BECON MEETING MINUTES
October 17, 2001

The NIH’s Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) met from 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus. This was the first meeting chaired by Dr. Jeff Schloss of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Most of the meeting focused on bioengineering grant review issues and BRP and BRG program grants and status. The following text provides the minutes of this meeting.

During the meeting several attendees were introduced including Dr. Carol Lucas (NSF – Bioengineering Division), Dr. Mrunal Chapekar (NIST – ATP Program), and Dr. Ed Monachino (NCI – OIT). These attendees will be representing their organizations at future BECON meetings.

NIBIB Status and Budget Information – Dr. Donna Dean, Acting Director of the NIBIB, discussed the current status of the NIBIB. A search for the NIBIB Director is being conducted, and a vacancy announcement has been issued with a deadline of October 31.

Bioengineering Grant Review - This effort involves a study of bioengineering review criteria and procedures conducted by a BECON subcommittee. A second draft of the subcommittee report including recommendations was discussed along with a course of action concerning a meeting to discuss the recommendations with the CSR. .

Web Sites, Communications, and BECON – The NIBIB Web site (www.nibib.nih.gov) was launched on October 3. The site contains a link to the BECON Web site which will remain as the primary source of information on the Consortium and its activities. The url for the BECON site is www.nibib.nih.gov/becon, and the site can still be reached from the previous url.

Enrico Fermi Award – A two-page summary of the DOE’s Enrico Fermi Award which recognizes significant contributions related to nuclear physics, energy, and related issues was distributed.

BRP and BRG Status – A one-page summary of BECON-coordinated awards was distributed at the meeting. New BRG (PA-02-011) and BRP (PAR-01-010) program announcements were released on October 11 with BRP application deadlines of January 24 and August 12, 2002. These PA’s contain the latest OER requirement for approval of grants exceeding $500 k direct costs for any year obtained six weeks prior to the submittal deadline.

BECON 2002 Biosensors Symposium – Plans for the BECON 2002 Symposium on biosensors scheduled for June 24-25, 2002, at the Natcher Center are proceeding on schedule. The official title of the meeting is “Biosensors for Research and Medicine”. Several possible poster designs have been identified and are being considered. Temporary Web information has been posted on the BECON Web site, and a detailed symposium Web site is being developed.

NIH/NSF Training Collaboration – As discussed at the September BECON meeting, two initial NIH/NSF collaborative efforts in bioengineering and bioinformatics training are in progress based on the June13-14 Workshop at NSF Headquarters.

Bioengineering Study Section Boundaries – Information about the organization of the Surgery, Applied Imaging, and Applied Bioengineering (SAIAB) and Fundamental Bioengineering and Technology Development (FBTD) IRG’s was discussed.

Next BECON Meeting – The November BECON meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 19, from 3 to 5 PM in Wilson Hall in Building l on the NIH Main Campus. A preliminary agenda will be available about a week before the meeting.