Tick-Borne Diseases Federal Working Group Update

Update on Subcommittee Membership (posted March 2, 2018) The Department of Health and Human Services announces changes to the composition of three of the six subcommittees of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group (Working Group). The changes were made in response to three members who did not accept the invitations they received to be a part of a subcommittee. New members were selected from the list of existing nominees by the Co-Chairs of the affected subcommittees. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Working Group provided input and approved the final changes. Robert Bransfield, MD, a private practice physician and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers-RWJ Medical School, has replaced Susan Green, JD, on the Access to Care and Support to Patients subcommittee. After careful consideration, Ms. Green withdrew her name. David Roth, JD, has accepted a Co-Chair position on the Testing and Diagnostics Subcommittee, of which he is an existing member. Vanilla Singh, MD, was not able to accept the invitation to serve as Co-Chair because of additional duties she has been asked to perform in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Dr. Singh remains a federal member of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group.  Holly Ahern, MS, Associate Professor of Microbiology at SUNY Adirondack, has accepted a position on the Testing and Diagnostics Subcommittee. David Walker, MD, who was selected for the Vaccine and Therapeutics subcommittee, withdrew his name for personal reasons.  The subcommittee will proceed with the existing members.
53 Members Named to Serve on Working Group Subcommittees (posted February 6, 2018) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the names of 53 individuals who have been selected to serve on one of six subcommittees of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group (Working Group).  After reviewing the nominations, selections were made by the co-chairs overseeing each of the subcommittees. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Working Group provided input and approved the final selections. All of the individuals were notified today, but they have not yet confirmed their availability to serve on the subcommittee that they were chosen to join. The final list of subcommittee members will be updated if any of them are no longer able to join a subcommittee. These subcommittees were established by the Working Group members during the December 12, 2017 meeting to assist them in identifying and reviewing information that provides the background, context, and evidence needed to develop the report to Congress and the HHS Secretary as required by the 21st Century Cures Act. The subcommittees will be led by members of the Working Group. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Working Group will work in collaboration with the subcommittee Co-Chairs and the Designated Federal Officer to ensure that the work of the subcommittees is consistent with the needs of the Working Group and committee management laws and regulations. The roles of the subcommittees, the work they will be doing, and the reports that they will provide to the Working Group will discussed at the February 12, 2018 meeting.