566 lines
82 KiB
Text
566 lines
82 KiB
Text
|
||
<!DOCTYPE html>
|
||
<html lang="en" dir="ltr">
|
||
<head>
|
||
<meta charset="utf-8" />
|
||
<meta name="description" content="National Institutes of Health" />
|
||
<meta name="google" content="vityevxlt8UuVFWvgz9_YwmJ5F0Nby_B3t54LLh-3Zw,lACaj571Gx_VdLF3HKSKUf1Wxx0H_bWxO3BYDZ_C1uw" />
|
||
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="vityevxlt8UuVFWvgz9_YwmJ5F0Nby_B3t54LLh-3Zw" />
|
||
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="lACaj571Gx_VdLF3HKSKUf1Wxx0H_bWxO3BYDZ_C1uw" />
|
||
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="UDfyeEAWNX_rJUHwog9j1kziEnByGwhkSJGLJclUWDA" />
|
||
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
|
||
<script type="application/ld+json">{
|
||
"@context": "https://schema.org",
|
||
"@graph": [
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "WebPage",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings/naec-meeting-minutes-february-3-2023",
|
||
"breadcrumb": {
|
||
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
|
||
"itemListElement": [
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 1,
|
||
"name": "Home",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 2,
|
||
"name": "About NEI",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 3,
|
||
"name": "Advisory Committees",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/advisory-committees"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 4,
|
||
"name": "National Advisory Eye Council (NAEC)",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 5,
|
||
"name": "Minutes of Past NAEC Meetings",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings"
|
||
},
|
||
{
|
||
"@type": "ListItem",
|
||
"position": 6,
|
||
"name": "NAEC Meeting Minutes - February 3, 2023",
|
||
"item": "https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings/naec-meeting-minutes-february-3-2023"
|
||
}
|
||
]
|
||
},
|
||
"author": {
|
||
"@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov",
|
||
"name": "National Eye Institute",
|
||
"url": "https://www.nei.nih.gov"
|
||
},
|
||
"publisher": {
|
||
"@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
|
||
"@id": "https://www.nei.nih.gov",
|
||
"name": "National Eye Institute",
|
||
"url": "https://www.nei.nih.gov"
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
]
|
||
}</script>
|
||
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/themes/custom/nei/images/favicon.png" />
|
||
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/themes/custom/nei/images/apple-touch-icon.png" />
|
||
<meta name="last-updated" content="Jan 7, 2025, 4:06:53 PM" />
|
||
<link rel="icon" href="/themes/custom/nei/favicon.ico" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" />
|
||
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings/naec-meeting-minutes-february-3-2023" />
|
||
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings/naec-meeting-minutes-february-3-2023" />
|
||
<link rel="shortlink" href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/node/3956" />
|
||
|
||
<title>NAEC Meeting Minutes - February 3, 2023 | National Eye Institute</title>
|
||
<link rel="preload" href="/themes/custom/nei/fonts/Aleo-Bold.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>
|
||
<link rel="preload" href="/themes/custom/nei/fonts/Lato-Regular.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/sites/default/files/css/css_PGSk_7b88hq2qr_--_38MLvoj1ffr9jv3JhnNJTnKUM.css?delta=0&language=en&theme=nei&include=eJw1ytEKgCAMRuEXsnwk-dMxrOliTqi3j4iuDnycfFCprpbyHK4tDb-FRvwSshrFYvOErNhxBUHnCaYEcbJ_61Qji26Q5ZXa-QH_YCJ9" />
|
||
<link rel="stylesheet" media="all" href="/themes/custom/nei/css/style.css?sraguf" />
|
||
|
||
<script type="application/json" data-drupal-selector="drupal-settings-json">{"path":{"baseUrl":"\/","pathPrefix":"","currentPath":"node\/3956","currentPathIsAdmin":false,"isFront":false,"currentLanguage":"en"},"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","gtag":{"tagId":"","consentMode":false,"otherIds":[],"events":[],"additionalConfigInfo":[]},"suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"eJxdjFsOwjAMBC8U6iNFbmKZgPNQ7BTK6SmgCsrPrndkTbhSTFa7D0OtZq-2Cil8yoWOj5WYYT8c18pC3pCBt_jfE17wfoTZCRYeyORRjPruLmhpIS-b2EvFmArD73CFErDUGeWkoadmekCb5fXVsCN3bGeF2EdDmb5kGqWNWZKeKTpd1SjDjEpuSXRTeOeUaxxCT9WYZ50","theme":"nei","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":{"form_action_p_pvdeGsVG5zNF_XLGPTvYSKCf43t8qZYSwcfZl2uzM":true},"gtm":{"tagId":null,"settings":{"data_layer":"dataLayer","include_classes":false,"allowlist_classes":"google\nnonGooglePixels\nnonGoogleScripts\nnonGoogleIframes","blocklist_classes":"customScripts\ncustomPixels","include_environment":false,"environment_id":"","environment_token":""},"tagIds":["GTM-TLVNS7W"]},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"c48594e108b5c1c2bea409821b71477d5bc2724c8cae6d31f1d985af0daab85c"}}</script>
|
||
<script src="/sites/default/files/js/js_WgzMsgqb-MiW-Z2aLffGQHepZwX2hWrEHSrb46WqZrk.js?scope=header&delta=0&language=en&theme=nei&include=eJxdjEEOgCAMBD-E9kmkYrOpqdQAMerr5eBBvUx29jCp8HUKQOkZAe4wiY1B6Pj7yAsf33MNmZvuEq0nojnPmkFvCVmUYD6xDTUV3Vq9ATUbLxk"></script>
|
||
<script src="https://script.crazyegg.com/pages/scripts/0117/6571.js" async></script>
|
||
<script src="/modules/contrib/google_tag/js/gtag.js?sraguf"></script>
|
||
<script src="/modules/contrib/google_tag/js/gtm.js?sraguf"></script>
|
||
|
||
</head>
|
||
<body class="t-page t-node__3956 path-about-advisory-committees-national-advisory-eye-council-naec-minutes-past-naec-meetings-naec-meeting-minutes-february-3-2023">
|
||
<a href="#main-content" class="u-skip-link">
|
||
Skip to content
|
||
</a>
|
||
<noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-TLVNS7W"
|
||
height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
|
||
|
||
<div class="dialog-off-canvas-main-canvas" data-off-canvas-main-canvas>
|
||
|
||
<div id="u-page-outer" class="u-outer">
|
||
<div class="views-element-container site-notice-block" id="block-views-block-site-notices-block-1">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div class="js-view-dom-id-bca3892fe522a94248c74087cbf8646ffbc018befc8d0e64978ba8c06dc01631 site-notices">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<img src="/themes/custom/nei/images/NEI-logo-tagline.svg" alt="" width="200" height="48" class="u-print-only">
|
||
<div class="r-global-header">
|
||
<div id="r-header-outer" class="r-header">
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-header-inner">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-branding" class="o-block--logo" role="banner">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-logo">
|
||
<a href="/" class="o-logo__link" title="Home" rel="home"><span class="o-logo__text">National Eye Institute</span> <span class="o-logo__tagline">Research Today… Vision Tomorrow</span></a>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-neimenubutton-2">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-menu-toggle"><button class="o-menu-toggle__btn" id="menu-toggle__btn" aria-controls="block-mainnavigation" aria-expanded="true">Menu</button></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="language-switcher-language-url has-no-translation" id="block-languageswitcher" role="navigation" aria-label="Language switcher">
|
||
|
||
|
||
<ul class="links">
|
||
<li class="is-active">
|
||
<a href="/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings/naec-meeting-minutes-february-3-2023" class="language-link is-active" lang="en" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3956" aria-current="page">English</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/espanol/node/3956" class="language-link is-active" lang="es" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3956" aria-current="page"> Español</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="search-global c-search--global" data-drupal-selector="search-global" id="block-globalsearchform" role="search">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<form action="/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings/naec-meeting-minutes-february-3-2023" method="post" id="search-global" accept-charset="UTF-8">
|
||
<div class="c-form__inner">
|
||
<div class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textfield form-item-global-terms js-form-item-global-terms">
|
||
<label for="edit-global-terms">Search the site</label>
|
||
<input data-drupal-selector="edit-global-terms" type="text" id="edit-global-terms" name="global-terms" value="" size="30" maxlength="128" placeholder="Search the site" class="form-text" />
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<input data-drupal-selector="form-xtrknf6d8ezfn4hrnh6vfrd09-ybi2pzjbx6xvu7v88" type="hidden" name="form_build_id" value="form-XtrKNF6d8eZfn4Hrnh6vFrD09-YBi2pzJbX6XVU7v88" />
|
||
<input data-drupal-selector="edit-search-global" type="hidden" name="form_id" value="search_global" />
|
||
<div data-drupal-selector="edit-global-actions" class="form-actions js-form-wrapper form-wrapper" id="edit-global-actions"><input data-drupal-selector="edit-global-submit" type="submit" id="edit-global-submit" name="op" value="Search" class="button js-form-submit form-submit" />
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</form>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-menu-primary">
|
||
<nav aria-label="Main navigation" id="block-mainnavigation" class="o-menu-main__outer">
