Core support for the Board on Life Sciences

美国国家科学院、工程院和医学院的生命科学委员会(BLS)是科学院在生命科学领域广泛的技术和政策主题的中心。这些领域包括遗传学的发展，包括合成生物学和“基因驱动”；生物和生态系统的生物学和生物多样性的保护；生物安全和生物保障；以及基础生物医学研究。劳工统计局组织和监督研究，向政府和科学界提供关于生命科学及其对社会的影响的建议，以及关于改善生物教育和维持一支强大的生命科学队伍的建议。在其35年的历史中，劳工统计局编制了许多报告，对科学和政策产生了重大影响。有关劳工统计局的许多报告的详细信息，请访问http://dels.nas.edu/bls/.。为使劳工统计局继续为政府、科学界和公众产生重大成果，必须有“核心支持”，以便劳工统计局能够履行重要的基本职能：每年举行两次咨询委员会会议；允许劳工统计局探索新兴的生物科学和技术领域，以监测重大的新科学进展；以及支持工作人员努力开发新的研究想法和传播有关已完成报告的信息。NSF生物科学局也有兴趣促进生命科学界的福利，并在整个生命科学领域促进最高质量的研究。多年来，劳工统计局通过编制专家报告为NSF-BIO提供了实质性支持，这些专家报告补充了NSF支持的研究，以推进生物学知识的前沿，增加对复杂生物系统的理解，并为生命科学研究提供理论基础。对BLS的核心支持是一项可以在NSF的广泛生物科学研究中提供回报的投资。该项目的目的是获得对国家科学院生命科学委员会(BLS)的普遍(“核心”)支持。这种支持将使劳工组织能够继续每年举行两次董事会会议；使用各种方式(例如，网络研讨会、嘉宾演讲者研讨会、规划会议等)。监测和探索生命科学的前沿课题；提出新研究的想法并执行任务，如传播已完成的研究，但没有项目资金可用。在其35年的历史中，劳工统计局编制了大量影响深远的研究报告，并开展了其他具有影响力的活动。其中一些活动推动了新的科学项目的启动(例如人类基因组测序)，推动了新的科学领域的发展(元基因组学、糖科学)，促进了生物学教学的新方法(BIO 2010及其后续夏季学院)，并加强或肯定了新的和现有的设施和基础设施的价值(例如实地考察站和海洋实验室)。劳工统计局的报告导致建立新的资助计划或扩大现有计划或对现有计划进行方向性转移；导致资助机构或研究计划的组织结构变化；突出新的研究领域或后来得到更多重视的重要问题；或制定科学界或资助机构遵守的新政策。劳工统计局专门为NSF生物局准备的研究帮助国会了解了国家生态观测网络等重大投资，为国家植物基因组计划提供了连续两个五年计划，并启发了新领域的研究，如元基因组学和理论生物学研究。劳工统计局的报告还为确保野外空间站和海洋实验室的未来提供了建议，以及目前的一项研究，以帮助绘制更可持续的生物收集未来。由于科学院的召集力量，劳工统计局能够接触到最优秀的科学人才，为其项目做出贡献，并实现他们的目标。来自NSF的核心支持帮助董事会成员和工作人员计划和执行研究，以协助基金会和其他机构进行计划、分析和评估。BLS的能力不仅使NSF本身受益，也使NSF Bio的众多生命科学子学科的研究人员受益。有关劳工统计局及其工作的更多详细信息可在http://dels.nas.edu/bls/This网站上找到，该奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Board on Life Sciences (BLS) at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine serves as the Academies' focal point for a wide range of technical and policy topics in the life sciences. These include developments in genetics, including synthetic biology and "gene drives"; the biology of organisms and ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity; biosafety and biosecurity; and basic biomedical research. BLS organizes and oversees studies that provide advice to the government and the scientific community on the life sciences and their impacts on society as well as on the improvement of biology education and the maintenance of a robust life sciences workforce. Throughout its 35-year history, BLS has produced numerous reports that have had major impacts on science and policy. Detailed information on BLS's many reports may be found at http://dels.nas.edu/bls/. For BLS to continue to produce significant results for the government, the scientific community, and the public, it is necessary to have "core support" so that BLS can carry out important basic functions: holding two meetings of its advisory board per year; allowing BLS to explore emerging areas of biological science and technology to monitor significant new scientific advances; and supporting the staff in their efforts to develop new study ideas and disseminate information about completed reports. The NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences also has interests in fostering the welfare of the life sciences community and promoting the highest quality research throughout the life sciences. Over the years, BLS has provided substantial support to NSF-BIO through the preparation of expert reports that have complemented NSF-supported research to advance the frontiers of biological knowledge, increase understanding of complex biological systems, and provide a theoretical basis for life sciences research. Core support for BLS is an investment that can provide returns across a wide range of NSF's biological science research.The purpose of this project is to acquire general ("core") support for the National Academies' Board on Life Sciences (BLS). This support will allow BLS to continue to hold two Board meetings per year; use various means (e.g., webinars, guest speaker seminars, planning meetings, etc.) to monitor and explore leading edge topics in the life sciences; and develop ideas for new studies and perform tasks, such as dissemination of completed studies, for which no project funds are available. Over its 35-year history, BLS has produced a large number of high impact study reports as well as conducting other activities with influential results. Some of these have provided impetus for the initiation of new science projects (e.g., sequencing the human genome), advancing new fields of science (metagenomics, glycoscience), fostering new methods of teaching biology (BIO 2010 and its follow on Summer Institutes), and reinforcing or affirming the value of both new and existing facilities and infrastructure (e.g. field stations and marine laboratories). BLS reports have resulted in the establishment of new funding programs or amplifications or directional shifts in existing programs; produced organizational change in funding agencies or research plans; highlighted new research areas or important issues that subsequently received greater emphasis; or established new policies that were adhered to by the scientific community or by funding agencies. Studies prepared specifically for the NSF Biology directorate by BLS have helped inform the Congress to about major investments like the National Ecological Observatory Network, provided two successive five-year plans for the National Plant Genome Initiative, and inspired research in new areas, such as metagenomics and theoretical biological research. BLS reports have also provided suggestions for ensuring the future of field stations and marine labs, and a current study to helping to chart a more sustainable future for biological collections. Because of the convening power of the Academies, BLS is able to access the best scientific minds to contribute to its projects and achieve their goals. Core support from NSF helps allow the Board members and staff to plan and execute studies to assist the Foundation and others with program planning, analysis, and assessment. BLS's capabilities benefit not only NSF itself, but also researchers in the large number of life science sub-disciplines that form NSF BIO's constituencies. More detailed information about BLS and its work can be found at http://dels.nas.edu/bls/This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.