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January 2016 Director's Status Report

Click on the links below to view sections of the January 2016 Director's Status Report:

Budget and Appropriations

Full details on the FY2016 budget and FY 2017 requested budget will be provided in the May 2016 Director’s Status Report.

Legislative Update

Proposed Legislation of Interest, January 2016:

S. 2067 – On September 22, 2015, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced S. 2067, the Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer’s Act (EUREKA Act). The bill would require the NIH Director to establish prize competitions designed to achieve high-priority breakthroughs to achieve the national goals of preventing and/or treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. S. 2067 was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.R. 2347 – On October 9, 2015, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform reported favorably to the full House, by unanimous consent, H.R. 2347, the FACA Amendments Act. The bill would require that all appointments to advisory committees be made without regard to political affiliation or political activity; extend all of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requirements (except charters) to working groups; allow the public to make recommendations for committee members; require that advisory committee members be designated as a "special government employee" or "a representative"; curtail the ability of contractors to create "FACA-type" committees; and expand transparency requirements (for example, who nominated each member and why the selectee was appointed). H.R. 2347 contains an additional provision that would require the head of each agency to ensure that advisory committee advice and recommendations are the result of independent judgment. Further, when transmitting advice and recommendations, each advisory committee would be required to include a statement describing the process used in formulating its advice and recommendations.

H.R. 1314 – On October 28, 2015, the House passed H.R. 1314, the Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015, a two-year budget package that included a suspension of the debt ceiling. In the early morning hours of Friday, October 30, the Senate cleared the two-year budget deal that also suspended the debt ceiling. The measure was signed by the President and extended the ceiling until March 15, 2017. This budget agreement also raised the discretionary spending caps by $50 billion in fiscal year 2016 and $30 billion in 2017. The discretionary spending increases were evenly split between defense and nondefense programs and raised the fiscal 2016 defense cap to $548.1 billion from $523 billion and the nondefense cap to $518.5 billion from $493.5 billion.

S. 1356 – On November 10, 2015, the Senate adopted the motion to concur in the House amendment to S. 1356, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016. Of interest to NIH, the bill would extend the SBIR/STTR admin pilot program through FY 2017.

H.R. 2029/Public Law 114-113 – On December 18, 2015, the House passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Omnibus), by a vote of 316-113, and the Senate immediately thereafter passed it by a vote of 65-33. The President signed the bill a few hours later. The $1.15 trillion bill provides ~$32 billion for NIH research, an increase of $2 billion. NIA received a budget of $1.6 billion, including an additional $350 million for Alzheimer’s disease research and a 4.2% increase exclusive of these funds.

Hearings, Visits, and Other topics of interest:

On August 24, 2015, Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD), and staff toured NIH’s Bayview Campus, met with NIDA and NIA leadership, and visited NIDA and NIA laboratories.

On Oct 6, 2015, Dr. Marie A. Bernard, Deputy Director, NIA, participated in a Q&A Panel on the benefits of music on cognitive health hosted by Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Q&A panel was followed by a screening of the film Alive Inside, which features the efforts of social worker Dan Cohen to bring music into long term care facilities through individualized playlists on iPods.

On, Oct 7, 2015, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education, held a hearing on the NIH entitled Investing in a Healthier Future. Francis Collins, Director, NIH, testified, accompanied by Nora Volkow, Director, NIDA, Griffin Rodgers, Director, NIDDK, Walter Koroshetz, Director, NINDS, Jon Lorsch, Director, NIGMS, and Douglas Lowy, Acting Director, NCI. Several questions regarding Alzheimer’s disease research were posed by members of the subcommittee.

Submitted by: Dawn Beraud, Ph.D., Public Health Analyst, National Institute on Aging

Staff Changes

After 25 years of dedicated service to NIA, Neil Buckholtz has retired as of December 26, 2015. For the last three years Neil served as Director of the Division of Neuroscience. During that time he oversaw the development of a number of new initiatives including the Accelerating Partnerships in Medicine Alzheimer’s disease (AMP AD) a major public-private initiative to identify biomarkers that correlate with therapeutic benefit as well as identify and validate new targets in human brain tissue. He also was in charge of organizing two Alzheimer’s Disease Research Summits in 2013 and 2015 which are helping to set the agenda for Alzheimer’s research to meet one of the primary NAPA goals, “To Prevent and Effectively Treat Alzheimer’s Disease by 2025 “.

