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| ASN Health and Nutrition Policy Newsletter |
Week of
December 5, 2018
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| American Society for Nutrition Newsletter |
December 2018 |
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ASN News
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2019 ASN Science Policy Fellowship Applications DUE Dec 17!
ASN is accepting applications
for the
2019 ASN Science Policy Fellowship
through December 17th! ASN will offer two Science Policy Fellowships in 2019 for advanced graduate students, early professionals, postdoctoral trainees, or medical interns, residents, or fellows. ASN Science Policy Fellows, based at their home institution during the one-year Fellowship, gain an enhanced perspective on public policy issues related to nutrition, including an expanded understanding of current nutrition policy issues and initiatives. The deadline to submit
application packets is
Monday, December 17, 2018
.
Please send completed application packets as well as any questions to
[email protected]
.
Call for ASN Blogger Applications
Apply
today to blog for ASN! ASN is currently accepting applications for the 2019-2020 class of bloggers. Selected bloggers will serve from March 2019-March 2020.
Applications
are due by
Monday, January 7, 2019
. Applicants will be notified by March 1, 2019 regarding their application status. Visit the ASN blog to learn about recent styles of writing and read recent entries. Please send any questions to [email protected].
Nutrition 2019 Abstract Submission is Open
Share your science with researchers around the globe at Nutrition 2019, June 8-11 in Baltimore, MD. ASN is looking for the best basic, clinical, translational, population and public health science that impacts the field of nutrition. ASN interest groups and councils are working together to integrate new science on key topical areas including: Neuroscience, Cognitive Function and Chronobiology, Nutrition Influences on Human Microbiomes, Food Security and its Connects to Nutrition and Health, Energy Balance, Ingestive Behavior and Weight Management, and more. Clinical case vignettes and abstracts on methods and protocols also are sought. Accepted abstracts will be published in Current Developments in Nutrition, ASN's new open access journal. There is no late-breaking round of submissions. Submit your research by January 18, 2019 to present at Nutrition 2019. Visit https://nutrition.org/N19/abstracts for instructions, travel award opportunities and other resources.
Note the nutrition policy-specific abstract categories and get your submissions in today!
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12 - Policy, Systems, and Environmental Approaches in Public Health;
039 - Nutrition Policies and Regulations;
069 - Translation and Communication of Nutrition Science for Public Policy, Practice and the Consumer
2019 Food Policy Impact
The American Society for Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) DC Section, and IFT Food Laws and Regulations Division will sponsor the 2019 Food Policy Impact conference in Washington, DC on February 11-12, 2019. This meeting provides updates on the latest developments in food and nutrition laws, regulations and policy initiatives.
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| Congressional Action |
Death of President George H.W. Bush Delays Action on Farm Bill and FY2019 USDA Appropriations
It was expected that the release of the Farm Bill and action of the Conference Committee would take place the week of December 3. However, all Congressional action has drawn to a halt as the nation mourns the death of the 41st President George H.W. Bush and honor his life in Washington, DC. Congress will reconvene December 10th. Congressional Agriculture leaders have reached an "agreement in principle" on the differences between the House and Senate Farm Bills, although there are still more details to be worked out. What is known is that the Senate version of the Nutrition Title includes SNAP provisions that will prevail in the final Conference Report. After the final language is drafted and the estimated costs calculated by the Congressional Budget Office, the formal Conference Committee agreement will be released.
Because of the federal government closure on December 5 and other delays, a short-term Continuing Resolution was passed to fund the government through December 21. The previous short-term FY 2019 appropriations bill for agriculture and several other agencies was set to expire December 7. The FY 2019 Agriculture Appropriations Bill will most likely be wrapped into a FY 2019 Continuing Resolution to fund the government through September 30, 2019. This remains uncertain however, as the President signals unwillingness to sign a bill without funding for a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
Senate Agriculture Committee Approves USDA Nominees
Among the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nominees considered at a recent hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee was Dr. Scott Hutchins, nominated to become the Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics (REE). Senators pursued answers to questions about the Trump administration's plans to restructure the Economic Research Service (ERS) and move most of the employees of ERS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) outside the Washington metropolitan area. Hutchins commented that he had not been briefed on the matter but that his goals would be to make sure that science "does not suffer," and that collaborations with agencies that remain in Washington continue. Here is the testimony of Nominee Scott Hutchins. The Senate Agriculture Committee favorably voted to report the nomination of Dr. Scott Hutchins and two others to the full Senate, which will now take up these nominations.
