[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2626-2627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00695]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Request for Information Inviting Input on an NIH-Wide Strategic 
Plan for Autoimmune Disease Research

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to invite 
input on the development of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-wide 
strategic plan to advance autoimmune disease research. NIH is seeking 
input from members of the scientific community,

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Federal partners, academic institutions, the private sector, health 
professionals, professional societies, advocacy groups, patient 
communities, and other interested members of the public.

DATES: The NIH-wide Strategic Plan for Autoimmune Disease Research 
Request for Information is open for public comment through March 1, 
2024. Comments must be received by March 1, 2024, to ensure 
consideration. Comments received after the public comment period has 
closed may be considered by the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research 
within the Office of Research on Women's Health.

ADDRESSES: Submissions must be submitted electronically via the 
following website: https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=656f78c997c67a6239036b22.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about this request for 
information should be directed to Vicki Shanmugam, MBBS, MRCP, FACR, 
CCD, Director, Office of Autoimmune Disease Research, Office of 
Research on Women's Health, 6707 Democracy Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 
20892, oadr-orwh#[email protected], 301-402-1770.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is in accordance with the 21st 
Century Cures Act, wherein NIH and its institutes are required to 
regularly update their strategic plans. In 2022, the National Academies 
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, Enhancing NIH Research 
on Autoimmune Diseasehttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35593778/%22%20/
l%20%22:~:text=Enhancing%20NIH%20Research%20on%20Autoimmune%20Disease%20
also%20calls,years%29%20to%20study%20disease%20across%20the%20life%20cou
rse, examined NIH research efforts related to autoimmune diseases. 
Subsequently, Congress, via the Joint Explanatory Statement https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Division%20H%20-%20LHHS%20Statement%20FY23.pdf accompanying the Fiscal Year 2023 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 directed the establishment of an 
Office of Autoimmune Disease Researchhttps://orwh.od.nih.gov/oadr-orwh 
within the Office of Research on Women's Health (OADR-ORWH) https://orwh.od.nih.gov/ and directed OADR-ORWH to:
     Coordinate development of a multi-institute and center 
(IC) strategic research plan;
     Identify emerging areas of innovation and research 
opportunity;
     Coordinate and foster collaborative research across ICs;
     Annually evaluate the NIH autoimmune disease research 
portfolio;
     Provide resources to support planning, collaboration, and 
innovation; and
     Develop a publicly accessible central repository for 
autoimmune disease research.
    Currently, various NIH institutes, centers, and offices (ICOs) 
support autoimmune disease research in alignment with their individual 
mission areas. Establishing an NIH-wide Strategic Plan for Autoimmune 
Disease Research will allow OADR-ORWH to amplify ICO efforts and create 
opportunities for synergistic innovation focused on areas of autoimmune 
disease research that will benefit from multi-ICO partnerships and 
opportunities to implement cross-cutting research.

Information Requested

    NIH is seeking input from internal and external partners throughout 
the scientific research, advocacy, and clinical practice communities, 
including those employed by NIH and by institutions receiving NIH 
support, as well as the public, on the following key areas related to 
autoimmune disease research:
    Objective 1: Research areas that would benefit from cross-cutting, 
collaborative research (these areas may include basic or translational 
research, clinical research, health services research, population 
science, data science, preventative research, biomedical engineering, 
and other areas of research).
    Objective 2: Opportunities to advance collaborative, innovative, or 
interdisciplinary areas of autoimmune disease research.
    Objective 3: Opportunities to improve outcomes for individuals 
living with autoimmune diseases including NIH-designated health 
disparities populations https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/, 
populations and individuals with rare diseases, and specific 
populations that have been historically underrepresented in research 
and clinical trials.
    Objective 4: Cross-cutting areas that are integral to advancing 
autoimmune disease research at NIH including development of a publicly 
accessible central repository for autoimmune disease research, sex- and 
gender-intentional research design across all stages of research, and 
engagement of all populations in research and clinical trials.
    Responses to this RFI are voluntary and are meant for information 
and planning purposes only. Do not include any proprietary, classified, 
confidential, trade secret, or sensitive information in your response. 
Respondents are advised that the responses are reviewed by NIH staff, 
and the U.S. government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt 
of the information provided or provide feedback to the respondents. 
This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a 
solicitation, grant, or cooperative agreement, or as an obligation on 
the part of the federal government, the NIH, or individual NIH 
institutes, centers, and offices to provide any kind of support for any 
ideas identified in response to it.
    The government may use the information submitted in response to 
this RFI at its discretion. The government reserves the right to use 
any submitted information on public NIH websites, in reports, in 
summaries of the state of the science, in any possible resultant 
solicitation(s), grant(s), or cooperative agreement(s), or in the 
development of future funding announcements.
    The government will not pay for the preparation of any information 
submitted or for the government's use of such information. No basis for 
claims against the U.S. government shall arise as a result of a 
response to this request for information or from the government's use 
of such information.
    NIH looks forward to your input, and we hope that you will share 
this RFI document with your colleagues.

    Dated: January 6, 2024.
Lawrence A. Tabak,
Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2024-00695 Filed 1-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P