APA's Science Policy Insider News December 2003

[Subscribe to SPIN]  APA Coalition Meets with Senate Armed Services Committee Staff PPO is active in the Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR), a group of over 40 organizations that advocates for research funding and infrastructure within the Department of Defense (DoD). In November, CNSR met with the majority and minority staffers from the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss how military research fared in the recently passed FY 2004 defense authorization and appropriations bills. In the authorization bill, which sets policy and provides funding guidelines, Congress strengthened the role of the Director of Defense Research & Engineering (DDR&E, the top point man for science within DoD), expressed concern over cuts in the Navy's research budget, and directed the National Academy of Sciences to begin a study of the DoD basic research portfolio. In terms of the appropriations bill that provides actual funds to DoD, the overall science and technology account got a nice increase, but behavioral research programs within the military services took some major hits. President Signs Bill to Revamp VA's Research Compliance Office, and VA Secretary Principi asks R&D Chief to Resign Just before Thanksgiving, the House and Senate passed a bill (S. 1156) addressing a number of different issues within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including increased health benefits, new hiring and promotion guidelines, and construction and renovation plans. There also was a section of the bill devoted to revamping the VA's process for assuring research compliance and human subjects protections. The President signed S. 1156 on December 6, establishing an Office of Research Oversight, independent of the Research and Development office. Its Director will report to the VA Under Secretary for Health "on matters of compliance and assurance in human subjects protections, research safety, and research impropriety and misconduct." This is largely in response to Congressional concerns about the inappropriateness of the research protections office being managed by the research program itself. In even bigger news, VA Secretary Anthony Principi asked for the resignation of Nelda Wray, MD, Chief of the VA Office of Research and Development since January, 2003. Although many researchers within the VA and the larger science community have been displeased with Wray's multiple changes to the grant system (and PPO was in the midst of setting up a meeting between VA psychologists and Wray), the current investigation of her activities by the VA Office of the Inspector General appears to be related to other issues. Wray is reported to have asked a VA program to fund a Houston VA project without peer review, and to have hired senior personnel without competing their jobs. [back to top] APA Fellow Named To Senior Homeland Security Advisory Post Science Policy staff were delighted to learn that Dr. Roxanne Cohen Silver of the University of California, Irvine has been appointed to the Academe and Policy Research Senior Advisory Committee of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. The announcement comes over a year and a half after Science Policy Staff introduced Roxy to senior staff of what was then the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) in May of 2002. Roxy had been invited by APA to present her NSF-funded research on trauma and resilience at the Coalition for National Science Funding Exhibition (as reported in the June 2002 issue of SPIN). As part of that visit, Science Policy staff set up a series of appointments with OHS and Congressional staff so that they could hear about her research. However, when the Office of Homeland Security was dissolved to form the Department of Homeland Security, massive staff turnovers resulted in delays in the Committees' formation. This Committee, along with one representing input from the private sector, rounds out the four Committees originally proposed for the Council. (See links below for more information about the Council, Committees, and a chronology of appointments). Dr. Silver's appointment was the second DHS honor bestowed upon a California University, and upon the field of psychology, in as many weeks. On November 25th, DHS announced that a contingent of USC researchers had been chosen as the first DHS Center for Excellence. The USC Center, known as the Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, will be co-Directed by Mathematical Psychologist Detlof von Winterfeldt of the USC's School of Policy, Planning, and Development. Read the USC Press Release on Dr. Silver's appointment DHS Press Releases on the Homeland Security Advisory Council, Committees, and Appointments: Homeland Security Advisory Council Secretary Ridge's opening remarks at the First Meeting of HSAC State and Local Officials Senior Advisory Committee Emergency Services, Law Enforcement, and Public Health and Hospitals Senior Advisory Committee Private Sector Senior Advisory Committee National Alliance to Support Sexual Health Research and Policy Convenes First Meeting APA and the Consortium of Social Science Associations co-chaired the first organizational meeting of the National Alliance to