BECON MEETING MINUTES

BECON MEETING – March 19, 2003

Public Minutes

Minutes

The NIH’s Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) met from 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday, March 19, in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The following text provides the minutes for this meeting.

Status of BRP Grants – A one-page list of BRP applications considered for the October 2002 and January 2003 councils was distributed at the meeting.

DHHS Tissue Engineering Initiative – The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is undertaking an initiative aimed at determining important applications of tissue engineering and research needs to realize the benefits associated with these applications. A report on tissue engineering research at the NIH based on IC input for the initial phase of this effort was distributed.

BECON 2003 Status - A one-page summary of the status of the BECON 2003 symposium on “Catalyzing Team Science” was distributed at the meeting. Plans for the breakout sessions are proceeding well, and most sessions are complete with regard to moderators (two per session) and speakers (four per session). The symposium Web site is active, and registration has started. Current emphasis is to complete the rosters for all breakout sessions and increase advertising activities.

Status of the National Nanotechnology Initiative – The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has been active for several years and involves almost every federal agency. Initial efforts were aimed at determining applications and opportunities for nanotechnology, and several workshops have been held to provide this information. Current activities are coordinated by the National Nanotechnology Coordinating Office, and the NIH participates in this effort.

Response to BECON Nanotechnology Solicitation – More than 50 applications were received in response to the February deadline for the BECON nanotechnology research solicitation. A scan of the submittals indicated many high-quality proposals. A meeting of solicitation coordinators was held on March 19 to (l) determine assignments for the proposals and (2) develop a list of reviewers. The next receipt date for proposals in response to this solicitation is in August.

Results of Subcommittee Review of the BRP Program - A BECON Subcommittee conducted an evaluation of the BRP program with regard to continuation of the program and the need for modifications. The BRP program has been in existence for almost five years and typically has two receipt dates per year. The number of funded grants has increased from13 in then first year to about 105 in March 2003. Two BRP grantee meetings were conducted during 2001 and 2002, and these have produced positive feedback and grantee interaction. Based on the benefits resulting from the program, elimination was not considered to be warranted. In addition to the valuable research and partnerships produced by the BRP grants, the special review process developed to meet the need of multi-disciplinary and some design-driven applications is working well and needs to be retained. The subcommittee recommended that the program be continued with some minor modifications. A second subcommittee was established to prepare the next BRP solicitation.

BECON 2004 Symposium Topic – During and subsequent to the February BECON meeting, three topics were identified as candidates for the BECON 2004 Symposium – (l) the future of surgery, (2) medical and biological engineering by design, and (3) signal and data processing for disease diagnosis, characterization , and treatment. After substantial discussion, the signal and data processing topic was considered the best candidate by the majority of the BECON members, and a more detailed description will be prepared for the April BECON meeting.

Next BECON Meeting: The next BECON meeting is scheduled for 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday, April 23, in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus. A preliminary agenda will be available about a week before the meeting.