Program areas at FNIH
SEE SCHEDULE O, PROGRAM ONE, RESEARCH PROGRAMS New Public-Private Partnership Supports Development of Pediatric Medical Devices Despite efforts to support innovation in pediatric medical devices, challenges remain in developing these technologies for children, including concerns about device longevity and long-term exposure to implanted materials. The FNIH announced the launch of a project design phase to address the gap in availability of these devices. The project is supported by a public-private partnership between the NIH, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and partners from the private sector. A full-scale pediatric medical device public-private partnership project will follow the design phase, with the goal of developing a sustainable infrastructure for creating and commercializing these devices. STRENGTHENING THE PATIENT VOICE The FNIH puts patients first. When their perspectives are incorporated into our work, the result will be faster medical breakthroughs for some of today's most pressing health challenges. To do this, we work closely with our Patient Ambassadors, made up of people with lived experience of a disease, and our Patient Engagement Council, comprised of representatives of patient-centric organizations. The Council convened its first Patient Summit in 2023. Six Patient Ambassadors, ten members of the Council, and FNIH staff members who attended the day-long event identified and discussed strategies to better involve and engage people with health challenges in FNIH projects. RESEARCH PROGRAMS FOR ADVANCING GLOBAL HEALTH Award-Winning A-PLUS Study: Improving Outcomes for Laboring Women Worldwide Maternal sepsis affects an estimated 6 million women per year and is the third most commoncause of maternal mortality globally. The Azithromycin Prevention in Labor Use Study (A-PLUS), a groundbreaking multinational clinical trial, demonstrated that one dose of azithromycin, a low-cost, generic, oral antibiotic, given during labor to women planning to deliver vaginally could reduce the occurrence of life-threatening sepsis. Initial study results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's Pregnancy Meeting 2023, showed that azithromycin use cut the risk of maternal sepsis by 35% and could prevent up to 2 million such cases per year. Global Pandemic Treaty: FNIH Convenes, Informs Leaders The member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) continued negotiation of a pandemic agreement to "address gaps in preventing, preparing for, and responding to health emergencies [through] a comprehensive and coherent approach to strengthen the global health architecture ... with a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, prioritizing the need for equity." The FNIH in 2023 continued its work to inform WHO and the global community as it considers the treaty. The FNIH, in partnership with WHO's collaborating center at Georgetown University's O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, convened two high-level global consultations to provide technical advice and information on key topics identified by the WHO's Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) as critical for the treaty's success. - In collaboration with UNAIDS, convened an expert group to consider existing models that assert equity as a priority and analyze them for possible inclusion in the treaty. Attendees included: INB Co-Chair Precious Matsoso and senior WHO observers assisting the INB. Report of the convening: Advancing a World Together Equitably - In collaboration with the University of Cape Town, organized a global meeting on the development and deployment of emergency countermeasures, including vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments. The expert group examined case studies for countermeasure development, pandemic clinical trial capabilities, and access and benefit sharing. Report of the convening: Emergency Countermeasure Development and Deployment Thought pieces providing insights into pandemic preparedness were published in Hastings Center Reports and Health Affairs Forefront.
