INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE BEGINS STUDIES FOR VETS' COMMISSION --

Will look at disability ratings, Individual Unemployability,

presumptive diseases and much more.

Late last year the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission (VDBC or Vets' Commission) contracted with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study certain aspects of veterans' disability ratings and compensation.

Those studies are under way.

First, you can see the list of the seven major areas of study.

There are two IOM committees.  The first will study all the questions expect #6.  The second committee will only study question #6.

The first committee met on May 25, 2006.  The second committee will meet on May 31, 2006.

After the list of study questions you will find the agendas for the committees and their members.

Do not expect good news from the IOM studies.

---------------

This information available here... http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=IOMX-H-05-03-A

Project Title:  Medical Evaluation of Veterans for Disability Compensation

PIN: IOMX-H-05-03-A        

Major Unit:  Institute of Medicine

Sub Unit: Board on Military and Veterans Health

RSO: McGeary, Michael

Subject/Focus Area: Health & Medicine
 

Project Scope IOM will convene two committees of experts having the spectrum and balance of knowledge that is needed to respond to the seven tasks posed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This committee will address all the tasks but Task 6, which will be addressed by a separate committee.*

1. How well do the medical criteria in the VA Rating Schedule and VA rating regulations enable assessment and adjudication of the proper levels of disability to compensate both for the impact on quality of life and impairment in earnings capacity? Provide an analysis of the descriptions associated with each condition’s rating level that considers progression of severity of condition as it relates to quality-of-life impairment and impairment in average earnings capacity.

2. Certain criteria and/or levels of disability are required for entitlement to ancillary and special purpose benefits. To what extent, if any, do the required thresholds need to change? Determine from a medical perspective at what disability rating level a veteran’s medical or vocational impairment caused by disability could be improved by various special benefits such as adapted housing, automobile grants, clothing allowance, and vocational rehabilitation. Consideration should be given to existing and additional benefits.

3. Analyze the current application of the Individual Unemployability (IU) extra-schedular benefit to determine whether the VASRD descriptions need to more accurately reflect a veteran’s ability to participate in the economic marketplace. Propose alternative medical approaches, if any, to IU that would more appropriately reflect individual circumstances in the determination of benefits. For the population of disabled veterans, analyze the cohort of IU recipients. Examine the base rating level to identify patterns. Determine if the VASRD description of conditions provide a barrier to assigning the base disability rating level commensurate with the veteran’s vocational impairment.

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of adopting universal medical diagnostic codes rather than using a unique system? Compare and contrast the advantages/disadvantages of VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities and the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.

5. From a medical perspective, analyze the current VA practice of assigning service connection on “secondary” and “aggravation” bases. In “secondary” claims, determine what medical principles and practices should be applied in determining whether a causal relationship exists between two conditions. In “aggravation” claims, determine what medical principles and practices should be applied in determining whether a preexisting disease was increased due to military service or was increased due to the natural process of the disease.

6. Describe and evaluate the current model used to recognize diseases that are subject to service connection on a presumptive basis. If appropriate, propose a scientific framework that would justify recognizing or not recognizing conditions as presumptive.

7. Compare and contrast the role of healthcare professionals in the claims/appeals process in VA and DoD, Social Security, and federal employee disability benefits programs. What skills, knowledge, training, and certification are required of the persons performing the examinations and assigning the ratings?

The project is commissioned by the Congressionally established Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission and is funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The approximate start date for the project is January 11, 2006.

A report will be issued at the end of the project in approximately 15 months.

*Note: For activities on the related study concerning the "Evaluation of the VA's Presumptive Disability Decision Making Process" being conducted by a separately appointed committee, please see the project record under the Project identification Number IOMX-H-05-03-B.
 

  Project Duration: 15 months    
Provide FEEDBACK on this project.
Contact the Public Access Records Office to make an inquiry or to schedule an appointment to view project materials available to the public.
 

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Below is the agenda for the first meeting of the first committee followed by the committee members.  This meeting was held May 25, 2006.