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu o-menu-main"> <li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/39">Learn About Eye Health</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu o-menu-main__submenu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/healthy-vision" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/788">Healthy Vision</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases">Eye Conditions and Diseases</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/eye-health-data-and-statistics" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/825">Eye Health Data and Statistics</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/campaigns" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3859">Campaigns</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/vision-rehabilitation" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3865">Vision Rehabilitation</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/nei-for-kids" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/162">NEI for Kids</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/outreach-resources" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/125">Outreach Resources</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/grants-and-training" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/143">Grants and Training</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-main__submenu o-menu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/grants-and-training/how-apply" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/145">How to Apply</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/funding-opportunities" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/144">Funding Opportunities</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/training-nei" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/146">Training at NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/funding-training-and-career-development" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/152">Funding for Training and Career Development</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/policies-and-procedures" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/149">Policies and Procedures</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/grants-and-training/Prior-Approval-Requests" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/3918">Prior Approval Requests</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/resources-researchers" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/150">Resources for Researchers</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/grants-and-training/contact-grants-and-funding-staff" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/151">Contact Grants and Funding Staff</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/research" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/41">Research at NEI</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-main__submenu o-menu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/about/news-and-events/news" title="Research News" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="about/news-and-events/news">Research News</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/research/clinical-trials" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/132">Clinical Trials</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/research/research-labs-and-branches" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/270">Research Labs and Branches</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/research/jobs-and-training-opportunities-nei" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/564">Jobs and Training Opportunities at NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/research/seminars" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/4048">NEI Research Seminars</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--expanded o-menu-main__item--no-js"> <a href="/about" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/275">About NEI</a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-main__submenu o-menu"> <li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/about/strategic-planning" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/2857">Strategic Planning</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/news-and-events" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/131">News and Events</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/goals-and-accomplishments" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/281">Goals and Accomplishments</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/nei-history" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/282">NEI History</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/nei-leadership" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/415">NEI Leadership</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/budget-and-congress" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/395">Budget and Congress</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item o-menu-main__item--collapsed"> <a href="/about/advisory-committees" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/285">Advisory Committees</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/learn-about-eye-health/outreach-resources/national-eye-health-education-program" title="National Eye Health Education Program" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/265">National Eye Health Education Program</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-main__item"> <a href="/about/donate-nei" class="o-menu-main__link" data-drupal-link-system-path="node/286">Donate to NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</nav>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-overlay" aria-hidden="true"></div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-breadcrumb">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-breadcrumbs">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<nav aria-label="Breadcrumb">
|
||
<ol class="c-breadcrumb">
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/">Home</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/about">About NEI</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/about/advisory-committees">Advisory Committees</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec">National Advisory Eye Council (NAEC)</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
<a href="/about/advisory-committees/national-advisory-eye-council-naec/minutes-past-naec-meetings">Minutes of Past NAEC Meetings</a>
|
||
</li>
|
||
<li>
|
||
NAEC Meeting Minutes - February 3, 2023
|
||
</li>
|
||
</ol>
|
||
</nav>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-page-header">
|
||
<div class="o-page-header">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-page-title">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<h1>
|
||
<span>NAEC Meeting Minutes - February 3, 2023</span>
|
||
</h1>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-highlighted">
|
||
<div data-drupal-messages-fallback class="hidden"></div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-help">
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<main id="main-content" class="r-main">
|
||
<div class="r-pre-content">
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-splitter">
|
||
<div class="r-content">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-nei-content">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<article data-history-node-id="3956">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-text">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<p><strong>National Institutes of Health</strong></p><p><strong>National Eye Institute</strong><br><strong>Minutes of the National Advisory Eye Council</strong><br><strong>One Hundred Sixty-Fourth Meeting</strong><br><strong>February 3, 2023</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=48813"><strong>Videocast</strong></a></li></ul><p>The National Advisory Eye Council (NAEC) convened for its 164th meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, February 3, 2023. The hybrid meeting was broadcast by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) videocast system, and all observers and participants, including members of the public, attended either virtually or in-person. Michael F. Chiang, MD, Director of the National Eye Institute (NEI), presided as Council Chair, and Kathleen C. Anderson, PhD, served as the Executive Secretary. The meeting was open to the public from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The meeting was closed to the public from 2:15 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. for the review of grant and cooperative agreement applications.</p><h2>Council Members Present:</h2><p>Dr. Michael F. Chiang, Chair (in-person)<br>Dr. Kathleen Anderson, Executive Secretary (in-person)<br>Dr. Terete Borrás (in-person)<br>Dr. James Coughlan (in-person)<br>Dr. Reza Dana (virtual)<br>Dr. Katia Del Rio-Tsonis (in-person)<br>Dr. Thomas Gardner (in-person)<br>Dr. Mary Elizabeth Hartnett (in-person)<br>Dr. Renu Kowluru (in-person)<br>Ms. Janice Lehrer-Stein (in-person)<br>Dr. Maureen Maguire (in-person)<br>Dr. Victor Quinones Perez (in-person)<br>Dr. Benjamin Teller (in-person)</p><h3>NIH Staff Members Present:</h3><p>Mr. Shawn Adolphus (virtual)<br>Dr. Neeraj Agarwal (in-person)<br>Ms. Lisa Applewhite (virtual)<br>Dr. Houmam Araj (in-person)<br>Dr. Sangeeta Bhargava (in-person)<br>Ms. Holly Blake (virtual)<br>Mr. Nathan Brown (in-person)<br>Ms. Shon Carroll (virtual)<br>Ms. Monique Clark (virtual)<br>Mr. Jay Colbert (virtual)<br>Ms. Karen Colbert (virtual)<br>Ms. Claudia Costabile (virtual)<br>Dr. Mary Frances Cotch (virtual)<br>Dr. Kevin Czaplinski (virtual)<br>Mr. Don Everett (in-person)<br>Ms. Devina Fan (virtual)<br>Dr. Martha Flanders (virtual)<br>Dr. Ashley Fortress (virtual)<br>Dr. James Gao (virtual)<br>Ms. Alexandra Gavrilovic (virtual)<br>Dr. Nataliya Gordiyenko (virtual)<br>Dr. Shefa Gordon (in-person)<br>Dr. Tony Gover (in-person)<br>Dr. Tom Greenwell (virtual)<br>Ms. Himide Hardy-Pointer (virtual)<br>Mr. Dustin Hays (virtual)<br>Ms. Lateefah Hill (in-person)<br>Dr. Brian Hoshaw (in-person)<br>Dr. Jeanette Hosseini (virtual)<br>Ms. Stephanie Kennedy (virtual)<br>Dr. Jimmy Le (in-person)<br>Dr. Paek Lee (virtual)<br>Dr. Ellen Liberman (in-person)<br>Ms. Renee Livshin (virtual)<br>Dr. George McKie (in-person)<br>Ms. Archana Mohale (virtual)<br>Dr. Lisa Neuhold (in-person)<br>Ms. Jill Payne (virtual)<br>Mr. Michael Phan (in-person)<br>Ms. Melanie Reagan (virtual)<br>Ms. Amber Reed (virtual)<br>Ms. Carissa Reilly-Weedon (virtual)<br>Dr. David Schneeweis (in-person)<br>Dr. Jennifer Schiltz (virtual)<br>Dr. Grace Shen (in-person)<br>Ms. Rugie Sillah (virtual)<br>Ms. Karen Smith (virtual)<br>Dr. Hongman Song (virtual)<br>Dr. Cibu Thomas (virtual)<br>Dr. Santa Tumminia (in-person)<br>Ms. Leslie West-Bushby (virtual)<br>Dr. Cheri Wiggs (in-person)<br>Dr. Charles Wright (virtual)<br>Ms. Maria Zacharias (in-person)</p><h3><strong>Others Present Virtually:</strong></h3><p>Dr. Anne Coleman (in-person), Guest Speaker<br>Dr. Douglas Rhee (in-person), Guest Speaker</p><p>NOTE: Due to the open videocast format of this meeting, additional NIH staff and members of the public were able to observe the open session of the meeting live and after it had been archived.