BECON MEETING MINUTES
December 19, 2001

The NIH’s Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) met from 3:00 to 5:10 PM on Wednesday, December 19, 2001, in Room 151 of Building l on the NIH Main Campus. The meeting was an entirely closed (members only) session which included substantial discussion about a variety of bioengineering-related topics. The following text is the minutes of this meeting.

Status of BRP’s, BRG’s, and the BECON Web Site – With two BRP cycles completed and one in progress (PA-01-024), a total of 60 awards have been made with a total FY 2001 funding level of about $48.25 M and an average total (direct plus indirect) award of about $804 k per grant. A total of 103 BRG grants have been awarded with a total FY 2001 funding of about $28.6 M and an average total grant of about $277 k per award. Thirty K-25 (PA-99-087) awards have been made with an average award of about $122 k. The current BRP and BRG program announcements were issued on October 11, 2001, and are PAR-02-010 and PA-02-011, respectively. BECON members were reminded that the new url for the BECON Web site is http://www.becon.nih.gov.

NIH/NSF Training Opportunity Web Site – In response to recommendations resulting from the June 13 –14, 2001, NIH/NSF Workshop on Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Research Training and Education, a Web site containing information on NIH and NSF training opportunities by career level has been developed. The purpose of this Web site is to provide a complete compilation of NIH and NSF training opportunities and related information to ensure that opportunities offered by both agencies are accessible to the quantitative science and biomedical research communities. The Web site can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.nibib.nih.gov/training/trainingopps.html .

Bioengineering Application Review – BECON representatives and CSR representatives met on November 21, 2001, to discuss recommendations of a BECON subcommittee concerning bioengineering application review. Although review of bioengineering applications in general was the focus of the November 21 meeting, the primary emphasis was on review of BRG and other technology-driven applications. The CSR is currently reorganizing their bioengineering study sections and plans to form two IRG’s to review these types of proposals.

Nanotechnology Issues - Three issues were discussed concerning nanotechnology activities at the NIH – (l) the FY2003 Implementation Plan for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), (2) a revised NNI grand challenge, and (3) the NIH Guide Notice (OD-00-016) on NIH nanotechnology research and related SBIR opportunities.

Renewal of BRP Grants – Since the BRP program has been in effect for several years, two issues concerning grant renewal were submitted for consideration – (1) submittal dates for renewal applications and (2) the need for special instructions for renewal applications. After substantial discussion, the consensus of BECON members was that (1) BRP renewal applications should be submitted on the same dates as the new BRP applications and (2) there is no need for special instructions to be included in the BRP announcement. Although specific special instructions were determined to not be necessary, grantees applying for renewals should be encouraged to (1) read the latest BRP program announcement to comply with the latest application requirements and (2) ensure project milestones and results are adequately addressed in the latest progress report.

BRP Grantee Meeting – The Second BRP Grantee Meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 25-26, 2002, at Lister Hill. The first Grantee Meeting was held on March 23, 2001, at the Natcher Center and included 34 BRP grantees for a one-day meeting. There are currently 60 BRP grantees for the second meeting, and this may require new consideration of the objectives and format of the meeting.

DOE/NIH Workshops – A joint DOE/NIH Workshop on Thermographic Approaches to Medical Diagnosis and Therapy was held on December 3-4, 2001, at the Bethesda-Hyatt Hotel. A total of about 35 participants from academia, NIH intramural and extramural programs, and DOE headquarters and laboratories attended the l l/2 day meeting. Proceedings and recommendations of the workshop are available on the Internet at http://www.nibib.nih.gov/events/thermography/index.html .

A second joint DOE/NIH workshop on sensor technologies is tentatively scheduled for mid-February to early-March, 2002, at the Hyatt-Bethesda Hotel. This workshop will focus on NIH needs and applications of sensors in biomedical research and on DOE technologies that could address current problems.

Task Force to Evaluate Bioengineering and Imaging Grants – In response to a Congressional request, the NIH has convened a nine-member task force to evaluate FY 2000 bioengineering and biomedical imaging grants to determine their applicability to the mission of the NIBIB.

BECON 2002 Symposium Status – Extramural co-chairs for the June 25-26, 2002, BECON Symposium on Sensors have been selected, and a preliminary program has been developed. A Web site for the conference is in the final stages of preparation and will be released in the near future.

Future BECON Symposia - Due to time constraints, detailed discussion on this topic was postponed until the January meeting. Specific items to be considered include periodicity of future BECON symposia and the topic for the next conference.

In addition to the above items which were included as part of the formal agenda, the following two items were also discussed:

NIST Advanced Technology Program Awards - A list of NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) awards was distributed at the meeting. This information is also available on the Internet at http://www.atp.nist.gov/awards/2001List.html .

NSF Workshop on Challenges of Chemical and Biological Sensing – Information concerning a NSF Workshop on “The New Challenges of Chemical and Biological Sensing” was distributed at the meeting. This workshop is scheduled for January 9-10, 2002, at NSF Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Next BECON Meeting – The next BECON meeting is scheduled for 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday, January 16, 2002, in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus. A preliminary agenda will be available about a week before the meeting.