NIAMS Coalition Gathers Virtually for Eighth Biennial Meeting
A group of more than 90 professional and voluntary organizations concerned with diseases in the NIAMS portfolio gathered virtually last fall for the Coalition Outreach and Education Meeting: Creating Connections for Science. The biennial event brings together NIH staff and coalition members to discuss what’s happening at NIH and NIAMS, network with colleagues and exchange ideas about how to best collaborate.
The meeting started with a brief history and overview of the coalition, presented by the meeting co-chairs. NIAMS director Dr. Lindsey A. Criswell followed with her first state-of-the-institute address to the coalition. She highlighted her goals as NIAMS director and described key NIH and institute activities, including the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and the Accelerating Medicines Partnership program.
Event sessions covered several topics—NIH initiatives to reduce Covid-19 health disparities and address structural racism, best practices for engaging underserved populations and how to share data networks to build a more inclusive research enterprise. The meeting also included an update on the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term initiative.
To read the full meeting summary, visit: https://go.usa.gov/xukCw.—Stephanie A. Mathews