House Leadership
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was elected by a majority (203) of Democrats to maintain the Speaker of the House position in the 116th Congress, but final vote for this position will be in January 2019 when the full House Chamber votes. The other Democratic Leadership positions went to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as Majority Leader, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) as Majority Whip, and new leaders: Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) as chair, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) as vice chair of Democratic Caucus. ASN members should feel free to reach out to these House leaders to educate them on the importance of the nutrition research you conduct, especially if any of these leaders serve as your Representative.
Possible House Oversight Hearing on Fetal Tissue Research
Outgoing Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Subcommittee on Government Reform, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), is interested in alternatives to fetal tissue research and expressed interest in holding a hearing, although none has been scheduled to date. According to a
POLITICO article
, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary of Health Brett Giroir sent a letter to Rep.
Mark Meadows
saying the department plans to move forward on alternatives to fetal tissue research. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) currently funds more than $100 million in research that draws on fetal tissue.
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| Administrative Action |
NIH Seeks Input on Draft Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research
The draft Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research highlights broad areas of research opportunities. Public comments must be submitted electronically to [email protected] by 11:59 p.m. on December 15, 2018. The final NIH plan is expected to be available in early 2019 and implementation of the plan begins thereafter.
The plan recognizes cross-cutting research areas, including minority health and health disparities, women's health, rigor and reproducibility, and systems science, as well as seven themes:
* Investigate Nutritional Biochemistry, Physiology, and the Microbiome
* Assess the Role of Nutrition and Dietary Patterns in Development, Health, and Disease across Life Stages
* Explore Individual Variability in Response to Diet Interventions to Inform Nutrition Science, Improve Health, and Prevent Disease
* Enhance Clinical Nutrition Research to Improve Health Outcomes in Patients
* Advance Implementation Science to Increase the Use of Effective Nutrition Interventions
* Develop and Refine Research Methods and Tools
* Support Training to Build an Outstanding Nutrition Research Workforce
NIH Releases Two Papers on Approaches to Prevention Studies
Based on the 2013-2014 prevention research taxonomy and accompanying protocol to enable detailed and standardized classification of NIH funded prevention research projects, the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) recently issued two papers based on its analysis. For this effort, the ODP staff has manually coded and classified more than 15,000 NIH grant abstracts across a variety of funding mechanisms awarded during Fiscal Years 2012-2017 to identify the characteristics of NIH-funded prevention research studies and to summarize their results.
The first paper, "
NIH Primary and Secondary Prevention Research in Humans During 2012-2017
," reports the findings of the analysis of the NIH prevention research portfolio. The second paper
, "A Machine Learning Approach to Identify NIH-Funded Applied Prevention Research,"
describes a novel machine learning approach to more accurately identify applied prevention research projects.
DHHS Solicits Comments on Healthy People 2030 Objectives
FDA Releases Online Education and Training Module on Menu Labeling
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed an
education module
to help industry, regulators, and consumers understand the menu labeling regulations. This online module describes what types of establishments and types of foods are covered by the menu labeling regulations and how to comply with the regulations. The FDA has also published two fact sheets for industry on
menu labeling
and
declaring calories
.
DHHS Releases Plan to Reduce Burden of Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
NIH Plans for Biological and Social Database, All of Us.
With
$1.5 billion authorized
in funding by the 21st Century Cures Act, NIH launched the All of Us protocol to gather human biological and social data on one million participants to help researchers investigate a wide range of conditions as part of precision medicine. Recruitment of data should occur over the next five years, but some researchers acknowledge concerns about such a database being hacked or sensitive data, such as gender identity, immigration status, or disease status, being misused.
NOAA Releases Comprehensive Report on Impact of Climate Change
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a
federal report
that finds climate change affecting the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, and human health and welfare across the U.S. and its territories. This is the 4th National Climate Assessment and it identifies the impact on human health through change in air quality, spread of disease through pests and insects, increasing extreme weather, and availability of food and water. Additional background materials and the report are available
here
.
CMS Issues Guidelines for Waivers to ACA
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued new guidance on Affordable Care Act Section 1332 State Innovation Waiver which permits states to make adjustments to ACAs marketplace coverage provisions without harming consumers. The newly proposed guidance would give states more flexibility to implement waivers that could reduce access to affordable health coverage that cover specific medical services and could allow more flexibility to offer short-term limited duration plans (STLDs) that would not cover preventive services. The guidance takes immediate effect, but the comment period is open until December 24th.
DHHS Releases the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
As reported in November 21 issue, HHS released the 2nd edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans based on the latest science about the health benefits of physical activity. This document includes new recommendations for children 3 to 5 years of age and updates the previous recommendations for children 6 through 17 years of age.