</p><h2>Welcome and Introductions</h2><p><strong>—Dr. Michael Chiang, Chair, NAEC, and Director, NEI</strong></p><p>Dr. Chiang called the 164th NAEC meeting to order and thanked the organizers for enduring the challenges of producing a hybrid event. He then welcomed guest speakers, Drs. Douglas Rhee and Anne Coleman to the meeting. Dr. Rhee, a glaucoma specialist, is professor and chair of ophthalmology and visual sciences at Case Western University School of Medicine, and the current president of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Dr. Coleman is a glaucoma specialist and epidemiologist working at the interface of ophthalmology and population health, and the director of the Stein Eye Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.</p><p>Dr. Chiang also welcomed two new Council members, Ms. Janice Lehrer-Stein and Dr. Victor Perez Quinones. Ms. Lehrer-Stein is a retired attorney and disability rights activist who serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Foundation for the Blind, and the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Dr. Perez Quinones is a professor of ophthalmology at Duke University and an expert on ocular immunology; he also works to introduce students from disadvantaged backgrounds to science and medicine.</p><p>All Council members briefly introduced themselves.</p><h2>Council Operating Procedures</h2><p><strong>—Dr. Kathleen Anderson, Executive Secretary, NAEC, and Director, Division of Extramural Activities (DEA)</strong></p><p>Dr. Anderson welcomed NEI staff, members of the NEI research and advocacy community, and staff from the NIH Center for Scientific Review, and then made some logistical announcements regarding the coordination of the hybrid meeting.</p><p>She noted that future NAEC meetings are listed on the open agenda and on the NEI website. The next NAEC meeting will be held on June 16, and the October 2024 NAEC meeting has been rescheduled to October 11 due to a conflict.</p><p>Minutes of the October 2022 NAEC meeting were made available in the Electronic Council Book (ECB) prior to the meeting. A motion to accept the October meeting was made, seconded, and approved unanimously.</p><p>Each year in January, the Committee is asked to review the NEI Advisory Council Operating Procedures. The updated procedures were posted in the ECB for review and no substantive changes were made. A motion to accept the 2023 Operating Procedures was made, seconded, and approved unanimously.</p><h2>NEI Director's Report</h2><p><strong>—Dr. Michael Chiang</strong></p><p>Dr. Chiang discussed efforts to get information about NEI opportunities onto social media and made note of two relevant twitter handles -- <a href="https://twitter.com/NEIDirector?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@NEIDirector</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/NatEyeInstitute?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">@NatEyeInstitute</a>. He once again officially welcomed Ms. Lehrer-Stein and Dr. Perez Quinones to the Council. Dr. Chiang also outlined procedures for accessible meeting practices. He noted that one current member of the Council has a visual disability, making adherence to these practices especially relevant, but that accessible meeting practices make meetings clearer for all attendees, regardless of their disability status.</p><p>Dr. Chiang commented on the challenge of disseminating NEI’s activities to the community. NEI currently communicates information, such as vision community news and grant opportunities, via social media platforms, including <a href="https://twitter.com/NatEyeInstitute?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nihgov/?hl=en">Instagram</a>. He encouraged attendees to follow all NEI’s social media accounts.</p><p><strong>NAEC Updates – Appreciation</strong>— Dr. Chiang gave nods of appreciation to three retiring Council members who were attending their last Council meeting: Drs. Katia Del Rio-Tsonis, Mary E. Hartnett, and Benjamin Teller. Dr. Chiang recalled how the three members were serving on Council when he first began as the Director of NEI, and he has greatly appreciated their efforts to serve during the difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic.<br><br><strong>NEI Staff Updates</strong>— Ms. Melanie Reagan has been appointed Deputy Director for Management and Executive Officer after serving as Acting Deputy Director for Management for the past 1.5 years. Dr. Rich Krauzlis was recently appointed Chief of the NEI Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research after serving as the Acting Chief of the laboratory for two years. Dr. Benjamin Solomon has been named Acting NEI Clinical Director. Dr. Maryann Redford recently retired from her position as Program Officer with the Collaborative Clinical Research group. She oversaw many grants in the clinical research area and will be working part time as a contractor while her replacement is recruited. Dr. Hongman Song was recently promoted from Program Analyst to Program Officer. She manages a portfolio largely related to glaucoma.<br><br><strong>Active NEI Leadership Searches</strong>—Searches continue for a Scientific Director and a Clinical Director. The Scientific Director search is nearing its conclusion, and an announcement about the position is imminent.<br><br><strong>NIH Leadership Updates </strong>—Dr. Hugh Auchincloss has been appointed Acting Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease after Dr. Anthony Fauci’s retirement last year. Dr. Nina Schor has been appointed NIH Deputy Director of Intramural Research, overseeing intramural programs at all NIH Institutes. Dr. Monica Bertagnolli has been appointed Director of the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Joni Rutter has been named Director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Dr. Roger Glass recently retired as Director of the Fogarty International Center, and Dr. Peter Kilmarx is currently serving as Acting Director. Dr. John Gallin is retiring in March 2023 from his position as Associate Director for Clinical Research and Chief Scientific Officer at the NIH Clinical Center.<br><br><strong>National Academy of Sciences Awardees</strong>—Dr. Chiang congratulated two NEI grantees who received National Academy of Sciences Awards. Dr. Hongkui Zeng, director of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, received the 2023 Pradel Research Award for mid-career researchers for her work on connectomics and open science. Dr. Tim Buschman from Princeton University received the 2023 Troland Research Award, for investigators age 45 or younger, for his work on neuronal mechanisms of cognitive control, attention, and working memory.<br><br><strong>Additional NEI Grantee Highlights</strong>—Dr. Chiang also highlighted the work of several other NEI-supported researchers. Dr. Vaithilingaraja Arumagaswami from UCLA conducted studies on the Zika virus, highlighting a pathway with virus-fighting effects. His most recent work identifies the role of the same pathway in SARS-CoV-2 infection and shows that targeting this pathway with verteporfin blocks the replication of SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Kapil Bharti, a researcher in the NEI intramural program, and Dr. Marc Ferrer, head of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences 3¬-D Tissue Bioprinting Laboratory, developed 3-D bio-printed eye tissue models of disease. They created the models by combining three choroidal cell types into a hydrogel and printing the tissue onto a biodegradable scaffold. This could potentially be a model for studying disease pathogenesis.<br><br>Two organoid projects were also mentioned by Dr. Chiang. The first project, led by Dr. David Gamm at the University of Wisconsin, grew retinal organoids and found they formed connections with other retinal cell types. The second organoid project, led by Dr. Duygu Kuzum at the University of California, San Diego implanted human organoids into mouse brain and found that the implanted tissue reacted to visual stimuli and formed active connections with neurons in the native tissue.<br><br>Dr. Chiang highlighted a funding announcement, Engineering Next Generation Human Nervous System <a href="https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-047.html">Microphysiological Systems, that supports research efforts to create human cells derived from microphysiological systems</a> such as organoids or tissue chips. The aim is for these systems to represent organ function and replicate complex central nervous system diseases. The program, which will be active for the next three years, uses the R21 mechanism that supports high-risk, high-reward projects. Applications do not require preliminary data.</p><p><strong>The BRAIN Initiative </strong>—New Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) awards for this program totaled $315 million. Of that funding, 18 % went to vision research and 26 % went to NEI grantees conducting non-vision research. That means 44% of BRAIN initiative funding in FY22 was either directly or indirectly related to the NEI portfolio, underscoring that vision research is a big part of neuroscience research overall.