130th Meeting Minutes

Minutes - September 5, 2018

The National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse convened its 130th meeting at 9:00 a.m. on September 5, 2018 in Conference Rooms C & D, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Bethesda, Maryland. The closed portion of the meeting held on September 5th was for reviewing applications for Federal grant assistance and was open only to Council members and Federal employees. The open portion, which was open to the public, began at 10:30 a.m. and was also video cast. The Council adjourned on September 5, 2018 at 3:54 p.m. 

Council Members Present
Judith Auerbach, Ph.D.
Julie Blendy, Ph.D.
John Carnevale, Ph.D.
Linda Chang, M.D.
H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D.
Arthur Dean, M.A.
Karl Deisseroth, M.D., Ph.D.
Marie Gallo Dyak
Jay Giedd, M.D.
Kenneth Mackie, M.D.
Lisa Marsch, Ph.D.
Edward Nunes, M.D.
Robert Rancourt, J.D.
Steffanie Strathdee, Ph.D. 

Ad Hoc Members
Carlos del Rio M.D.
Lakshmi Devi, Ph.D.
Gail D’Onofrio, M.D.
Christian Heidbreder, Ph.D. 

Council Chair
Nora Volkow, M.D.

Executive Secretary
Susan Weiss, Ph.D.

Federal Employees Present

Members of the Public Present

Colm Everard, Ph.D.—Kforce Government Solutions, Inc 
Eve Jelstrom, M.B.A.—The Emmes Corporation 
Nicole Johnston, M.S.—Global Solutions Network 
Elizabeth O’Hare, Ph.D. Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC 
Victor Prikhodko—Contractor 
Ann Rea—Kelly Services, Inc. 
Marushka Silveira, Ph.D.—Kelly Services, Inc. 
Peter Strumph, M.B.A.—Amygdala Neurosciences, Inc. 
Albert Terrillion, Dr. P.H.—Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America 
Roy Walker, M.B.A.—Synergy Enterprises, Inc. 
Robert Yates, M.S.—SRI International 

Closed Portion of the Meeting – September 5, 2018

1. Call to Order

   This portion of the meeting was closed to the public in accordance with sections 552b(c) (4) and 552b(c) (6), Title 5, U.S. Code and section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2). 

   Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, NIDA, called the meeting to order and welcomed the Council and staff. She reminded those present that the Federal Advisory Committee Act applies to Council meetings and that this portion of the meeting was closed to the public. 

   Dr. Susan Weiss, Executive Secretary, summarized relevant NIH policies, provided detailed instructions on Council review procedures, and reminded those present about NIH confidentiality and conflict of interest policies. 

2. Application Reviews

   Drs. Rita Valentino, Carlos Blanco, and Kurt Rasmussen the Directors of NIDA’s Division of Neuroscience and Behavior, the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, and the Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences, respectively, presented their Division’s assigned and peer reviewed applications for consideration by the Council. For each, Council provided unanimous en bloc concurrence with the initial scientific review. Several Administrative Supplements, four MERIT Awards, and three Special Council Review applications were presented to Council for Special Council Review, and Council concurred with program assessments. The initial reviews of all Trans-NIH Initiatives, including NIH Common Fund, Blueprint and BRAIN applications as well as foreign applications and applications with a secondary assignment to NIDA also received Council concurrence. 

   Council and staff were recused from the Council meetings during discussion of, and voting on, individual applications from their own institutions or other applications for which there was a conflict of interest, real or apparent. Conflicts of interest statements were signed by each member of the Council. Members were not required to leave the room if an application in conflict with that member was acted upon en bloc. 

Open Portion of the Meeting

1. Call to Order

   Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, NIDA, called the open portion of the meeting to order and welcomed all attendees. She reminded the Council and audience that the meeting was open to the public in compliance with the Government in the Sunshine Act and indicated that time would be provided for public comment. Dr. Volkow welcomed four ad-hoc council members: Drs. Carlos del Rio, Lakshmi Devi, Gail D’Onofrio, and Christian Heidbreder. 