Creighton Phelps will serve as Acting Director of the Division of Neuroscience until the new Director is in place.

On December 7, 2015, Ms. Charryse Shell joined BSR as Extramural Program Office Manager. Charryse worked for the past few years as Office Operations and Procurement Manager for a security services firm. Before that, for four years she was Senior Administrative Assistant at the GAVI Alliance, the global health care organization that supports vaccine initiatives in poor countries. She has also worked as a part-time event planner for a marketing and public relations firm and is an active volunteer with community organizations. She brings to BSR valuable experience in international travel arrangements, high-level administrative support and coordination, event planning, and procurement. Charryse has a BA in Business Administration and Marketing from St. Paul’s College and a Certificate in Administrative Excellence from the American Management Association.

Institute-Sponsored Meetings, Workshops, and Conferences

  1. Past Meetings

LUNG AGING AND PROTEOSTASIS MEETING (September 24-25, 2015)

(Contact: Dr. Rebecca Fuldner, DAB, 301/496-6402).

The 13th Annual Nathan W. Shock Symposium was held on October 5, 2015 at the Biomedical Research Center, on Johns Hopkins Bayview Campus. This event was cosponsored by NIA and the Nathan W. and Margaret T. Shock Aging Research Foundation. The Shock Symposium invited speaker and Shock Award winner was Zoltan Ungvari, MD., Ph.D.

GEROSCIENCE INTEREST GROUP SEMINAR (November 5, 2015)

Dr. Charlotte Peterson, University of Kentucky, College of Health Sciences “Novel Roles for Stem Cells in Skeletal Muscle Adaptation and Aging”

Link to the NIH Videocast http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?Live=17413&bhcp=1

This seminar series is sponsored by the trans-NIH GeroScience Interest Group (GSIG). The GeroScience Interest Group (GSIG) was formed to enhance opportunities for discussion of the intersection between the biology of aging and the biology of disease and conditions that are of interest across ICs. It is focused on basic biology, but with a longer view towards translation. This seminar was focused on the areas of aging and diverse aging-related diseases, with emphasis on the intersections between the basic biology of aging and the basic biology of the disease. Such topics are important to further the goals of the GSIG.

(Contact(s): Drs. Felipe Sierra/Ronald Kohanski, DAB, 301/496-6402).

EPIGENETICS WORKSHOP (December 10, 2015)

This is the mini-kickoff workshop for the planning grant (1 U34 AG051425-01) on “The epiGenetIcs Leads to aGe-relAted diseases (GILGA-mesh) Network”. This workshop intends to plan for the project and discuss some imperative issues in epigenetics of aging-related diseases. The invited participants are the people involved in this grant. In addition, some speakers from NIA Intramural Division (Myriam Gorospe, Kevin Becker, Ranjan Sen) and Johns Hopkins Medical School (Kasper Hansen) have also presented their own research in the related areas. Max Guo (PO) and Ron Kohanski (Project Scientist) will participate in this meeting. It was held at NIA Intramural Bayview Research Center on December 10, 2015.

(Contact(s): Drs. Ronald Kohanski/Max Guo, DAB, 301/496-6402).

  1. Future Meetings

EFFECTS OF AGING ON HEMATOLOGY (January 28-29, 2016)

Older adults are faced with a significant burden of non-malignant hematologic disease. The molecular bases of these hematologic disorders are largely unknown, which prevents the development of rational treatment approaches and delays effective diagnostic and prevention strategies. This workshop aims to review the most recent progress in the field and to promote discussion of the gaps in our knowledge of these biological processes and pathways. We also expect to gain a specific understanding of the current scientific and technologic barriers to the hematology research community in the pursuit of knowledge in this area. Once these areas have been defined by the research community, representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can consider the most appropriate ways to try to address defined gaps.

We propose an explanatory workshop to be held on January 28-29, 2016 in Bethesda, MD.

(Contact: Dr. Rebecca Fuldner, DAB, 301/496-6402).

GSIG SEMINARS (February 4, May 5 & August 4, 2016)

This seminar series is sponsored by the trans-NIH GeroScience Interest Group (GSIG). The GeroScience Interest Group (GSIG) was formed to enhance opportunities for discussion of the intersection between the biology of aging and the biology of disease and conditions that are of interest across ICs. It is focused on basic biology, but with a longer view towards translation. These three seminars will focus on the areas of aging and diverse aging-related diseases, with emphasis on the intersections between the basic biology of aging and the basic biology of the disease. Such topics are important to further the goals of the GSIG.