</p><p><strong>Anterior Segment Initiative </strong>—NEI recently funded a consortium of eight multidisciplinary projects investigating <a href="https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/goals-and-accomplishments/nei-research-initiatives/anterior-segment-initiative/asi-ocular-surface-innervation-consortia">the neural circuitry of the anterior segment and its role in ocular pain and dry eye</a>. NEI has committed more than $50 million to this five-year initiative.</p><p><strong>Implementation Research </strong>—At the October 2022 NAEC meeting, Drs. Rinad Beidas and Jennifer Sun discussed various aspects of dissemination and implementation of research findings related to vision research. In follow-up to that session and council discussion, NEI signed on to a funding opportunity, <a href="https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/par-22-105.html">Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health</a>, and seeks applications on strategies to promote implementation of evidence-based interventions and practices in preventing and managing vision-related conditions. The program, which will be active for the next few years, includes topics such as telehealth and artificial intelligence, as well as social determinants of health and community-based research.</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Dr. Chiang asked Council members to offer advice on evidence-based clinical interventions and practices that might be ideal for implementation research projects.</p><p>Dr. Maguire said that successful treatment strategies for eye diseases exist, but large segments of the population do not take advantage of them. She advised it would be worthwhile to compare different approaches for how to get more people into treatment and care.</p><p>Dr. Harnett noted that many public health interventions have value, such as exercise and diet, but people may have barriers in their everyday lives to implementing those interventions. Understanding those barriers may lead to a path for implementing good health practices.</p><p>Dr. Kowluru noted that this topic relates to health disparities.</p><p><strong>Next Generation of Vision Researchers </strong>—Dr. Chiang described a new funding opportunity called <a href="https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-022.html">the Trailblazer Award for New and Early-Stage Investigators</a> which supports research projects that integrate engineering and physical sciences with life and/or biomedical sciences. NEI, The National Institute of Aging, and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering participate in this funding opportunity.</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Council members then discussed how NEI can better promote funding opportunities to new and early-career investigators, as well as how NEI might broaden outreach about such opportunities to researchers in other fields.</p><p>Dr. Del Rio-Tsonis suggested promoting workshops sponsored by NEI and inviting engineers and experts in optics. Dr. Borrás seconded this idea, noting that the Glaucoma Foundation has held highly productive workshops to which organizers invited speakers who were completely outside the field. Dr. Kowluru proposed including some non-vision-related research at large vision conferences such as ARVO.</p><p>Dr. Perez Quinones suggested proactively identifying engineering or physical sciences meetings where vision researchers could present work and network. Dr. Dana seconded that idea, noting that some of the best investigators work outside the fields of vision and ophthalmology. Scientific meetings such as Keystone Symposia or Gordon Research Conferences are excellent venues for early-stage investigators to engage with experts in different fields and explore new technologies and disciplines. Dr. Dana noted that many junior faculty or postdocs could benefit from attending such conferences but are stymied by a dearth of funding. He suggested launching an NEI program that supports young investigators’ attendance at non-NEI sponsored and perhaps even non-NIH-sponsored conferences to seed such interactions. He also suggested that NEI work with conferences such as Keystone or Gordon Research Conferences to have a small sliver of their programs dedicated to vision.</p><p>Dr. Maguire endorsed these ideas and additionally proposed sending out information to leaders of core grants supported by NEI or to institutions with large vision research communities. This outreach could include a list of available funding mechanisms and could show examples of exciting projects that synergize research across scientific disciplines. Dr. Hartnett added that many universities have grant writing centers and mentorship networks that help with grant writing and that outreach to these groups could help spread the word.</p><p>Dr. Chiang asked whether NEI could create a crash course in vision science for researchers with expertise in different methodologies, suggesting that such a course could entice scientists to the field. Dr. Hartnett noted that the Ryan Institute for Macular Research often brings in speakers who describe new techniques. Dr. Del Rio-Tsonis added that NEI could use the platform of the nonprofit Prevent Blindness America to reach out to other fields.</p><p><strong>ACD Working Group on Diversity </strong>—The first<a href="https://www.acd.od.nih.gov/documents/presentations/12092022_WGD_Disabilities_Subgroup_Report.pdf"> Subgroup on Individuals with Disabilities Report</a> found that although 27 % of US adults have a disability and that people with a disability are profoundly underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral research workforce, and even more so among recipients of NIH funding. The report also identified nine recommendations for building disability inclusion and dismantling ableism within the NIH. The full report was made available to council members prior to the meeting.</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Council members then discussed what NEI should be doing to address ableism. Ms. Lehrer-Stein noted that current diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have so far made only minimal gains on disabilities – less than 4% of all DEI organized inquiries included disabilities as one of the diversity factors. She praised NIH’s efforts but noted that elevating data collection on people with disabilities to the top of the list of recommendations is crucial for achieving equity. She also called on NEI specifically – which is composed of scientists who seek treatments and cures for visual diseases that cause disability – to be the standard bearer in terms of understanding that diversity must include people with disabilities. Publicizing NIH’s efforts to academic institutions could offer an opportunity to collaborate and create some open-source resources on disabilities.</p><p>Dr. Coughlan encouraged NEI to do more to highlight and promote the diversity supplement program. To date, only a tiny percentage of funding through the supplement goes to people with disabilities. He noted that the program is a powerful recruiting tool that is underappreciated. When asked for advice on getting more researchers interested in research on tools to help people with disabilities navigate the world, Dr. Coughlan noted that just 15 years ago the field was obscure, but that is no longer the case. Today, younger people are expecting accessibility in circumstances and settings where they never used to, which makes it easier to promote this type of research. There are no easy answers, he said, but scientists should have the patience to look far and wide when hiring.</p><p><strong>Office of Data Science and Health Informatics Update </strong>—The <a href="https://allofus.nih.gov/">All of Us</a> project at NIH aims to recruit 1 million participants from diverse backgrounds and characterize them both longitudinally and deeply across many data types. Currently, the project is capturing very little ocular data, but access to retinal imaging, especially if linked with electronic health record data, could greatly expand the breadth of studies this dataset could enable. Even despite the relative lack of ocular data in All of Us, Dr. Chiang noted that the first study to be published from the dataset was led by an ophthalmologist. NEI and All of Us are discussing a proposal to place retinal cameras and Ocular Coherence Tomography imaging devices in some regional centers with the goal of recruiting approximately 50,000 people and capturing retinal images longitudinally. A workshop planned by NEI, All of Us, and NIBIB to discuss this proposal and explore the scientific opportunities presented by the inclusion of ocular data is scheduled for April 20, 2023.</p><p><strong>Public Health and Disparities Research </strong>—Vision health equity is a major priority for NEI. For example, Covid tests are not accessible for people with low vision. NEI staff members Drs. Sangeeta Bhargava and Cheri Wiggs worked with NIBIB’s<a href="https://www.nibib.nih.gov/covid-19/radx-tech-program">RADx</a> program to develop a set of best practices for accessible design of <em>in vitro</em> diagnostics. Additionally, NEI and the National Institute of Minority Health and Disparities are organizing a workshop on vision health equity, scheduled for April 11, 2023. The aim is to identify areas of research to reduce health disparities in vision research and care.