Additional Planning Information
Program Discussion/Session Outline:
- Uncertainties in Environmental Control of Bioavailability
- Uncertainties in Host Factor Control of Bioavailability
- Methods for Measuring Bioavailability
- The Weight of Evidence for Adjusting Exposure Based on Bioavailability
- Applying Bioavailability Data to Achieve Site Closure
- Summary and Discussion
Big Picture Questions:
- What do toxicologists, physicians, epidemiologists, and environmental scientists need to know from each other?
- What are the greatest uncertainties in the risk assessment process?
- What are the most relevant and cost-effective measures for predicting health effects from environmental exposures?
- How should the current knowledge of bioavailability be incorporated to produce more accurate risk assessments?
Terminology Issues:
- It will be useful for us to prepare a list of key terms and definitions for posting on our meeting website and for inclusion in the program.
- We can highlight disciplinary differences in terms such as exposure, dose, etc.
- Understanding the existing terminology differences will foster communication across disciplines.
- We can ask all attendees to agree to focus most on the scientific and infrastructure issues and less on the terms needed to describe those issues.
- This approach will allow us to stipulate that the need to standardize terms is a priority, while reserving the harmonization of definitions to other venues and times.
- We might include an annotated bibliography of key review articles or information sources.
Goals of Discussions:
- Reach consensus on the major research needs
- Solicit ideas on research directions and possible collaborations
- Encourage participation in the meeting
- Each session has a discussion period devoted to addressing issues specific to the session. Given the process defined below we need broad questions for each of these sessions. The sub-committee responsible for each session will define those questions. Some examples are provided below, but these are just examples.
Session 1-5 Discussion Format
- The format that looks appropriate for us is a combination of what is called Nominal Group Processes and Affinity Diagramming. These are well established techniques that are good for reaching census and keeping the discussion moving. We will organize the participants into tables with 10 people. We have the option of changing the groups for each session or leaving them together for all the sessions. Each table will have a diverse group of people from different relevant areas. Each will also have a moderator and a reporter. The moderator will be one of us and the reporters the graduate students and post-docs we are supporting to come to the meeting.
- There will be 3 to 4 questions for each session. Multiple tables can address the same questions, but only one per table.
- Each space will have an easel with markers, sticky notes, sharpies, and gummed colored dots.
Session 1 Nominal Group Process
- Round table introductions- name, job, organization, area of expertise
- Presentation of the format to group, introduction of the topic and statement of the questions.
- Brainstorming on questions- open discussion
- Moderator records ideas, one idea per person, from the audience until all have been put on flip chart.
- Discussion of ideas with grouping. Participant can change ideas, wording. During the discussion the ideas are condensed and organized.
- The reporters record the ideas for later distribution.
Session 2- Affinity Diagramming (We use slightly different processes in the afternoon because there is more time.)
- Groups same as the AM session, still at round tables with 10 people. Each table addresses one of the questions, with more than one table having same question.
- Example questions:
- How important is gender and genetic factors in estimating bioavailability?
- How does food in the digestive tract impact bioavailability?
- What is the impact of nutritional deficiencies on site specific bioavailability?
- Which underlying disease states impact Bioavailability?
- Brainstorming session where question discussed, clarified and recorded on a wall, flip chart, etc.
- Each participant is asked to write their ideas related to the question on sticky note and place on the easel near the idea from the brainstorming that it matches
- Organize the ideas into similar clusters and create an Affinity Card that describes the cluster of ideas. The moderator leads the effort.
- Discussion and synthesis- can recast or reorganize the ideas or clusters.
- As before the graduate students and post docs will record the summary. The summaries would be printed and handed out to the participants the next morning. This would be done for each day.
Session 3- Nominal Process same as for session 1
- Groups same as the previous sessions, still at round tables with 10 people. Each table addresses one of the questions, with more than one table having same question.
- Example questions
- What are the major barriers to using existing methods and models to assess and predict bioavailability?
- What new methods have promise for bioavailability assessment?
- How can biomonitoring be used in exposure and bioavailability assessment?
- Brainstorming on question- done individually
- Moderator records ideas, one idea per person, from the audience until all have been put on flip chart. (Note: important that any individual is not allowed to "run their full list" before others have a chance to register their own idea)
- Discussion of ideas with grouping. Participants can change ideas, wording. During the discussion the ideas are condensed and organized.
- The reporters record the ideas for later distribution.
Session 4- Affinity Diagramming same as session 2
- Groups same as the previous sessions, still at round tables with 10 people. Each table addresses one of the questions, with more than one table having same question.
- Example questions:
- What can we do to extrapolate from environmental assessments to human models?
- What adjustments to risk models are necessary to include BV? Which are defendable?
- How do we convince the public that risk assessment adjustment is valid?
- Brainstorming on question- done individually
- Moderator records ideas, one idea per person, from the audience until all have been put on flip chart. (Note: important that any individual is not allowed to "run their full list" before others have a chance to register their own idea)
- Discussion of ideas with grouping. Participant can change ideas, wording. During the discussion the ideas are condensed and organized.
- The reporters record the ideas for later distribution.
Session 5- Nominal Process- like session 1 and 3
Example questions:
- What is the necessary burden of proof?
- Are more large, multi-disciplinary studies needed and if so, what matrices and/or contaminants should be the focus of such studies?
- What can we learn from efforts to date about how to design, manage, and interpret studies intended to modify clean up criteria to reflect bioavailability?
Session 6 - Final Discussion
The goal is to reach some kind of consensus on the Big Picture Questions and motivate participants to stay through the afternoon meeting rather than catch an earlier plane home. Audience will have the summary of the discussions from previous sessions.
Example Big Questions:
- What do toxicologists, physicians, epidemiologists, and environmental scientists need to know from each other?
- What are the greatest uncertainties in the risk assessment process?
- What are the most relevant and cost-effective measures for predicting health effects from environmental exposures?
- How should the current knowledge of bioavailability be incorporated to produce more accurate risk assessments?
Summary Round Table Discussion- populated by representatives from the research and funding agencies who are asked to present their perspectives on what they have heard at the meeting about problems and research directions- maybe one hour total.
Open discussion for one hour where audience is asked to respond to the summaries and panel ideas, and Big Questions. Tasks include:
- Identify most crucial issues and questions for greater understanding of bioavailability and its impact on human and environmental health.
- Recommendations for further refinement and communication of conference conclusions.
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