The three seminars are scheduled for Feb 4, 2016; May 5, 2016 and Aug 4, 2016. The speaker for Feb 4, 2016 is Dr. Mary Armanios of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Title to be announced). Speakers for the next two dates to be determined.

(Contact(s): Drs. Felipe Sierra/Ronald Kohanski, DAB, 301/496-6402).

NIA SPONSORED SYMPOSIUM “THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTION AND IMMUNOSENESCENCE” AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF IMMUNOLOGY (AAI) (May 16, 2016)

This NIA sponsored symposium will be held at the American Association of Immunologists annual meeting on May 16, 2016 in Seattle, WA. The NIA sponsors a symposium each year to highlight recent findings in the area of Immunity and Aging and this year’s session is entitled: “The interplay between chronic viral infections and immunosenescence”

The purpose of this symposium is to have presentations on state of the science findings on this research topic.

(Contact: Dr. Rebecca Fuldner, DAB, 301/496-6402).

MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS, MITOPHAGY AND AGING (May 31, 2016)

Deterioration of mitochondrial quality control is implicated in aging and common age-related diseases such as metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Autophagy of damaged mitochondria, a.k.a. as mitophagy is a major cellular process for removal of dysfunctional mitochondria involving the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Mitochondrial dynamics of fusion and fission is integral to mitochondrial quality control as efficient mitophagy requires mitochondrial fission whereas fusion promotes exchange of mitochondrial content and maintains mitochondrial health.

While defective mitochondrial quality control is associated with neurodegenerative diseases whereas mitochondrial fusion facilitates metabolic health, less is known about how mitochondrial quality control impacts the aging process. Recent studies have begun to shed light on i) genetic manipulation of an autophagy protein in extending Drosophila lifespan, ii) regulation of mitochondrial fusion during Drosophila aging and iii) the pro-fission protein DRP-1 cooperates with the insulin signaling pathway to modulate C. elegans longevity. Therefore, the under-studied regulatory control of the dynamic process of mitochondrial fusion and fission in the context of aging and healthspan represents a nascent and exciting area in identifying potential novel molecules and pathways to regulate aging.

The purpose of the proposed workshop is be to assemble the leaders in the field to discuss the current knowledge on mitochondrial quality control and aging, emerging research findings and development of novel techniques in assessing mitochondrial quality control during aging or as an outcome of anti-aging interventions.

We propose an explanatory workshop to be held on May 31, 2016 in Bethesda, MD.

(Contact: Dr. Yih-Woei Fridell, DAB, 301/496-6402).

TENTH ANNUAL DIVISION OF AGING BIOLOGY NEW INVESTIGATORS FORUM (DAB NIF) (June 29-30, 2016)

Purpose: Outreach

The purpose of the forum is to bring together new awardees (i.e. Principal Investigators who can be identified as “new investigators”) in the spring of the year following their award, in order to allow NIA program staff to get acquainted with new PIs as well as allow the participants to network with each other. Each new PI will give a brief talk describing the planned research (or results to date) with an emphasis on how it relates to the area of aging research. The overriding goal of the meeting is to encourage continued success for the new PIs as well as attempt to maintain their focus on the area of aging research. As a result of past meetings we have found that the PIs have indeed set up new collaborations. They also are much more likely to keep us informed of their new publications and progress.

The meeting will start with a keynote address by an eminent aging researcher (tbn).

We propose a workshop to be held on June 29-30, 2016 in Bethesda, MD.

(Contact: Dr. Nancy Nadon, DAB, 301/496-6402).

