BECON MEETING MINUTES

BECON MEETING – February 20, 2002

Minutes

The NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) met from 3 to 5:30 PM on Wednesday, February 20, 2002, in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The meeting was an entirely closed session with most discussion focused on the BRP Grantee Meeting, BRG review instructions, and topics for the BECON 2003 symposium. The following text is the minutes for this meeting.

This meeting marked the fifth anniversary of the BECON which was established in February 1997 by Harold Varmus, the Director of the NIH at that time.

1. BRP Application and Grant Status – The status of BRP applications considered during the October 2001 and January 2002 Councils was discussed at the meeting.

2. BECON 2002 Status – Plans for the June 24-25 BECON Symposium on sensors are proceeding. Moderators for all breakout sessions have been identified, and selection of panel members will begin soon. The Web site has been released, and on-line registration is active. Planning for the Tuesday afternoon outreach session will begin in the near future.

3. BRP Grantee Meeting – The Second BRP Grantee Meeting is scheduled for March 25-26 at the Bethesda Hyatt Hotel. A preliminary agenda was discussed for the l l/2 day meeting.

4. Instructions to BRG Reviewers – Results of a BECON subcommittee effort to develop a template aimed at providing instructions concerning criteria for review of Bioengineering Research Grant (BRG) applications were discussed.

5. Bioengineering Review Status – A meeting of the BECON Bioengineering Research Grant (BRG) Review Subcommittee and representatives of the CSR was held in early February to discuss recommendations from an earlier meeting held in December 2001. The current plan for CSR to review BRG applications is to cluster them as much as possible in appropriate study sections and for the SRA’s to highlight the objectives and characteristics of the BRG program prior to the review of the cluster of proposals.

6. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Priorities for the NIH – A summary of NIH nanoscience and nanotechnology research priorities waqs distributed and discussed. The list is a revision of the one discussed at the January 2002 BECON meeting and is based on contributions from several BECON members.

7. Nanoechnology Success Stories - Two success stories associated with NIH-funded nanotechnology research were distributed at the meeting.

8. BECON 2003 Topics – Most of the discussion focused on topics for the BECON 2003 symposium. Summaries of two topic proposals were distributed and discussed.

The next BECON Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, from 3 to 5 PM in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus. A preliminary agenda will be available about a week before the meeting.