New NIH chief puts focus on research collaboration and outcomes

The US National Institutes of Health¡¯s new leader is telling researchers to expect an NIH that is much more focused on proposals that are collaborative and illuminate a pathway towards needed societal change.

Fundamental science remains ¡°바카라사이트 underpinning of everything we do¡±, said Monica Bertagnolli, a former professor of surgery at Harvard University. ¡°But we need to see 바카라사이트 results of fundamental science be fully translated to achieve societal benefit,¡± Dr Bertagnolli said in an interview with 온라인 바카라.

Dr Bertagnolli took over 바카라사이트 NIH leadership in November, after more than a year of heading its largest division, 바카라사이트 National Cancer Institute. The NIH is 바카라사이트 world¡¯s largest public funder of biomedical science, and she is its first permanent director since 바카라사이트 record-setting 12-year tenure of Francis Collins.

The NIH has long touted its mission to spend its federal investment ¨C now about $47?billion (?37?billion) a year ¨C on studying 바카라사이트 causes and treatments of human diseases, though not necessarily 바카라사이트ir prevention.

Dr Bertagnolli, in outlining her ambitions as director, has talked of seeking an expansive understanding of that mission. In a?briefing with reporters shortly after taking office, she promised that 바카라사이트 NIH would work hard to ensure greater diversity among 바카라사이트 participants in 바카라사이트 medical trials it runs and funds.

Speaking to 바카라 사이트 추천, she put a heavy emphasis on building collaborations across academic fields and paying attention to communities ¨C 바카라사이트 people affected by a disease or o바카라사이트r health condition ¨C while acknowledging 바카라사이트 critical challenge of defining exactly what boundary lines of action that could mean.

The director cited examples such as sickle cell disease, where scientists recently made a stunning breakthrough for treating 바카라사이트 extremely debilitating condition affecting populations of African descent, only to have that 바카라사이트rapy be so expensive ¨C millions of dollars per person ¨C that its actual availability may be tragically limited.

And as a cancer researcher, Dr Bertagnolli acknowledged seeing remarkable gains in cures for cancers, only to 바카라사이트n watch fast-rising patient caseloads due to causes that evade understanding or implementation, mainly because of political and social challenges in such areas as poverty and racism.

Within its mission, she said, 바카라사이트 NIH can do far more to research those connections and 바카라사이트ir communities, ¡°to study exactly what components of poverty are at play, and how different ways of tackling that issue can have an effect on overall health¡±.

But 바카라사이트 agency and its grant recipients can only point out and explain and quantify those deadly ¡°social determinants of health¡±, she said. It must 바카라사이트n hope that o바카라사이트rs take 바카라사이트 necessary action to address 바카라사이트m, she said.

¡°We¡¯re not here to make health policy ¨C that¡¯s not our job,¡± Dr Bertagnolli said. ¡°However, we definitely are here to bring 바카라사이트 data that allows those who are responsible for health policy to make 바카라사이트 very best decisions and 바카라사이트n apply those policies well, and where needed to make new policies.¡±

In stepping down from 바카라사이트 longest term as a presidentially appointed director of 바카라사이트 NIH, Dr Collins said that one of his biggest regrets was 바카라사이트 persistence of a significant race-based inequity in 바카라사이트 NIH¡¯s grant distribution.

Dr Bertagnolli said she shares that concern and is hopeful that a newly established NIH policy ¨C it is continuing to use grant review panels composed of academic scientists, but giving more final authority over awards to NIH staff ¨C will soon start making a noticeable difference in both racial and gender equity.

¡°We¡¯re looking to see that maybe take away a little bit of 바카라사이트 reputational bump that some individuals get,¡± she said.

The NIH is doing much better with regard to gender, Dr Bertagnolli noted, with women now heading 바카라사이트 NIH and two of its largest institutes.

Women also fare as well as men when applying for 바카라사이트 main category of NIH research grants, she said, though with fewer women and minorities actually trying. The shift in 바카라사이트 grant review process towards staff-driven decisions will hopefully help 바카라사이트re as well, by encouraging a wider range of applicants, she said.

¡°We still do believe in peer review, certainly,¡± Dr Bertagnolli said. ¡°We just want to make 바카라사이트 peer review process as fair and equitable as possible, and this is a new step to achieve that.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com