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Announcements

Dr. Tabak provided brief updates the recent rollout for the BRAIN initiative, the potential gain-of-function moratorium, and upcoming rollouts of NIH BD2K and Diversity initiatives. Dr. Fauci provided updates on Ebola-related efforts.

IT Infrastructure

Ms. Norris the issue of NIH’s IT infrastructure challenges, including network congestion and low storage capacity, as well as the updates that have been made, which include higher capacities for storage and networking, more flexibility to address a variety of computing needs, better reliability, and science-specific security controls. In addition, the Biowulf Cluster, the only large-scale central computational resource dedicated to biomedical computing in the IRP, will be expanded in its capacity over the next 4 years.

IC Directors expressed appreciation for these expansion efforts, and also discussed the need for utilizing this increased capacity as an incentive for IRP recruitment and for sharing more concrete examples of how the improvements have facilitated enhanced research efforts.

Ethics Discussion re: Service on Professional Boards

Ms. Beckerman Jaffe presented the recent change to the policy on service on the boards of professional organizations. This change is an option that allows for federal employees to serve in leadership roles on the boards of professional societies in one’s official capacity as a federal employee. The policy is designed to allow for flexibility while complying with the necessary statutes and regulations. The NIH Ethics Office will collect data and feedback on policy implementation, as well as post public information for organizations on the policy.

ICDs expressed appreciation for the policy and their hope that it be publicized widely.