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Information available here... http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/meetingview.aspx?MeetingID=1407&MeetingNo=1

Agenda:
Thursday, May 25, 2006, in the Board Room, National Academy of Sciences, 21st and C Streets, NW:


9:00-10:30: CLOSED SESSION
(Committee Members and IOM Staff Only)

9:00-10:30 Closed Session

10:30-5:00: OPEN SESSION
(Public Invited to Observe)

10:30-10:40 Introductory Remarks, Introduction of Committee Members, and Review of Charge

Lonnie Bristow, MD, Chair, Committee on Medical Evaluation of Veterans for Disability Compensation

10:40-11:00 Expectations of the Study Sponsor

Rick Surratt, Member, Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission

11:00-11:15 Break

11:15-12:30 Overview of the Disability Compensation Program

Thomas Pamperin, MBA, Assistant Director for Policy, Compensation and Pension Service, Department of Veterans Affairs

12:30-1:30 Lunch downstairs in the Refectory

1:30-2:30 Overview of the Disability Compensation Program (cont.)

Thomas Pamperin (cont.)

2:30-2:45 Break

2:45-3:45 Overview of CPEP and Quality Assurance Improvement Initiatives for C&P Exams

Steven Brown, MD, Director, Compensation and Examination Program (CPEP), Department of Veterans Affairs

3:45-4:00 Break

4:00-5:00 An Examiner’s Use of the Clinician’s Guide and How Examiners are Selected and Trained by VHA

Patrick Joyce, MD, JD, MPH, Chief Physician, Compensation & Pension Program, VA Medical Center, Washington, DC

5:00 Adjourn


Friday, May 26, 2006, in the Board Room, National Academy of Sciences, 21st and C Streets, NW:

8:30-9:30, CLOSED SESSION
(Committee Members and IOM Staff Only)

8:00 – 9:00 Closed Session


9:30-10:30: OPEN SESSION
(Public Invited to Observe)

9:30-10:30 DOD’s Disability Evaluation System and Use of VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities

Al Bruner, Assistant Director, Officer and Enlisted Personnel Management (Separation/Retirement Policy), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness

Paul Williamson, President, Department of the Navy Physical Evaluation Board

10:30-10:45 Break

10:30-2:00: CLOSED SESSION
(Committee Members and IOM Staff Only)

10:45- 2:00 Closed Session

2:00 Adjourn


Closed Session Summary Posted After the Meeting

**********

Members here... http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/CommitteeView.aspx?key=48653

Dr. Lonnie R. Bristow - (Chair)
Private Practice

Lonnie R. Bristow, M.D., M.A.C.P., (CHAIR) is a former president of the American Medical Association, after earlier serving as vice chair and chair of the AMA’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Bristow has written and lectured extensively on medical science as well as socioeconomic and ethical issues related to medicine. He is a board-certified internist and has practiced medicine for more than 40 years. He received his M.D. from New York University College of Medicine. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and was appointed to its Quality of Health Care in America committee, which in 1999 and 2001 respectively, authored the widely read reports To Err Is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm. He chaired the IOM Committee on Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Health Care Workforce, which issued its report, In the Nation’s Compelling Interest Ensuring Diversity in the Health-Care Workforce, in 2004. Dr. Bristow’s research interests and expertise are broad and, over the decades, his writings have included papers on medical ethics, socialized medicine as practiced in Great Britain and Canada, health-care financing in America, professional liability insurance problems, sickle cell anemia, and coronary care unit utilization. Dr. Bristow recently served as vice chair for the Physician Leadership for a New Drug Policy and also, by Presidential appointment, he served for 6 years as chair of the board of regents of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. He continues as an active member of both groups. In addition, Dr. Bristow is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association. He recently retired from private practice but continues his other activities as a professional consultant. Dr. Bristow is a Navy veteran.
 

Dr. Gunnar B.J. Andersson
Rush-Presbyterian-St.Luke's Medical Center

Gunnar B. J. Andersson, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. His areas of expertise include orthpaedic disorders, particularly disorders of the lower spine including nonsurgical and surgical treatment. He was the Senior Editor of the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 5th Edition, 2000 and a Co-Editor of the Disability Evaluation, 2nd Edition, 2003, both published by the American Medical Association. Dr. Andersson is a member of numerous medical associations and committees. He is the current Chair of the Research Committee at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. He was President of the US Orthopaedic Research Society in 2000. He received is M.D. from the University of Goteborg, Sweden and did his residency at the University of Goteborg as well. He holds a Ph.D. in Medical Science.

