global Network Data Center). On June 28, 2002, OHRP staff, Drs. Melody Lin and Tina
Johnson with Mr. Glen Drew, conducted an information session
on the new Federal Wide Assurance for 24 hospitals in
Argentina and Uruguay.
AFRICA:
Glaser
Foundation-NICHD Meeting
On
June 14, 2002, at NICHD, the Institute’s Director, Dr. Duane
Alexander, met with Mr. Mark Isaac, Public Policy Director, Elizabeth
Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Ms. Florence Ngobeni,
an HIV/AIDS counselor and trainer from the Chris Baragwanath
Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. The Glaser Foundation
provides funding to the hospital, the largest in the world.
The Foundation is supporting Ms. Ngobeni to travel
throughout the United States to share her personal and
professional experiences as a person living with AIDS, as well
as to discuss the urgent and compelling needs of African
women, children, and families affected by the epidemic.
Dr. Anne Willoughby, Director, CRMC, NICHD, and program
staff from the NICHD Office of Prevention Research and
International Programs were also present at the meeting.
Botswana
Consultation Final Report Available on the Web
Research
for HIV/AIDS Care, the
full report of the “Consultation to Explore a Research
Agenda to Improve the Care and Management of Mothers and
Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa,” can now be
accessed via the web for viewing and downloading at http://www.nichdnetwork-pactg.org/africa.
The link to the PDF version of the report is titled
“Botswana Final Report” and is under the “NEW” icon on
the site menu located on the left side of the homepage.
The Botswana Consultation was held on March 25-29,
2001, in Gaborone Botswana.
It was sponsored by OAR and organized by NICHD, with
additional support from the NIAID, NIMH, FIC, NCCAM, CDC, HRSA,
the U.S. Embassy in Gaborone, and the Botswana-Harvard
Partnership for HIV Research and Education.
ASIA:
Delegation of
Vietnamese Physicians and Health Administrators Visits NIH
Dr.
Kimi Lin, Medical Officer, Division of Epidemiology,
Statistics and Prevention Research, Dr. Lynne Mofenson, Chief,
PAMA Branch, CRMC, Dr. Susan Newcomer, Statistician,
Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch (DBSB), Center for
Population Research (CPR), and Dr. Leslie Serchuck, Medical
Officer, PAMA Branch, CRMC, represented NICHD with a
delegation of four Vietnamese physicians and public health
administrators on April 10, 2002.
The meeting at NIH was organized by the Fogarty
International Center and included representatives of several
ICs. Among other
topics, the group expressed an interest in NICHD-supported
HIV/AIDS research, especially in the areas of prevention of
mother-to-child transmission of HIV and testing and treatment
of children with HIV infection.
Mother-to-Child
Transmission of HIV-1: Tamil
Nadu, India Project
The
protocol entitled ‘A prospective cohort study of the
seroprevalence of, and interventions to decrease the risk of
mother-to-child transmission of, human immunodeficiency virus
type 1 (HIV) in Tamil Nadu, India’ developed by Dr.
Jennifer Read, Medical Officer, PAMA and Indian
co-investigators underwent scientific and ethical reviews in
India and in the U.S. Final
review by the Indian Government is pending.
Once final approval is obtained, training for staff
will be completed. Enrollment is anticipated to begin in late 2002.
Diabetes
in Asia 2002 Meeting in Sri Lanka
Dr.
George Chrousos, Medical Officer, Endocrinology, Nutrition,
and Growth Branch, CRMC, NICHD, participated in the Diabetes
in Asia 2002 meeting, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 5-7,
2002. He lectured
on the topic of “Stress, Development, and Diabetes Type
2.”
Europe:
Council
of Europe Bioethics Committee Meeting
Dr.
Duane Alexander, Director, NICHD, attended the Council
of Europe Bioethics Committee Meeting
in Strasbourg, France, on June 4-7, 2002.
He participated in the meeting as the U.S. observer, a
role he has held during the Council’s meetings over a period
of eight years.
EU
Participation in NIH Conference on Aging with Disabilities
Dr.
Michael Weinrich, Director, National Center for Medical
Rehabilitation Research, NICHD, met with Karl Henry Haglund,
European Commission Information Society Directorate-General
(Head of Unit, Applications relating to persons with special
needs, including the disabled and the elderly), and
representatives of the Danish government to discuss European
Union participation in a conference on Aging with Disabilities
to be held in July 2003 at NIH.
XIV International AIDS Conference,
Barcelona
The
following program staff from the NICHD participated in the XIV
International AIDS meeting, in Barcelona, Spain, July 6-12,
2002. Dr.
Jennifer Read, Medical Officer, PAMA Branch, CRMC, gave an
oral presentation on a “Breastfeeding and late
postnatal transmission of HIV-1: an individual patient data
meta-analysis” and
participated in planning the Ghent Mother to Child
Transmission Satellite Workshop.
