A meeting of the NIH's Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) was held on Wednesday, June 21, 2000, from 3 to 5 PM in Conference Room H of the Natcher Building on the NIH Main Campus. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Lore Anne MicNicol of the National Eye Institute and consisted of a closed (members only) session from 3-4 PM followed by an open presentation on FDA regulation of devices, tissue products, and biomaterials by Dr. Russ Pagano. The following text provides minutes of this meeting. Member action items are highlighted in the text.

Closed Session (3-4 PM):

1. Status of BRP-2 Applications (Lore Anne McNicol) - Notices of intent for BRP-2 are due on June 30, and the deadline for receipt of applications is August 10.
   
   
2. Status of Search for the Director of the Office of Bioengineering, Bioimaging, and Bioinformatics (Lore Anne McNicol) - Copies of the position advertisement for the Director of the OB3 were distributed. Advertisements are being placed in major journals, and the notice is being widely distributed. Applications are due on August 18.
   
   
3. Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative (BISTI) and Web Site (Lore Anne McNicol) - The first meeting of the BISTI Consortium (BISTIC) was held on June 9. The BISTIC is charged with coordinating biomedical computing activities at the NIH and will function similar to the way that BECON functions. BECON members are encouraged to visit the BISTI Web site at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/bistic/bistic.cfm.
   
   
4. Trans-NIH Symposium on Mobility (Louis Quatrano) - Dr. Quatrano introduced Dr. Ed Chao, an IAP from Johns Hopkins University, who presented information regarding a possible trans-NIH conference on mobility. The goal of the meeting is to bring the health-related problems of people with disabilities to the attention of American scientists for possible solutions. The major themes of the meeting will focus on model sensors, interventions, and monitoring strategies.
   
   
5. Nanotechnology Activities (Jeff Schloss and Eleni Kousvelari) - With regard to the June 25-26 Nanotechnology Symposium, about 650 people have registered. Interest by the press and attendees is high, and BECON members are urged to attend.
   
   
6. BECON 2001 (Lore Anne McNicol) - Bookmarks advertising the BECON 2001 Conference titled "Tissuegenesis and Organogenesis" were distributed. This conference is scheduled for June 25-26, 2001, at the Natcher Conference Center.
   
   

Open Session (4-5 PM):

Dr. Russ Pagano, Chief of the Restorative Devices Branch of the Division of General and Restorative Devices at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), presented an overview of the FDA regulation of devices, tissue products, and biomaterials. Dr. Pagano provided a very clear overview of the FDA structure and standards used to refer devices within the FDA.

Next Meeting:

The next BECON meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 19, from 3-5 PM in Room 151 of Building l on the NIH Main campus. The meeting will be a closed session that will include updates of BECON research and training activities, symposia, and interagency bioengineering activities.