New Strategic Directions for HESI

ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute

New Strategic Directions for HESI

From Plan to Progress Syril Pettit HESI Executive Director June 12, 2012 Prague, Czech Republic


ASPIRATION

FOCUS ACTION


Since 2001, HESI has developed Strategic Plans to help guide organizational direction and impact;

June 2011: Updated the plan Today: Overview of the plan and a vision for its implementation.

HESI: Guided by a Strategic Plan


Updating HESI’s Strategic Plan

March – May 2011 • Collect input on old plan, goals for new. • Assembly, Board, Committee leadership June 6-7, 2011 • Strategic Planning Session. OR and Board create

new draft plan and mission statement. Fall 2011 • Draft plan finalized and supporting docs created. 24 January 2012 • HESI Board approves new Strategic Plan and

Mission Statement (in your booklets)


Previous Mission:

To stimulate and support scientific research and educational programs that contribute to the identification and resolution of health and environmental issues of concern to the public, scientific community, government agencies and industry.

Re-working HESI’s Mission Statement….


Re-working HESI’s Mission Statement….


Revised Mission and Tagline

REVISED Mission:

Engage scientists from academia, government, and industry to identify and resolve global health and environmental issues. Tagline

Science-based solutions for a sustainable, healthier world.

Positively Impact the Most Relevant Health and

Environmental Issues

Assure Transparency of Scientific and Communications Processes

A

B

C

D

4

Create Definitive Scientific Solutions

Ensure Recognition of HESI’s Value and

Contributions

Optimize HESI’s Organizational Effectiveness

Focus on Program Areas in Translational Biology, Risk

Assessment, Environmental Toxicology, and New Technology

and Approaches

Identify and Prioritize New Scientific Issues to Increase Alignment with the Scientific Map

Deliver Quality Scientific Results

Evaluate and Continuously Improve

Recognition of HESI’s Value and Contribution

Develop and Implement a Proactive Engagement and

Communications Plan for HESI

Increase HESI’s Outreach to and Recognition With

Key Stakeholders

Align Organizational Structure with

Strategic Requirements

Attract and Engage Quality Scientists and Optimize

Tripartite Composition

Ensure Effective Project Management to Deliver

Outcomes in a Timely Fashion

Ensure Appropriate Staffing and Financial Resources to Support

Programs

1 2 3


Towards Positive Impact

Impact

Relevance

Synergy

Scientific Innovation

and Solutions

Defining and Reaching Targets

Benefit to Science & Health

Recognition and Value

Internal Ops and Measures

Right Partners and Participants

Actions to Fulfill Strategic Goals

Making it Work


Where to begin?

Health and Environmental Sciences Institute

Let’s start with where we want to end

New, safe drugs to patients more quickly for better patient outcomes; Improved environmental health (both human and eco); Identifying safe, sustainable chemicals; Identify sustainable safe agricultural practices that meet world nutrition needs; Use of fewer resources (animal and financial) to conduct assessments and develop new chemicals/drugs without compromising safety or efficacy;


So how do we get there?

• All organizations face challenges in addressing these important issues – they are difficult.

• Aspiration: Identify opportunities to establish HESI as a leader in the collaborative scientific community in addressing these challenges.



HESI is well positioned to build on its current strengths

and augment with new ones

to fill a critical but underserved niche.



Listen Look

Leverage Act

Listening…

“Although the rate of progress in basic biomedical research is high, it remains difficult to translate preclinical discovery into meaningful medical progress.” Sorger, NIH Whitepaper, October 2011

“Unfortunately, the risk

assessment process is bogged down by challenges to its

timeliness and credibility, a lack of adequate resources, and

disconnects between available scientific data and the

information needs of decision-makers.”

NAS Science and Decisions 2008.

“Thus, the time is right to take a comprehensive, systematic, and creative approach to revolutionizing the science of translation. “ F. Collins, Science, July 2011.

“Advances in science and engineering increasingly require the collaboration of scholars from various fields…interdisciplinary research can be impeded by policies on hiring, promotion, tenure, proposal review, and resource allocation that favor traditional disciplines.” www.keckfutures.org


Looking: The era of big data…

• ‘Omics, in vitro modeling, human on a chip, informatics, etc.

• As data volume & complexity increases, the need for diverse but integrated expertise increases as well;


The era of big data…

We need better approaches to link

Complex & diverse data

Relevant Endpoints

Context of Use

Think the ‘successes’ described earlier in this slide set

From Wang et al, Dis Markers. 2010 ; 28(4): 199–207

Towards Innovation & Implementation

Who will/is filling this role?

Tow

ards

sci

entif

ic

inno

vatio

n an

d im

plem

enta

tion

Interdisciplinary! Successful Integration of

Science, Sectors, and Expertise

Platform to Combine

Expertise & Sectors

Siloed Technical Resources

& Expertise

Complex Data on System


Collaborative Interdisciplinary Translational Structured

Resource Effective

Leverage: Defining the Niche, 5 Pillars


How well does HESI

synch with this Niche? Established Strengths for HESI Collaborative – reaching across academia, government, industry,

research institutes, nonprofits, international, etc.; Structured – providing staffing and management structure to progress

novel collaborative programs and activities; Resource Effective – pooling in-kind, intellectual, and financial inputs to

drive research.

