On December 16th, 2019 the Committee on Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States will hold an information gathering meeting in Irvine, CA

To facilitate the U.S. Department of State (DOS) in implementing one of its responsibilities to protect U.S. government employees and their family members overseas, the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will form a Standing Committee to Advise DOS on Unexplained Health Effects on U.S. Government Employees and their Families at Overseas Embassies. This standing committee will discuss best practices with DOS Bureau of Medical Services on topics including but not limited to health monitoring, medical interventions, risk assessment, and exposure mitigation for overseas locations that may present a higher risk of adverse health effects. The standing committee will evaluate current DOS practices for pre- and post-assignment health screening, provide expertise on potential epidemiologic studies, help with characterizing and understanding the current cases of potential acoustic trauma, and develop a better understanding of possible causes of these cases and approaches for future incidents whether of an apparent acoustic nature or a different environmental or clinical presentation. The standing committee will also keep DOS abreast of any emerging concerns, interventions, and protective measures as these come available. The standing committee will organize ongoing discussions, take on specific tasks and possibly issue classified and unclassified reports and recommendations on a variety of topics of importance to the DOS in regards to health effects from potential exposures overseas.

Committee Only
An ad hoc committee will plan and conduct a one day public workshop to explore the state of the science of mammalian embryo model systems, including nonhuman primate and human models. The goal of the workshop will be to begin with an overview of the developments and uses that have set the foundation for the field, then to focus in on opportunities and challenges for future work with embryo model systems.

Second Meeting of the Committee on Childhood Cancers and Disability

This 2-day public workshop will explore the state of the science on a range of topics related to nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.

A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will be appointed to conduct a one day workshop to bring together stakeholders to discuss potential ethical issues that may arise from new and emerging trends in biomedical research (including behavioral and social research) and society. The workshop will identify a range of current and emerging bioethical issues - both in basic and clinical research - and explore a broad-range of stakeholder perspectives.

The 80th Anniversary will review the origin and history, policy influence, and future directions of the Food and Nutrition Board.

Evidence-based screening approaches have contributed to improved patient outcomes, and research continues to develop and evaluate the potential of new strategies for early cancer detection.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will hold a public workshop, Developing a Patient-Centered Approach to Optimizing Veterans' Access to Healthcare Services, on March 12-13, 2020 in Washington D.C.

As digital health technologies (e.g. smartphone apps, wearables, and mobile-device-based tools) – hardware and software – become increasingly available to consumers, providers, and researchers, there are new opportunities to address critical barriers or “pain points,” better connect patients and health care providers, and incorporate patient input throughout the drug research and development (R&D) life cycle. However, a lack of clarity when it comes to the evaluation, selection, and implementation of digital health technologies has impeded the practical application of these innovations. This workshop will provide a venue to discuss challenges and opportunities in digital health technologies for improving the probability of success in drug development and enabling precision medicine.