[Federal Register: April 14, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 70)]
[Notices]               
[Page 17202]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ap09-79]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health

 
Notice of a Public Consultation Meeting on Proposed Revisions to 
the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecule (NIH 
Guidelines)

    There will be a public consultation meeting to solicit stakeholder 
input regarding the proposed revisions to the NIH Guidelines. The 
meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency 
Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia, 22202, 
from approximately 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Discussions will focus on the proposed revisions to the NIH 
Guidelines which include: (1) Broadening the scope of the NIH 
Guidelines, which currently cover laboratory and clinical research 
involving DNA molecules created via recombinant techniques (i.e., 
joining of DNA molecules), to apply to nucleic acids that are 
synthesized chemically or by other means without the use of recombinant 
technology; (2) Revising the criteria for determining when the 
introduction of a drug resistance trait into a microorganism must be 
reviewed by the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee and approved by the 
NIH Director; and (3) Changing the level of review required for 
recombinant or synthetic experiments involving more than one-half but 
less than two-thirds of the genome of certain viruses in tissue culture 
as described in Section III-E-1 of the NIH Guidelines.
    The Notice of Consideration of a Proposed Action under the NIH 
Guidelines was published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2009 (74 
FR 9411) and may be located at the following link: http://
oba.od.nih.gov/rdna/rdna.html.
    For further information concerning this meeting contact Ms. Laurie 
Lewallen, Advisory Committee Coordinator, Office of Biotechnology 
Activities, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, 6705 
Rockledge Drive, Room 750, Bethesda, MD 20892-7985, 301-496-9838, 
lewallenl@od.nih.gov.
    The meeting will be open to the public, with attendance limited to 
the space available. Individuals who plan to attend and need special 
assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable 
accommodations, should notify the Contact Person listed above in 
advance of the meeting.
    A draft agenda and additional information for the meeting will be 
posted on the OBA Web site: http://oba.od.nih.gov/rdna/rdna.html. 
Background and supplemental information may also be obtained by 
contacting NIH OBA by e-mail oba@od.nih.gov.

    Dated: April 8, 2009.
Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay,
Acting Director, Office of Biotechnology Activities, National 
Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E9-8478 Filed 4-13-09; 8:45 am]

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