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Washington Update
* On Oct. 16, Congress passed a fourth continuing resolution that essentially renews NIH funding at the FY 2002 level. With most of members of Congress on leave from their usual duties in preparation for upcoming elections, only one opportunity remains for further action on the still-incomplete FY 2003 appropriations bills before the 108th Congress convenes: a brief lame duck session in mid-November. We encourage all individuals, organizations and institutions concerned about the pending Labor-HHS-Education bill (which covers, among other things, NIH funding levels) to contact their elected representatives and urge both resolution of the current dispute over discretionary funding and passage of a final appropriation before the end of 2002.
* Dr. Greg Koski, who has served as the director of the Office for Human Research Protections since its inception just over two years ago, will be returning to "private life" and Harvard University at the end of November 2002. In an Oct. 9 letter addressed to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, Koski noted that OHRP has made "significant progress," including the issuance earlier this month of an Institute of Medicine report, commissioned by OHRP, which assesses the current system of protections and "lays out an ambitious agenda for continuing reform." Although Koski has not linked his departure to the Bush administration's recent dismantling of the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee, his resignation marks a growing loss of leadership in the area of human research protections.
* Speaking of human research, the IOM's Clinical Research Roundtable is holding a workshop entitled "Exploring New Models for Engaging the Public in the Clinical Research Enterprise" on Nov. 5, 2002, in Washington, D.C. Four panels will seek to identify new solutions and highlight model programs that make both clinical research and the research oversight process more transparent and open to public input, including a panel that will discuss steps to improve the translation and dissemination of the results of clinical research. The workshop is free but space is limited. To register, go to www.iom.edu/crr.
* A series of "roadmap meetings" convened by the NIH this August has fulfilled its mission of identifying trans-agency issues of importance, the Washington Fax reports. One key issue raised, NIH director Elias Zerhouni observed, is the need to combine emerging knowledge of genomics with lifestyle, behavior and environment. Other major concerns include training investigators to conduct multidisciplinary science and developing more uniform standards governing the organization of trials. Zerhouni stated his intention to assemble teams focused around the issues raised in order to identify pathways to change.
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