</p><p><strong>NAEC Budget Update </strong>—Ms. Karen Colbert, NEI Budget Officer, first outlined the three main phases of the federal budget process, explaining that over the decades its timing has become quite unpredictable. After the release of the President’s budget in February, Congress begins work to develop and report budget estimates, complete budget resolutions, consider annual appropriations bills, complete reconciliation, and pass appropriations. The goal is to complete the process before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1. While this is a normal process, Ms. Colbert noted that Congress has only provided NIH with a budget prior to October 1 once in the last two decades.<br>In the FY 2023 budget, NEI received a funding increase of 3.8 % above the FY 2022 appropriation ($896,549,000). In 2022 the increase for NEI was 3.4 % above FY21 appropriation ($863,918,000), and in 2021 it was 1.4 % above the FY 2020 appropriation ($835,714,000). In the FY 2023 budget, NIH received an overall funding increase of 5.6 % ($47.5 billion), with the difference due to funds targeted by Congress to specific programs at NIH. Alzheimer’s disease and cancer research continued to receive the most significant increases from Congress. The FY 2024 budget process is delayed, with the release of the President’s budget not expected before March 2023. Ms. Colbert noted that the House Appropriations Committee has expressed interest in curbing spending and passing conservative appropriations bills. She also noted that it is unclear what this will mean for NIH and NEI budgets.<br><strong>Opportunities to Advance Basic and Clinical Research on the Lens </strong>—Dr. Houmam Araj, Program Officer, Lens and Cataract Program, NEI, Dr. Douglas Rhee, Case Western University School of Medicine, and Dr. Anne Coleman, University of California, Los Angeles</p><p>Dr. Chiang introduced this session by noting that although the Lens and Cataract Program is one of the smallest at NEI, for eye doctors it is a bread-and-butter issue, with most people likely to experience a cataract or refractive problem at some point in their lives. This session therefore aimed to explore the possibility of growing this portfolio and defining what focus a potential expansion should take.</p><p><strong>Lens and Cataract Program – </strong><em><strong>Consilience </strong></em>—Dr. Houmam Araj<br>Dr. Araj opened his talk by asserting that a barrier exists between basic science and patient care, and that consilience is needed to overcome it. The divide between basic research and clinical care is especially evident in the eye, which is a highly complex structure. Indeed, this complexity led Darwin’s wife Emma to question whether the existence of the eye could be explained by her husband’s slightly wacky theory of natural selection.</p><p>Indeed, Dr Araj said, the eye is both extremely simple and inordinately complex. The lens is one of its simpler components, consisting of just two cell types and lacking nerves, blood vessels and even nuclei in most cells. Yet cataracts, which form in the lens, have left some 20 million people around the world blind, and millions of surgeries to correct cataracts are performed each year at considerable public cost. Cataracts have a high public health significance – as does another condition, called presbyopia, caused by a hardening of the lens.</p><p>NEI has a long-standing program for lens and cataract research, and most supported projects involve basic research to address lens development, homeostatic dysregulation, and oxidative damage, with the goal of developing clinical applications. In 2015, two high-profile studies emerged showing that metabolite molecules called oxysterols could reverse cataracts in vivo. The studies were heralded as opening a path to a new future for treating cataracts. The research community got excited, especially because the proposed mechanism was biologically plausible.</p><p>Yet shortly thereafter, at least two negative reports were published, casting doubt on oxysterol’s cataract-melting potential. And after that, four other papers supported positive effects, though in slightly different models, furthering confusion in the field. These contradictory reports are a significant barrier in moving from research to clinical application – and the contradictions are evident in many more scenarios, such as whether oxidative damage can cause cataracts or other conditions. Many other examples can be found in the “phytochemical zoo” of different molecules, each with different efficacies and many discrepant findings.</p><p>Dr. Araj affirmed that such fragmentation of research is preventing the progression of basic research to clinical applications but noted that it also offers an opportunity. He called on the concept of “consilience” as defined by the evolutionary biologist Edward O. Wilson in his 1998 book of the same name. The term postulates a process of “linking together of knowledge from different disciplines to create a common groundwork of explanation.” This is very different from hypothesis-driven research. Instead, it enables people to apply enhanced rigor and observation to different models to resolve these differences and break down silos in different applications, thereby producing a unity of knowledge. Dr Araj concluded his presentation by stating “recent work has pointed to the possibility of individualized chemotherapy for treating congenital cataracts – but clearly, consilience is needed in that area of research too – as cataracts continue to be the menace they have long been.”</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Dr. Borrás noted that the first scientific director of NEI built the strongest lens program that NEI ever had. Dr. Del Rio-Tsonis said the themes of the presentation demonstrate that it is worth increasing the NEI program for intramural and extramural research.</p><p>Dr. Dana noted that Council members appreciate the burden of cataracts, but the issue that many physicians have about lens disease is that there is a cure – the relatively simple procedure of cataract surgery. The cost of the procedure has dropped significantly over the years. The question is not only a scientific one but also a socioeconomic one. Dr. Dana explained that even if there was a “magic drug” that could stop the progression of lens disease, the cost would have to be much less than the existing cost of cataract surgery. In contrast, degenerative disease has a much different economic calculus and impact.</p><p><strong>Bridging Basic and Clinical Research </strong>— Dr. Douglas Rhee<br>Dr. Rhee began his talk by noting that cataract surgery is one of the most successful and safest procedures in medicine and is considered one of the most impactful innovations in modern history. But cataract treatment still has some unmet clinical needs. These include reducing complications of surgery, addressing access and health care disparities, and enhancing sustainability. One area where these three factors overlap is reducing infection, or endophthalmitis.</p><p>In addition to economic sustainability, environmental sustainability is also a major issue in medicine. In 2013, the US health care sector was responsible for about 10% of greenhouse gas emission in the US. Cataract surgery is the most common surgery performed in the US – 4.2 million were performed here in 2019 – and the procedure generates a significant amount of waste. According to a study done in England, the majority of greenhouse gasses – 53.8% – produced by cataract surgery come from procurement (i.e., disposables), which include unused medication that by law must be disposed of, as well as single use disposables such as tubing and instruments. For each cataract surgery, $148 in medication is disposed of which, when multiplied by 4.2 million surgeries, is $620 million in wasted medications annually.</p><p>The US spends $6.8 billion annually - 12% of Medicare’s budget – on cataract surgery. Much of that money is spent on single use medication and disposables in an effort to reduce infection, but this practice is not evidence-based, Dr. Rhee said. For example, a recent study in a premier hospital in India that turned to single use practices during the Covid-19 pandemic found no difference in endophthalmitis rates after making the change.</p><p>Dr. Rhee then turned to health disparities, noting that they are driven by insufficient insurance coverage, healthcare staffing shortages, stigma and bias within the medical community, transportation and work-related barriers, and patient language barriers. The first and the fourth of these are key barriers, and there are differences in cataract blindness between Americans of different races and ethnicities, as well as between those in rural versus urban settings. Cost is one of the top barriers to care.</p><p>Dr. Rhee then returned to the question of reducing endophthalmitis. In a retrospective registry study of 2 million surgeries between 2011 and 2018, the introduction of intracameral moxifloxacin reduced the incidence of endophthalmitis from about 0.7 to 0.2%. Another study found the endophthalmitis rate to be about 0.4%. The cost of treating endophthalmitis, and the consequences for patients who did not recover fully from it, are significant.</p><p>In the US, use of intracameral moxifloxacin is extremely low, even though 15 years of research suggests it is beneficial. In surveys, 80% of clinicians said they do not use it because there are no commercially available products, and they are concerned about liability and safety issues stemming from compounded products used off-label. In a 2014 survey, 84% of clinicians said they would use moxifloxacin if it were available. Yet roughly 48% of clinicians are not convinced of its need because there is no positive scientific study to point to. That figure means the field is well-positioned for equipoise if such a study could be conducted.