PAMA Branch Chief Dr. Lynne Mofenson presented a poster
on antiretroviral genotypic and phenotypic
resistance and perinatal HIV transmission and was coauthor of
a poster on a meta-analysis of the predictive value of CD4
cell count and HIV RNA copy number for disease progression in
HIV-infected children;
she also served as Co-Chair of the Poster Presentation Session
on Antiretroviral Therapy in Children;
spoke at an HPTN Satellite Meeting presenting the HPTN
Perinatal Scientific Agenda; and attended a planning meeting
for a PACTG-HTPN collaboration on an antiretroviral treatment
protocol for infected children at HPTN sites.
From
the Center for Population Research, Drs. Joanne Luoto, Medical
Officer, CRHB, and Susan Newcomer, Statistician, DBSB,
participated as presenters in one of the sessions of the
skills building workshop on grantsmanship organized by OAR.
Dr. Patricia Reichelderfer, Microbiologist, CRHB,
conducted a skills building workshop on “Sampling of the
Genital Tract,” and presented a poster on the NIH
Microbicide Development Program.
Division of Intramural Research scientists, Dr. Leonid
Margolis, Senior Investigator, Laboratory of Cellular and
Molecular Biophysics (LCMB), and Jean-Charles Grivel, Staff
Scientist, LCMB, were authors on several poster presentations.
In addition, Dr. Grivel gave oral presentations on “Bystander
CD4+T lymphocytes survive in HIV-infected human lymphoid
tissue” and “Suppression of CCR5-but not CXCR4-tropic
HIV-1 in lymphoid tissue by human herpes virus 6,” while
Dr. Margolis presented on “Mechanisms of pathogenesis of
CCR5- and CXCR4-using HIV-1 in human lymphoid tissue.”
Wellcome
Trust-USAID Workshop
Dr.
Catherine Spong, Chief, Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch,
CRMC, NICHD, and Dr. Robert Romero, Chief, Perinatology
Research Branch, DIR, NICHD, will participate in a workshop
sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and the U.S. Agency for
International Development, in Oxford, England, United Kingdom,
July 17-20th.
Dr. Spong will deliver a presentation on “Nutrition
as a Preventative Strategy Against Adverse Maternal Pregnancy
Outcomes.”
World
Health Organization Guidelines for Antiretroviral Therapy in
Resource-Poor Settings
Dr.
Lynne Mofenson, Chief PAMA Branch, CRMC, NICHD, was a member
of the WHO Working Group that developed guidelines for
antiretroviral therapy in resource-poor settings, chaired the
writing group for the Pregnancy/Women of Childbearing Age
treatment section, and was a member of the writing group for
the Pediatric treatment section.
The guidelines document is called “Scaling
Up Antiretroviral Therapy in Resource-Poor Settings: Guidelines for a Public Health Approach”.
The Executive Summary and the Guidelines themselves
were made available via the WHO website: Executive summary:
http://www.who.int/HIV_AIDS/HIV_AIDS_Care/Scaling_Up_ARV_Guidelines_Final_E.pdf,
the
full Guideline document: http://www.who.int/HIV_AIDS/HIV_AIDS_Care/ARV_Draft_April_2002.pdf.
World Health
Organization Writing Group for Development of Reference Guide
for HIV-Related Care and Support of HIV-Infected Women and
Their Children
Dr.
Lynne Mofenson is a member of a Writing Group that is
developing a reference guide for HIV-related care and support
of HIV-infected women and children in the context of
reproductive health and maternal and child health services in
resource-constrained settings.
The Writing Group held its first meeting in Geneva,
Switzerland, on June 20-21, 2002.
It is anticipated that an initial draft will be
completed by September 2002, with meeting of a larger group of
consultants to review the guide in November 2002, and
finalization of the guide soon afterward.
World Health
Organization Report of Consultative Meeting on the Use of
Nevirapine for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission
of HIV Among Women of Unknown Serostatus
Dr.
Lynne Mofenson also
served as a WHO consultant at a meeting on the use of
nevirapine for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission
of HIV among women of unknown serostatus that was convened by
WHO in December, 2001. Dr.
Mofenson prepared a background paper on the safety and
toxicity and drug resistance issues related to single-dose
nevirapine for the meeting.
A final report of the results of the consultation
became available in June 2002 as a WHO Discussion Paper;
printed copies will be made available at the Barcelona
International AIDS Conference meeting in July.
WHO Human
Reproduction Program Meetings
Dr.
Florence Haseltine, Director, Center for Population Research,
NICHD, participated in the meetings of the Policy
and Coordination Committee of the WHO Special Programme of
Research, Development, and Research Training in Human
Reproduction, in Geneva,
on June 26-27, 2002. This
committee is composed of representatives of many countries who
review programmatic and fiscal management of the Human
Reproduction Programme of the WHO.
WHO
Meeting on
Methods
for Regulation of Male Fertility
Dr.
Robert Spirtas, Chief,
Contraception and Reproductive Health Branch, CPR, NICHD,
participated in the 6th Summit Meeting on
Hormonal Male Contraception, in Koenigswinter, Germany, on
July 7-10, prior to attending the WHO meeting on Methods for
Regulation of Male Fertility in Geneva, on July 11-12, 2002.
National
Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Staff
traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to meet with Dr. Poul-Erik
Petersen, Chief, Oral Health, World Health Organization.
