Summer 2022

NIH Acting Director Lawrence A. Tabak, DDS, PhD, and several NIH institute directors appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies on May 11 and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies on May 17 to discuss the fiscal year 2023 NIH budget request. The proposed budget will support science that helps tackle national health challenges, including health disparities, the rise of addiction, nutrition science, as well as operationalize the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health—a new agency to drive transformational, high-risk research.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism launched the Healthcare Professional’s Core Resource on Alcohol, which serves as a one-stop center for information and resources to help health care professionals provide evidence-based care for patients affected by alcohol problems. The resource provides the opportunity to earn free continuing medical education and continuing education credits.

From understanding the biological and socioeconomic factors underlying pain and opioid use disorder to implementing safe and effective therapies for the conditions, the HEAL initiative details its research progress in its recently released 2022 annual report. NIDCR participates in this initiative, which also highlights novel technologies for interventions, the need to address health inequities, and connecting with individuals and communities affected by pain and opioid misuse.

Nearly 100,000 highly diverse whole genome sequences, each providing information about almost all of an individual’s genetic makeup, are now available to researchers through NIH’s All of Us Research Program. About 50% of the data is from participants who identify with racial or ethnic groups that have historically been underrepresented in research. The data could enable researchers to address questions about health and disease and advance discoveries to reduce health disparities.

In a recent perspective published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, leaders from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases write that achieving classical herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2 may not be attainable. However, controlling COVID-19 without major disruptions to society is now achievable because of immunity via prior infection or vaccination, drugs and therapies for COVID-19, and diagnostic tests. Research to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine remains crucial.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, JD, announced the formal establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and appointed Adam H. Russell, DPhil, as acting deputy director. Russell currently serves as the chief scientist at the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security. He begins his new role in June as President Biden searches for an inaugural director.

Norman Sharpless, MD, stepped down in April as the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a position he held since 2017. During his leadership, Sharpless championed health equity by developing the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative and advocating for policies to support diversity in the cancer research workforce. NCI principal deputy director Douglas Lowy, MD, is serving as acting director until a permanent director is appointed by President Biden.