Support Sexual Health Research and Policy (the Alliance) on Wednesday, December 10. More than 50 organizations representing scientists, universities, medical professionals, as well as advocates for women's health and communities impacted by HIV-AIDS, participated in the meeting. The Alliance met to share information and to discuss ways the Alliance could inform the debate both in Congress and in the general public about the need for continued federal support of research on sexual behaviors, sexual health, and HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment. The Alliance was initiated after the House of Representatives narrowly defeated an amendment that called for restricting funding for five specific peer-reviewed grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While the effort was unsuccessful, NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni was also questioned by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the need for research into sexual arousal and sexual behaviors. NIH is currently in the process of replying to an October congressional inquiry questioning the public health relevance of more than 150 grants. The Alliance will work to educate members of Congress about the importance of this research and the need for public policy decisions based on science. More information about  the Alliance [back to top] National Academies to Pursue Vetting of Science Advisors Recent concerns about the integrity of peer review at NIH followed those expressed more broadly across the scientific community during the past year and a half over the process used to vet nominees to scientific advisory panels. Geoff Mumford, Director of Science Policy, worked with APA CEO Norman Anderson to provide commentary on the issue before the National Academy of Sciences at the invitation of the Committee on Science Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPUP) last February. Joining past Presidential Science Advisors and representatives from the leadership of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Public Health Association, Dr. Anderson recommended that COSEPUP pursue a study of the nominations process. COSEPUP deliberated for several months and recently released a summary of the study they intend to pursue, entitled “Science and Technology in the National Interest: Ensuring the Best Presidential and Advisory Committee Appointments ---3rd Edition”.[PDF] The study will commence in January, shortly after the much-anticipated release of a GAO investigation on that subject later this month. More information on Dr. Anderson's comments to COSEPUP [back to top] NIH Asks for Comments on Strategic Plan to Reduce Health Disparities - Your Help Needed! The NIH Strategic Research Plan and Budget to Reduce and Ultimately Eliminate Health Disparities for Fiscal Years 2002-2006 is open for comment. The plan was put together from plans developed by each of NIH's institutes and centers, as well as other entities in the Department of Health and Human Services.  APA is preparing comments and seeks your input to respond to the plan. Comments are due to NIH on January 5, 2004. APA asks that you submit comments by January 2 to Pat Kobor in the APA Public Policy Office so your ideas can inform the APA comments. You may also respond directly to the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The plan presents goals in three main areas: 1) research, 2) research infrastructure, and 3) community outreach through information dissemination and public health education. The plan includes current NIH activities and future plans for addressing the current health disparities crisis, including building a culturally competent cadre of biomedical and behavioral investigators and increasing the number of minority basic and clinical health researchers. The plan will be updated annually. Information to guide your comments to APA: In the event that you are unable to peruse both volumes of the strategic plan, the following information may be helpful in developing your response: 1. The plans for research in the plan are necessarily broad. The institute plans listed in Volume II are somewhat more specific. Do you see major gaps, especially in the plan of the institute(s) that funds your research? Is there a program of research listed that you would encourage more institutes to adopt or the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities to emphasize more strongly? 2. The Strategic Planning Model with subgoals can be found on pages 22-33 of Volume I. Read those pages first for an overview. Thank you for sharing your expertise and comments. If you have questions, please contact Pat Kobor in the APA Public Policy Office by email or by phone at (202) 336-5933. Read the NIH Strategic Research Plan [back to top] Any questions? If you have any questions regarding SPIN or specific science policy issues, please feel free to contact any of APA’s Science PPO staff. Geoff Mumford, Ph.D., Director of Science Policy Pat Kobor, Senior Science Policy Analyst Heather O'Beirne Kelly, Ph.D., Senior Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer Karen Studwell, J.D.,, Legislative and Federal Affairs Officer Sara Robinson, Legislative Assistant

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