BECON MEETING MINUTES

BECON MEETING – October 15, 2003

The NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) met from 3 to 5 PM on Wednesday, October 15, 2003, in Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH Main Campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Most of the discussion focused on the BECON 2004 Symposium planned for June 2004. The following text provides the minutes for this meeting.

New BRP Solicitation – The new BRP solicitation (re-issue of PAR-03-032) was posted on the NIH ENS about two weeks ago. The announcement was coordinated by a BECON subcommittee and contains several new features recommended at the BECON 2003 Symposium on Team Science. The goal is to release the new BRP solicitation to the "NIH Guide" in late October.

Dairy Products – This BECON meeting was the last one for John Watson of the NHLBI. In recognition of Dr. Watson’s charter membership to the BECON and his many contributions to the Consortium and bioengineering in general, ice cream treats were provided to the BECON members, and Dr. Watson’s legacy in terms of unique contributions was discussed. Dr. Watson acknowledged the BECON as an effective and enjoyable organization, and Jeff Schloss thanked Dr. Watson’s for his dedication and many technical and social contributions. Dr. Watson will be retiring from the NIH in early November.

Status of BRP Grant Applications - A five-page summary of BRP applications for the last four advisory council rounds (October 2002 through October 2003) was distributed at the meeting.

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Interest Group -.In view of the broad intra-NIH and national interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology, discussion was held concerning a possible initiative to establish a Special Interest Group on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the NIH. A copy of the NIH Web site for special interest groups http://www.nih.gov/sigs/sigs.htm was distributed at the meeting. Considering that there is already significant interest in nanotechnology at the NIH and that the BECON has been coordinating trans-NIH nanotechnology activities, it is appropriate to gauge the level of interest in such a special interest group through the BECON.

BECON 2004 Status - Most discussion at this meeting focused on the BECON2004 Symposium which is scheduled for June 2004 at the Natcher Conference Center. The Planning Committee for the Symposium has met several times since the September BECON meeting. A one-page summary of the title and proposed content for the symposium was distributed at the meeting. The symposium is titled "Informatics for Clinical Decision-Making for the 21^{st Century" and will include participation from the NIH BISTIC Consortium. Four focus areas are planned – informatics used in support of clinical decision making, databases for software optimization and validation, role of computation and modeling, and medical decision making for physician acceptance and regulatory issues. A BECON 2004 Advisory Committee meeting aimed at obtaining extramural input on the agenda, format, and content of the symposium is planned for the near future.}

BECON Chair - The current BECON Chair has held the position for about two years. Discussion at previous BECON meetings indicated that a two-year term was probably appropriate for the chair. The next chair will be elected by the official IC BECON representatives soon after the candidate list is prepared.

Next BECON Meeting – The next BECON meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19, from 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.