Dr. John F. Burton, Jr.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick

John F. Burton, Jr., Ph.D., LL.B., is Professor Emeritus in the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University. Dr. Burton is an authority in workers' compensation and occupational safety and health law, as well as other types of social insurance programs. He has published many articles on workers' compensation programs, has edited and co-authored several books, and was President of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. Dr. Burton served as Dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations (1994-2000) and Director of the Institute of Management and Labor Relations (1991-1994) at Rutgers University. He was a founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and is currently a member of the NASI Board of Directors. He received his law degree and his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan.
 

Dr. Lynn H. Gerber
George Mason University

Lynn H. Gerber M.D., is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine, and a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Subspecialty Rheumatology, and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is currently the Director of the Center for Chronic Illness and Disability, and Professor of Rehabilitation Science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In this capacity, she is responsible for developing a research program to help describe the mechanisms by which chronic illness produces disability, how disability may accelerate illness, and explore treatments that can prevent or reduce disabilities and restore function. Dr. Gerber retired from the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, in 2005, after 30 years. She served as Chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department there, coordinating care for patients with disabilities and collaborating in clinical research. Much of her clinical research interest has been centered on measuring and treating impairments and disability in patients with musculoskeletal deficits; in particular, children with osteogenesis imperfecta, and persons with rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Dr. Gerber has authored/co-authored 90 peer reviewed, published manuscripts and 45 Chapters in major textbooks.
 

Dr. Sid Gilman
University of Michigan

Sid Gilman, M.D., F.R.C.P., is William J. Herdman Distinguished University Professor of Neurology in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan. He is also Director of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Gilman is an expert on the neurochemical bases of human diseases causing cognitive and movement disorders and has published over 350 research articles on the diagnosis, treatment, imaging characteristics and neurophysiological changes underlying neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. He is Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Neurology, Neurobiology of Disease, MedLink Neurology, and the Contemporary Neurology Series, and a member of the editorial boards of several other neurological and neuroscience journals. He is a consultant for the FDA, chair of the safety monitoring committees for two ongoing clinical trials and a member of the scientific advisory boards of several companies. Gilman was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine in 1995. He received his M.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1957 and his F.R.C.P. from the Royal College of Physicians (London) in 2001

Dr. Sandra Gordon-Salant
University of Maryland, College Park

Sandra Gordon-Salant, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park and Director of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Audiology. She has published over 50 articles and book chapters pertaining to age-related hearing loss, speech perception, auditory temporal processing, and hearing aids. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Ear and Hearing, and the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology. Dr. Gordon-Salant’s research program has been supported by the National Institutes of Health for the past 20 years. She has been the Editor of the Hearing Section of the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, and recently served as a member of the National Research Council Committee on Disability Determination for Individuals with Hearing Impairment.
 

Dr. Jay S. Himmelstein
University of Massachusetts Medical School

Jay S. Himmelstein, M.D., M.P.H., is a Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, and Director of the Center for Health Policy and Research (CHPR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is board certified in both Internal and Occupational Medicine, and serves as Assistant Chancellor for Health Policy at UMass. His health policy research interests include Medicaid policy, health care quality, workers' compensation medical care, and general health services research. As Director of CHPR, Dr. Himmelstein oversees a wide range of applied policy research aimed at improving health outcomes for those served by public agencies focusing on improving the evidence-base for making policy decisions. As a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow in 1991, Dr. Himmelstein worked with a Senator Labor and Human Resources Committee on issues of national health reform and integration of workers' compensation with other health and disability benefit systems. He recently directed a national RWJF grant program called the Workers' Compensation Health Initiative aimed at supporting demonstration and evaluation projects testing innovations in the delivery and financing of the medical care portion of workers' compensation. Dr. Himmelstein received his M.D. from the University of Maryland, and his M.P.H from the Harvard School of Public Health.
 

