IC Directors’ Meeting Highlights — Thursday, September 22, 2016

Announcements: Francis Collins

Dr. Collins reported on Congressional activities relevant to NIH, the UN general assembly meeting, the Rally for Medical Research, and the 20th Anniversary of Friends of Cancer Research. Updates on the ClinicalTrials.gov reforms and the announcement of the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program awards were also provided.

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Nora Volkow

Dr. Volkow (NIDA) provided information on the 2016 CFC campaign, including how ICs can become involved in the campaign.

Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program: Eric Dishman

Mr. Dishman (PMI) provided an update on the progress of the PMI Cohort Program, including information on the Cohort Program’s goals, governance structure, data collection strategies, and current awardees. Discussion focused on participant recruitment retention strategies (including outreach to hard-to-reach populations), innovation pipeline and infrastructure development, and data storage.

Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study: Nora Volkow and George Koob

Dr. Volkow (NIDA) and Dr. Koob (NIAAA) presented an update on the ABCD study, including information on the study rationale, collaborators, research objectives, recruitment and outreach strategies, and plans to share data with the research community. Discussion focused on collaborating with other pediatric programs to increase recruitment of hard-to-reach populations, and standardization and storage of imaging data.