Established in 1995 as mandated by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education (DSHEA), ODS is charged with strengthening knowledge and understanding of dietary supplements by evaluating scientific information, supporting research, sharing research results and educating the public.
“I am pleased to announce that we are currently inviting feedback on the draft ODS Strategic Plan for 2025–2029,” said Stefan M. Pasiakos, PhD, director of ODS, in a statement accompanying the call. “This is a special opportunity for anyone interested in ODS, the premier federal organization, authority, and convening body for advancing the study of dietary supplements.”
The new strategic plan is intended to provide a blueprint for the coordination of dietary supplement research at NIH to address critical gaps in areas such as the study of cellular mechanisms, metabolism, efficacy, safety and effects on health and resilience in diverse populations across the lifespan.
A reimagining of the office
The plan notes that ODS has historically organized its work around specific objectives set forth in DSHEA but that moving forward, it is evolving its capabilities to promote greater collaboration and coordination of innovative dietary supplement research with the Institutes, Centers and Offices (ICOs) across NIH, other federal agencies, academic experts and industry researchers.
“If you are already familiar with ODS, you will notice that this draft Strategic Plan describes a complete reimagining of the office,” Dr. Pasiakos said. “It introduces a new organizational structure that emphasizes our competencies as an extramural coordinating office, as well as our subject matter expertise in Biological Sciences, Population Sciences and Analytical Sciences.”
It also prioritizes strategizing funding opportunities, the provision of access to and support for dietary supplement databases, and the dissemination of ODS accomplishments, relevant studies and public health advances.
“Ultimately, the 2025–2029 ODS Strategic Plan will bolster our efficiency, accountability and productivity,” Dr. Pasiakos added. “It is a bold vision built upon the expertise of ODS staff, their passion and dedication over the last several decades and will ensure the American public has the information [it needs] to make informed decisions about the safe use of dietary supplements.”
An expansive research agenda
As part of its renewed vision and prioritization of strategically selected areas for collaborative study, the office has established three broad program areas: research (biological, population and analytical sciences), research capacity (methodology and research funding strategy), and operations and resources (communications, databases and support).
Each, led by a program director, will include staff who will collaborate across multiple programs, promoting communication within the office.
These programs will integrate the key cross-cutting themes of diverse populations, healthy lifespan and resilience to consider genetic traits and health disparities in population subgroups, the changing nutritional needs across life stages, and the protective pathways that elicit resilience to ensure proper dietary reference intakes.
“While we highlight these three themes, there are additional relevant factors that we will consider in new research initiatives,” ODS notes in the plan. “These include issues that impact nutrient status and health outcomes such as climate change, or factors that facilitate dietary supplement research such as the use of cutting-edge methodologies including artificial intelligence. It is with this interactive lens that ODS will deepen the knowledge of dietary supplements and health.”
Call for comments
In asking for public comments on the draft strategic plan, ODS presents the following questions to guide input with the goal of publishing the final of the Strategic Plan in the next few months.
- Are there additional emerging public health issues that ODS can help address?
- Are there partnerships ODS should pursue, both inside and outside of government, to advance research on dietary supplements?
All responses must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, Aug. 30, 2024. Interested individuals and organizations should submit their responses to ODSplan@od.nih.gov.