The Panel on Scientific Boundaries for Review held a very productive meeting on November 8-9, with all but one member in attendance. At this meeting, we considered the thoughtful comments on our Phase 1 draft report, which were submitted by over 800 individuals and societies. As a result, a number of changes will be made in the final Phase 1 report.

Among the most important changes is the decision to add three Integrated Review Groups (IRGs) to the 21 that were originally proposed in the Phase 1draft report. These are: 1) Biology of Development and Aging; 2) Renal and Urological Sciences, and 3) AIDS and AIDS-Related Research. Our Panel also clarified our intention of leaving intact the study sections that were created in the recently reformulated IRGs for the review of neuroscience research, behavioral and social sciences research, and AIDS and AIDS-related research.

Over the course of the next month, the Panel will be conducting a series of conference calls with a series of experts in specific areas, in order to help us further refine the recommendations in the Phase 1 report. We expect to release the final Phase 1 report in January 2000. The Phase 2 activities of the Panel will begin in early 2000, with the establishment of expert panels, composed of NIH staff and members of the relevant extramural communities. These panels will be asked to design the study sections for several of the newly recommended IRGs. We anticipate that additional such expert panels will be commissioned in 2001 to complete the Phase 2 process.

Members, Panel on Scientific Boundaries for Review