[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 180 (Monday, September 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54950-54951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-18602]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research; Request for 
Public Comment

    Notice is hereby given that the Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) on the 
Future of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research 
(NIDCR) Intramural Program (IRP) is soliciting input from interested 
parties.
    This Panel was established by the Institute as a follow-up to a 
similar Panel established in 1992 in response to a recommendation from 
the then National Advisory Dental Research Council (NADRC) to provide 
advice to the Director, NIDCR. Subsequently, the External Advisory 
Committee (EAC) on the Intramural Research Program of the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) recommended that individual reviews of each 
intramural program be conducted. In addition to addressing issues 
unique to each Institute, panels are asked to review the following 
trans-NIH issues:
     Innovation/impact of research
     Basic organization of the intramural program (laboratory 
and branch structure)
     Effectiveness of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) 
review process
     Optimal balance between clinical and lab-based research
     Funding balance between intramural and extramural
     Quality of post-doctoral training (Career development)
     Recruitment issues (Under-represented individuals and 
missing areas of expertise)
     Interactions with the Office of the Director, other 
Institutes, central services (Office of Research Services, Clinical 
Center, Center for Information Technology)--special problems or 
opportunities
    In response to the recommendation of the EAC, the NIDCR has 
selected a Panel composed of 10 members who are expert in a variety of 
relevant specialities within biomedical research. The Panel will report 
its findings and recommendations to the National Advisory Dental and 
Craniofacial Research Council for deliberation. To assure input from 
the public and other stakeholders, the Panel encourages written public 
testimony to be submitted no later than the close of business on 
December 30, 2005. Written input, limited to no more than 5 double-
spaced pages using 12 point font and no less than 1\1/2\ inch margins, 
should be restricted to the questions before the Panel and should be 
addressed to Dr. Norman S. Braveman, Assistant to the Director, NIDCR, 
Building 31, Room 5B55, 31 Center Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20892. 
While e-mail submissions are acceptable, they must also be accompanied 
by signed hard-copy submissions which must arrive no later than close 
of business on December 30, 2005.

Background

    The NIDCR IRP, now in its 57th year, is recognized as one of the 
premier dental research institutions in the world. Research conducted 
in the IRP is unique insofar as it provides scientists the opportunity 
to work on high-risk innovative projects in a world class multi-
disciplinary environment. At the same time, research conducted within 
the IRP is not intended to mirror research supported by the Institute 
in the extramural community. Basic and clinical research carried out in 
the IRP forms the basis for new directions in oral, dental and 
craniofacial sciences. Specific information about the organization of, 
and research conducted by, the IRP can be found at http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/Research/Intramural/default.htm. It conducts research 
in a wide range of basic and clinical science and is currently 
organized around seven units including: Craniofacial and skeletal 
diseases branch; craniofacial developmental biology and regeneration 
branch; gene therapy and therapeutics branch; laboratory of oral 
sensory biology; oral and pharyngeal cancer branch; oral infection and 
immunity branch; pain and neurosensory mechanisms branch. Using the 
latest techniques in biomedical science researchers currently 
investigate the molecular mechanisms of taste; the biochemistry, 
structure, function and development of bone, teeth, salivary glands and 
connective tissues; interactions between pathogens and oral tissues 
that cause infectious and inflammatory diseases; genetic disorders and 
tumors of the oral cavity; the cause and treatment of acute and chronic 
pain; and the development of new and improved methods to diagnose and 
treat oral disease.

Rationale for Establishing a Blue Ribbon Panel

    While the science conducted within each laboratory of the NIDCR IRP 
is assessed on a four-year cycle by the Board of Scientific Counselors 
(BSC) it has been approximately 12 years since the overall structure 
and function of the entire IRP has been examined. BSC reviews are 
focused mainly on the quality of science conducted during the previous 
four-year period by a given laboratory or branch and, as such, insure 
that the Institute is supporting only the most meritorious research. 
These reviews, however, do not address the overall direction of the 
IRP, since they are focused on individual laboratories or branches.
    While the Institute has been able to capitalize on the advice 
provided as the result of the previous BRP, during the past several 
years the face of science has changed more rapidly than in any other 
era. Advances in bioinformatics, genomics, molecular and developmental 
biology have provided us with tools to ask new and important questions 
that will inevitably lead to advances in prevention, diagnosis and 
treatment of

[[Page 54951]]

oral, dental and craniofacial diseases. In this context it is important 
for the Institute to insure that the future configuration of the IRP 
will maximize progress toward the goals that have been set for the IRP 
in the new era of biomedical research.

Charge to the Panel

    Since the Panel is charged with assessing the future opportunities 
and challenges for the IRP within broad goals that have already been 
set, the focus of the BRP will be to provide recommendations for an 
efficient and effective alignment of the IRP with directions and 
opportunities and resources available within the broader framework of 
NIH intramural research programs and the interest of the Institute 
complementing, rather than duplicating research already supported 
through the extramural research program of the Institute. To accomplish 
this, the BRP will address challenges to the IRP in the context of its 
mission, its relationship with the overall mission of the Institute, 
its position within the larger NIH intramural environment, and its 
relationship to the extramural program supported by the NIDCR. The 
Panel will be asked to provide advice about how to best position the 
IRP, using both current and to-be-developed resources, in a way that 
will maximize its contributions to current, emerging and future 
research questions about prevention, diagnosis and treatment of dental, 
oral and craniofacial diseases.

Questions to the Panel

    The specific questions to be addressed by the Panel and written 
public comment are drawn from the list of topics suggested by the EAC:
     Innovation/impact of research on the broader field 
including the extent to which research conducted in NIDCR IRP 
laboratories influences research conducted throughout the world
     Basic organization of the intramural program (laboratory 
and branch structure) including the optimal use of resources and 
opportunities unique to NIH-based scientists as well as the extent to 
which the organization facilitates partnerships and collaborations 
within the IRP and with other research entities (e.g., those supported 
by NIDCR extramural research grants, other NIH IRP scientists, 
industry) conducting research
     Effectiveness of the BSC review process in identifying 
world-class innovative research and in providing guidance for future 
research directions
     Optimal balance and connection between clinical and lab-
based research
     Balance between intramural and extramural research 
programs including funding levels and scientific topics covered by each
     Quality of post-doctoral training (career development) 
including preparation for independent research funded by government and 
non-government sources
     Recruitment issues (under-represented individuals and 
missing areas of expertise) including specific areas to redress gaps
     Interactions with the Office of the Director, other 
Institutes, central services (Office of Research Services, Clinical 
Center, Center for Information Technology) including special problems 
or opportunities that may affect the mission and directions of the IRP
    Members of the public interested in providing their views to the 
Panel are asked to restrict their comments to the specific areas 
outlined above.

Further Information

    For further information, please contact: Dr. Norman S. Braveman, 
Assistant to the Director, NIDCR, Building 31, Room 5B55, 31 Center 
Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; telephone (301) 594-2089; fax (301) 
480-0964.

    Dated: September 12, 2005.
Anthony M. Coelho, Jr.,
Acting Director, Office of Federal Advisory Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 05-18602 Filed 9-16-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M