   She then called attention to future Council meeting dates: February 13, 2019, May 14, 2019 (NACDA), May 15, 2019 (CRAN), and September 5, 2019. 

2. Consideration of the Minutes of Council

   The Minutes of the May 2018 NIDA Advisory Council, as well as the Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH (CRAN) Joint Advisory Council meetings were unanimously approved as written. 

3. NIDA Director’s Report (NIH Videocast @ 0:09:15) — Nora Volkow, M.D., Director, NIDA

   Dr. Volkow presented an update on multiple topics critical to NIDA’s mission including an overview of NIDA’s portfolio and budget; NIDA’s continued efforts with the BRAIN Initiative; Cannabis laws in the U.S.; the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, including an article of interest in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience’s August 2018 Special Issue on the rationale, aims and assessment strategy of the ABCD Consortium. Further, she provided an update on NIDA’s role and research initiatives as part of the NIH 5 

   Helping to End Addiction over the Long-term (HEAL) Initiative and it’s many projects including NIDA’s focused medication development research project, as well as NIDA’s efforts with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) integrated treatment initiative called the HEALing Communities Study. Dr. Volkow concluded her Director’s Report by noting the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Addiction Science Awards. 

   Council thanked Dr. Volkow for her presentation and a discussion followed (NIH Videocast @1:11:45). 

4. Accelerating Precision Health for All of Us (NIH Videocast @ 1:57:36) — Eric Dishman, Director, All of Us Research Program, NIH 

   Mr. Dishman spoke about his own personal story as a survivor of renal cancer and his journey to becoming a patient advocate. His experiences and passion for helping others have shaped the mission and objectives of the All of Us Research Program. The mission of the program is to accelerate health research and medical breakthroughs, enabling individualized prevention and treatment that takes into account individual differences in lifestyle, environment, and biology. The objectives are: to nurture relationships with one million or more participant partners, from all walks of life; to catalyze a robust ecosystem of researchers and funders hungry to use and support it; and to deliver the largest, richest biomedical resource ever, making it as easy, safe and free to use as possible. 

   Dr. Volkow and Council members thanked Mr. Dishman for sharing his personal experiences and for leading such a formidable project. 

5. Catalyzing Translational Innovation (NIH Videocast @ 2:37:30) — Christopher P. Austin, M.D., Director, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH 

   Dr. Christopher Austin spoke about some of the challenges and enormous opportunities to deliver on the promise of science for patients through translational innovation. He also spoke about the NCATS mission and how he envisioned enhancing partnerships with NIDA. One such study supported by NCATS is at Duke University using a very specific pharmacotherapy to manipulate the ghrelin receptor in a way that might be useful in the treatment of reward disorders and addiction. 

   Dr. Volkow and Council members thanked Dr. Austin for his presentation. 

6. Update on the HEALing Communities Initiative (NIH Videocast @ 3:24:06) — Redonna Chandler, Ph.D., Director, AIDS Research Program NIDA, NIH 

   Dr. Chandler spoke about the HEALing Communities Study that is a part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative and a partnership between NIH, NIDA and SAMHSA. She described the background, goals, primary outcomes, and some of the activities to date. 

   Dr. Volkow and Council members thanked Dr. Chandler for her presentation and for her work to date on this important initiative. 

7. Concept Clearances (NIH Videocast@ 3:47:00) – NIDA Staff

   Tanya Ramey, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Officer, Medical Clinical Branch, Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences (DTMC) presented: Laboratories for Early Clinical Evaluation of Pharmacotherapies for Substance Use Disorders. 

   Irina Sazonova, M.S., Ph.D., Challenges and Prize Competitions, Educational Programs, Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations (OTIPI) presented: Virtual Reality Tools to Enhance Evidence Based Treatment of Substance Use Disorders. 

8. Public Comments (NIH Videocast @ 4:03:42) 
   None.

9. Adjourn (NIH Videocast@ 4:04:05) 
   The 130th meeting of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse was adjourned at 3:54 p.m. 

Certification

I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are accurate and complete.

Note: Informational materials provided to the public at the open session of the meeting may be obtained from the Executive Secretary.