Media Advisory

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

NIH task force formed to develop first nutrition strategic plan

Strategic plan will complement and enhance ongoing research efforts across NIH on diseases and conditions affected by nutrition.

What

The National Institutes of Health Nutrition Research Task Force (NRTF) was established to coordinate and accelerate progress in nutrition research across the NIH and guide the development of the first NIH-wide strategic plan for nutrition research for the next 10 years. The NRTF will draw from experts across multiple fields, as nutrition affects both a wide range of diseases — including diabetes, cancer, obesity and heart disease — as well as overall health and normal development.

The Task Force is charged with the following:

  • Develop a strategic plan for the next decade to help guide NIH-supported nutrition research. The plan will identify promising scientific opportunities and key research gaps and promote interdisciplinary work to achieve common goals in nutrition.
  • Solicit feedback in the development of the plan and related efforts, including from the public, other federal agencies, scientific and professional associations and other organizations, and the scientific community.
  • Appoint a senior leadership group to guide implementation of the plan.

The NRTF will develop the strategic plan over the next two years. The strategic plan will emphasize cross-cutting, innovative opportunities to accelerate nutrition research across a wide range of areas, from basic science to experimental design to training. These opportunities will complement and enhance ongoing research efforts across NIH on diseases and conditions affected by nutrition.

Who

The Task Force will be chaired by Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Co-chairs are Dr. Gary Gibbons, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Dr. Douglas R. Lowy, acting director of the National Cancer Institute; and Dr. Diana W. Bianchi, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Participants on the Task Force will represent these and other institutes within NIH, as well as other stakeholders. Dr. Christopher Lynch, director of NIDDK’s Office of Nutrition Research, will serve as the executive secretary.

Spokesperson

Christopher Lynch, Ph.D., director of NIDDK’s Office of Nutrition Research and executive secretary of the NIH’s Nutrition Research Task Force

Contact

To schedule interviews, please contact Leslie Curtis, 301-496-3583, niddkmedia@mail.nih.gov.

The NIDDK, a component of the NIH, conducts and supports research on diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases, nutrition and obesity; and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases. Spanning the full spectrum of medicine and afflicting people of all ages and ethnic groups, these diseases encompass some of the most common, severe and disabling conditions affecting Americans. For more information about the NIDDK and its programs, see www.niddk.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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