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Background on NINDS Strategic Planning

In 1999, the first NINDS strategic plan, "Neuroscience in the New Millennium" set broad scientific goals across the breadth of the NINDS mission. Building on this foundation, NINDS launched a new strategic planning effort in early 2007 that will combine forward-thinking "blue sky" goals with focused, practical strategies to pursue the NINDS mission more effectively. The challenge for the NINDS is to balance basic, clinical, translational, and disease-related research; seize immediate opportunities while nurturing the long-term advancement of neuroscience; and encourage research in opportune areas while also allowing for unexpected discoveries

The NINDS will begin by developing blue sky goals and grand challenges in basic and clinical neuroscience for the next fifteen years. The Institute will go on to explore how best to focus and prioritize its basic, clinical, translational, and disease-focused research activities in order to realize this vision and pursue its mission more effectively. The NINDS is forming internal working groups and external advisory panels for each of these four themes. The advisory panels will review current NINDS activities and help the Institute set priorities for the next five to ten years. The NINDS will integrate the blue sky goals with the recommendations of the four panels and release a report in early 2009.

Purpose of the Advisory Panel for Translational Research

The Advisory Panel for Translational Research will review current NINDS investments and opportunities in translational research (defined as pre-IND/IDE stage research aimed at developing a therapy or diagnostic) and offer general recommendations to NINDS regarding future investments in this area. The Panel should consider the following overarching questions:

• Has NINDS translational research been as effective as it could be, given the opportunities and resources available?
• What should the NINDS continue to do, and what should it do differently? Are there ways in which the NINDS can support translational research more effectively?
• How should the NINDS decide whether to invest in a new translational research activity and what shape it should take?

The Panel should focus on strategies and opportunities that cut across diseases, rather than disease-specific issues. The Panel should think creatively and broadly but also pragmatically, considering ways that NINDS can best leverage available resources.

Advisory Panel Composition

The Advisory Panel will have 10-12 members. The majority will be from outside the NIH. One or two will be from the NINDS Advisory Council, and one or two may be from other NIH Institutes or Centers.

Advisory Panel Activities

• The Advisory Panel for Translational Research will work closely with NINDS program and policy staff members to identify data or other background materials that will help the Panel formulate its final recommendations to the Institute. The NINDS staff will serve as the Panel's liaisons to the Institute, providing data and any other support requested by the Panel.
• Panel discussions will occur via monthly conference calls and two one-day meetings in the Washington, D.C. area. The first face-to-face meeting will be in early 2008. The second will be a final review of the data and discussion of recommendations in the summer of 2008.
• The final product of the Panel activities will be a summary report and set of recommendations, to be delivered to the NINDS in January of 2009. The primary audience for this report will be the NINDS leadership, although the report will be made public. NINDS planning and communications staff will prepare a separate report for the general public that integrates the conclusions of the Advisory Panel for Translational Research with those from three other strategic planning advisory panels.

Review all NINDS Strategic Planning Modules

Last updated November 13, 2008