AUTONOMOUS AND NON-AUTONOMOUS MECHANISM OF AGING AND LONGEVITY (Summer, 2016)

Research in the past several decades suggest that the underlying cause of aging is the time-dependent accumulation of stochastic damage to cells, organelles and biomolecules. This is consistent with the free radical theory of aging, which posits that organisms age because cells accumulate damage caused by free radicals, primarily from mitochondria. These theories imply that aging is primarily driven by cell autonomous mechanisms. However, cell autonomous mechanisms alone may be inadequate to explain aging. For example, all organisms experience degenerative changes in multiple organs simultaneously or in close succession, implying that damage must be accumulating in multiple tissues at the same rate. In addition, many elderly have more than two chronic degenerative diseases, implying the loss of tissue homeostasis concurrently in multiple tissues. Lastly, aging within a species is relatively homogenous, which is hard to reconcile with stochastic damage. In the past several years, emerging evidence indicate that cell non-autonomous mechanisms also play a key role in regulating aging, lifespan and healthspan. For example: (1) When senescing in response to excessive DNA damage or critically short telomeres, cells secrete factors that are pro-inflammatory and negatively influence neighboring cells; (2) Ablation of senescent cells in a transgenic model of accelerated aging dramatically improved healthspan; (3) heterochronic parabiosis experiments in mice revealed that systemic factors play an important role in aging and aging-related phenotypes. These data strongly support the notion that aging is driven, at least in part, by systemic factors, but we know very little about the mechanisms by which damage drives the aging process. These conflicting autonomous and non-autonomous theories of aging pose a barrier to aging research. This workshop will evaluate these aging theories and discuss the future research directions on understanding the roles of autonomous and non-autonomous mechanisms of aging. The workshop will be held in Bethesda, Maryland.

We propose an explanatory workshop to be held in Summer, 2016 in Bethesda, MD.

(Contact(s): Drs. Max Guo/Jose Velazquez, DAB, 301/496-6402).

ADVANCES AND GAPS IN MUSCULOSKELETAL BIOLOGY (Summer, 2016)

To explore recent advances in our understanding of age-related changes inmusculoskeletal tissue cross-talk and identify gaps in our knowledge.

We propose an explanatory workshop to be held in Summer, 2016 in Bethesda, MD.

(Contact: Dr. John Williams, DAB, 301/496-6402).

NIA SPONSORED SATELLITE SYMPPSIUM “INNATE IMMUNITY AND AGING” AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY FOR LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY (SLB) (September 15, 2016)

This NIA sponsored satellite symposium will be held at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology which will take place in Verona, Italy on September 15, 2016. The NIA has sponsored satellite symposia previously at SLB to highlight recent findings in the area Innate Immunity and Aging.

The purpose of this symposium is to have speakers present state of the science findings on this research topic and to hold discussions on promising areas of research on rejuvenating the aged immune system.

(Contact: Dr. Rebecca Fuldner, DAB, 301/496-6402).

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH (ASBMR) WORKING GROUP ON AGING SYMPOSIA (September 16-19, 2016)

Provide the convention center costs for the Working Group on Aging Symposia at the Annual meeting of the ASBMR on September 16-19, 2016 in Atlanta, GA so as to improve and sustain the quality of the presentation.

(Contact: Dr. John Williams, DAB, 301/496-6402).

NAS BOARD ON BEHAVIORAL, COGNITIVE, AND SENSORY SCIENCES (BBCSS) SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING (October 8, 2016).

Through the NIH-NAS task order, BSR supports the core activities of the BBCSS, including semi-annual meetings of the board to discuss ongoing and future activities of interest to BSR. BBCSS monitors advances and developments in the behavioral, cognitive, and sensory sciences and serves as an intellectual resource for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the research community. BSR has a long-standing experience of successful interactions with BBCSS developing programs of research, such as the recent meeting on Understanding Pathways to Successful Aging: How Social and Behavioral Factors Affect Health at Older Ages. BSR staff engaged board experts discussing topics of interest to NIA. For additional information please contact Dr. Lis Nielsen at BSR (301-402-4156).

NAS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS (CNSTAT) SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING (October 22, 2016).

Through the NIH-NAS task order, BSR supports the core activities of CNSTAT, including semi-annual meetings of the committee to discuss ongoing and future activities of interest to BSR. CNSTAT serves to help integrate the statistical and social sciences with the federal statistical and research community in order to improve statistical methods and support innovative research. NIA supports several longitudinal studies (e.g., HRS, PSID), some with objective biological health measures, as well as linkages to administrative records on health and economic status from federal programs. CNSTAT expertise in survey data and related methods for statistical inference are uniquely valuable for the development of observational research and survey data collections. BSR staff attended the CNSTAT meeting to discuss research topics related to data development and causal inference in observational data with committee experts.

For additional information, please contact Dr. John Phillips at BSR (301-496-3138).

