A meeting of the NIH's Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) was held on Wednesday, July 19, 2000, from 3 to 5 PM in Room 151 of Building l on the NIH Main Campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The entire meeting was a closed (members only) session aimed at determining the status and directions of several BECON activities. The following text provides a summary of the proceedings.

1. BRP Status (Dick Swaja) - The number and types of notices of intent for the BRP-2 program (applications due August 10) were discussed. Submission will be by paper as in the past and not electronically as indicated in the program announcement.
   
   Also, the current BRP program announcement expires with the August 10 submittal date. If the BRP program is to be extended, and new announcement will have to be prepared and issued within the next several months to facilitate an early-2001 application deadline.
   
   
2. Summary of June 25-26 Nanotechnology Conference (Eleni Kousvelari) - Dr. Kousvelari read several complimentary e-mail comments from meeting attendees and described the good feelings and technical value associated with this meeting. Reports from the breakout sessions have been received, and an overall conferencesummary report is in preparation.

3. Bioimaging Status and Issues (Dan Sullivan) - The summary report from the BECON 1999 Bioimaging Symposium has served as a basis for bioimaging activities at the NIH. A Bioimaging Working Group has been meeting regularly since the symposium to provide trans-institute cooperation and coordination concerning biomedical imaging issues. The status of progress for each of the five recommendations contained in the summary report was reviewed, The five areas of recommendations included multidisciplinary research programs; imaging technology, probes, and contrast agents; education and training; clinical trials and informatics; and relationships between NIH, FDA, HCFA, and industry. Discussion was held concerning progress toward implementing these recommendations and bioimaging at the NIH in general.
   
   
4. Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (Chris Kelley and Dick Swaja) - Chris Kelley distributed passouts of the "Multi-Agency Tissue Engineering Science (MATES) Working Group Five Year Plan" and "Tissue Engineering Research in the United States". The former items describes the MATES effort and objectives which are aimed at facilitating interagency communication, enhancing interagency cooperation, and monitoring technologies associated with tissue engineering. The MATES currently consists of representatives from NIH, NIST, DOE, DARPA, FDA, NASA, and NSF and meets every other month at a different agency location. The second item is the proceedings of a June 5-6 workshop held at Lister Hill Auditorium to determine the status of tissue engineering research in the United States. This is the first stage of a MATES effort to determine the international status of tissue engineering research and evaluate US needs and directions. Workshops at foreign countries will begin this Fall, and a summary report will be issued early in CY 2001.
   
   

   Dick Swaja described the Biomedical Engineering Materials and Applications (BEMA) Roundtable and progress to date. The BEMA Roundtable is coordinated by the National Research Council and consists of representatives from research organizations, industry, and regulatory agencies concerned with all aspects of biomaterials. A membership list was distributed, and the first major BEMA meeting is scheduled for July 20-2l at the NAS facility on Constitution Avenue.

5. Bioengineering Review Issues (Eileen Bradley) - Dr. Bradley requested nominees for the bioengineering IRG Oversight Committees. These committees review the performance of the IRG's and consist of extra-NIH staff who have participated in peer review activities, have recognized expertise in their fields of interest, and are familiar with NIH review processes.
   
   
6. NSF/NIH Bioengineering Collaboration (Debbie Crawford) - Descriptions of the "Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program" and "Currently Funded Relevant ERC's/STC's and NIH Liaisons" were distributed at the meeting. Dr. Crawford indicated that NSF would like to have NIH and BECON bioengineering staff serve as reviewers for the IGERT applications. She also indicated that site reviewers from the NIH are requested for the science and engineering centers supported by the NSF. Several NIH staff are already participating in these efforts, and NSF would like to increase that participation.

The next BECON meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 16, from 3 to 5 PM in Room 151 of Building l on the NIH Main Campus. The meeting will be a closed session with an agenda aimed at discussing the BRP and BRG funding and review status, interagency collaborative projects, training mechanisms, and near-future needs.