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

Selected Events in September 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 (email news@nas.edu). Reporters should register for all meetings. Find more National Academies events at https://www.nationalacademies.org/events.

Safeguarding the Food Supply
Sept. 4 and 5
Featuring speakers from government, industry, and academia, this workshop will explore the state of the science around safety in the global food system. Presentations will examine nutrition, economics, and equity in food safety decision-making, and strategies for communicating these risks.

Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative
Sept. 5
This town hall will help kick off a new National Academies study on the importance of nanotechnology infrastructure and associated workforce and education needs.

Policy Perspectives on the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit
Sept. 9
Panelists at this webinar will discuss policy perspectives on the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

GLP-1R and Central Nervous System Disorders
Sept. 10
This workshop will explore the therapeutic potential of GLP-1R agonists (the same class of injectable medications recently approved to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity) for treating central nervous system disorders, such as dementia or substance and alcohol use disorders.

Macroeconomic Implications of Decarbonization Policies and Actions
Sept. 12 and 13
Speakers at this workshop will explore economic opportunities and risks to decarbonization, barriers, global interactions and implications, and research needs.

Transboundary Water Governance and the Colorado River
Sept. 16
Negotiations are underway within the United States, and bilaterally between the United States and Mexico, to manage and share the declining water supplies in the Colorado River Basin. This webinar will trace the evolution of this 75+ year transboundary relationship and examine the modern governance context.

Sustainability of the HIV/AIDS Response
Sept. 18
This event will examine the current state of the global response to HIV/AIDS, progress so far, and planning for post-2030 goals. John N. Nkengasong, senior bureau official for global health security and diplomacy at the U.S. State Department, will deliver opening remarks.

‘The Awesome Power of Multispecific Drugs’
Sept. 18
During this webinar, Raymond Deshaies, senior vice president of global research at Amgen Inc., will describe approaches that Amgen and other leading innovators in the biopharmaceutical industry are taking to develop the next generation of multispecific small molecule and biologic medicines and review the challenges and opportunities.

Transportation Workforce Diversity
Sept. 18 and 19
This workshop will focus on opportunities for furthering the diversity of the transportation sector’s skilled technical workforce and expanding the talent pool through training partnerships among community colleges, minority serving institutions, government agencies, and private industry.

Progress and Opportunities for In-Vehicle Impairment Detection
Sept. 23
Technologies for detecting driver impairment have evolved rapidly. This webinar will explore the current landscape of safety technologies and future opportunities for in-vehicle impairment detection, as well as policy considerations and public opinion on these emerging technologies.

Equity in Diagnostics
Sept. 23 and 24
This workshop will examine equity in access to high-quality medical diagnosis, with an emphasis on populations at greatest risk of harm from diagnostic errors. Presentations and discussions will explore factors that create barriers in access; professional education and development opportunities for clinicians; the role of technology and innovation; and how to enhance data collection for historically underrepresented and marginalized communities.

Examining Prosecution
Sept. 23 and 24
The workshop will showcase practices, programs, and policies that offer promising alternatives to incarceration, address racial and ethnic disparities in criminal justice outcomes, and promote continuous quality improvement and accountability within prosecutors’ offices. Discussions will include how prosecutors can build community trust in criminal justice institutions and sustain meaningful reforms.

Global Perspectives: Water Resilience
Sept. 24
This conversation will provide comprehensive insights into the complexities of water management in India, a region characterized by diverse climates, rapid population growth, and high water stress. Panelists will look at how climate change is affecting the physical hydrology of South Asia, how resource management and prevailing infrastructure have shaped regional water supplies, and how existing and emerging solutions for sustainable water management can help build resilience in India and beyond. This session is a collaboration with the Columbia Climate School, and is part of the Rethinking Water 2024 Conference during Climate Week NYC.

2024 Healthy Longevity Global Innovator Summit
Sept. 30 and Oct. 1
The aim of the Global Innovator Summit is to convene, connect, and inspire innovation in the field of healthy longevity. Participants will hear from academics, policy experts, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs, and learn about the bold and innovative projects from current and past Healthy Longevity Catalyst and Accelerator Awardees.

Reports Scheduled for Release in September
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.

Focus on Myopia: Pathogenesis and Rising Incidence
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is a common type of refractive error where close objects appear clearly, but objects farther away appear blurred. Although this condition is relatively common, recent data has shown a considerable global increase in myopia. This report assesses the current mechanistic understanding of myopia pathogenesis and causes of its increased prevalence, to identify knowledge gaps and barriers to progress, and to develop a research agenda aimed at better understanding the biological and environmental factors that could explain its increasing incidence.

Increasing the Utility of Wastewater-Based Disease Surveillance for Public Health Action: A Phase 2 Report
During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance studies successfully tracked the virus shed in feces and provided advance indications of outbreaks, sometimes weeks ahead of other public health data. This report examines the value of wastewater surveillance as a tool to trace, prevent, and control the spread of infectious disease. Phase 1 reviewed community-level wastewater-based disease surveillance and its potential value for prevention and control of infectious diseases. Phase 2 of the report examines opportunities and barriers to increasing the use and utility of wastewater surveillance for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in the United States.

NASA at a Crossroads: Maintaining Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology Preeminence in the Coming Decades
This report reviews the facilities, workforce, and technology needed for NASA to achieve its long-term strategic goals and mission objectives.

Regulatory Processes for Rare Disease Drugs in the United States and Europe
This report examines the regulatory processes for evaluating the safety and efficacy of drugs for rare diseases in the U.S. and Europe — including the mechanisms and flexibilities available to regulators, how supplemental data can be used in drug review, and collaborations between regulators in the U.S. and European Union.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS

• The National Academies’ Newsroom

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