NAS COMMITTEE ON POPULATION (CPOP) SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING (November 20, 2016).

Through the NIH-NAS task order, BSR supports the core activities of CNSTAT, including semi-annual meetings of the committee to discuss ongoing and future activities of interest to BSR. CPOP serves to help integrate the statistical and social sciences by scientific assessments of major population-related issues and provides a forum for the discussion and analysis of important issues related to population. The NIA and CPOP collaborate to develop a sustained and integrated program of studies on individual and population-level aging, including the demography of aging and other topics that serve as a catalyst for a successful discuss potential collaborations with committee experts on topics of interest to NIA. Discussion topics included an update to the successful NAS Demography of Aging publication and new lines of research extending the recent findings of Case and Deaton on increases in midlife mortality.

For additional information, please contact Dr. John Phillips at BSR (301-496-3138).

General Information/Staff Awards

Dr. Felipe Sierra was named as one of the top 50 Influencers in Aging by Next Avenue, a web site from PBS stations.

Dr. Lisbeth Nielsen received the American Psychological Association Meritorious Research Service Commendation. "This commendation recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to psychological science through their service as employees of the federal government or other organizations."

Dr. Rosaly Correa-De-Araujo received commendations from the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health in recognition of her contributions to addressing health disparities and leading the development of a Compendium of Federal Datasets to support research, program development and policies.

Dr. Marcel Salive was presented the US Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal at the NIH Awards ceremony in recognition of distinguished and pioneering leadership, groundbreaking contributions, and dedicated public service in disease prevention which has improved the health of older Americans.

PUBLICATIONS

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2015). Strengthening the Scientific Foundation for Policymaking to Meet the Challenges of Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean: Summary of a Workshop, K. Kinsella, Rapporteur, Steering Committee for the Workshop on Strengthening the Scientific Foundation for Policymaking to Meet the Challenges of Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean. Committee on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

This report summarizes the proceedings of a workshop convened in May 2015 to consider priorities for strengthening the scientific foundation for policymaking regarding population aging in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The workshop was sponsored by the NIA and the Mexican National Academy of Medicine, with additional financial and/or logistical support provided by the University of Texas Medical Branch, the University of Michigan, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization. The meeting was convened in Mexico City by the Mexican National Academy of Medicine. The purpose of the workshop was to present scientific research emphasizing what is unique about aging in LAC and what is similar to other processes around the world, to highlight the main areas where many experts believe knowledge of the aging process in LAC is insufficient and new research is required, and to consider data collection that will produce information for policymaking while being responsive to the needs of the research community for harmonized, highly comparable information. To a large extent, the workshop was focused on the collection and production of household microdata as found in the global family of Health and Retirement Study (HRS)-type surveys, rather than on improving other types of survey, macroeconomic, or administrative data such as vital statistics systems that could serve as complements to HRS-type data for studying aging in LAC. There were six topical sessions and a roundtable conducted by members of the project steering committee and invited speakers.

Contact: Georgeanne Patmios, BSR.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2015). Sharing Research Data to Improve Public Health in Africa: A Workshop Summary. M.E. O'Connell and T.J. Plewes, Rapporteurs. Committee on Population, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

This report summarizes a workshop convened in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on March 29–30, 2015, which brought together public health researchers and epidemiologists primarily from the African continent, along with selected international experts, to talk about the benefits and challenges of sharing data to improve public health, and to discuss potential actions to guide future work related to public health research data sharing. The workshop was sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa and the South African Medical Research Council. The workshop summary report was sponsored by the NIA and is a product of the Committee on Population of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The purposes of the workshop were to raise the profile of issues around the sharing of public health data in Africa, enable the Wellcome Trust and its international partners to highlight findings of previous sponsored research on this topic, identify issues that mitigate against public health data sharing and pathways through research and policy venues to foster increased sharing, and, in general, serve as a way to bring more African voices and perspectives into the dialogue. It was conducted in cooperation with several sponsoring organizations and representatives of national science academies in Africa, as well as experts in using and generating public health data to discuss the benefits of and barriers to sharing research data within the African context.

Contact: Georgeanne Patmios, BSR.

"Advances in Geroscience", Felipe Sierra and Ronald Kohanski, eds. 662pp, Springer Publishers (2015).

