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SCI/TBI Advisory Council Meeting
Friday, June 10, 2005
University of South Dakota School of Medicine – Sioux Falls
 

PRESENT:     Leo Hallan, Dr. Barry Timms, Mary Pat Forsberg, Grady Kickul, Ryan Green, Chris Olson, and Jim Tesch

 ABSENT:       None

 GUESTS:        Dr. John Koch and Maria Kramer

 CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 11:05 a.m.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The April 29, 2005 minutes with Council revisions were unanimously approved.

ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Chris will post the approved minutes on the SCI/TBI Advisory Council web site. 

Review of Executive Committee Actions on Grant Applications
An Executive Committee composed of Leo/Chris, consistent with powers granted it at the April 29, 2005 Council Meeting, did a final review of the applicants to the SCI/TBI grants program.  Leo reported that Applicant 1 was sent a letter stating the Council is not going to fund the proposed research. The Executive Committee then reported that they had elected to not have a teleconference with Applicant 2 (Dr. Robert Morecraft), but instead sent a letter asking for answers to the Council’s questions regarding his application.  The Executive Committee finally decided it would refer the final disposition of this submission to the full Council.    

The Council had a full discussion of the additional information contained in the review letter and then approved Dr. Morecraft’s proposal, by a vote of 4 to 2 with 1 abstention because of a declared conflict of interest.  The grant was approved for 3 years and funded for 1 year ($72,776) with a start date of July 1, 2005.  Funding in years two and three will be dependent on progress and required semi-annual reports to the Council.  Grady suggested that the funding stipulation be clearly be stated in the awards letter to Dr. Morecraft.

 Dr. Koch reviewed the draft awards notification letters asking for suggestions from the Council. 

 Leo acknowledged Dr. Koch’s valuable help with the administrative process.  Grady noted that the Council has done a really good job and has come a long way over this first year.  Grady also noted that Chairman Leo Hallan has done a great job leading the Council.

 Grant Application Guidelines
Leo reported on the Bryon Riesch Paralysis Foundation’s guidelines and how their guidelines could be a model for the SCI/TBI Council’s guidelines when re-drafted.  Leo recommended a workgroup be put together to re-draft the guidelines to more precisely focus the submissions on the goals of the SCI/TBI Advisory Council. 

Collaborative Research Models
Dr. Koch noted that many of the human subjects’ trials take place through national collaborative groups of physicians organized by agencies such as the National Cancer Institute.  Participating in such “group studies” allows physicians to incorporate the research right within their practice environments and assures there will be enough patients with the condition to be studied to assure the study results are valid.  Having association with such a national group is very important because in South Dakota, there often aren’t enough subjects with the same diagnosis.  Leo noted that if the Council could put together a report on what is happening in South Dakota it might help create a collaborative effort amongst the researchers.  Dr. Koch observed that due to the competition, researchers typically focus on a very specific area of research, so it is sometimes difficult to find multiple in-state researchers in any particular area of interest.  Dr. Koch did note, however, that NIH has put a priority on translational research and if the Council could bridge between the clinicians and Basic Biomedical Science researchers that could be very powerful. 

It was suggested that here are at least three process options: 

1.         The Application RFP Process – we announce, they apply

2.         Open and Continuous – streamline process so it is simple to apply, and as part of the web site or announcement the Council identifies areas they are looking for people to come to them with ideas and applications.  This is the “they come to us” approach.

3.         Recruitment – if the Council wants something specific done they go out and recruit a researcher to conduct this research.  This is the “we go to them” approach. 

Further discussion will take place at a Council workgroup meeting.

USD Foundation Update
Dr. Koch reported that he is working on the donations account with the USD Foundation.  After the Council has an account set up for donations with the USD Foundation, Chris will post that on the web site.  Simple cash donations are probably not a concern, but mechanisms for handling other sorts of gifts (i.e. land, stocks) are much more complicated. Koch hopes to have a meeting by the end of the month to explore possibilities. 

Grady noted that the Council is also authorized to pursue grants to provide extra funding; this plays a factor if the Council is going out soliciting researchers to “buy” some of that researcher’s time.  This would require additional discussions with financial/administrative officials of the University.   

Next Meeting
There will be a workgroup meeting at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 in HSC 333. 

Reminder
All Council members should submit their expenses to Carmen at the USD School of Medicine as soon as possible for reimbursement.

The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.