</p><p>Dr. Rhee stated that studies comparing single-use versus multi-use pharmaceuticals and equipment before and after surgery could decrease the cost of cataract surgery and equalize health care disparities. A prospective randomized controlled trial would provide support for the use of moxifloxacin in preventing endophthalmitis. Dr. Rhee and colleagues have designed such a study, called TIME, but dauntingly, it would require 74,000 patients. That means the scope and cost of the project have been prohibitive for a single institution or company to complete. The group therefore collaborated with the Cooperative Studies Program at the H. John Heinz III Department of Veterans Affairs Medical center in Pittsburgh to design such a study. That study did not pass final review, because at the time there was no pharmaceutical partner, and the cost burden was deemed too high. Both of those concerns have now been resolved.</p><p>Dr. Rhee concluded that despite the efficacy of cataract surgery, there remains a significant unmet need to address access to the surgery, health disparities, sustainability, and reduce endophthalmitis. NEI can partner with key stakeholders to address that need.</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Dr. Hartnett asked what is required to change the recommendations if a trial were to show intracameral moxifloxacin to be superior. Dr. Rhee replied that once the evidence exists, it is matter of engaging regulatory agencies and updating educational standards.</p><p>Dr. Perez Quinones asked how liability, a major issue in the US, might affect prospects for conducting surgeries with muti-use instruments and medication. Dr. Rhee responded that determination of liability generally rests on whether or not a clinician followed the standard of care. Demonstrating that the multi-use approach is safe would support its use as a standard of care.</p><p>Dr. Dana followed up on the issue of industry involvement, explaining that commonly performed procedures are what is called “bundled payments,” where the calculated cost, paid for by Medicare or other insurance carriers, includes everything required for the surgery. That bundle means that the margins companies can make are limited. Therefore, a study would have to show a significant advantage to their hypothesis, in terms of lower complication rates and cost implications, to motivate a change. The large study Dr. Rhee described may be helpful in moving the needle if it can create a new standard of care.</p><p>Dr Chiang noted that the discussion highlights the importance of thinking about this work within a broader societal context that considers factors such as sustainability.</p><p><strong>Population Health and Cataracts –</strong> Dr. Anne Coleman<br>Dr. Coleman opened her talk by noting that cataracts are the most common cause of age-related vision loss and more than half of all Americans older than 80 are living with cataracts. The prevalence of cataracts ranges anywhere from 2.8% to 27.1% in population-based studies. Cataract surgery is highly effective, but policies often limit surgery to one eye, despite the fact that intervening in both eyes has major benefits on quality-of-life measures and safety concerns such as falls and car crashes. Although cataract burden is often described as an issue in the developing world, it is also very much present in the US, she said.</p><p>According to population-based studies conducted in the early 1990s, cataract prevalence in the Black population was 15.9 per 1000, compared to 9.1 per 1000 in the White population. Similarly, Black participants were 4 times more likely to have cortical cataracts than White participants, and White participants were 2.8 times more likely to have had cataract surgery than Black participants. Similar levels of disparity continue today, according to more recent population-based studies. Disparities are also found in the Latino population, among Chinese Americans, and based on income. Dr. Coleman noted, however, that population-based studies are costly and pose logistical challenges, and that they may not capture everyone in an intended population (for example, the housing-insecure which are present in all communities).</p><p>Comparing data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) across time also reveals that racial disparities in access to cataract surgery continued over time. Dr. Coleman highlighted the opportunity for NEI to synergize research on disparities with NHANES, which has a robust infrastructure for sampling and exams. The study also surveys social determinants of health and oversamples medically underserved populations. It offers the potential for new discoveries as well as validating findings in a nationally representative sample.</p><p>NIH’s All of Us study, intended to be one of the most diverse health databases in history, also includes data that can fill some scientific gaps. One drawback of this data set is that it is a “convenience sample,” including only those who volunteer for it. Electronic health records, which are now beginning to capture social determinants of health (albeit inconsistently), offer another data source. One challenge with electronic medical records data is that many different diagnostic codes are used, often inconsistently, to indicate cataracts. Reliability of coding and possible selection bias are also potential issues.</p><p>A relatively new tool for epidemiological studies on cataracts is a smartphone-based application with an ophthalmic camera system. A study of residents in a skilled nursing facility in San Francisco conducted such mobile screening for cataracts and found cataracts in 51% of participants. Teleophthalmology is also a potentially powerful approach that clinicians and researchers have become more comfortable with during the pandemic. A study in rural Nepal combined these two approaches, using a mobile device camera and remote image interpretation by an ophthalmologist. Using teleophthalmology improved diagnosis and referral, suggesting the approach is feasible and scalable. For example, it is being used in Cameroon, where there are only 3.6 ophthalmologists per one million people.</p><p>Cataract surgery shows the same types of social and economic disparities that cataracts do, with lower surgery rates observed among Black and Latino populations, low-income rural residents, and those with lower educational attainment. Additionally, travel distance can decrease likelihood of getting cataract surgery, pointing to barriers in the rural community. Complex cataract surgery showed its own set of disparities, being more likely in Black, Asian, and Hispanic participants compared to non-Hispanic White people; in men compared to women; and in people older than 84 compared to those age 65-69.</p><p>Many factors interact to drive health disparities. Dr Coleman explained that researchers in epidemiology and public health are starting to use an approach called a conceptual model, which can take into account and control for a variety of interacting factors. Studying racial and ethnic disparities at an epidemiological level can be challenging because although racial and ethnic disparities certainly exist, race and ethnicity are not changeable factors, so it is not clear how to address these disparities unless we solve the bigger problem of racism in this country. A causal mediation analysis allows researchers to identify downstream mediators that are responsible for part of the exposure effect and to home in on modifiable targets, such as socioeconomic disparities.</p><p>In terms of interventions, Dr. Coleman said, clinical trials are not a silver bullet. Randomized clinical trials can be prohibitively expensive, unethical, and/or take too long. And you cannot randomize patients to not receive cataract surgery to determine the surgery’s effect on falls or dementia risk. A new type of trial, called Target Trial Emulation, allows researchers to use observational data and the study design principles of randomized trials to estimate an intervention’s causal effect while avoiding biases. Another important epidemiological approach is called Lifecourse Epidemiology, which allows researchers to follow how environmental exposures at different periods in the lifespan can affect the development of cataracts.</p><p>Whether epidemiologists use traditional or newer methods to study health disparities relating to cataracts, Dr. Coleman cautioned, capturing hidden populations is a major challenge. Hidden populations consist of people who do not come into contact with the health care system—for example, people facing housing instability and seasonal or migrant farm workers. Yet these individuals potentially have an especially high burden and an increased risk of cataracts, for example due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation or ambient air pollution. Improving access to care is thus crucial for addressing disparities.</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Dr. Kowluru commented that environmental factors and radiation increase the incidence of cataracts but can also create epigenetic changes, so these factors leave a legacy for future generations. Dr. Coleman responded that this makes efforts to increase access to care especially important. She also noted that insurance reimbursements for cataract surgery are decreasing, but that an important question for policy makers is whether reimbursements have gotten too low. Clinicians are often incentivized to utilize fancy techniques over more routine but effective ones because such procedures offer higher reimbursements. Yet these newer techniques are failing to stem the rising burden of cataracts in the US, she said, even while most people do not realize the US has a cataract burden at all.</p><p>Dr. Hartnett, who is a pediatric retina specialist, asked about disparities in access to treatments for eye diseases in children and infants. Dr. Coleman responded that California, where Dr. Hartnett practices, has special insurance for children that families can access. She noted, however, that some families may not know about this resource and that knowledge of such resources is often fragmented, with segments of the population who need assistance often unfamiliar with resources that are available to them.