“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 November 2021

All facilities of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are closed. All gatherings will be held virtually. 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. More events can be found at https://www.nationalacademies.org/events.

Wildfire Impacts on Soil Health
Nov. 2
Intense wildfires can denude the landscape and impact soil quality — for example, by changing its physical properties, increasing the chances of erosion, altering the soil microbiome, and extending the timeline for landscape recovery. This session will discuss emerging frontiers in soil and wildfire research.

Understanding the Role of the Immune System in Improving Tissue Regeneration
Nov. 2 and 3
This workshop will explore the immune system’s role in improving tissue regeneration. Presentations will examine the role of the host’s immune system in accepting or rejecting a tissue graft and communication mechanisms between the immune system and damaged or diseased tissues. Panelists will also discuss lessons learned from other areas of research, including transplant immunology, cancer immunotherapy, and the microbiome.

Housing Instability and Health
Nov. 3
Housing insecurity has been a long-standing health-related social need. The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated housing struggles, with many falling behind on payments, or turning to housing that is crowded or in poor condition. Panelists will discuss a recently released report, Rental Eviction and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Averting a Looming Crisis, and highlight a multipronged approach to supporting housing stability as a public health strategy.

Navigating the Supply Chain Congestion Crisis
Nov. 3
This webinar will cover tools and practices to maintain the flow of freight and supplies. Speakers from port, logistics, and cargo backgrounds will discuss operating practices to address delays and shortages, managing workforce assets, and working with limited storage and equipment capacity.

Rebuilding Public Trust in Biomedical Science and Research
Nov. 4
This first webinar in a two-part series will focus on exploring the factors that influence levels of public trust in health and biomedical research and evidence. Discussions will identify dimensions of distrust and determine key barriers to achieving public trust and improving the uptake of reliable information.

Opportunities and Challenges in Offshore Wind
Nov. 5
Interest in the development of offshore wind energy is growing, as more governments and industries are committing to achieving net-zero goals for CO2 emissions. This colloquium will discuss the value of offshore wind energy in the United States, the priorities of different stakeholders, infrastructure needs, and research gaps that must be addressed to ensure offshore wind energy is safe and environmentally responsible.

Evolving Crisis Standards of Care and Ongoing Lessons from COVID-19
Nov. 8
COVID-19 has challenged the delivery of health care services worldwide, forcing difficult choices about how to allocate scarce resources. This workshop series will revisit previous National Academies recommendations on crisis standards of care (CSC), focusing on disaster planning as well as the legal, equity, and staffing considerations in the planning and implementation of CSC.

Impact of and Early Innovative Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Nov. 8, 18, and 30
This series of three webinars will consider the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to improve care for people with serious illness. Presentations will showcase examples of innovations that allowed for the highest quality care for people with serious illness and their families during the earliest days of the pandemic. Experts will also discuss workforce challenges and the use of telehealth.

Ocean Decade U.S.
Nov. 12
From 2021-2030, the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development will focus scientific initiatives across the globe on the science needed to ensure sustainable use of ocean resources and long-term ocean health. At this fall meeting, the U.S. National Committee for the U.N. Ocean Decade will speak with various stakeholders.

Online Tools to Support Youth Emotional Well-Being During COVID-19 — Spanish-Language Demonstration
Nov. 12
The National Academies have developed a suite of online tools — available in both English and Spanish — to help children and youth manage feelings of stress, anxiety, and sadness. The tools include a series of graphic-novel style PDFs and videos. This Spanish-language demonstration will explain how educators, mental health professionals, health care providers, and parents can use these tools.

Managing and Adapting to the Aridification of the Western U.S.
Nov. 15
This meeting will provide a 20-year outlook on the tough decisions and strategies needed to manage and adapt to aridification in the Western U.S., and highlight future opportunities and challenges for addressing increasingly frequent and severe droughts.

Climate Conversations: Decarbonizing the Health Sector
Nov. 18
The health sector is beginning to tackle the task of decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions and helping to address climate change, which is impacting human health. Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine, will moderate a conversation with experts about the challenges of decarbonizing the health sector, how those efforts fit into broader efforts to address climate change, and lessons that can be shared with other sectors.

Reports Scheduled for Release in November

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.

Advancing Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Preparedness and Response: Lessons Learned from COVID-19

The global response to COVID-19 has pushed the boundaries on what is possible for rapid pandemic response in several areas. This collection of four reports will provide recommendations regarding vaccine research, development, manufacturing, and equitable distribution, allocation, and administration that could inform future pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccine preparedness efforts.

Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s
This report will present a comprehensive research strategy and vision for a decade of transformative science at the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics.

Reviewing the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise
This report will evaluate existing Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasure Enterprise (PHEMCE) policy and practices and make recommendations for a re-envisioned PHEMCE, particularly after COVID-19.

Transparency and Reproducibility of Federal Statistics for the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics
This report will examine the degree of transparency and reproducibility of federal statistics, and recommend what agencies should do to make data sets available to the public as well as document the ways in which raw data is processed and final results are computed.

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