“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  

Selected Events in February 2024
Click on each event title below to access meeting details, an agenda, and registration information, or contact the Office of News and Public Information (e-mail news@nas.edu). Reporters should register for all meetings. Find more National Academies events at https://www.nationalacademies.org/events. 

Health Risk Considerations for the Use of Unencapsulated Steel Slag  
Feb. 1
Experts will discuss the recent National Academies report on health risk considerations for the use of unencapsulated steel slag — a rock-like material formed during the process of steel making. This type of slag has a variety of uses, principally as a loose ground cover material for residential landscaping, roadways, and building construction, but it can also contain toxic metals, presenting hazards to human and environmental health. This webinar will provide the public with an opportunity to learn about the report’s findings and recommendations and ask questions to the committee that wrote the report. 

Precision Medicine: An Innovative Approach to Treating Cancer  
Feb. 2
During this webinar, Gordon Mills, director of precision oncology at the Knight Cancer Institute, will make a presentation on precision medicine, also known as personalized medicine — an approach that tailors disease prevention and treatment to a patient’s genes, environment, and lifestyle. The webinar will also discuss the impact of personalized medicine on the FDA approval process and the results of the SMMART Clinical Trial, which tracks a patient’s cancer over time through biopsies and tests and uses that information to adjust drug combinations to stay ahead of the cancer. 

Advancing Risk Communication with Decision-Makers for Extreme Tropical Cyclones  
Feb. 5 and 6
This workshop will explore opportunities and challenges for communicating with decision-makers about extreme tropical cyclones and identify lessons that can be drawn from engagement and communication concerning other hazards. 

Nature-Based Solutions
Feb. 7 and 8
This forum will bring together policymakers, regulators, practitioners, academics, and others to discuss the potential of nature-based solutions for infrastructure development, climate change solutions, and community revitalization. 

Prioritizing Indoor Chemistry Research
Feb. 8
This workshop will explore recommendations from the National Academies report Why Indoor Chemistry Matters, with a special focus making the study of indoor chemistry and its impact on indoor air quality and public health a national priority. 

Aging, Functioning, and Rehabilitation
Feb. 16 and 17
This workshop will discuss the World Health Organization’s concept of functioning, with a focus on healthy aging and the future of rehabilitation. Sessions and speakers will examine how to measure functioning, data collection issues, ways to integrate functioning into public health strategies for healthy aging and longevity, and demographic projections for functioning and rehabilitation.  

Pressing Issues Around Contraception Access  
Feb. 20
A panel of experts including health care providers and researchers will discuss pressing issues such as risk of provider coercion, the changing landscape of contraception access for adolescents, and challenges to post-abortion contraception access.  

Future Implications of Open Access and FAIR Data Practices
Feb. 21 and 22
The workshop will provide a forum to explore the social, financial, scientific, and research impacts of transitioning into open access and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data practices for chemistry and chemical engineering research and publications. 

Heritable Genomic Modification in Food Animals
Feb. 27 and 28 
This workshop will explore the state of the science in the development of food animals with heritable genetic modifications and their potential health risks to humans, animals, and the environment. Experts will also discuss traits that might be pursued in the next few years and recommend areas of research for the future. 

Reports Scheduled for Release in February
Release dates for the following consensus reports and proceedings from the National Academies depend on successful completion of the review process and publishing schedules. Reporters who would like to be notified when a report is due for release should contact the Office of News and Public Information (e-mail news@nas.edu) and ask to be placed on a contact list.  

Assessing Equity in the Distribution of Fisheries Management Benefits: Data Information and Availability  
This report will determine what data and information are required to assess the equity of the distribution of federal fisheries management benefits associated with commercial and for-hire fisheries. The report will also present ways that NOAA Fisheries assesses the distribution of such benefits with the current data available. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS 

• The National Academies’ Newsroom  
• PNAS in the News | Register to receive embargoed material from the PNAS News Office 
• Reports and other publications from the National Academies 
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