Kiem selected for NIH advisory committee

The National Institutes of Health has appointed the Clinical Research Division’s Dr. Hans-Peter Kiem to its Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee for a four-year term beginning in August.

NIH established the committee in 1974 in response to public concerns regarding the safety of manipulating genetic material through the use of recombinant DNA techniques. The panel helps to create an environment in which science can advance in an informed, safe, and ethical manner. As a federal advisory committee, the group issues recommendations for the oversight of recombinant DNA research.

The committee reviews human gene transfer research on behalf of NIH and advises its policymakers on various advances in recombinant DNA technology, as well as ethical and safety considerations associated with novel or possibly risky forms of related research.

Kiem, an oncologist, gene therapy researcher and the first recipient of the José Carreras/E. Donnall Thomas Endowed Chair for Cancer Research, joins experts on the committee from a wide range of scientific and medical disciplines, as well as ethicists and members of the patient and other lay communities.

“I was simply honored to get this invitation from NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins,” Kiem said. “I think it reflects our contributions to the field of gene therapy.”