Dr. William B. Lawson
Howard University Hospital

William B. Lawson, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.P.A., is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Howard University College of Medicine and Director of the Mood and Anxiety Research Collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program at Howard University Hospital. He is a board certified psychiatrist, and recognized authority on mood disorders and addiction. Dr. Lawson has published over 100 articles on severe mental illness and its relationship to psychopharmacology, substance abuse, and racial and ethnic issues. He is on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Prior to joining the faculty at Howard, Dr. Lawson was Chief of Psychiatry and Mental Health Services at a VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, and Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Lawson received his M.D. from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire.

Dr. Ana E. Nunez
Drexel University College of Medicine

Ana Núñez, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health and Director of the Women’s Health Education Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. She received her MD training at Hahnemann University. She has additional fellowship training in medical education, health policy and health services research. Dr. Núñez is a nationally recognized medical educator in women’s health, primary care, cultural competency and health disparities. She has served on numerous expert panels on women’s health and cultural competency. She has been principal investigator on a number of DHHS and NHLBI funded educationally focused health services research studies. Dr. Núñez has presented nationally at conferences addressing women’s health, curricular reform, women and minorities in medicine and cultural issues in health care delivery and practice. Her research interests are in girls and women’s health, minority women’s health and culturally effective care. She has been an advocate on eliminating health disparities along gender and ethnic lines. She is a member of several professional societies including the American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, Association of Academic Women’s Health Professionals and the National Academy of Women’s Health Educators.
 

Dr. James W. Reed
Morehouse School of Medicine

James W. Reed, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine and Associate Chair of Medicine for Research at Morehouse School of Medicine, and Chief of Endocrinology at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Reed is also a Medical Consultant at the Tuskegee Veterans Affairs Hospital in Alabama. He began his career as an Army physician, holding distinguished positions in medicine and clinical investigation at the Madigan and Eisenhower Army Medical Centers. He has lectured extensively on issues relating to the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and is author of many articles, chapters and books on diabetes and high blood pressure management. He is President of the International Society of Hypertension in Blacks, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Clinical Endocrinology. Dr. Reed received his M.D. from the Howard University College of Medicine.

Dr. Denise G. Tate
University of Michigan

Denise G. Tate, Ph.D., ABPP, FACRM, is a Professor of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan. She is an expert on cognitive and emotional dysfunction among patients with chronic illness and physical impairment. Dr. Tate is particularly interested in adjustment following spinal cord injury, and has published several articles on quality of life, return to work, and substance abuse among people with spinal cord injuries. Dr. Tate is also Director of the Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Project, a training program for professionals interested in pursuing research in rehabilitation of individuals with traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, at the University of Michigan. She received her M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the Getulio Vargas University in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Psychology from Michigan State University.

Mr. Brian M. Thacker
U.S. Department of the Army [Retired]

Brian M. Thacker is a U.S. Army veteran and in 1973 received the Congressional Medal of Honor for extraordinary courage displayed while serving in Vietnam. Before retiring in 2002, Mr. Thacker had worked for the VA for more than 25 years in various program evaluation and administration capacities. He began his career at VA’s Long Beach Medical Center evaluating the efficacy of counseling services for veterans and the quality of continuing medical education programs for health care providers. In the next phase of his career he worked as Director of the Management Services Division at the VA headquarters in Washington, DC. Mr. Thacker is an active member of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. He lives in Wheaton, Maryland.
 

Dr. Dennis Turk
University of Washington School of Medicine

Dennis C. Turk, Ph.D., is John and Emma Bonica Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Research and Director of the Fibromyalgia Research Center at the University of Washington. He has published more than 400 articles on pain assessment, management and treatment, as well as the psychological characteristics of pain sufferers. Dr. Turk is co-coordinator of the Initiative on the Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT). He was formerly the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Pain Management Today and is currently Editor-in-Chief of The Clinical Journal of Pain. An international survey conducted by the University of Regina (Canada), published in The Pain Clinic (2001), identified Dr. Turk as one of the top 10 leaders in pain research and treatment development. Dr. Turk received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

Mr. Raymond John Vogel
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs [Retired]

Raymond John Vogel, M.S., is a U.S. Army veteran with direct knowledge of veteran services and benefit programs. Mr. Vogel has held several executive positions with the Veterans Administration including three years as Under Secretary for Veterans Benefits, six years as Director of VA regional benefits offices in Pennsylvania and Oregon, and seven years as Director and CEO of VA medical centers in Florida and South Carolina. Mr. Vogel has also been involved with several veteran service organizations, including the Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, and AMVETS. Mr. Vogel received his M.S. degree in Government Administration from George Washington University.

