The National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council met virtually from February 14-15, 2024. The NANDS Council is composed of highly accomplished scientists and clinicians as well as members of the public, such as representatives from patient groups. Together, these Council members bring broad expertise and experience to guide NINDS on program planning, policies, and research priorities. They also provide a second level of review for all grants and cooperative agreements that NINDS is considering for funding and review ongoing programs in both the extramural and intramural research programs. I am grateful to them for giving their time and expertise to the NIH. I’d also like to thank Dr. David Owens, who is serving as Acting Director of the Division of Extramural Research at NINDS, and Dr. Anna Taylor, serving as Acting Deputy Director of the Division of Extramural Research, for their work to run this Council meeting.
In my Director’s Report to Council, I discussed how NINDS is responding to an uncertain budget for the remainder of the current fiscal year and beyond. These challenges come in the context of increasing costs to conduct research, with the average requested cost for grant applications and the number of applications to NINDS both rising in recent years. We continue to plan for a number of possible budget scenarios, and NINDS staff are working hard to make the most of taxpayers’ investment in neuroscience research. I also shared updates on our activities with NANDS Council working groups, including our implementation of the Fundamental Neuroscience Working Group Recommendations and the new IdeaScale campaign launched by the NANDS ME/CFS Research Roadmap Working Group. In addition, I discussed several NIH-wide policy updates, including reports from two working groups of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director: Re-envisioning NIH-Supported Postdoctoral Training and Catalyzing the Development and Use of Novel Alternative Methods to Advance Biomedical Research.
The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® Initiative, or The BRAIN Initiative®, is celebrating its 10th year of supporting ground-breaking science, and I took some time to highlight its remarkable accomplishments. Last year, a research team based at the University of Pittsburgh published a study demonstrating spinal cord stimulation improving voluntary arm and hand movement in two people with partial paralysis after a stroke. Remarkable results have been reported with similar spinal stimulation in persons with spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease. As a neurologist, I am heartened to see the recent development of such promising applications. Additionally, the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) completed several momentous projects last year, reported in a landmark compendium of over 20 papers detailing the cell types of human and non-human primate brains, and a series of 10 papers describing the type, location, and molecular information of more than 32 million cells in the mouse brain. These extraordinary efforts will propel the field of neuroscience forward by enabling precise access to different cell types to monitor and modulate the activity of neural circuits.
We also heard from Dr. Helene Langevin, Director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, who presented on two current challenges in research on musculoskeletal pain: First, connecting our extensive knowledge of the neuro-psycho-social aspects of musculoskeletal pain with the less-studied peripheral tissue environment of musculoskeletal pain beyond the nervous system (structural, mechanical, and metabolic); Second, understanding and supporting the various ways that our central nervous system reduces and augments perceptions of pain (also known as endogenous pain resolution) and the prevention of acute to chronic musculoskeletal pain transition. Dr. Langevin highlighted several bold and ambitious programs through the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative that are addressing these challenges, including Developing Quantitative Imaging and Other Relevant Biomarkers of Myofascial Tissues for Clinical Pain Management, the Restoring Joint Health Function to Reduce Pain Consortium (RE-JOIN), and the Back Pain Consortium Research Program (BACPAC). Putting all of these projects together, we hope to obtain a more complete picture of musculoskeletal pain. We learned more about NIH HEAL Initiative preclinical programs from Dr. Michael Oshinsky, Director of the NINDS Preclinical Pain Office. Dr. Linda Porter, Director of the NINDS Office of Pain Policy and Planning, provided an update on the overall HEAL Initiative pain portfolio, including clinical and workforce programs. You can read more about the crucial work of the HEAL Initiative in my September 2023 Director’s Message and an upcoming message, so stay tuned!
The open session of the meeting also included initiatives for concept clearance, including a new concept for institutional research training programs in neurological health disparities/health equity research (approved concepts will be posted in coming weeks), and an update on the NINDS Intramural Research Program (IRP) from Dr. Jeffery Diamond, the Scientific Director. The NINDS IRP is home to more than 500 scientists who conduct leading-edge basic, translational, and clinical research in neuroscience, neurology, and neurosurgery at NINDS laboratories in Bethesda, Maryland. The NINDS IRP has a robust cohort of investigators at early, mid, and late career stages making scientific advances in areas such as epilepsy, dementia, stroke, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. I highlighted many of these advances from the NINDS IRP, along with others funded by the NINDS Extramural Research Program, in my January 2024 Director’s Message.
Finally, Alissa Gallagher, Director of the NINDS Office of Neuroscience Communications and Engagement, led a discussion about our plan to use the upcoming 75th Anniversary of NINDS to communicate and celebrate our scientific accomplishments, imagine the future of neuroscience, broaden our networks of collaboration, and help to restore public trust in science. As part of this celebration, we will travel across the country and convene scientific symposia and workshops to help broaden the reach and impact of our scientific progress and to foster our critical working relationships with you and all of our partners by engaging in bi-directional communications. These anniversary activities will also be timely opportunities to engage with our community as we set the stage for the next NINDS Strategic Plan. We look forward to celebrating this important milestone with all of you. Please be on the look-out as we share more information and opportunities for public engagement over the next year.
I am incredibly grateful to our program, grants management, committee management, and all staff at the Institute who contribute to making these Council meetings a success.
Related Resources:
- NANDS Council 222nd Meeting Agenda(pdf, 187 KB)
- NIH Videocast of the 222nd meeting of the NANDS Council (timestamps included below)
- Report of the Interim Director, Division of Extramural Activities, NINDS [05:42-18:54]
- Report of the Director, NINDS, and Discussion [18:58-1:18:03]
- Multi-IC Program on Musculoskeletal Pain [1:18:44-1:56:45]
- HEAL Initiative Update and Council Discussion [1:56:46-2:54:12]
- Concept Clearance [2:54:13-3:25:50]
- 75th Anniversary Discussion [3:25:51-3:43:00]
- State of Intramural Research Program [3:43:01-4:07:45]