Council of Councils Meeting

September 10-11, 2026

NIH Campus | Building 35A, Room 620/630/640

Meeting Minutes

VideoCast Day 1 and Day 2

Agenda

*All times listed in ET

September 10, 2026
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
9:00 a.m.Welcome and Opening Remarks 
Nicole C. Kleinstreuer, Ph.D.
Chair, Council of Councils
NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives
Director, Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI)
Office of the Director, NIH
9:05 a.m.Reminders and Procedures
Robin I. Kawazoe
Executive Secretary, Council of Councils
Deputy Director, DPCPSI
9:15 a.m.NIH Director’s Update
Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, NIH
10:15 a.m.DPCPSI Director’s Report
Nicole C. Kleinstreuer, Ph.D.
Chair, Council of Councils
NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives
Director, DPCPSI
11:00 a.m.Proposed DPCPSI Reorganization
Nicole C. Kleinstreuer, Ph.D.
Chair, Council of Councils
NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives
Director, DPCPSI
11:45 a.m.Update from the Council of Councils Working Group on Fostering Transformative Biomedical Research 
Maryellen L. Giger, Ph.D.
A.N. Pritzker Distinguished Service Professor of Radiology, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Committee on Medical Physics, The University of Chicago

Huda Yahya Zoghbi, M.D.
Ralph D. Feigin Distinguished Service Professor, of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, Neurology and Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine; Director, Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
12:15 p.m.Review of Grant Applications
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
1:15 p.m.Lunch Break
1:45 p.m.

Recommendations from the NIH Council of Councils Working Group on Science of Science [Vote]
Marina Volkov, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Reporting, DPCPSI

K.C. Kent Lloyd, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Council of Councils Member
Distinguished Professor, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine; Director, Mouse Biology Program; and Associate Director, Shared Resources, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis

2:15 p.m.ORIP Concept Clearance (Reissue): Development of Models, New Approach Methodologies, and Biological Materials for Studying Human Health and Diseases (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) [Vote]
Sige Zou, Ph.D.
Program Director, ORIP, DPCPSI
2:45 p.m.OSC/Common Fund Concept Clearance (Revised): R3PEATS Program: Rigor, Replicability, and 
Reproducibility to Promote Excellence, Accuracy, and Translation in Science [Vote]
Michael Chiang, M.D.
Director, National Eye Institute
3:45 p.m.Council Discussion
4:45 p.m.Council Operating Procedures [Vote]
Nicole C. Kleinstreuer, Ph.D.
Chair, Council of Councils
NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives
Director, DPCPSI
5:15 p.m.Adjourn for the Day
September 11, 2026
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
9:00 a.m.Welcome and Recap of Day 1 
Nicole C. Kleinstreuer, Ph.D.
Chair, Council of Councils
NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives
Director, DPCPSI
Office of the Director, NIH
9:15 a.m.OSC Concept Clearance (New): The Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues (SMaHT) Network Common Fund Program Stage 2 [Vote]
Amy C. Lossie, Ph.D.
Program Director, Division of Neuroscience and Behavior, National Institute on Drug Abuse
10:00 a.m.

ODSS Concept Clearance (New): Building Sustainable Foundations for Open Software and Tools in Biomedical and Behavioral Science [Vote]
Susan Gregurick, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Data Science, NIH 
Director, Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS), DPCPSI

Ishwar Chandramouliswaran
Lead Program Director, ODSS, DPCPSI

David Miller, Ph.D.
Program Director, National Cancer Institute

Lori Scott-Sheldon, Ph.D.
Chief of Data Science and Emerging Methodology in HIV, National Institute of Mental Health

10:45 a.m.NIH Artificial Intelligence Strategy
Bradley Bower, Ph.D.
Chief AI Officer, NIH
11:15 a.m.Adjourn

Future Council of Councils Meetings

All meetings are scheduled to be held virtually or in NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD.

2026

2027

  • January 28-29, 2027 (Thursday, Friday)
  • May 20-21, 2027 (Thursday, Friday)
  • September 16-17, 2027 (Thursday, Friday)

2028

  • February 3-4, 2028 (Thursday, Friday)
  • May 11-12, 2028 (Thursday, Friday)
  • September 14-15, 2028 (Thursday, Friday)
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