Dr. Rebecca A. Wassem
University of Utah

Rebecca Wassem, RN, DNSc, is a tenured Associate Professor with the University of Utah, College of Nursing. Dr. Wassem began her nursing career in acute care (ER, triage, ICU, anesthesia) but has concentrated since 1980 on the study of adjustment and rehabilitation for those who have a chronic physical illness and/or disability. Her research has focused on those with multiple sclerosis, arthritis, cardiac disease, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue. Recently, she began designing assistive technology for the disabled. Dr. Wassem is committed to helping disabled individuals have more productive lives and a better quality of life. Currently, she serves on the Utah State Independent Living Council (Vice-chair), Utah State Rehabilitation Council, and the advisory council for a national grant: rehabilitation engineering center on accessible medical instrumentation. Dr. Wassem is a veteran who served in Vietnam in the Army Nurse Corps.

Dr. Edward H. Yelin
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine

Edward H. Yelin, Ph.D., is a professor of Medicine and Health Policy at the University of California at San Francisco Medical School. He is also Director of the Arthritis Research Group within the Division of Rheumatology, Director of the Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Center in the Rheumatic Diseases, and Director of Medical Effectiveness Review for the California Health Benefits Review Program, an effort on the part of the University of California to provide assessments for the State Legislature of the impact of proposed health insurance mandates. Dr. Yelin’s research interests include the intersection of work and health, quality of life, and the social and economic impact of chronic disability. He has over 160 publications in these areas; over 50 concern work disability issues. Dr. Yelin received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Below is the agenda for the first meeting of the second committee followed by the members of the second committee.  The first meeting is scheduled for May 31, 2006.

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Committee agenda here... http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/meetingview.aspx?MeetingID=1439&MeetingNo=1

First Meeting of the Committee on Evaluation of the VA's Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process
May 31, 2006 - June 1, 2006
Keck Center
500 5th Street, NW
Washington D.C. 20001



If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open
to the public or need more information please contact:

Contact Name: Catherine Bodurow Email: cbodurow@nas.edu Phone: 202-334-2311 Fax: 202-334-2685


Agenda:
WEDNESDAY, May 31, 2006 in Keck 201

8:30 - 10:30
CLOSED SESSION (Committee Members and IOM Staff Only)

10:30 - 5:00
OPEN SESSION (Public Invited to Observe)

10:30 - 10:40
Welcome and Introductory Remarks, Introduction of Committee Members and Attendees
Jonathan M. Samet, MD, MPH (Chair, Committee on Evaluation of the VA's Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process)

10:40 - 11:00
Expectations of the Study Sponsor
Commissioner John Grady (Member, Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission)

11:00 - 11:30
An Overview of the Disability and Benefits Program and Presumptions Affecting Veterans' Benefits
Thomas Pamperin, MBA (Assistant Director for Policy, Compensation and Pension Service, Department of Veterans Affairs)

11:30 - 12:15
Legislative and Regulatory History of Presumptions
David Barrans, JD (Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs)

12:15 - 1:15
LUNCH

1:15 - 1:45
The Role of Science in Establishing VA Disability Compensation Policies
Mark Brown, PhD (Director, VA's Environmental Agents Service, Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards, Department of Veterans Affairs)

1:45 - 2:05
The Effect of Presumptions on Veterans' Compensation
Thomas Pamperin, MBA (Assistant Director for Policy, Compensation and Pension Service, Department of Veterans Affairs)

2:05 - 2:45
PANEL Q&A -- VA Presenters and Committee Members

2:45 - 3:00
BREAK

3:00 - 3:45
An Examiner's Use of the Clinician's Guide and How Examiners are Selected and Trained by VHA
Patrick Joyce, MD, JD, MPH (Chief Physician, Compensation and Pension Program, VA Medical Center, Washington, DC)

3:45 - 4:15
The Examination Process From A Rating Specialist's Perspective
Brad Flohr (Chief of Advisory Review Staff, Compensation and Pension Service)

