BECON MEETING MINUTES

BECON MEETING – December 18, 2002

Public Minutes

The NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) met from 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday, December 18, 2002, in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus. The following text provides the minutes of this meeting.

The meeting began with a statement from Dr.Wendy Baldwin, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, who served as BECON Chair for the first five years of the Consortium’s existence. Dr. Baldwin is leaving the NIH for a position at the University of Kentucky beginning in January 2003. She thanked the BECON members for their support and contributions, and stated that the Consortium was one of the most professionally satisfying efforts of her NIH career. BECON members thanked Dr. Baldwin for her contributions and wished her well with her new position.

BECON Nanotechnology and Bioengineering (R21) Announcements – The BECON Nanotechnology announcement has been issued in the “NIH Guide”. The BECON Bioengineering Research (R21) announcement had only one hold which should be resolved in the very near future. BECON members were reminded that the new BRP announcement was issued as PAR-03-032, and that the application deadlines are January 23 and August 2, 2003.

BRP Grantee Meeting – The consensus of the BECON members was to hold the Third BRP Grantee Meeting immediately after the BECON 2003 Symposium in late June. Although the BRP Grantee Meetings have been held in late March, the focus of this year’s symposium (team science) should be of interest to most grantees, and scheduling the events at the same time should facilitate travel and attendance. A draft one-day agenda that will incorporate grantee presentations, NIH-grantee discussions, and NIH informational talks into the program will be developed before the next meeting.

BECON 2003 Symposium Status – Dan Sullivan, the NIH Chair of the BECON 2003 Symposium, discussed the status of planning and coordinating efforts. The conference will focus on “Catalyzing Team Science” and will be aimed at an audience of investigators, academic administrators, and funding agency representatives. The preliminary agenda being considered consists of plenary talks followed by case studies. Breakout sessions aimed at considering publication requirements, funding criteria, academic requirements, and industry participation are also being considered.

Future of BRP Program – After four years of experience with the Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) program, several issues have emerged which the BECON needs to consider to make the program more effective and attractive to individual NIH institutes and centers. A BECON subcommittee was formed to develop a final list of issues that need to be considered.

The next BECON meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15, 2003, 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.