</p><p>Kicking off a more open discussion, Dr. Chiang noted that cataracts fall on a spectrum of severity and asked whether a quantitative test exists to determine whether a person’s cataract is severe enough to require intervention. Dr. Coleman explained that previously, clinicians used a classification system in which a specially designed reader assessed lens photographs to grade a given cataracts. Today, the classification has become much more subjective to the clinician, which affects how the condition is recorded in electronic medical records. Dr. Rhee agreed that the lack of standardization definition is problematic.</p><p>Dr. Dana added that Dr. Leo Chylack at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, now retired, developed a grading system called LOCS that was previously widely used for cataract research. He also said he was surprised that the total cost of cataract surgeries to the US medical system was only $6.8 billion. Yet the cost of glaucoma treatment surpasses $15 billion and more than $12 billion for anti-VGEF therapy. He further noted that cataracts occur much more widely in the population. The lower amount spent on cataracts reflects society’s failure to comprehensively address cataracts and indicates that extending services is a public health issue. Yet nonsurgical approaches being developed for cataracts will have to fit today’s pharmacoeconomic model, in which the cost of the therapy justifies its commercial development.</p><p>Dr. Del Rio-Tsonis noted that most available data on prevalence and disparities relies on information from people with Medicare or private insurance and asked how Dr. Coleman and her colleagues reach out to people outside that population. Dr. Coleman said that for the rural community, a master’s student on her team, whose mother is a migrant farm worker, is building ties with community groups in Bakersfield, California, that support this population. Through this contact, public health experts have been able to work with these groups to conduct screenings. Community engagement is equally crucial in engaging with housing insecure communities, she added. Population based studies are often based on census tracts, which provides a strong denominator, but that approach does not work with hidden populations, she said. For example, it is unknown how many migrant farm workers there are, and many are undocumented. For these groups public health researchers must use statistical assumptions and methods to estimate the denominator.</p><p>Dr. Teller asked how far in development are nonsurgical interventions for cataracts, such as the eye drops described in Dr. Araj’s presentation. That is impossible to predict, Dr. Araj said, due to the wide spectrum of reports in the literature. Dr. Araj added that this spectrum indicates a dire need for experts working in this and other areas to come together and build cohesion and consilience into their research programs.</p><p>Dr. Chiang closed the discussion by noting that the talks highlighted many opportunities for collaboration – for example, with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, where researchers are working on understanding the exposome. He then thanked all the speakers for their interest in this topic and for participating in this session.</p><p><strong>Concept Clearances</strong></p><p><strong>Translational Research Program </strong>—Dr. Tony Glover<br>Dr. Grover described a concept for an NEI translational research program for therapeutics, which would utilize the phased R61/R33 mechanism. The program’s goal is to provide a funding mechanism to advance the development of biological, pharmaceutical, medical device, and/or combination therapies for any disease or disorder of the visual system. The R61 phase would support exploratory research on specific products backed by preliminary data, but not advanced enough for clinical trials – for example, optimization of lead compounds or refinement of device design. Projects that meet R61 milestones will be eligible to transition to the R33 phase which would focus on research that would support submission of an Investigational New Drug or an Investigational Device Exemption application to the US Food and Drug Administration.</p><p>This program would complement existing translational research programs, such as the NEI Small Business Research Program and several NIH Blueprint programs which NEI participates in, including the Blueprint MedTech program, the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network for biologic drug discovery and the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network for small molecule drug discovery. This funding opportunity would advance the development of devices and/or therapies specifically for vision related diseases.</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Dr. Kowluru said she is very enthusiastic about these programs but raised the concern that the amount of preliminary data required excludes young scientists who may have new ideas. Dr. Gover responded that other mechanisms, such as the R21 and R01, are open to new investigators, but for this funding the institute is targeting more mature research to de-risk the development of new interventions.</p><p>Dr. Perez Quinones asked whether this funding mechanism applies to new assays and how NEI would handle new intellectual property. Dr. Gover said any projects related to product and lead optimization would be eligible and explained that as with all other funding mechanisms the intellectual property stays with the sponsor.</p><p>Dr. Dana expressed enthusiasm for the program but asked for details on how study sections would be composed, noting that basic scientists often are not qualified to assess translational research. He also requested more clarification about how this program relates to the more classic existing small business initiatives. Dr. Grover said the review of applications will be conducted by the NEI review branch and that NEI will be able to recruit appropriate external regulatory experts, clinicians, and scientists for the review. He also said that there are several options for continuing development of products supported through this program. Investigators can either apply for funding to conduct clinical trials, or they can seek support from venture capital or established pharmaceutical or device companies.</p><p>In response to a question from Dr. Borrás, Dr. Gover said that scientists do not already have to have intellectual property rights to apply to the program.</p><p>Dr. Anderson called a vote on the concept, and the motion to approve it passed unanimously.</p><p><strong>Renewal of the NEI Institutional Mentored Physician Scientist Award</strong>— Dr. Neeraj Agarwal<br>Dr. Agrawal presented a concept to renew the NEI K12 Institutional Mentored Physician Scientist program. The goal of this program is to encourage institutions to provide opportunities for clinicians to pursue training in vision research. The award must complement but be distinct from other research training programs at the institution. It also enables scholars to propose a separate ancillary study to an existing trial or to gain research experience in a clinical study led by another investigator. NEI currently supports K12 programs at 10 different institutions Across these institutions, a high percentage of awardees are successful in competing for subsequent independent research grants.</p><p><strong>Discussion</strong><br>Dr. Borrás noted that she has long worked with K12 awardees and appreciates the program. She asked what percentage of K12 grantees eventually receive an R01 grant. Dr. Agrawal replied that most of the data he presented today reflects subsequent success of trainees in receiving K08 and K23 grants. He estimated that about 50-55% of those awardees are successful in competing for an R21 or R01 grant.</p><p>Dr. Gardner strongly endorsed the program, noting that it provides a unique opportunity for young physicians who may have developed an interest in research late in their clinical training. He added that this program complements K08 and K23 awards and is the seeding ground for subsequent R01s.</p><p>Dr. Dana noted that at Harvard, K12 funding has transformed careers and has had a strong impact on the Department of Ophthalmology. He noted that funding for the program has contracted somewhat, funding fewer students for fewer years.</p><p>Dr. Perez Quinones also praised the program, while noting that Dr. Agrawal’s data suggested that some universities are more successful than others in the percentage of young researchers who convert to independent funding. Dr. Agrawal replied that he believes K12 programs at all 10 institutions have been successful. Dr. Gardner noted that Dr. Agrawal has greatly contributed to the K12 mechanism’s success through his work with principal investigators and the scholars themselves.</p><p>Dr. Borrás added that the program helps not only the clinician-awardees, but also the PhD investigators with whom they work and who benefit from having a clinical expert on the team.</p><p>Dr. Anderson called a vote on the concept, and the motion to approve it passed unanimously.</p><p><strong>Retiring Council Member Remarks</strong></p><p>Dr. Anderson extended her thanks to Drs. Teller, Hartnett, and Del Rio-Tsonis for their work on Council and encouraged them to offer some remarks about their experience.</p><p>Dr. Del Rio-Tsonis said that it has been an honor to participate in the Council’s work. She noted that she sees the Council as being in the middle of a transformation, spurred by broader changes happening at NEI. She commended the Council – along with ongoing efforts at NEI – for embracing diversity and inclusion, both in terms of the Council’s composition and the initiatives it has championed. She expressed hope that those efforts continue. Dr. Del Rio-Tsonis said she had especially appreciated the opportunity to participate in NEI’s strategic planning process. In that work, she appreciated the creation of the Office of Regenerative Medicine. She noted that she was sad to see that Office go and expressed hope that its termination was temporary.