4:15 - 5:15
Public Comments (Attendees will be given the opportunity to make brief remarks to the Committee)

5:15 - 6:15
CLOSED SESSION (Committee Members and IOM Staff Only)

6:15
ADJOURN


THURSDAY, June 1, 2006

8:30 - 3:00
CLOSED SESSION (Committee Members and IOM Staff Only)

3:00
ADJOURN

Closed Session Summary Posted After the Meeting

**********

Committee members here... http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/CommitteeView.aspx?key=48656

Dr. Jonathan M. Samet - (Chair)
Johns Hopkins University

Jonathan M. Samet, M.D., M.S. is a professor and the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology of The Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Samet also has joint Johns Hopkins’ appointments in the Department of Medicine and the Oncology Center, serves as the Director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control and as the Co-Director for the Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute. Before coming to Johns Hopkins, he was a professor and Chief of the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division in the Department of Medicine of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. His research has emphasized the assessment of health effects of environmental pollutants using epidemiological approaches. His work addressing indoor and outdoor air pollution and occupational exposures, including asbestos and radon, has made use of risk assessment methods as a tool for translation of scientific findings into policy. He has published more than 15 books and monographs, more than 130 chapters in books, and more than 240 peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Samet received his M.D. from the University of Rochester’s School of Medicine and Dentistry and his M.S. from the Harvard School of Public Health. He interned at the University of Kentucky Medical Center and then served in the U.S Army as an anesthesiologist at Gorgas Hospital (Balboa Heights, Canal Zone) from 1971–1973. Following his military service, Dr. Samet completed his residency in Medicine at the University of New Mexico and then completed a research and clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School’s Channing Laboratory. He is board certified in internal medicine and the subspecialty of pulmonary medicine. Dr. Samet was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1997 (Section 9) and has served as a member and Chair of numerous committees for The National Academies. He currently chairs the Committee on Asbestos: Selected Health Effects and the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. In addition, he is a member of the Committee on Science, Technology and Law.
 

Ms. Margaret A. Berger
Brooklyn Law School

Margaret A. Berger, J.D. is a professor of law at Brooklyn Law School. Professor Berger’s research interests focus on scientific evidentiary issues, and she has made outstanding contributions to the field of post-admission legal education by developing new approaches to the judicial treatment of scientific evidence. She has authored numerous briefs, articles, chapters in books and books which address the topic of the admissibility and interpretation of scientific evidence. Professor Berger holds a J. D. from Columbia University School of Law. She has held membership positions on The National Academies’ Committees on Tagging Smokeless and Black Powder and the Committee on DNA Technology in Forensic Science: An Update. Professor Berger is currently a member of The National Academies’ Committee on Science, Technology, and Law and a Co-chair of the Committee on Alternative Models to Daubert Standards.
 

Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo
San Francisco General Hospital

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D., M.D. is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo is also an attending physician at San Francisco General Hospital. Her research interests include the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease, race and gender health and healthcare disparities, and the quality of chronic heart failure care. She has conducted research on risk factors for heart failure and cardiovascular disease, including diabetes, impaired kidney function, and high blood pressure and research on effectiveness of screening and diagnostic tests for cardiovascular disease and has published in these areas. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo received her Ph.D. in biochemistry, her M.D. and her Masters of Clinical Research from the University of California, San Francisco.
 

Dr. Eric G. Bing
Drew University

Eric G. Bing, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Drew University of Medicine and Science. In addition, Dr. Bing is the Director of The Collaborative Public Health AIDS Research Center and the Drew Center for AIDS Research, Education and Services (Drew CARES). His research interests include mental health treatment, HIV prevention and AIDS research in civilian and military settings. He is well published in these areas. Dr. Bing received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, his M.P.H. and Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) School of Public Health. He completed his psychiatric training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. Dr. Bing served as a member of The National Academies’ Ryan White CARE Act committee.
 

