Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§285a–12 Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER III — NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES › Part C — Specific Provisions Respecting National Research Institutes › subpart 1 — national cancer institute › § 285a–12

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Create a committee within 6 months after October 8, 2008 to coordinate breast cancer research and give advice to the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. The committee must share and coordinate information about current research, plan a strategy to fund and grow collaborative, multidisciplinary studies (including work on environmental and genetic factors), write a summary of federal research advances, and—within 2 years after it starts—make recommendations on research priorities, cutting down duplicate work, increasing public and patient group input, sharing research results, and building public–private research partnerships. When useful, the committee may include study of other cancers to help breast cancer research. The committee must include up to 7 federal voting representatives (for example, leaders from NIH, CDC, and other agencies that support cancer research), plus 12 more voting members the Secretary appoints: 6 nonfederal scientists or health professionals from different fields and regions who know peer review, and 6 public members who represent people with breast cancer. It may also have nonvoting members. The voting members pick a chair, who the NIH Director must approve. The committee must meet at least once a year. The Secretary must review whether the committee is still needed in calendar year 2011 and then at least every 2 years after that.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §285a–12

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee

(1)Establishment

Not later than 6 months after October 8, 2008, the Secretary shall establish a committee, to be known as the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (in this section referred to as the “Committee”).

(2)Duties

The Committee shall—

(A)share and coordinate information on existing research activities, and make recommendations to the National Institutes of Health and other Federal agencies regarding how to improve existing research programs, that are related to breast cancer research;

(B)develop a comprehensive strategy and advise the National Institutes of Health and other Federal agencies in the solicitation of proposals for collaborative, multidisciplinary research, including proposals to evaluate environmental and genomic factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer that would—

(i)result in innovative approaches to study emerging scientific opportunities or eliminate knowledge gaps in research to improve the research portfolio;

(ii)outline key research questions, methodologies, and knowledge gaps;

(iii)expand the number of research proposals that involve collaboration between 2 or more national research institutes or national centers, including proposals for Common Fund research described in section 282(b)(7) of this title to improve the research portfolio; and

(iv)expand the number of collaborative, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional research grants;

(C)develop a summary of advances in breast cancer research supported or conducted by Federal agencies relevant to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer and other diseases and disorders; and

(D)not later than 2 years after the date of the establishment of the Committee, make recommendations to the Secretary—

(i)regarding any appropriate changes to research activities, including recommendations to improve the research portfolio of the National Institutes of Health to ensure that scientifically-based strategic planning is implemented in support of research priorities that impact breast cancer research activities;

(ii)to ensure that the activities of the National Institutes of Health and other Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, are free of unnecessary duplication of effort;

(iii)regarding public participation in decisions relating to breast cancer research to increase the involvement of patient advocacy and community organizations representing a broad geographical area;

(iv)on how best to disseminate information on breast cancer research progress; and

(v)on how to expand partnerships between public entities, including Federal agencies, and private entities to expand collaborative, cross-cutting research.

(3)Rule of construction

For the purposes of the Committee, when focusing on research to evaluate environmental and genomic factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer, nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the Secretary from including other forms of cancer, as appropriate, when doing so may advance research in breast cancer or advance research in other forms of cancer.

(4)Membership

(A)In general

The Committee shall be composed of the following voting members:

(i)Not more than 7 voting Federal representatives as follows:

(I)The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(II)The Director of the National Institutes of Health and the directors of such national research institutes and national centers (which may include the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) as the Secretary determines appropriate.

(III)One representative from the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, appointed by the Director of the National Cancer Institute.

(IV)The heads of such other agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services as the Secretary determines appropriate.

(V)Representatives of other Federal agencies that conduct or support cancer research, including the Department of Defense.

(ii)12 additional voting members appointed under subparagraph (B).

(B)Additional members

The Committee shall include additional voting members appointed by the Secretary as follows:

(i)6 members shall be appointed from among scientists, physicians, and other health professionals, who—

(I)are not officers or employees of the United States;

(II)represent multiple disciplines, including clinical, basic, and public health sciences;

(III)represent different geographical regions of the United States;

(IV)are from practice settings, academia, or other research settings; and

(V)are experienced in scientific peer review process.

(ii)6 members shall be appointed from members of the general public, who represent individuals with breast cancer.

(C)Nonvoting members

The Committee shall include such nonvoting members as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(5)Chairperson

The voting members of the Committee shall select a chairperson from among such members. The selection of a chairperson shall be subject to the approval of the Director of NIH.

(6)Meetings

The Committee shall meet at the call of the chairperson of the Committee or upon the request of the Director of NIH, but in no case less often than once each year.

(b)Review

The Secretary shall review the necessity of the Committee in calendar year 2011 and, thereafter, at least once every 2 years.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 285a–12

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110