Appendix A
Study Issues
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Adequacy of NIH's response to the emerging epidemic of HIV infection (see Chapter 1: “NIH's Response to the Emerging Epidemic”).
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Appropriateness of the scope and content of NIH's AIDS research program, and the relationship between AIDS and non-AIDS research, especially the impact of the support of AIDS research on non-AIDS research and the impact of the science from AIDS research on the science of non-AIDS research (see Chapter 4: “Adequacy [of Funding],” “Impact of Non-AIDS Research,” and “Spillover Effects of AIDS Research on Non-AIDS Efforts”).
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Adequacy of NIH's organizational structure and processes for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the AIDS research program (see Chapter 2).
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Use, structure, and composition of advisory groups in the NIH AIDS research program (see Chapter 2: “Strengthening External Advisory Processes”).
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Balance between directed and investigator-initiated research, appropriate dollar allocations among the various research categories (e.g., therapeutics, vaccine development, pathogenesis), and mechanisms for funding research in those categories (e.g., traditional research grants, other types of research grants, cooperative agreements, research contracts, intramural research, and research centers) (see Chapter 4: “Grants Policy and Administration”; and Chapter 3).
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Role of public opinion in influencing the direction of AIDS research (see Chapter 2: “Strengthening External Advisory Processes”).
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Adequacy of the level of funding of AIDS research at NIH and needed space, personnel, and other research resources (see Chapter 3, which discusses adequacy of funding in each area, including “Research Resources”; and Chapter 4: “Adequacy [of Funding],” “Administrative Support [NIH Staffing, Facilities]”).
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Type and degree of coordination between NIH research and the activities of other agencies within and without the Public Health Service (within PHS and with WHO, see Chapter 3: “Behavioral Research” and “Epidemiology”; within the pharmaceutical industry, see Chapter 3: “Preclinical Drug Discovery and Development” and “Clinical Trials”).
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Adequacy of NIH's efforts in communicating AIDS research activities, such as its drug and vaccine development and testing processes, to the scientific community and the public (see Chapter 3: “Communication of Research Results”).