Dr. Bernard D. Goldstein
University of Pittsburgh

Bernard D. Goldstein, M.D. is the former Dean of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health and remains active as a professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. Dr. Goldstein’s research interests include risk assessment, toxicology, workplace hazards, internal medicine, preventive medicine, occupational and environmental medicine, and environmental health policy. He has conducted research on air quality and leukemia and various aspects of public health decision-making. Dr. Goldstein was the founder and former Director of the Environmental and Occupational Sciences Institute at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Goldstein also served as Assistant Administrator for Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He received his M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Goldstein was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1991 (Section 9) and has served as a member and Chair of numerous committees for The National Academies which address subjects including risk assessment methodology, exposure to radioactive materials, and biological markers. He currently serves as a member of the Board on Health Sciences Policy, as the chair of the Committee to Review the NIOSH Hearing Loss Research Program, and as a member of the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research and Medicine.
 

Dr. John R. Mulhausen
Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company

John R. Mulhausen, Ph.D., M.S., C.I.H. is the Manager of Corporate Industrial Hygiene for the 3M Company. Dr. Mulhausen is responsible for the leadership of the Corporate Industrial Hygiene organization and oversight of its programs worldwide in a 21 billion dollar/year global manufacturing company. Prior to joining 3M, Dr. Mulhausen worked for the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency. Dr. Mulhausen also holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor position in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. He has presented and published in the fields of exposure assessment, industrial hygiene and industrial hygiene statistics. He was one of the editors for the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s “A Strategy for Assessing and Managing Occupational Exposures.” Dr. Mulhausen is certified in the comprehensive practice of industrial hygiene and is a Fellow of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
 

Dr. Richard P. Scheines
Carnegie Mellon University

Richard Scheines, Ph.D. is a professor and the Head of the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, Dr. Scheines is a professor of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute as well as the Department of Machine Learning. Dr. Scheines’ research focuses on the relationship between causal structure and statistical evidence. His interests are especially involved in data collected by social and behavior science, which include variables that cannot be measured directly. Dr. Scheines has collaborated for more than two decades with statisticians and computer scientists on a project to characterize what can and cannot be learned about causal claims from statistical data in a variety of empirical settings, and to develop and implement algorithms for causal discovery. He has published extensively. Dr. Scheines received his Ph.D. and M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Scheines was recently on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Food Marketing and the Diets of Children and Youth where specific cause and effect relationships were examined of marketing and its effects on children’s preferences, purchase requests, and diets.
 

Dr. Kenneth R. Still
Occupational Toxicology Associates

Kenneth R. Still, Ph.D., M.S., M.B.A., F.A.T.S., C.I.H., C.S.P., C.H.M.M. is a retired U.S. Navy Captain in the Medical Service Corps. Dr. Still served as the Senior Director of Safety and Occupational Health for the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii for the past 3 years. Previously, he was the officer in charge of the Navy’s Toxicology Research Program. Dr. Still retired from the U.S. Navy in November 2005 and is currently the Scientific Director and toxicology consultant for Occupational Toxicology Associates, Inc. and chairs an Independent Toxicology Panel for an International corporation. Dr. Still has held numerous adjunct faculty / associate professorships including the John Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii, and the Uniform Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. He held a visiting research scientist appointment at the Naval Health Research Center Environmental Health Effects Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio for several years. Dr. Still’s main research interests include human health risk assessment, exposure assessment and mechanistic toxicology. His research addresses the areas of neurobehavioral, reproductive, inhalation/respiratory, biochemical, and occupational toxicology. He has more than 200 publications in the areas of his research. Dr. Still received his Ph.D. in chemical/physiological ecology from Oklahoma State University, his M.S. from Portland State University in the same field, and his M.B.A. from Chaminade University of Honolulu in financial management. Dr. Still holds certifications in the comprehensive practice of industrial hygiene, safety, hazardous materials management, and several environmental arenas. Dr. Still is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences and the American Industrial Hygiene Association. He has served as a liaison on numerous committees for The National Academies which have addressed the topics of toxicology hazard evaluation, reproductive and developmental toxicants, and acute exposure guidelines. Dr. Still has also served on many working groups for governmental agencies. He received the Vice President Al Gore Hammer Award for Reinventing Government for work on the Environmental Protection Agency Acute Exposure Guidelines.
 