Less Established Strengths for HESI Translational – supporting the movement of science from early

formulation to implementation to help meet public health needs; Interdisciplinary – bridging across different scientific disciplines;


Translational – moving science from innovation to implementation to help meet public health needs;

Discovery/ Innovation

Validation and Optimization

Implementation

Driving Translational Science


Interdisciplinary “Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) is a mode of research by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to

advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or field of research practice.”

NAS, Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research.

Truth in Cartoons…

Cartoon excerpted from 2005 , NAS, Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research.

I’M ON THE VERGE OF A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH , BUT I’M ALSO AT THE POINT WHERE CHEMISTRY LEAVES OFF AND PHYSICS BEGINS, SO I’LL HAVE TO

DROP THE WHOLE THING.


Program Tri/multi partite?

Interdisciplinary Focus?

Structured Framework for Ongoing Work?

Pools Resources Translational?

Collaborative NGOs (PSTC, EBTC, IMI, ECETOC, etc)

Yes Limited – not an organizing focus.

Some yes, some no Yes Yes, sometimes

Academic Research Centers

No Yes/No (some by design)

Yes, but only w/in the academic setting

No Often no.

Keck Futures Initiative (NAS)

No - primarily academic and gov’t

Yes More of an idea incubator and seed funding organization

No No

Professional Societies (SOT, SPS, SETAC, EMS, SRA)

Yes Many single discipline by design, some exceptions

No Sometimes Sometimes

Industrial-based Research

No – or only on limited basis

Sometimes No Not usually Yes

Research Institutes (e.g., Hamner)

Sometimes Limited – not an organizing focus.

No Sometimes Sometimes

Government Research Initiatives (‘Big Data’, NCATS, Tox21, etc)

Sometimes, but not a driver

Yes Some examples, but not consistently

No Yes

Insert HESI here?

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes


ACT: Taking a Leadership Role

Add a new dimension to HESI’s successes in Tripartite Collaboration: Become a Leader in Interdisciplinary Approaches To Translate Science into Improved Global Health and Environment


Why HESI, Why Now

• We have the right foundation; • Opportunity to be on leading edge - become

“thought” leader and resource • Lots of collaborative science out there – need for

HESI to set apart a strengthen organizational standing and impact


Moving Forward

Build recognition through current programs • Promote importance of including and highlighting interdisciplinary

approaches in existing HESI projects » PSSC/EIC proposals at this meeting » Reaching out to new committee participants » Discussion area at HESI staff retreat (July)

• Establish partnerships to foster translation » HESI MOU with Chinese National Center for Safety Evaluation

of Drugs, April 2012 • Communicate novel interdisciplinary approaches underway at HESI

» HESI Insights, upcoming workshops, etc.


Moving Forward

Create New Communities and Networks • HESI presence in new places

– ACS Green Chemistry Conference – New opportunities for next year



Moving Forward

Create New Communities and Networks • HESI presence in new places

– ACS Green Chemistry Conference – New opportunities for next year

• Building alliances with related scientific professional societies (e.g., looking beyond SOT)

– Share information via websites, webinars, distribution lists, etc – New insights, new perspectives, new contacts – Board to help lead this outreach in coming year.


Moving Forward

Create opportunities to establish HESI as a leader in ‘interdisciplinary’ and ‘translational’ collaborations

• Step 1: Reaching out to communities of practice that are already embracing this ethic. Do they perceive gaps?


Academic Centers with Interdisciplinary Mission & Structure

Outreach • Visits to Bio5 and CLP • Virtual visits to NUS, MIT • New connections for HESI; • Shared HESI structure and

new strategic goals; • Challenges and

Opportunities in field • Where can HESI play a

role?


Combining New Outreach Input with Feedback from Current

HESI Members Outreach • Perspectives from senior industry leaders

in different sectors; • Academicians on Board; • Government scientists on HESI Board; • Government leaders internationally

– Research arms, regulatory arms, funding agencies, etc.


Positive Feedback: The Need is Real

• On Point

– Recognized need to Combine Interdisciplinary and Translational Expertise.

– Challenges in implementation cited; • Action Needed

– Forum to discuss experiences, opportunities, needs, and challenges, and map path forward;

– Support for HESI activity in this niche; Action Taken – CITE Symposium concept in development


Strategic Actions: Already Positive Impacts

– Establishing new awareness of HESI programs and scope in the academic and government community;

– New contacts, new partners – making HESI part of the conversation

– New opportunities for input on existing projects and guidance on future directions

– Re-thinking roles of PSSC/EIC to optimize structural roles and benefit HESI portfolio.


Looking Ahead

New Challenges New Opportunities The Opportunities are Real and Exciting Need your help to fully realize HESI’s potential

This is YOUR organization Get Involved, Be Part of the Strategy Offer Feedback


Thank You Děkuji


Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research: National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, IOM. 2005.

Examining Core Elements of International Research Collaboration. NAS, NAE, IOM. 2011.

2012 Global R&D Funding Forecast. Battelle and R&D Mag. December 2011. Designing Nanostructures at the Interface Between Biomedical and Physical

Systems. National Academy Press, 2005. Goldman, M. Public-private partnerships need honest brokering. Nature

Medicine Volume: 18, Page: 341 (2012) Keck Foundation/NAS Futures Initiative. http://www.keckfutures.org/ Coalition for Bridging the Sciences.

http://www.biophysics.org/Policy/PolicyIssues/BridgingtheSciences/tabid/444/Default.aspx

Selected Resources

http://www.keckfutures.org/



Documents

New Strategic Directions for HESI