Sierra F. - Introduction: The emergence of geroscience as an interdisciplinary approach to the enhancement of health span and life span, pp 1-14 in "Aging – The longevity Dividend", Olshansky SJ, Martin GM and Kirkland JL, eds., Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine series, , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, New York (2015).

OCPL Contribution to the September 2015 Director's Status Report

PUBLICATIONS AND WEB CONTENT

Booklets, AgePages, Fact Sheets, DVDs:
  • Lewy Body Dementia: Information for Patients, Families, and Professionals (reprint)
  • Exercise & Physical Activity: Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging at NIH (reprint, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation edition)
  • Understanding Alzheimer's Disease (reprint)
  • Understanding Memory Loss (reprint)
  • Osteoporosis: la usurpadora de los huesos (Osteoporosis: The Bone Thief) (online update)
  • Alzheimer's Disease in People with Down Syndrome fact sheet (new, online only)
  • Clinical Trials and Older People tip sheet, Simplified Mandarin (new, online only)
  • Intimacy and Sexuality: Resources for Dementia Caregivers (updated online)
Web Projects
  • 2014-2015 Alzheimer's Disease Progress Report
  • Recruiting Older Adults into Research presentation toolkit, Spanish translation
  • Recruiting Older Adults into Research presentation toolkit, Simplified Mandarin translation

(For more information about NIA's publications and web content, contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, 301-496-1752.)

MEDIA & OUTREACH

Press Releases
Social Media
  • @NIAGo4Life Twitter followers over 5,270 with 5,400+ subscribing to a daily e-alert of tweets
  • Over 46,210 users on Go4Life GovDelivery monthly e-alert list
  • @NIHAging Twitter followers over 4,180 with 6,000+ daily e-alert subscribers

(For more information about NIA's media and outreach, contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, 301-496-1752.)

AWARDS

New Media Awards
  • Go4Life website - Best in Industry in the Government category in the New Media Awards, from the New Media Institute
Mature Market Resource Center Awards

New Products & Technology Awards, Mature Market Resource Center, George Mason University:

  • Silver Award, Portals --"Volunteer for Alzheimer's Research" in the portal category
  • Bronze Award, Infographics -- "Alzheimer's Research Needs YOU!" Clinical Trials Awareness Infographic
  • Merit Award, Web-Based resource/tools -- "Talking With Your Doctor Presentation Toolkit"

(For more information about NIA's awards, contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, 301-496-1752.)

MEETINGS & EXHIBITS

  • Go4Life Month Capitol Walk event on National Mall with the Surgeon General, September 18, 2015.
  • Alzheimer's Disease Centers/Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, September 18-20, Chicago, IL
  • Banner Alzheimer's Disease Center First Annual Native Americans and Dementia Conference, October 16, Scottsdale, AZ
  • Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, Nov. 18-21, Orlando, FL
  • 6th Annual NIH Clinical Center Caregiver Day, Bethesda, MD, Nov. 17

September, Drs. Hodes and Bernard, and other NIA senior staff, met with:

  • A broad range of NIA stakeholders to discuss potential mechanisms that could be established to enable non-governmental funding organizations to provide support for meritorious but unfunded NIA applications.
  • The leadership of the Alzheimer's Association to discuss collaborations, the annual Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC), diagnostic criteria, and Bypass Budget recommendations.
  • Staff from Alzheimer's Research UK to discuss the activities of their organization, status of AD research in the U.S., models of research planning and funding that might be replicated in the UK, risk reduction messaging, global dementia activities, and the Dementia Discovery Fund.

November, Dr. Hodes, and other NIA staff, met with leadership of the Sleep Research Society to discuss workshops of mutual interest, the recent AAIC conference symposium on sleep, priorities for sleep research at the NIH, training and career development, and sleep interests across divisions at the NIA.

(For more information about NIA's meetings and exhibits, contact Vicky Cahan, Director, OCPL, 301-496-1752. For more information about NIA's professional meetings, contact Dr. Melinda Kelley, Legislative Officer, 301-451-8835.)

Relevant Notices and Initiatives Published in the NIH Guide

For ‘Notices’ and ‘Research Initiatives’ with NIA’s participation or interest please visit these two websites: https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/funding and https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/dea/nih-funding-policies (Please look for ‘Recent Changes in NIH Policy’).

nia.nih.gov

An official website of the National Institutes of Health