4 
The Office of Recombinant DNA Activities (ORDA), in the National 
Institute of General Medical Sciences, was established to coordinate 
the administration of NIH policies and procedures for safe utilization 
of recombinant DNA technology in research. Dr. William Gartland is 
Director of ORDA. Over the past year and a half, the implementation 
of the Guidelines by participants in this research has proceeded well. 
Approximately 110 institutions where NIH-supported research is taking 
place have established institutional biohazards committees, and 
approximately 228 projects are involved. 
Over the past year and a half, administrative practices have 
evolved to deal with requirements of the Guidelines. One of the 
requirements is a means for interpretation. The standards in the 
Guidelines are very explicit about the conduct of permissible experi- 
ments. Still, questions of interpretation continue to arise and must 
be dealt with. Our determination to assure that the experiments comport 
with the standards of the Guidelines has necessitated a number of 
administrative delays in acting on research protocols. Where 
interpretation of the Guidelines requires exercise of discretion, 
an Executive Committee at NIH will review pertinent requests and 
advise appropriate officials and committees in order to expedite the 
administrative review of experiments. 
Another area of difficult administration has been certification 
of new host-vector systems. These systems represent microorganisms 
weakened by various methods to prevent their survival were they to 
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