SEE SCHEDULE O, PROGRAM TWO, AWARDS, EVENTS, EDUCATION/TRAINING PROGRAMS PROGRAM TWO - AWARDS, EVENTS, EDUCATION/TRAINING PROGRAMS - POWERING SCIENCE: 2023 FNIH AWARDS The Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences The 2023 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences recognized the outstanding achievements of two researchers, each of whom has made important and distinct discoveries in the field of mitochondrial science. Both awardees achieved milestones in biomedical science by exploring the characteristics and functions of mitochondria in human physiology and disease. The award included a $100,000 honorarium, split between the two awardees and made possible by a donation to the FNIH by philanthropist Ann Lurie, President of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation, President of Lurie Holdings, Inc., and Honorary FNIH Board Member. A distinguished jury of biomedical researchers, chaired by FNIH board member Solomon H. Snyder, MD, selected the 2023 winners. 2023 Award Recipient: Navdeep S. Chandel, PhD, is the David W. Cugell Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Molecular Genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The Chandel research team has shown that mitochondria do much more than supply energy to cells. His research team has revealed how mitochondria function as signaling organelles that control the body's normal functions and impact diseases, including cancer and inflammation. 2023 Award Recipient: Vamsi Mootha, MD, is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, investigator in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and a professor of Systems Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Although mitochondria contain their own DNA that encodes just 13 proteins, the Mootha research team has identified the other 99% of mitochondrial proteins encoded by nuclear DNA and compiled their findings in a widely used reference tool used to discover new protein functions and disease genes. Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists The FNIH Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists recognizes the outstanding contributions of early career clinician-scientists whose work has the potential to, or has led to, innovations in patient care. In searching for potential winners, we seek to highlight true scientific innovators - and this year was no exception. The award celebrates the transformational work of individuals whose research translates basic scientific observations into new paradigm-shifting approaches for diagnosing, preventing, treating, or curing disease and disability. The Trailblazer Prize is made possible by a generous donation from John I. Gallin, MD, and Elaine Gallin, PhD, to the FNIH. 2023 Award Recipient: Vinod Balachandran, MD, is a physician-scientist in the Immuno-Oncology Service of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program and a surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he is also immunology group leader in the David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Dr. Balachandran discovered that rare long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer have unique tumors enriched in neoantigens - foreign proteins arising from cancer mutations - which may trigger immune cells to keep pancreatic cancers in check. He is now translating these laboratory discoveries into new immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer, including the first clinical trials of personalized mRNA vaccines that target neoantigens to provoke the patient's immune system to recognize their individual cancer. Charles A. Sanders, MD, Partnership Award In honor of former FNIH Chairman of the Board Charles A. Sanders, MD, we celebrate our partners and their contributions through the annual Partnership Award. In keeping with Dr. Sanders' vision, the award recognizes persons and/or organizations that have made significant contributions to our work in creating, implementing, and nurturing public-private partnerships that build bridges to breakthroughs in improved therapeutics, diagnostics, and potential cures. A committee comprised of FNIH Board members selected three partners for 2023 who have supported and accelerated the work of the FNIH for many years. 2023 Award Recipient: The National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The NICHD and the FNIH worked together to manage programs initiated by NICHD's Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research with additional support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These collaborations centered on two clinical trials in critical areas of maternal health: The Azithromycin Prevention in Labor Use Study (A-PLUS) and the Prevention of Iron Deficiency Anemia Post-Delivery (PRIORITY) trial. 2023 Award Recipient: GSK. GSK has been a major FNIH partner, supporting more than 35 projects. As longstanding partners of the Biomarkers Consortium, GSK has helped accelerate and advance discovery, development, and regulatory approval for biomarkers that support new drug therapeutics, preventive medicine, and diagnostics. GSK also has supported AMP Programs, tuberculosis research, and families staying at the Edmond J. Safra Family Lodge, which helps guests remain near loved ones being treated at the NIH Clinical Center. 2023 Award Recipient: The O'Neill Family. For 20 years, the O'Neill family has partnered with the FNIH to raise visibility and funds for kidney cancer research. The Dean R. O'Neill Renal Cell Cancer Research Fund supports research fellowships in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Childs at the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to search for a cure for renal cell carcinoma. To date, fellowships have supported the work of ten distinguished scientists. EVENTS AND EDUCATION The Meetings and Events Department conceptualizes, plans, executes and evaluates high-quality, productive, innovative and economical convenings that advance the organization's mission. These convenings include, but are not limited to, research project team meetings and conferences, donor stewardship lectures and symposia, and special events. The department oversees the management of the FNIH's highly respected awards and prizes. In collaboration with the NIH and our generous donors and partners, we manage training initiatives that offer educational opportunities to science students, ranging from high school to post-doctoral scholars, crossing boundaries and cultures. They learn through intensive training, collaborative engagement, mentoring, and hands-on research. Legacy funds from individual benefactors and foundations help move scientific achievement farther, faster, and give hope to future patients. Individual programs provide financial support, mentoring, and recognition to promising young scientists. Here is a just a sample of how the FNIH powers science: - The Medical Research Scholars Program is a one-year intensive training program on the NIH campus offering medical, dental and veterinary students opportunities to become engaged in research early in their careers. The goal is to train the best and brightest students today to produce the leading clinicians and researchers of tomorrow. The FNIH has supported a total of 572 scholars since the program was established. - The Deeda Blair Research Initiative for Disorders of the Brain announced in 2023 its second round of awards to drive innovation in mental health research. Four awardees each received $100,000. - We support scientists and promote them through annual lectures at the National Eye Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, and elsewhere. - For a complete list of all the ways the FNIH is powering science, go to the FNIH website.