Professor Petersen described the organizational
structure of the Department of Noncommunicable Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion, and discussed his plans
regarding how oral health will interact with the various
programs within that Department.
NIDCR’s role as a WHO Collaborating Center was also
discussed.
While
in Geneva, staff also met with Drs. Derek Yach and Pekka Puska
to express support for WHO’s oral health activities; with
Dr. Victor Boulyjenkov, Chief, Genetics Programme, to discuss
progress in the joint NIDCR/WHO project on International
Research on Craniofacial Anomalies; and with Dr. Gennady
Pakhomov, international liaison for the Russian Dental
Association, to discuss fluoridation efforts in Russia.
Staff
attended ceremonies for the opening of the new headquarters
office of the FDI World Dental Federation, in Ferney-Voltaire,
France, on June 7. The
FDI had been headquartered in London, but moved to this Geneva
suburb to share office space with the World Medical
Association and to be closer to the World Health Organization.
The
Associate Director for International Health participated in the
13th International Congress on Women's Health Issues,
organized by the International Council on Women's Health
Issues and the College of Nursing Science of Ewha Woman’s
University and the Korea Academic Society of Women's Health.
The sponsors were the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality, the
Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Research
Foundation. The Congress was held in Seoul, South Korea, June
26-29. Presentations
from 30 countries were made and included the following DHHS
staff:
Wanda
Jones, DHHS, "Women's Health in the US: 21st Century
Challenge"
Vivian
Pinn, NIH, "Women's Health Research for the 21st
Century in the US: Principles and Programs"
Lois
Cohen, NIDCR, NIH, "Scientific Opportunities for
International Collaborative Research"
While
in Seoul, Dr. Cohen also met with the Dean and faculty from
the Seoul National University Dental School.
NIDCR
and FIC
The
Second Annual David E. Barmes Global Health Lecture is
scheduled for October 28, 2002.
Professor Nevin Scrimshaw has been selected as the
honorary lecturer, and will speak on nutrition and its impact
on global health and disease.
The purpose of this memorial lecture is to raise the
awareness on campus about major cross-cutting issues of global
health. Fogarty
International Center and NIDCR co-sponsor this event, and this
year, the lecture will serve as the first event in Fogarty’s
year-long celebration of its 35-year anniversary.
National
Library of Medicine
The
National Library of Medicine, in collaboration with MIM-TDR,
held a workshop on Communication and Team Building from
April 28 - May 4 at the Glenholm Centre, Broughton, Scotland,
UK. Participants
at the workshop were principal investigators and data managers
from the 5 research groups, which make up the MIM/TDR
Antimalarial Drug Resistance Network.
The network comprises investigators from the Noguchi
Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Accra, Ghana; Malaria research and training center, Bamako, Mali;
Malaria Research Group, Postgraduate Institute for Medical
Research & Training, University of Ibadan, Nigeria;
Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre, Ifakara, Tanzania,
and MED Biotech Laboratories/Makarere University, Kampala, Uganda.
During
June 20-July 6, Julia Royall made visits to malaria research
sites in East Africa where NLM has upgraded Internet
connectivity through satellite links or through enhanced
connections to local ISPs as part of the MIM communications
network. The purpose of her trip was to assess the effectiveness of
current IT strategies and determine what is needed for future
growth.
At
the Kenyan Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in
Nairobi, she met with KEMRI director Dr. Davy Koech as well as
CDC GAP director Dr. Kevin DeCock, director CDC Kenya; Dr.
Larry Slutsker, director of KEMRI-CDC Kisian; Dr. Sam Martin,
director of WRAIR at KEMRI, and reviewed their Internet
connectivity strategy as they expand their operations.
In
Kampala, she met with Dr. Nelson Sewankambo, Dean of the Medical
School at Makerere University and Dr. Moses Kamya and Dr.
Fred Kironde of the Antimalarial Drug Resistance Network. Their enthusiasm and that of their research team for their
recent connectivity upgrade was palpable.
One young researcher spoke of having her first paper
submitted and published, thanks to the connection.
Others spoke of communicating easily with their
colleagues in California.
A future extension of this network will engage more
young researchers as well as a policy maker from the Ministry
of Health who now must drive over to talk with Dr. Kamya.
They discussed at length the problem of research of
great importance to the region not making it to the journals
with a high impact factor.
How do we change the impact factor vis-à-vis
development? Publishing
has significant implications for development, yet how do
journal articles get reviewed so that development is taken
into account?
She
also met with Dr. Peter Longi, who is in charge of the Malaria
Control Program at the Ministry of Health.
In
Tanzania, she met with Dr. Andrew Kitua, Director-General of
the National Institute of Medical Research, and his
staff. As in
Kenya, facilities expansion necessitates new IT strategies.
The NIMR campus in Dar es Salaam will soon be home for
two new buildings and increased research capability, thanks to
the Gates Foundation and the CDC.
She
also met with Professor John Shao, Executive Director of the Kilimanjaro
Christian Medical Centre, where the Malaria Program is
supported by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, the Tanzanian National Institute of Medical
Research, and the University of Denmark.
Prof. Shao has benefited from a better Internet
connection through NLM and CyberTwiga.
Updated May 2003
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