Dr. Duncan C. Thomas
University of Southern California School of Medicine

Duncan C. Thomas, Ph.D., M.S. is the Director of the Biostatistics Division within the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California and holds the Verna Richter Chair in Cancer Research. Dr. Thomas was Co-Director of the Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) and is Director of its Study Design and Statistical Methods of Research Core. His research interests include the development of statistical methods in epidemiology, with special emphasis on cancer epidemiology, occupational and environmental health, and genetic epidemiology. He is also one of the senior investigators in the California Childrens Health Study, the only long-term cohort study of the chronic effects of air pollution in children. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles in these areas of research and is the author of Statistical Methods in Genetic Epidemiology (Oxford University Press, 2004). Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and a past President of the International Genetic Epidemiology Society. Dr. Thomas received his Ph.D. in epidemiology and health from McGill University and his M.S. in mathematics from Stanford University. He has served as a member of The National Academies’ committees to review radioepidemiology tables and the biological effects of populations of exposures to low levels of ionizing radiation (BEIR V), and was a member of President Clinton’s Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.
 

Dr. Sverre Vedal
University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine

Sverre Vedal, M.D., M.Sc. is a professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program, at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community. Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Washington, Dr. Vedal worked as an academic pulmonologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and then at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Vedal is well published in the application of epidemiological methods to evaluating the health effects of air pollution and occupational lung disease, and is funded by National Institutes of Health in researching health effects of air pollution sources. Dr. Vedal received his M.D. from the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine and his M.Sc. in epidemiology from Harvard University. He is board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine. Dr. Vedal is a member of the Review Committee of the Health Effects Institute in Boston, MA and a member of air pollution panels of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board. Dr. Vedal served as a member of The National Academies’ committee addressing air quality management.
 

Dr. Allen J. Wilcox
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Allen J. Wilcox, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. is a Senior Investigator in the Epidemiology Branch of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, where he served for 10 years as the Chief of the Epidemiology Branch. Dr. Wilcox’s research focuses on fertility, birth weight, and environmental teratogens with over 130 published peer-reviewed research articles. Dr. Wilcox received his M.D. from University of Michigan, M.P.H. in the Department of Maternal and Child Health and Ph.D. in the Department of Epidemiology from the School of Public Health at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine as a specialist in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. Dr. Wilcox is the Editor-in-Chief of Epidemiology and has served as editor or on editorial boards of other epidemiological journals. He has been awarded the U.S. Public Health Service Meritorious Service Medal, and twice received the National Institutes of Health Director’s Award. Dr. Wilcox has served as the President of the Society for Epidemiologic Research and the American Epidemiological Society.
 

Dr. Scott L. Zeger
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Scott L. Zeger, Ph.D. is the Hurley-Dorrier Professor of Biostatistics and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Zeger is jointly appointed to the Department of Epidemiology and served as the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. His research is on regression analysis for correlated responses. Dr. Zeger has focused in two areas: 1) when observations come in clusters, for example in longitudinal research, family studies in genetics or in sample surveys and 2) when a single time series is observed. His research has extended generalized linear models (logistic, linear, log-linear and survival models) to be applicable in these cases. Dr. Zeger has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and is co-author of two books. Dr. Zeger received his Ph.D. in statistics from Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was a member of several committees for The National Academies, including the Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics, the Committee on Estimating the Health-Risk-Reduction Benefits of Proposed Air Pollution Regulations, and the Committee on Gulf War and Health: Health Effects Associated with Exposure During the Persian Gulf War.
 

Dr. Lauren Zeise
California Environmental Protection Agency

Lauren Zeise, Ph.D. is the Chief of the Reproductive and Cancer Hazard Assessment Branch in the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at the California Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Zeise’s main research areas of interest include cancer and reproductive risk assessment. Her current work addresses cancer and reproductive risk methodologies and characterizations, establishment of baseline risks, and guidance for evaluating risks to the fetus, children, and adolescents from environmental exposures. She is widely published. Dr. Zeise received her Ph.D. from Harvard University. She is currently serving on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board. Dr. Zeise has served as a member of numerous committees for The National Academies which have addressed topics such as air quality, assessing exposure of herbicides in Vietnam, copper in drinking water, and risk characterization. She currently serves on the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology and is also a member on the Committee on Toxicity Testing and Assessment of Environmental Agents.

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Larry Scott

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