In 2021, AGHES began partnering with the FDA One Health Steering Committee (OHSC), co-chaired by Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) and Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), to hold a fun and educational competition, aka a “pitch challenge”—think elevator speech—among Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellows for hypothetical proposals of One Health-related scientific projects for FDA.

In February, over 70 people, including 13 pitch teams and several judges (listed below), attended or participated in Round 1. All of the ideas pitched were outstanding, and all met the goal of promoting and better understanding One Health concepts in work at FDA. The winners of Round 1 moved on to Round 2, the final round, based on thorough analysis by the judges—from inclusion of the One Health and FDA missions, to the pitch presentation, to the project viability.

Round 2 was held on March 8. A recording of Round 2 is here on the FDA YouTube channel—also via the button below. The scores were very close, but judges were in general agreement that one pitch stood out—Yoon Lee’s Epidemiology Study and Evaluation of Currently Available Leprosy Diagnostic Tests. Yoon’s research proposal clearly outlined the project with every detail needed, including a budget with the number of people hours and comprehensive materials. She realistically projected an estimated research timeline and conveyed a multi-disciplinary approach that would be relevant to people, animals, and the environment. Yoon's written and oral presentations for the pitch were convincing and especially strong on conveying the need to fund her research. Yoon is an ORISE Fellow in the Office of Research and Standards, Office of Generic Drugs at CDER, working on the evaluation of the Staccato drug delivery platform. Congratulations Yoon!

- Fred Moulin and Jim Laurenson, President and Past President of AGHES; and

- Kristine Leiphart, Office of the Chief Scientist

Are you involved with interesting science or other activities that you would like to share with AGHES members? Let us know and we'll post them here.

To start, Past President Jim Laurenson started the Cedar Lane Ecosystems Study Group (ESG) several years ago to better understand the root causes of climate change and the best ways to address it. The group quickly expanded due to the many local and regional climate action groups in Montgomery County, MD. ESG now has over 50 members, including many from outside the county. The group reads and discusses the latest science on climate change and other symptoms of what they are increasingly calling "overshoot", and occasionally host prominent experts. One such expert, Gaya Herrington, recently published a 50th anniversary Update to Limits to Growth: Comparing the World3 Model with Empirical Data (an article and non-paywall version is available here) and will be presenting and discussing the paper via Zoom on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, at 7:30 pm. Register here to attend or receive a link later to the recording. Feel free to contact Jim for more information about this group.

Who's next to add to our Member Meanderings?!

Then please help us provide quality programming in the coming year by volunteering to run for one of the open Council positions. As we turn the corner on the new AGHES, we are trying to get back to the regular schedule of holding timely voting, as noted in our By-Laws. So please consider joining the new AGHES leadership and help shape its future. Members also always have an open invitation to join our Council meetings, which usually are held the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6 pm, including this month -- email us per below if interested.

Positions are open for two 2-year Councilor positions, 2-year Treasurer and Secretary positions, and a 1-year President-elect (followed by 1-year as President, and 1-year as Immediate Past President). You may nominate either yourself or some other member/member-eligible person you know to be a good candidate. See the By-Laws for eligibility requirements and information on the responsibilities of each Council member. Contact Immediate Past President Jim Laurenson at president@govtox.org, or Secretary Tom Flynn at secretary@govtox.org.

Members, have you paid your dues for 2022 membership yet? As you probably noticed, we have been holding a lot of exciting new activities and programs, and taking several actions to build a larger and more inclusive AGHES. So if you have not already done so please go to https://govtox.org/membership and pay your dues.

While you’re at it, bring a friend or two into the fold as we get the word out about our new, yet old, organization! Send them to our latest President’s Message to learn more about who we are. If you or new recruits have any questions, please contact membership@govtox.org. 

Have ideas for events? Programs? We have been exploring a variety of ideas in recent years, and are continuing to take preventive measures to ensure the safety of our members, such as holding mostly virtual meetings. The Council has been discussing possible in-person social activities in our outside venues that would allow appropriate social distancing and other measures. Let us know of any ideas you have, at secretary@govtox.org.

Are You Getting the E-news Too Close to the Advertised Event? 

It could be because your agency is "throttling" emails like these, i.e., delaying them to give bandwidth priority to what IT teams think are higher priority emails. If you want to change your email address, click Update Profile in the footer below. If you want to receive a duplicate eblast, let us know at membership@govtox.org.

Interested in joining AGHES, or already a member and need to pay your 2022 dues? Go to our membership page per the button below. Just need to update your email address? Click the Update Profile link at the end of this email.

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