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Stakeholders Meet on ODS Five Year Strategy
May 26, 2003
3 Min Read
Stakeholders Meet on ODS Five Year Strategy
BETHESDA, Md.--Representatives from government, industry andacademia met May 8 and 9 to discuss a proposed five-year plan for the Office ofDietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The plan covers all aspects of ODS' activities, including NIH-funded researchand communication strategies. A complete copy of the current ODS-proposedstrategic plan for 2004 to 2009 is available at http://ods.od.nih.gov.In addition to the planning meeting, ODS is accepting public comments on theproposed plan until June 27 at [email protected].
The event began with presentations on topics such as new technologies,analytical methods, research methods, consumer information needs, partnershipopportunities, and ODS' role within the federal government. Presenters includedStephen Barnes, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology at the University ofAlabama-Birmingham; Joseph Betz, Ph.D., director of dietary supplements methodsand reference materials at ODS; David Atkins, M.D., M.P.H., chief medicalofficer at the Center for Practice and Technology Assessment, Agency forHealthcare Research and Quality; Maryellen Molyneaux, president, The NaturalMarketing Institute; Loren Israelsen, executive director, Utah Natural ProductsAlliance; and Michael McClure, National Institute of Environmental HealthSciences.
Following the presentations, comments were heard from invited participants,including David Seckman, executive director of the National Nutritional FoodsAssociation, and Jon Benninger, director of business development for VirgoPublishing. Later that day, participants broke into discussion groups to providedirect input to ODS on a variety of topics. The second day was composed ofsummaries of the comments and suggestions from the discussion groups.
Additional meeting participants included representatives from the Food andDrug Administration (FDA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Council forResponsible Nutrition (CRN), American Herbal Products Association (AHPA),National Cancer Institute (NCI), and many universities and researchorganizations.
The current draft of the five-year ODS strategy includes the following fivegoals:
Evaluate the role of dietary supplements in the prevention of disease and reduction of risk factors associated with disease;
Evaluate the role of dietary supplements in physical and mental health and in performance;
Explore the biochemical and cellular effects of dietary supplements on biological systems and their physiological impact across the life cycle;
Improve scientific methodology as related to the study of dietary supplements; and
Inform and educate scientists, health care providers and the public about the benefits and risks of dietary supplements.
ODS was created by a congressional mandate included in the Dietary SupplementHealth and Education Act (DSHEA). For the current fiscal year, ODS has anoperating budget of more than $19 million. Its current programs and initiativesinclude:
ODS supports six federally funded Dietary Supplement Research Centers at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of California (Los Angeles), the University of Missouri, Purdue University, the University of Arizona and Iowa State University.
ODS operates two publicly available databases--the Computer Access to Research on Dietary Supplements (CARDS) and the International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS).
ODS sponsors and organizes various scientific conferences and symposia.
ODS produces Fact Sheets on various vitamins, minerals and dietary supplements.
ODS publishes an annual Bibliography of Scientific Advances in conjunction with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
ODS supports initiatives to collect data on patterns of dietary supplement usage within the U.S. population.
ODS is collaborating with other organizations to develop standard analytical methods and reference materials for dietary supplements.
ODS supports training and career development initiatives to create opportunities for careers in dietary supplement research.
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