Call for Comment on NIA Strategic Direction for Research
The NIH National Institute of Aging issued an RFI seeking input on the Institute's Strategic Directions for Research. Comments are due December 14, 2018.
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| National Initiatives |
Reviewers Needed to Expand SNAP-ED Toolkit
The SNAP-Ed Toolkit compiles peer-reviewed and evidence-based interventions for SNAP-Ed programming nationwide that can improve the health of low-income individuals. USDA welcomes input on the toolkit from a variety of experts, from researchers to specialized SNAP-Ed practitioners. Reviewers can work in many different settings, with diverse audiences, and with a variety of direct education, social marketing, or policy, systems, and environmental change interventions.
The Review Process:
Reviewers will be asked to complete a thorough review of up to three interventions and their supporting materials to determine if the intervention should be included in the SNAP-Ed Toolkit. Each intervention will be reviewed by three reviewers. Reviewers will be given a scoring tool for each intervention they will be given to review.
Time Commitment:
Each reviewer will need to complete one hour of training via webinar, scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Each intervention review is estimated to take 5 hours.
Timeline:
The intervention review will happen beginning Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Reviewers will have 6 weeks to review their assigned intervention(s). A follow-up meeting about results may be held after scores are received if there is reviewer disagreement about inclusion in the SNAP-Ed Toolkit.
Please email [email protected] with your interest and attach your resume, CV, or biosketch by Friday, February 1, 2019 at 8pm EST.
IFIC Announces Sylvia Rowe Fellowship Award
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) is accepting applications for the 2019 Sylvia Rowe Fellowship Award that honors the former IFIC and IFIC Foundation President & CEO, Sylvia B. Rowe, and helps promising nutrition and food safety communicators enhance their capabilities in the area of nutrition, food production and food safety communication. The recipient will receive an 8-12 week paid internship ($600 per/week) at the IFIC/IFIC Foundation offices in Washington, DC during 2019. The application deadline is February 15th, 2019. For more information, contact Tamika Sims at [email protected].
RWJF Health Policy Research Scholars Program
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Health Policy Research Scholars Program (HPRS) is a four-year national leadership development program for full-time doctoral students from nonclinical, academic disciplines with a policy focus and whose research is aligned with the health needs of communities. By providing leadership development training, supporting opportunities to practice new behaviors, and learning to work in teams, HPRS will develop a new cadre of research leaders who will build a Culture of Health in their disciplines and communities. The specific criteria a non-profit or public entity must meet to qualify is described here. Deadline for receipt of brief proposals is December 13, 2018 (3 p.m. ET) and for full proposals is March 6, 2019 (3 p.m. ET).
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Meetings
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Active Living Research Conference 2019
The 2019 Active Living Research Conference
, a multi-disciplinary conference for sharing the latest research, policies, and practices that advance activity-friendly communities for everyone, will be held February 17-20, 2019 in Charleston, SC. The conference features an interactive program with scheduled physical activity breaks including workshops, plenary panel sessions, lunch roundtable discussions, and oral and poster presentations.
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Funding Opportunities
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Federal Funding
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
Closing March 06, 2019
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA
Application Due Date: December 12, 2019
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA
Application Due Date: December 12, 2019
USDA
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Closing January 23, 2019
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
Closing Date January 7, 2022
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
Closing Date January 7, 2022
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International
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The European Commission Launches Knowledge Center on Global Food and Nutrition Security
The
Knowledge Centre on Global Food and Nutrition Security
, led by the Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre, will act as a reference point for scientific data supporting the EU's global commitment to end hunger, guarantee food security and improve nutrition levels in third countries where people lack access to sufficient, affordable and nutritious food.
The 2018
Global Food Security Index
(GFSI) has recorded a slight improvement in global food security for 70% of countries, particularly the lower-middle and low-income countries, after slipping in 2017. However, food quality and safety have decreased, due in part to declines in diet diversification and protein quality. This finding suggests "while consumers in these countries are able to afford sufficient quantities of food, they aren't necessarily eating the healthiest of foods. Most structural components of food quality and safety, including the existence of national dietary guidelines, national nutrition strategies and formal grocery sectors, have improved." The GFSI helps countries meet the U.N.
Sustainable Development Goals
by 2030.
Health Among Global Foodservice Trends for 2019
Recent survey of Technomic's research of drivers of consumer spending show "emerging markets" like China, the Philippines and Malaysia are booming, while larger, more established markets like the U.S., Canada and Europe are more mature and slowing down." Health and wellness rank important to global consumers as they seek quality defined as containing fewer additives and artificial flavors, made from plants or veggie-based ingredients, labeled with health claims stating functional benefits, and perceived as sustainable.
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