</p><p>Dr. Hartnett said she had been happy to be invited to serve on the Council because she saw it as an opportunity to participate in a group charged with communicating the importance of science and advising NEI on the pursuit of its mission. Ultimately, she said, her Council position turned out to be a much more enriching experience than she had expected, and she was grateful for the leadership and collegiality of her colleagues. She added that she has especially learned a lot about the extramural and intramural program through interactions with program officers. She expressed the hope that NEI will continue to support not only emerging areas of science powered by big data, but also investigator-initiated science.</p><p>Dr. Teller said he has learned a great deal during his tenure on the Council and is looking forward to spreading that knowledge. He recalled that when he was initially invited to participate, he was hardly aware of the Council’s existence. Although he was concerned about keeping up with his clinical practice while serving on the council, he said, he is very glad he stuck with it. In response to a request for suggestions from Dr. Anderson, he proposed assigning new Council members a mentor.</p><p>Dr. Anderson adjourned the open session at 2:00 pm.</p><p><strong>CLOSED SESSION</strong></p><p>This portion of the meeting was closed to the public in accordance with the determination that it was concerned with matters exempt from mandatory disclosure under sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., and Section 1009(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1014). Members absented themselves from the meeting during discussion of and voting on applications from their own institutions or other applications in which there was a potential conflict of interest, real or apparent. Members were asked to sign a statement to this effect.</p><p>REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS<br>NAEC members considered 540 research and training grant applications on which NEI was the primary Institute; these applications requested a total of $200,645,906 (direct costs year 01). The Council also considered 266 applications on which another Institute/Center was primary and NEI was secondary. These applications requested a total of $259,117,086 (direct costs year 01). The Council concurred with the Institutional Review Group recommendations on these 806 applications.</p><p>ADJOURNMENT<br>The 164th meeting of the National Advisory Eye Council was adjourned at 4:05 p.m. on February 3, 2023.</p><p>CLOSED SESSION ATTENDEES</p><p>Council Members Present:</p><p> </p><p>Dr. Michael F. Chiang, Chair (in-person)<br>Dr. Kathleen Anderson, Executive Secretary (in-person)<br>Dr. Terete Borrás (in-person)<br>Dr. James Coughlan (in-person)<br>Dr. Reza Dana (virtual)<br>Dr. Katia Del Rio-Tsonis (in-person)<br>Dr. Thomas Gardner (in-person)<br>Dr. Mary Elizabeth Hartnett (in-person)<br>Dr. Renu Kowluru (in-person)<br>Ms. Janice Lehrer-Stein (in-person)<br>Dr. Maureen Maguire (in-person)<br>Dr. Victor Quinones Perez (in-person)<br>Dr. Benjamin Teller (in-person)</p><p> </p><p>NIH Staff Members Present:</p><p>Dr. Neeraj Agarwal (in-person)<br>Dr. Houmam Araj (in-person)<br>Dr. Sangeeta Bhargava (in-person)<br>Mr. Nathan Brown (in-person)</p><p>Mr. Donald Everett (in-person)<br>Dr. Martha Flanders (virtual)<br>Dr. Ashley Fortress (virtual)<br>Dr. James Gao (virtual)<br>Ms. Alexandra Gavrilovic (virtual)<br>Dr. Nataliya Gordiyenko (virtual)<br>Dr. Shefa Gordon (in-person)<br>Dr. Tony Gover (in-person)<br>Dr. Tom Greenwell (virtual)<br>Ms. Lateefah Hill (in-person)<br>Dr. Brian Hoshaw (in-person)<br>Dr. Jeanette Hosseini (virtual)<br>Dr. Alicia Kerr (virtual)<br>Dr. Jimmy Le (in-person)<br>Dr. Paek Lee (virtual)<br>Dr. Ellen Liberman (in-person)<br>Ms. Renee Livshin (virtual)<br>Dr. Kristine Mackin (virtual)<br>Dr. Barbara Mallon (virtual)<br>Dr. George Mckie (in-person)<br>Dr. Lisa Neuhold (in-person)<br>Mr. Michael Phan (in-person)<br>Dr. Jennifer Schiltz (virtual)<br>Dr. Grace Shen (in-person)<br>Ms. Karen Smith (virtual)<br>Dr. Hongman Song (virtual)<br>Dr. Cibu Thomas (virtual)<br>Dr. Santa Tumminia (in-person)<br>Dr. Afia Sultana (virtual)<br>Dr. Cheri Wiggs (in-person)<br>Dr. Charles Wright (virtual)</p><p>CERTIFICATION<br>These minutes were submitted for the approval of the Council. All corrections or notations were incorporated. We hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge, the foregoing minutes and attachment(s) are accurate and complete.</p><p> </p><p>______________________________________<br>Michael F. Chiang, MD<br>Chair<br>National Advisory Eye Council</p><p> </p><p>______________________________________<br>Kathleen C. Anderson, PhD<br>Executive Secretary<br>National Advisory Eye Council</p>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</article>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<p class="views-element-container c-last-updated" id="block-views-block-nei-last-updated-block-1"><strong>Last updated:</strong> January 7, 2025</p>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
<aside class="r-sidebar" role="complementary">
|
||
|
||
<div class="views-element-container" id="block-views-block-nei-sidebar-block-1">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div>
|
||
<div class="js-view-dom-id-89310416e5642907d276e596399ee66c2ecbdabec91adb8ef1469e2c4c9a2584 nei-sidebar">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="views-row">
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</main>
|
||
|
||
<div class="r-footer">
|
||
<footer class="o-footer" role="contentinfo">
|
||
|
||
<div id="block-footer-2">
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__row">
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--logo"><a class="o-logo__link" href="/" rel="home" title="Home"><span class="o-logo__text">National Eye Institute</span></a>
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-social">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--facebook outlink-ignore" href="https://www.facebook.com/NationalEyeInstitute">Facebook</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--twitter outlink-ignore" href="https://twitter.com/NatEyeInstitute">Twitter</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--linkedin outlink-ignore" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-eye-institute-nei">LinkedIn</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-social__item"><a class="o-menu-social__link o-menu-social__link--youtube outlink-ignore" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/neinih">YouTube</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p> </p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--contact">
|
||
<h2 class="o-footer__title">Contact NEI</h2>
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/contact-us/">Contact Us</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/visitor-information">Visit NIH</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=insidenei&A=1">Get Email Updates from NEI</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--policies">
|
||
<h2 class="o-footer__title">Policies</h2>
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/accessibility-information">Accessibility</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.nih.gov/nondiscrimination-notice-language-assistance-services">Information in Other Languages</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/nei-website-privacy-policy">Privacy</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/freedom-information-act">Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/disclaimers">Disclaimers</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="/web-policies ">Web Policies</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.hhs.gov/vulnerability-disclosure-policy/index.html ">Vulnerability Disclosure</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__group o-footer__group--employees">
|
||
<h2 class="o-footer__title">For NEI Employees</h2>
|
||
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://intranet.nei.nih.gov">Intranet</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://intranet.nei.nih.gov/hr/Pages/emergency.aspx">Emergency Information</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://ned.nih.gov/search/search.aspx">NIH Staff Directory</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<div class="o-footer__row">
|
||
<div class="o-footer__full o-footer__full--parent">
|
||
<ul class="o-menu-footer o-menu-footer--swing">
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://www.nih.gov/">NIH.gov</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://hhs.gov/">HHS.gov</a></li>
|
||
<li class="o-menu-footer__item"><a class="o-menu-footer__link" href="https://usa.gov/">USA.gov</a></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</footer>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<div class="c-lb-wrapper" id="lb-wrapper" aria-hidden="true">
|
||
<div class="c-lb-overlay" tabindex="-1"></div>
|
||
<div role="dialog" class="c-lb" id="lb">
|
||
<div class="c-lb-header">
|
||
<button class="c-lb-close-btn"><span class="c-lb-close-btn-text">Close</span><span class="c-lb-close-btn-text times" aria-hidden="true">×</span></button>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<figure class="c-lb-figure">
|
||
<figcaption class="c-lb-caption"></figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
|
||
<script src="/sites/default/files/js/js_agazM-qm5cOcplNZo9kNIWFtUrwt0V1xgAKtLyM44Us.js?scope=footer&delta=0&language=en&theme=nei&include=eJxdjEEOgCAMBD-E9kmkYrOpqdQAMerr5eBBvUx29jCp8HUKQOkZAe4wiY1B6Pj7yAsf33MNmZvuEq0nojnPmkFvCVmUYD6xDTUV3Vq9ATUbLxk"></script>
|
||
<script src="/themes/custom/nei/js/scripts.js?sraguf"></script>
|
||
|
||
</body>
|
||
</html>
|