Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) Charter & Function Statement
Function Statement
The Board shall advise the Directors of CCR and DCEG, and the Director and Deputy Directors, NCI, on a wide variety of matters concerning scientific program policy and progress and future direction of research programs in the areas of carcinogenesis; cancer biology and diagnosis; cancer center administration; medicine; radiological and surgical oncology; chemotherapy; cancer epidemiology, genetics, genomics, and related areas; cancer education; cancer information services; community outreach; biological, chemical and physical carcinogenesis; DNA repair; tumor biology and immunology; humoral and cellular immunity; hematopoiesis; cell differentiation and transformation; oncogenes and growth factors; molecular and structural biology; genetic regulation; cell signaling; viral oncology; vaccine development; transplantation; clinical trial design, management and evaluation; pharmacology; drug development and developmental therapeutics; proteomics; genetic and immunotherapies; pathology; diagnostic research and cytogenetics; biological response modifiers; imaging; nutrition; survey research; epidemiology; biostatistics; statistics; rehabilitation; psychology and behavioral medicine; public health and community oncology; quality of life; pain management; cancer detection and diagnosis; cancer treatment and restorative care; dentistry; nursing; public health; education of health professionals; medical oncology; surgery; radiotherapy; gynecologic oncology; and pediatric oncology.
Charter
Authority
Authorized by 42 U.S.C. §§ 284(c)(3), 289a, sections 405(c)(3) and 492 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. The Board of Scientific Counselors, National Cancer Institute (NCI or Institute) is established in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. app.), which sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory committees.
Membership and Designation
The Board will consist of up to 55 members, including Co-Chairs, appointed by the Director, NCI, from authorities knowledgeable in the fields of laboratory, clinical and biometric research; clinical cancer treatment; cancer etiology; cancer prevention and control with emphasis on training and experience in the various disciplines and fields related to scientific areas relevant to carcinogenesis; cancer biology and diagnosis; cancer center administration; medicine; radiological and surgical oncology; chemotherapy; cancer epidemiology, genetics, genomics, and related areas; cancer education; cancer information services; community outreach; biological, chemical and physical carcinogenesis; DNA repair; tumor biology and immunology; humoral and cellular immunity; hematopoiesis; cell differentiation and transformation; oncogenes and growth factors; molecular and structural biology; genetic regulation; cell signaling; viral oncology; vaccine development; transplantation; clinical trial design, management and evaluation; pharmacology; drug development and developmental therapeutics; proteomics; genetic and immunotherapies; pathology; diagnostic research and cytogenetics; biological response modifiers; imaging; nutrition; survey research; epidemiology; biostatistics; statistics; rehabilitation; psychology and behavioral medicine; public health and community oncology; quality of life; pain management; cancer detection and diagnosis; cancer treatment and restorative care; dentistry; nursing; public health; education of health professionals; medical oncology; surgery; radiotherapy; gynecologic oncology; and pediatric oncology. Members will be invited to serve for overlapping terms of up to five years. Federal employees are not eligible to be members of this Board; all members of this Board will serve as Special Government Employees. A member will serve after the expiration of that member’s term until a successor has taken office. The quorum for the conduct of business by the full Board will consist of a majority of the currently appointed members.
Description of Duties
The Board will review and evaluate the intramural program. This will involve the evaluation of the performance and productivity of tenured and tenure-track principal investigators, senior scientists, and senior clinicians through periodic site visits to intramural Laboratories/Branches/Programs of the NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR) and Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG). The Board will evaluate and provide advice on the course of these research programs. The Board shall also, as requested by the Director, NCI, undertake peer review of extramural funding applications as required by section 492 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. The site visit review teams for the intramural program, which are subcommittees of the Board and will include at least two Board members, will be provided with a written description of the overall research to be reviewed. This written description will present the overall past accomplishments of the laboratories and their investigators since the last review was conducted. The written description will also present: the general aims, objectives and projected directions of the research to be conducted; appropriate background information on possible future research projects; a brief summary of the general research plan; and an indication of the importance of the research projects to their specific clinical and scientific disciplines. The site visit team, after conducting the review, will prepare a written description and evaluation of the research to be submitted to the Board. The Board will discuss each site visit report and make final recommendations to the CCR and DCEG Directors regarding resources and future course of each research program. The final recommendations shall also be transmitted to the NCI Director, the NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research, and the NIH Director. The NCI will provide annually to the National Cancer Advisory Board a written description of the research reviewed and the results of each review.
Estimated Number and Frequency of Meetings
Meetings of the full Board will be held approximately 3 times within a fiscal year. Meetings will be open to the public except as determined otherwise by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) in accordance with the subsection (c) of section 552b of Title 5 U.S.C. Notice of all meetings will be given to the public. In the event a portion of a meeting is closed to the public, as determined by the Secretary, in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, a report will be prepared which will contain, as a minimum, a list of members and their business addresses, the Board’s functions, the dates and places of meetings, and a summary of the Board’s activities and recommendations made during the fiscal year. A copy of the report will be provided to the Department Committee Management Officer.