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Stroke Progress Review Group


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Background

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is the Nation's leading supporter of biomedical research on disorders of the brain and nervous system, including basic, clinical, and population-based research to identify and study the causes, biology, prevention, early detection, and treatment of stroke. Through years of research, researchers supported by the NINDS have amassed a significant knowledge base about stroke, and this knowledge, coupled with new technologies, is providing a wealth of new scientific opportunities. At the same time, increasing research needs and scientific opportunities require that the Institute determine the best uses for its resources. It is necessary to identify clear scientific priorities, both to provide guidance for the scientific community and to create a benchmark against which progress can be measured.

The Stroke Progress Review Group (Stroke PRG) was modeled after the National Cancer Institute's planning process originally established to assist the NCI in assessing the state of knowledge and identifying scientific opportunities and needs within its large, site-specific cancer research programs.

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Charge to the PRG

The Stroke PRG was charged with assisting the NINDS in addressing the Institute's stroke research program. PRG members were asked to take a broad view in identifying and prioritizing unmet scientific needs and opportunities that are critical to the advancement of this research field. The Stroke PRG was specifically charged with the following:

  1. Identify and prioritize scientific research opportunities and needs, and the scientific resources needed to address them, to advance medical progress.
  2. Compare and contrast these priorities with a NINDS-prepared analysis of its stroke research portfolio.
  3. Develop a research plan of action that addresses unmet opportunities and needs.
  4. Prepare a written report describing the PRG's findings and recommendations for deliberation by the National Advisory Council on Neurological Disorders and Stroke. This report was the final product of the Stroke PRG's efforts and deliberations.

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The PRG Process

The Stroke-PRG members were prominent scientists, clinicians, consumer advocates and industry representatives who together represented the full spectrum of scientific expertise required to make comprehensive recommendations for the NINDS stroke research agenda. Members were also selected for their ability to take a broad view in identifying and prioritizing scientific needs and opportunities that are critical to advancing the field of stroke research.

The initial Stroke PRG met in 2001. The Stroke PRG held a planning meeting where additional participants were identified to take part in a subsequent larger Roundtable meeting, and topics were identified for Roundtable breakout sessions to which the participants were assigned and for which the PRG leadership served as co-chairs.

The Stroke PRG Roundtable Meeting brought together approximately 140 leading members of the stroke research and advocacy communities, representing diverse institutions and scientific disciplines. These experts met in an open forum in which they formulated key scientific questions and priorities for the next 5-10 years of stroke research. NINDS provided the PRG Roundtable with extensive information about its stroke research programs for use in their review. The research priorities and resource needs that the Roundtable identified in the course of their deliberations formed the basis for the Stroke PRG Report published in January 2002.

Approximately 5 years later, in September 2006, NINDS reconvened the Stroke PRG to provide a mid-point review of scientific progress in each of the 16 topical areas identified in the original report, as well as an assessment of ongoing and future opportunities and needs. The resulting report was published on the NINDS website.

In 2011, the NINDS again reconvened the Stroke PRG for a final review and assessment of progress in the previous decade on the PRG recommendations, as well as the identification of future needs and challenges moving forward. The resulting report, published in January, 2012, served as a starting point for a new phase of stroke planning.

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Last updated January 31, 2013